i swear, visitors have gotten dumber and nastier over the years! used to be the majority of them were pleasant and grateful to you for helping mom, dad or whoever. now those pleasant folks seem to be vastly outnumbered!
yesterday, i was caring for a very sick man with multiple infected wounds which were getting wet to dry dressings. our practice is to open a bottle of sterile saline, date and time it, and then use it for 24 hours. yesterday afternoon, i happened to be standing outside the room talking to the resident when i noticed the patient's wife take an oral swab out of his mouth, open up the bottle of sterile saline, dip the swab in, and then stick it back in his wife. i stood there with my jaw hanging on the floor, wondering how many times she'd done that, and whether we'd just figured out why every wound was infected and none of them were getting better.
when i went into the room, i explained to her about sterile dressing changes, and how the bottle was sterile saline, the consequences of using contaminated saline for a wet to dry dressing change, etc. her response was to swear up and down she hadn't dipped the oral swab into the bottle. "i poured the water over the swab," she said.
"that's not water," i explained.
"yes it is," she said. "it looks just like water and i don't want to use dirty old faucet water in his mouth."
you'd think people would be more cautious about putting something in their loved one's mouth if they don't even know what it is! you'd think if you explained the consequences of contaminated saline, they'd be quick to admit that it was contaminated rather than risk you using it on their loved one. you'd think they'd believe you when you tell them what's in the bottle.
I know why. Because in the era of 'customer service' it's pretty much a given as a 'customer' all you have to do is demand what you want, and by God, you'll get it, and on a silver platter at that.
I don't give in to bully visitors. You want something to eat; go to the cafeteria or browse the vending machines. I am not going to neglect my 6 other patients to get you a sandwich. Now, if you are disabled, elderly etc. I will do my best to accomodate you and go out of my way to help you out. Heck, I'll even pay for the snack.
I've had to kick people out of the staff kitchen where we keep pt food/drink. Stealing soda,juice etc and having the gall to walk past the nurses stations with all this food . "Well, I am hungry"... they said. :stone
I personally love the family members who bring in their spiral notebooks and write down EVERYTHING!! And then look at your badge and say, what was your name (how subtle!) Of course, I hold it out so they can get the spelling right! I am not against family members being involved in their loved one's care, but some people really take it too far.
I personally love the family members who bring in their spiral notebooks and write down EVERYTHING!! And then look at your badge and say, what was your name (how subtle!) Of course, I hold it out so they can get the spelling right! I am not against family members being involved in
Yep that too.
trying to intimidate you.
i give them my name and spell it out for them.
the notebook somehow disappears. (for my shift anyway).
LOL...I always like the ones who say things like..."You do realize that I am Dr. *******'s neighbor don't you?"
Well...yes, I know that you are his neighbor...however, you still can't have snacks from the staff refrigerator, your father still can't have anything to eat or drink because he is having surgery in three hours, and you still need to keep the noise down so your father's roommate can sleep...and no, I am not going to give you anything for your headache unless you check in to the ER and get evaluated.
I've had to kick people out of the staff kitchen where we keep pt food/drink. Stealing soda,juice etc and having the gall to walk past the nurses stations with all this food . "Well, I am hungry"... they said. :stone
About the only smart thing my facility has done - put numeric locks on the kitchen, breakroom and medroom doors. You want in? You'll have to ask us; we'll get it for you. (Unless of course you're one of the visitors early on that were told the code by one of the NA's. I reamed that former staff members butt out big time when a MRSA/VRE patient (caught in the process of digging through the kitchen fridge for a snack) ratted out the person who gave her the code number).
I honestly don't think of these people as nasty, so much as oblivious, ignorant and moronic. I long for the days when visiting hours were 11am to 9pm (strictly enforced) and no one under 14 was allowed under any circumstances. If I have to explain why lil' Kaitluyn shouldn't be crawling on the floor and rooting through Meemaw's trash can one more time, I'm going to lose it.
Be glad lil' Kaitluyn was just in the trash and on the floor. We had lil' Kaitluyn that would play with mom's MRSA oozing soaked bandages, then run through the halls with her unwashed hands. No big deal of course, since pt down the hall was usually following behind walking on his bandaged oozing MRSA foot to go outside and smoke. (And of course to stop any of this would be bad customer service, and we wouldn't want to lose these "Uninsured Charity Plan" customers!)
