complaints about nursing care!?!?!

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We have all had patients who were hard to please. These are the patients that complained through out their stay, no matter what you did. It's understandable most of the time, because yes they are sick, and yes they are in pain. But I just want to know about some of the complaints that were just out right ridiculous, then on the upside I also want to know about the complaints that are actually valid.

:nono::trout::nurse::roll:twocents:

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I've seen more and more pts with PRN anxiolytics. And when they request that, that's a huge clue-in. Anything that clues me to fear is hugely significant. A tele floor reeks of fear of the unknown. That's the big enemy that brings on patient and family powerlessness. It's hard to make pts and families see that they're the star players in the healing process and everyone else is their assistant. But when they bring up their worries, that's the opportunity I'm looking for, they're ready to engage in that role. Any complaint is valuable. It shows me where their fears are and where to start breaching that wall. Complainers make my job easy. The quiet ones, the ones who don't want to be any bother, they're the hard ones. They take a lot more work than the complainers.

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Specializes in Med/Surg < 1yr.

I am a CNA at an LTC facility and one time I was working in a room with two residents. I was bathing one resident while his roommate was sleeping. The sleeping roommate is one of those residents who will ask you to come in and maybe straigthen his covers and by the time you leave you've spent a half hour in his room because after you fix the covers his legs need to be straighthened, his back needs scratched he wants the covers on and then off and then this and that......and anyway the sleeping roommate wakes up and hears that I'm in the room and immediately goes. "oh help me, help me. I need help!" I'm like what's the matter and he says "oh I need help right away", and I say ok tell me what's the matter, and he says "oh my mouth is so dry I need something to drink right away", and I say ok I will help you when I'm finished bathing your roommate and he says "while you're doing all that talking you could have come give me my drink" and I told him I'm not going to stop bathing that man, take off my gloves, wash my hands to give you a drink you have to wait. Long story short, he requested another aide help him and when he didn't get that he requested the supervisor who had to stop what she was doing to get another aide to help her take care of him for the rest of the day. He then called his family and when he got in his wheelchair and was in the hallway with his family he pointed me out to his sister and said, yeah, that's the one right there, she's the one that treated me like crap, I went over to him and said no you tried to have me treat your roommate like crap but just like I would never stop taking care of you to take care of him it goes the same way for him. He was hot... he tried to run over my foot with his chair!

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I am a CNA at an LTC facility and one time I was working in a room with two residents. I was bathing one resident while his roommate was sleeping. The sleeping roommate is one of those residents who will ask you to come in and maybe straigthen his covers and by the time you leave you've spent a half hour in his room because after you fix the covers his legs need to be straighthened, his back needs scratched he wants the covers on and then off and then this and that......and anyway the sleeping roommate wakes up and hears that I'm in the room and immediately goes. "oh help me, help me. I need help!" I'm like what's the matter and he says "oh I need help right away", and I say ok tell me what's the matter, and he says "oh my mouth is so dry I need something to drink right away", and I say ok I will help you when I'm finished bathing your roommate and he says "while you're doing all that talking you could have come give me my drink" and I told him I'm not going to stop bathing that man, take off my gloves, wash my hands to give you a drink you have to wait. Long story short, he requested another aide help him and when he didn't get that he requested the supervisor who had to stop what she was doing to get another aide to help her take care of him for the rest of the day. He then called his family and when he got in his wheelchair and was in the hallway with his family he pointed me out to his sister and said, yeah, that's the one right there, she's the one that treated me like crap, I went over to him and said no you tried to have me treat your roommate like crap but just like I would never stop taking care of you to take care of him it goes the same way for him. He was hot... he tried to run over my foot with his chair!

People don't suddenly become darlings when they hit 80. If they were SOBs at 40 they will most likely be one at 80.

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Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.
People don't suddenly become darlings when they hit 80. If they were SOBs at 40 they will most likely be one at 80.

Or, more likely, MAJOR experienced SOB's at 80.:lol2::lol2:

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saying those things about you and running over your foot was completely uncalled for

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Specializes in Med/Surg < 1yr.

The wild thing about it was that the sleeping roommate is 52 yrs old. He's in the NH because he is on the skilled floor. We have patients of all ages and health needs. He causes major trouble with all of the staff. It may sound bad but when people see his call light on, they cringe. He has had it out with all of the aides including the new ones coming in!

