A patient complained about me...

[NurseCard, ADN]

Okay, so I come in tonight and find out that a patient that I admitted on Thursday does not want me taking care of him. Okay, fine and dandy. I feel like he was just unhappy in general with his entire experience and is mostly picking on me because I admitted him, and admittedly things didn't go so smoothly when he was being admitted. However, it really was not all my fault and I know that.

I'm expecting that, when I come back to work next time I'm going to have an email from my manager wanting to know what happened/why did he complain about me? I haven't gotten such an email yet, but I feel like just going ahead and dropping her (my manager) an email explaining to her what happened anyway, just because it's so fresh in my mind and well, I just FEEL like telling her what happened and getting it off my chest. Is this a good idea? Or would it just be a much better idea to wait and see if she even says anything to me about it?

[ERNurse752, RN]

If it were me, I might go ahead and email her about it first. That way you're being proactive about the situation, instead of letting her hear it from someone else and getting the wrong impression.

:)

[Super_RN, BSN, RN]

If it were me, I would go ahead and let her know about it. In my opinion, it makes her aware that you saw the problem and are addressing it. It also let her know you are taking action to resolve it as well.

Good luck!

:balloons: Jaime

[weetziebat]

My first thought was, no, why say anything unless you think the patient may be justified in being angry at you personally - unless it was mostly your fault that the admission didn't go well.

But then, thinking it over, I may go ahead and e-mail her, explaining what happened. That way, you're not waiting till someone else may say something about it.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I've done that before myself, saying "you might get a complaint about me, but here's my side of the story". That way you're not getting a phone call waking you up from your sleep, or they don't jump to conclusions and side with the patient in their effort to provide "customer service".

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I think it's a good idea. We're usually right on top of situations like that.

It's amazing how when you're absent for the two shifts that you don't work, how events can get twisted and blown up out of proportion.

Whenever I have a problem with a patient such as you describe, I try to explain right afterwards to my Charge. But actually, an email is a much better idea.

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

I always type off a quick e-mail to the manager just to let her know there was a complaint. Not really sure why, that I used my same high standard of nursing on this patient (don't admit guilt) but if she wanted to discuss it with me to please let me know.

[Audreyfay]

I call this a "heads up" e-mail. My managers always prefer that they know about a situation before they are taken by surprise. I usually start it off with: "I just wanted you to know about a situation, in case you hear something about it . . ." They appreciate being informed ahead of time. I've had situations in which the MD went directly to the manager. If they know nothing about it, it puts them in a difficult situation. E-mail or call you manager.

[KatieBell]

A little late for this now, but also a good reason to document- using quotations what the patient did or said.

I had a woman come in - stating she was a retired nurse- she proceeded to make friends with the patient in the next curtain and tell me what treatments that patient needed. She then yelled at me for not giving Morphine to her- even though she stated she was allergic to morphine. Then she became quite irate when she discovered that we do not carry demerol at all in this hospital...

I documented her requests and behavior. Yes, she did call the manager about me. (I knew she would because she asked for my full name). He told me in my yearly review that he listened to her, pulled the chart and decided based on the documentation that the patient was a pia. I was sooo glad I documented all of it- it was a busy day, and I thought actually I was being malicious to quote her so extensively. Now, I am so glad I did.

Best Wishes!

[nursemaa]

As a manager, I always appreciate getting a "heads up" about situations like this. Makes it easier to deal with the person who is complaining. I also agree with KatieBell about making sure you document thoroughly. When I get a call from administration because the person went to the VP or CEO about it, it's helpful to be able to pull the chart and have some information ahead of time.

[Flicker of Hope]

Like so many have posted I totally agree that an e-mail to your supervisor will give he/she a "heads up" that there was a problem and that you are dealing with it. I am sure that many of us have been in this same position in our nursing careers.

flicker

Nurses are angels on loan from above.

The Hamilton Collection

[Sheri257]

One of the things that drives me crazy is when you wait on a patient hand and foot, all day long, giving them much more attention than other patients because they are so demanding ...

And then they still complain.

Grrrrrr. It literally drives me nuts.