Be glad lil' Kaitluyn was just in the trash and on the floor. We had lil' Kaitluyn that would play with mom's MRSA oozing soaked bandages, then run through the halls with her unwashed hands. No big deal of course, since pt down the hall was usually following behind walking on his bandaged oozing MRSA foot to go outside and smoke. (And of course to stop any of this would be bad customer service, and we wouldn't want to lose these "Uninsured Charity Plan" customers!)
Do we work at the same place? :roll That sounds realllllly familiar!
"Yes it is," she said. "It looks just like water and I don't want to use dirty old faucet water in his mouth."
And rubbing alcohol looks like water also at first glance.
I would document like mad, and get the case manager/social worker involved...and discuss with them if risk management needs to get involved also.
I don't seem to understand why families seem to insist on sterile water for GI related stuff when in the hospital...not too long ago had a pt's son insist that we used sterile water for flushing the pt's g-tube "to prevent infection". The stomach is NOT a sterile environment!!
I don't seem to understand why families seem to insist on sterile water for GI related stuff when in the hospital...not too long ago had a pt's son insist that we used sterile water for flushing the pt's g-tube "to prevent infection". The stomach is NOT a sterile environment!!
This is a MAJOR pet peeve of mine! Do YOU drink sterile water??? argggg
We had a visitor last night at 2300 who doesn't announce herself walks up to me and says "Has my Mom peeed yet?"
Why is it people don't even have the common courtesy to say "Hello, I am X and am visiting my mother, Mrs X" I usually have to ask them about five questions before I can answer their one.
I HATE this. It is one of my pet peeves. For me it's usually some person who walks up and says something like, "Can my Dad have a drink of water?". I want to say, "Well, I haven't a clue who you are and therefore do not know who your Dad is. When I know that, I can tell you if I am his nurse and then could probably tell you if he can have some water.":idea:
On the same vein, my husband is a telephone/paging operator at the hospital. He got a lady once who asked to speak to "the resident". When he asked the resident's name she replied, "Well, I don't know, but he was tall with brown hair and glasses." We work at a major teaching hospital and have hundreds of residents.
Some people make me worry about the future of the human race.
I HATE this. It is one of my pet peeves. For me it's usually some person who walks up and says something like, "Can my Dad have a drink of water?". I want to say, "Well, I haven't a clue who you are and therefore do not know who your Dad is. When I know that, I can tell you if I am his nurse and then could probably tell you if he can have some water.":idea:
On the same vein, my husband is a telephone/paging operator at the hospital. He got a lady once who asked to speak to "the resident". When he asked the resident's name she replied, "Well, I don't know, but he was tall with brown hair and glasses." We work at a major teaching hospital and have hundreds of residents.
Some people make me worry about the future of the human race.
~Jen
:yeah: :yeah:
This drives me NUTS!!!! I cannot understand for the life of me why a person would approach a perfect stranger they have never before seen, and assume that that person will know if Dad can eat, or if Mom's doctor has called back. This behavior, I have noticed, occurs almost exclusively in persons with a pronounced aversion to call lights. How a person can maintain a viselike grip on the remote control, channel surf, and fiddle with the volume without once noticing the only red button that also pictures a nurse's cap just boggles my mind.
One patient who particularly tried my patience was a man who stil had not left 45 minutes following his discharge orders, preferring to lie in bed in his gown and watch TV. When I asked him for the 2nd time if he had any further questions for the doctor or needed help dressing, his wife sighed and said loudly, "Well, I guess they're really gonna kick us out" :angryfire It was all I could do to grit my teeth and say politely, "You are not being kicked out. You are being discharged home following diagnosis and treatment of your emergency condition."
who doesn't announce herself walks up to me and says "Has my Mom peeed yet?" 
For me it's usually some person who walks up and says something like, "Can my Dad have a drink of water?". I want to say, "Well, I haven't a clue who you are and therefore do not know who your Dad is. When I know that, I can tell you if I am his nurse and then could probably tell you if he can have some water.":idea: 
We work at a major teaching hospital and have hundreds of residents. 
:yeah:
URO-RN
451 Posts
:yeahthat:
squeeky wheel gets the oil.
I will not be bullied.