I've had this problem over the past month or so and it frustrates me. Patients that are stationed near the nursing stations so they can be watched, but instead of pushing their call bells, they scream "NURSE" over and over again. The current one yells about every 3 minutes. If no one goes to check on her (she's near the nurse's station so the nurses can look in on her) or come fast enough to suit her, she starts screaming all the louder.
Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but quite frankly, the yelling that these patients keep doing gives me a headache.
How do others deal with patients like this? I'd really love to tell them to shut up, but of course, I can't. I have to be nice.
I'm not assigned to this patient, so I don't know if there are any meds ordered for her.
A nurse I work with who has been nursing for 20 years said that she would tell the elderly demented women who were yelling, "Shhh! You'll wake the baby!" That seemed to turn on some deep internal maternal reflex, and they would settle down. Didn't work for men, though.
Oldiebutgoodie
LOL. That is genius! I'm definately trying that one!
I have not been assigned to take care of this patient, so I don't know what is and isn't ordered. I do know that the nurses and aide on that side are taking care of her promptly as I've seen them go running when she starts yelling. I've come home from work for the past 2 nights with a headache from the yelling. I've been at the end of my hall (10 rooms away) and I can still hear her yelling. I've had complaints from my patients about her yelling and being awakened because of it.
A nurse I work with who has been nursing for 20 years said that she would tell the elderly demented women who were yelling, "Shhh! You'll wake the baby!" That seemed to turn on some deep internal maternal reflex, and they would settle down. Didn't work for men, though.
Oldiebutgoodie
Ah yes. Don't wake the baby!
It does work, most of the time. However occasionally you'll get the old woman who'll screech "TO HELL WITH THE BABY!"
Specializes in Med Surg, Mental Health & Addictions.
I'm assuming the patients you are referring to are probably confused or a danger to themselves if they are being placed close to the nurses station and probably are unable to use the call bell do to their mental status. I work mental health and addictions which is made up of a dementia unit, inpt adult unit, inpt adolescent unit, and obs unit. We see our share of confusion, yelling, and aggression. Of course we always try verbal redirection, then medication usually Haldol, Benadryl, Ativan, Geodon, or Zyprexa, and then seclusion or restraints if needed. BTW, we have no call bells on our unit for safety reasons unless there are circumstances where it is necessary to give the pt a call bell.
I understand why the dementia patients yell. Some of them you can orient to the call light every 15 minutes and they will still forget how to use it. It is the completely oriented patients that get me. Many of them are being manipulative because they know someone will "come running" just so they won't wake up the other patients.
I had a 50 year old walkie-talkie I admitted the other night. She was completely stable, should not have been admitted by the ER doc and was discharged to home after her doctor made his morning rounds.
Anyway, I had this patient up to the bathroom and told her I was going to go get her the extra blanket she had requested and I would be right back. I got about three rooms down the hall when I heard her yelling "Nurse, nurse!" I run back to the room thinking my completely stable, non-medicated, steady gait, A&Ox3 patient had possibly fallen in her bathroom. I get back to the room to see what happened and she tells me "This room is too cold." I had upped the thermostat, at her request and in her presence, about two minutes before she got up to go to the bathroom. I explained to her that just like her furnace at home, our heaters won't warm the room instantly. It was going to take a few minutes.
Thirty minutes later, you guessed it, the room was too warm and she wanted the extra blanket removed. She played that game all night long even though after the first time I only adjusted the thermostat by 1 degree the rest of the night. Each time she would yell for the nurse despite repeated instructions to use her call light.
I was so happy when I came back to work the next night and saw that she was gone.
The confused yellers don't bother me. They can't help it.
It's the alert and oriented ones that can be irritating. They're perfectly capable of using the call light, but they know that yelling will get someone in there much quicker than the call light. Heaven forbid they should have to wait two minutes for a refill of their diet Pepsi, when they can get it done NOW if they yell.
What bugs me even more are the family members who come out into the hall, look all around, spot someone in scrubs, and ask them to:
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
there is very little that can be done about the yellers. you'll just have to get used to it! but i have a lot of sympathy for a cardiologist i worked with years ago. one of his patients was constantly screaming "oh god. help me god. oh god, please help me," and so forth. he had been sitting at our nurse's station making phone calls and listening to the yelling. finally, he got up, went to the call light system and dialed into her room.
"mary, this is god," he said. "i want you to be quiet now so that the other people can sleep."
Have this alot in ER with seniors anxious to be treated, then anxious to get back to their living spaces ASAP. Have several that will hit the callbell, then call maisy maisy, nurse nurse, help me help me.....usuallly after the first few times....the secretary won't even answer the bell(only on non emergent patients).
No amount of coaxing, hand holding or talking to them stops this behaviour. Several of them are frequent fliers who are known to all. I am starting to think the nursing home sends them for a trip due to this behaviour. I know they are scared, but it does wear on your nerves after awhile. In addition, we usually have everyone's family members come get you to let you know that they are calling. AS IF you couldn't hear!
We had a pretty confused patient on our floor several years ago. Yelled for the staff all the time just to have company. Over the week-end the staff taught her the head nurse's name and to call it for help they responded to it. When the head nurse came back Monday she found the patient calling "Connie! Connie! Come here, Connie!" over and over. Oh, yes, I know, I hang my head in shame at having found it funny.
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SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN
10,263 Posts
And when the short-term memory goes they don't even realize that you were just there.
Frustrating.