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People don't suddenly become darlings when they hit 80. If they were SOBs at 40 they will most likely be one at 80.

It seems like so many people have a hard time putting two and two together with this one, people look at some old pathetic person and automatically assume old age has inducted that person into sainthood.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.

:rotfl: the patients that drive me nuts are the ones that no matter what you do or try, their pain is always a 10+ and they call on the hour wanting their pain meds and when i go to give it, bingo, they are sleeping and I have to wake them up, ask what their pain level is 0-10 and of course it is always a 10+. give them the meds. go back with in 30-45 minutes, wake them back up to ask what the pain level is and once again 10+:idea:

Then the other thing that gets me, is I am so nauseated, please bring me my nausea meds and when you come back with the meds, could you also bring me a soda and crackers or whatever you have to snack on!!:uhoh21:

and the number 1, I have been calling all night and no one came and brought me my pain/nausea meds!!:smackingf yet they are the same ones that call every 15 minutes( when awake) asking is it time for my pain meds!!

Just had to get this off my chest, took care of 3 of these types last night and yes, they are frequent fliers:imbar

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Specializes in Med Surg, Peds, OB, L/D, Ortho.
:rotfl: the patients that drive me nuts are the ones that no matter what you do or try, their pain is always a 10+ and they call on the hour wanting their pain meds and when i go to give it, bingo, they are sleeping and I have to wake them up, ask what their pain level is 0-10 and of course it is always a 10+. give them the meds. go back with in 30-45 minutes, wake them back up to ask what the pain level is and once again 10+:idea:

Then the other thing that gets me, is I am so nauseated, please bring me my nausea meds and when you come back with the meds, could you also bring me a soda and crackers or whatever you have to snack on!!:uhoh21:

and the number 1, I have been calling all night and no one came and brought me my pain/nausea meds!!:smackingf yet they are the same ones that call every 15 minutes( when awake) asking is it time for my pain meds!!

Just had to get this off my chest, took care of 3 of these types last night and yes, they are frequent fliers:imbar

I have to ask......if the pt. you have medicated for pain is asleep when you re assess the pain...why not document pt. sleeping? Also, if they are asleep when you go in to medicate them...why wake them up? Document that they are asleep. When they call out again...which they will...go to them without medication....let them know that you did come before but they were asleep and it is not safe practice to administer narcotics to a sleeping pt.

As far as the nauseated med. requesting snacker.....medicate and advise a little "gut rest" sips and chips...till they feel better.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.
i have to ask......if the pt. you have medicated for pain is asleep when you re assess the pain...why not document pt. sleeping? also, if they are asleep when you go in to medicate them...why wake them up? document that they are asleep. when they call out again...which they will...go to them without medication....let them know that you did come before but they were asleep and it is not safe practice to administer narcotics to a sleeping pt.

as far as the nauseated med. requesting snacker.....medicate and advise a little "gut rest" sips and chips...till they feel better.

i never document a pt is sleeping, due to the fact that a co-worker documented that the pt was sleeping when in fact the pt had expired! plus because of jaco, we have to document a cfg every 8 hrs and also there is this new policy in effect that says we have less than 1 hour to re-assess pain after any type intervention.

so if, i go back and a pt is sleeping, i usually chart, pt resting with eyes closed, respirations even and unlabored with nad noted, but then i have the one that says i never came back to check on them. remember these are my frequent fliers and are known for causing a scene and forever c/o not getting any help. so as the old saying goes cya!

just needed to vent this am before returning to the same pt's tonight

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:rotfl: the patients that drive me nuts are the ones that no matter what you do or try, their pain is always a 10+ and they call on the hour wanting their pain meds and when i go to give it, bingo, they are sleeping and I have to wake them up, ask what their pain level is 0-10 and of course it is always a 10+. give them the meds. go back with in 30-45 minutes, wake them back up to ask what the pain level is and once again 10+:idea:

So much of the time, the pain scale is such bull! I will be in a patient's room changing their bed, they are sitting up the the chair, finishing breakfast, talking on the phone, watching TV, when the RN comes in and asks the pain level. Without putting the fork or phone down, and never taking their eyes from the TV, they sigh, and say "a 10.":uhoh3:

Baloney. I've seen women give birth. Without an epidural. Now, that might be a 10!

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