Hey y'all LTC people. I have a resident that I absolutely can not stand. It would not be going too far to say that I hate her as a person but I still treat her with respect. She is 50 years old and rude as can be, has no patience, her family is taking pictures of every thing and everyone in the nursing home and has hired a lawyer. Now she makes demands and says "I am recording everything and you have to do everything I ask, when I ask otherwise I will call my lawyer'.
She is completely 'with it' and I understand all about feeling the need for control, but I really, really, can not stand her. Management is all up in arms about needing to cater to her and her family's whims so they will reconsider the lawsuit. I am thisclose to putting in my notice, but I realize that if they plan on naming me in the suit, quiting will not stop them.
When patients/families threaten to sue, I generally just tell them that I if they feel the care is substandard, perhaps they should go elsewhere. If they specifically threaten to sue me, I just say, "Well, then I guess it's a good thing that I have malpractice insurance."
The purpose of my post was mostly to vent coz this woman is driving to the edge of madness. The admin seems to have endless patience and give insurmountable amount of leeway to this woman and her family. The CNAs don't wanna work with her anymore coz she calls them names and threatens them is they don't do something how she wants.
I know I will always run into these kind of people at all facilities, so that is why I am considering a specialty that has minimal patient (and family) contact.
When patients/families threaten to sue, I generally just tell them that I if they feel the care is substandard, perhaps they should go elsewhere."
I love this! I don't work in LTC, but I tried this recently with a drug seeking patient. I was very kind, professional, but offered to take out her IV and get her the paper (AMA form) so she could go to another hospital. Sweet as pie after that.
The purpose of my post was mostly to vent coz this woman is driving to the edge of madness. The admin seems to have endless patience and give insurmountable amount of leeway to this woman and her family. The CNAs don't wanna work with her anymore coz she calls them names and threatens them is they don't do something how she wants.
I know I will always run into these kind of people at all facilities, so that is why I am considering a specialty that has minimal patient (and family) contact.
Totally Understand.....
It's OK to vent; that's what we're here for.
I work in LTC also & there's several residents I don't care for.
Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.
When I get a lawsuit threat, especially if the resident has mild to moderate dementia, I pull out my iPhone and pull up a sweet, adorable picture of my two young daughters, ages 5 and 7. I will say very nicely, "Well, I hope you don't do that, because I'm working very hard to be sure you are well taken care of. And I need this job. My two little girls are depending on me." And then I show them the picture. In my experience, the person takes a moment to enjoy the picture, acts a bit sheepish, and leaves me alone.
It's mostly family that drives me nuts. We have one family member who lives at the facility almost 24-7 (she has no life) and hovers constantly. If we're 5 minutes late for care she flips out... heaven forbid one of the other residents who doesn't happen to have a PIA family gets care first- Mommy must be first in line, all the time, NO MATTER WHAT. This really rubs me the wrong way because it's so unfair to everybody else and I can't say that I get along with this woman- the dislike is mutual and she has wrongly accused me of abuse a couple times (vague stuff like "she's rough"). The next time she does it I am refusing to go into the room ever again- it will mess up their "schedule" but oh well. I'm not going to lose my job for nothing. The daughter breathes over your shoulder during care and every time you touch this resident she jumps and yells... as though the resident has a landmine in her stomach. Every day is like a game of Operation. I am not rough, I am just tiny and I can't lift the resident with my pinky finger and sorry, I don't have a magic wand! The last time she accused me a coworker was standing in the doorway (unbeknownst to her) and said there was nothing rough at all. There are a couple other girls who she's accused too, and we are all the ones who don't cater to her every whim. Every time this resident farts or yawns she runs into the hall in a blind panic and follows people into resident rooms demanding you attend to her mother. Then if you refuse to leave a fall risk on the toilet to go into her room and "look the resident over" while soothing the panic attack, she throws a tantrum. She is more of a resident than her mother is... too bad we can't call in a few prescriptions for her!
Many many years ago, I worked as a CNA. There was this one lady who would always yell out "Nurse, nurse" all day long. The sound of her voice just grated on my nerves so bad. I finally decided to go to another job because I couldn't bear to hear her voice anymore. You are not going to believe what happened next. I applied for a new CNA job and got the new job. Quess who else transferred over to my new nursing home job? I couldn't believe it. I was at my new job for 2 days and then that lady with that awful voice arrived.
Hahhahahahahahaa! Fuzzywuzzy - I'm sorry, I know you're venting your frustration, but it was hilarious! "Everytime she farts or yawns the daughter runs into the hall in a blind panic" - freakin' priceless! You painted a comical picture even though it stems from agitation. :rotfl:
Yah, I've got a couple of patients that I don't particularly care for. One is a jerk - and I'm not trying to be mean. He makes fun of other patients, calls them names, and calls the female staff "gorgeous or beautiful". He even hit one of the other patients! He also insists on shouting out "nurse! nurse!" until someone checks on him instead of using his call bell (although the call bell sound is equally as annoying). Once after weeks of "nurse! nurse!", I went up to him and said "_____ (insert pt's name), my name is "J" (insert real name), if you need me, please call me by my name instead of shouting out nurse!". He looked at me all wide eyed and shocked, but it worked!
I couldn't believe it. I was at my new job for 2 days and then that lady with that awful voice arrived.
wooh, BSN, RN
1 Article; 4,383 Posts
When patients/families threaten to sue, I generally just tell them that I if they feel the care is substandard, perhaps they should go elsewhere. If they specifically threaten to sue me, I just say, "Well, then I guess it's a good thing that I have malpractice insurance."