Do you ever forget your patient's names?

Nurses General Nursing

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Last night a doc asked me how mr so/and/so was doing. For the life of me, the name did not ring a bell. I felt so stupid. He looked at me and said, "well, if you manage to find him tonight, then maybe you can take care of him". Now this doc is also MY family doc and is usually nice to me. But he caught me off guard, I had only been on shift for about an hour. I am sooooo bad with names. I usually refer to them as a room number, and yes I know that is so impersonal. Anyone else?

Specializes in Emergency.

Very rarely do I EVER remember a patient's name. But I do know where they are in the ER and what's wrong with them and where they are in the treatment process.

I just say Sir and Ma'am a lot.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.

Hell, I'm getting so old and confused sometimes I forget my own name ;)

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.
honey, i forget my own name!!!

same here--that's why they give us a name badge!! :uhoh3:

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Yeah, I forget names. Being an aide and responsible for sometimes 30 patients I have a real hard time remembering first and last names of all 30 in the 15 mins it takes to get report.

And we refer to pts by their room number when at the nurses station, hallway etc so others don't hear that they're neighbor is on the same floor as they are. I don't like putting a number on a pt but I'll do it for the sake of privacy.

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Specializes in med-surg 18 months, respiratory 3.5 year.

This always happened to me, until I started putting all the nurses names at the top of my first page of "brains". I also write down the name of the UC the CNA or NT, the RT and the unit assistant pager number. And in case I forget my own name, I write it in the corner of my paper near the staple, :lol2: that way if I misplace my papers, somebody will know who they belong to.

Rebecca

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Specializes in ER.

Don't feel bad. I have had doctors look at me with a blank stare when I ask about Mr. Jones, or Mr Smith, or whatnot. They do it ,too. We all have our moments, with very few people being the exception.

Yes, I forget names at times...that's why safety rules are so important....such as checking wrist bands and having pt state name before med/procedure and comparing c chart/order. I swear with the fast turnover in our dept. they can all start to run together, particularly when you get pts who have a very similar age,appearance and dx.

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Specializes in Staff nurse.

Many of my pts. are in contact isolation so I have to gown and glove...I may forget their name that is conveniently in my uniform pocket on my cheat sheet! So if it is a first time assessment and I am already gowned, I will introduce myself and look at arm band and ask what pt. would prefer being called, by first or surname or any nickname.

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My eldest will never let me forget the day I called to him by his brother's name, then my husband's, then the CAT'S!! At that point we were both laughing and I said "whoever the heck you are, you KNOW I'm talking to YOU, so do it!" LOL...

Ok, that's hilarious. Had a rough day, but reading this post I heard myself laugh for the first time in hours. :lol2:

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Sometimes I'll go to the Pyxis to get a med out and I'll just stand there for a second not remembering what name to type in. Then I'll remember..."It starts with a B..." and go from there. Sad, but true.

I always do that!

I'm really bad with names. That's when I pull my sheet out of my pocket.

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Specializes in ER/Trauma.

Had a PA call me in the morning about Mrs. XYZ and "can I speak to her nurse please".

I put her on hold and searched through the assignment board before realising she was talking about patient in 683. I sheepishly re-connected and told her it was me.

She says: "Wow! That took you some time. You mean you didn't know?"

I just said "Sorry, but you've got no idea how crazy it's been up here". I felt like an idiot for forgetting my patient's name but I thought she was being silly for making a "deal" out of it.

Thankfully the conversation didn't linger on that subject and moved onto more pertinent things.

Bottom line? I may not have my patient's names at the tip of my tongue and it usually takes the room number to bring my brain back to full speed again.

Don't mean I'm incompetent or dumb.

My eldest will never let me forget the day I called to him by his brother's name, then my husband's, then the CAT'S!! At that point we were both laughing and I said "whoever the heck you are, you KNOW I'm talking to YOU, so do it!" LOL...
Ahhh... ok! So it is not just my Mother who suffers from this! :D
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This is where "sir" and "ma'am" come in. I did not grow up using those terms, but they sure are useful when you have forgotten a name, and just fine here in North Carolina.

Unfortunately, I have slipped up and used "baby" or "sweetie" a couple of times. That's what happens when you spend most of your waking hours with your kids.

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Specializes in PICU, surgical post-op.

I only have 1 or 2 kiddos at a time, so their real names don't escape me. But darned if I can remember what the parents prefer to call that baby today! Doesn't matter if his given name is "Jack", they're sure to be referring to him as "Winston" or "Noah" or something else not related in any way to the name on the kid's armband.

But they're mostly little, so for the most part "lovey" or "bubba" works in a pinch. =)

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