Did I miss the part about the hospital being the drive-thru?

[SteffersRN87, BSN, RN]

I need to vent!

I work OP oncology, and many of our patients do not like to wait. I can understand - anger from the cancer diagnosis and frustration with having to spend so much time in the hospital. However, I always warn patients ahead of time and give them a ballpark estimate of how long their visit will be.

This elderly man came in today for 3 units of RBC's and plts. He comes in frequently and is always a crank. I had him about 2 months ago and was greeted with, "well you are already an hour ahead of the nurse the other day," and then proceeded to ask me what I do with the blood after I draw it and wanted me to tell the lab to hurry it up. When he came in at 4:30pm, we had not yet received his orders (he came directly from the MD office). I finally got orders and got a type & screen and ordered his blood. I told him that the type & screen would take around an hour to run. I called the blood bank after an hour and was told that he had an antibody and would need further testing. So I told him this and that it would be another 30 to 45 minutes. He kept coming out to the desk and asking where I was and if anyone had heard about the blood yet (at least every 10 minutes). I finally got the call and sent a req to the blood bank. Now, it took them a 30 minutes to send me the plts and he was yelling at me. When I told him that I had sent for and it was out of my hands, he stated "well then what good are you," and told me nurses or worthless. I kept my cool! I hung his platelets at 6:00pm and of course he had a PICC so it took almost an hour for them to infuse. I didn't leave work until 8:45pm - I had some charting to do and I needed to finish revising a policy. I walked by his room and he yelled out, "nurse, where the hell is my blood?" I kindly said, "I finished taking care of you at 7:00pm so I'm not sure." His response was, "well it's 8:30, why are you still here?" I didn't say anything and just walked out.

C'mon! I usually only take a 15 or 20 minute break during my 12 hour shift so that my patients and coworkers do not suffer (and many of my coworkers do the same thing). Neverming the fact that I rarely leave before 8pm when working 7a to 7p. I just wish we didn't have to be professional so that I could speak my mind. And furthmore, draw your own damn blood and deal with blood bank if you think I'm worthless. Oh and when the doctor tries to kill you - try saving your own ass!

OK - now I feel slightly better! Good night all!

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Although people are sick, and I understand their frustrations, there are still some limits we should be placing on them.

I do not tolerate being verbally abused by ANYONE.

There are ways to do this and still be professional.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

I'm professional, but none of us are paid to be someone's doormat. Please, please make sure you document this behavior. Folks like this are the first to sue or file complaints, and if you and every nurse who has this moron document the behavior, it will help if he does file a complaint.

God, what rock do some of these people crawl out from under? And can we get some C4 on that puppy? Maybe an airstrike?

Sharing your pain...

[SteffersRN87, BSN, RN]

Ohhh I document like it is my kind of fun! I was taught to do this because our patients sometimes wait 2 hours or 3 hours before they receive their chemo because of waiting for labs to result and the pharmacy to mix and for the blood bank to type & crossmatch. I always document what time the patient came in, when I got orders, when I draw the blood, and any calls I make. It's insane that we even have to do all of this!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I find it highly interesting that the people who are rude to nursing staff are normally the same ones who will become silent, pleasant, obedient, and conforming when the doctor walks into the room.

By the way, I have the utmost respect for oncology nurses. Anyone who can deal with that particular patient population has got to be a strong nurse.

[PAERRN20]

I feel your pain. It is the same in the ER. Patients come in with a sniffle and expect to be bumped to the front of the line. Sure, I'll stop doing compressions on this guy in VTach so I can wipe your nose and fix your socks!

[PAERRN20]

Also forgot to add one of my favorite quotes- This is not Burger King. You can't have it your way. You get it MY way or you don't get it at all! Soooo true for hospitals and the "customer service" mentality!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

hope you feel better now that you've gotten that off your chest!

i did oncology nursing for several years before i went into the icu. it's hard work, physically, mentally and emotionally. you guys rock!

(although as i remember it, the typical cancer patient is much nicer than the usual heart failure patient, many of whom seem to be from the ghetto and damaged their hearts with ivda.)

[chicookie, BSN, RN]

Its hard dealing with people that are like that. No matter what you do, you can be Miss Suzy Sunshine and still they act the same. It can be so frustrating.

I know how you feel! Get yourself some ice cream you deserve it! :)

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

So sorry you got treated that way! I can't stand when patients think they can say whatever the heck they want, and get mad at things out of your control.

Platelets take about 30 minutes and blood maybe 2-3 hours/unit. If the labs took an hour to run and he spent some time in the waiting room too, I imagine he was there 8+ hrs, so I can definitely see his frustration as well.

[NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN]

What frustration? This certainly wasn't the first time he was in the clinic to receive blood. He knew the drill. He's sick, but it's still not okay to be an ass. He always had the option of walking and taking his chances of not being admitted to the ED. Imagine how long he would have to wait then.

[canigraduate]

I agree with the other posters. Doesn't matter who he is or how sick he is, common courtesy should be the rule, not the exception.

I tell people who treat me like this that their behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it. If they keep it up, I call a manager/supervisor to deal with them. I don't get paid enough to deal with that crap. Usually, by the time the supervisor walks over, there is no more problem. I have even had a few apologize.