Ever had to take care of someone you knew and/or didn't like?

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Right now, I'm a nursing student and I will soon be doing clinicals at the hospital near me. I know a lot of people and I think that I might come across someone that I know/are friends with OR someone that I DON'T like.

Has this ever happened to you guys and how do you deal with it?

**Can someone edit the title to "Ever had to take care of someone you KNEW or didn't like?" Darn typos!

Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.

You will ALWAYS come across... patients you don't like, families you don't like, managers you don't like, interdisciplinary team members you don't like, colleagues you don't like.

We are professionals.

Never lose sight of that. Suck it up, and do your job.

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Specializes in Case Manager.
You will ALWAYS come across... patients you don't like, families you don't like, managers you don't like, interdisciplinary team members you don't like, colleagues you don't like.

We are professionals.

Never lose sight of that. Suck it up, and do your job.

Yeah, you have a point. The point I was trying to get across was...

Let's say I have a patient that I had a "bad encounter" with x years ago... (like victim of a violent crime or something like that [assualt, theft, etc...]).

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Yeah, you have a point. The point I was trying to get across was...

Let's say I have a patient that I had a "bad encounter" with x years ago... (like victim of a violent crime or something like that [assualt, theft, etc...]).

I think several people have suggested that it would be appropriate for you to request to change the assignment...and the chances of this happening are probably slim, unless you are in a very small community and you have been victimized on many occasions.

Part of being professional and mature means getting past "not liking" someone. You might not get along with everyone, but try to find other ways to categorize your feelings and solve problems with people rather than just putting a "Dislike" stamp on their foreheads and ignoring them. To me that behavior is reminiscent of high school clique culture (read: immature). You have to find a way to work professionally and with respect with lots of people you may not "like."

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You can "what if" forever . . . what if your patient was Charlize Theron? . . . hmm, how 'bout that one!!:D

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Specializes in pediatrics.

With nursing comes a maturity, right? And your attitude definitely can determine whether or not a complete stranger will get a long with you. It's great if you like your pts, and if you don't, oh well.

I try not to be emotionally involved with my pts... now, they can get under my skin. And if that changes how I am able to take care of them, I request a different pt assignment.

Either way, good luck this semester. Do your best, be professional, and you'll be fine. :)

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And if this comes up often, and you don't make an effort to deal with it in a professional manner, imagine your surprise when your job evaluation mentions it or this is listed as contributing to you being let go. After so many refusals to provide care, the employer would have solid ground to question your ability to be professional.

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If this thread is just going to turn into "yeah, but what if..." after anything any other poster says, you already have made up your mind whether you admit it to yourself or not and there isn't a lot of point in mental somethingorother.

If you are a pro, you will do the job. If you CAN'T do the job you will make sure they are appropriately taken care of by someone who can and take the consequences. If "people will know that you don't like them" I imagine you are going to have issues with patients pretty frequently, whether you knew them prior or not.

Like many things in life, you don't have to like it, you just have to do it.

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I think there is a difference between not liking a person, or that person has committed a violent crime against you. If there is a documented criminal history with that person and you, I would request them to have a different nurse, and I'm sure your manager would understand.

I think as far as liability issues go, I think it would be an issue to have a nurse take care of their assailant.

But if you just don't like them for whatever reason (non violence related), I think you need to be the professional.

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Specializes in ER.

Ex-spouse, ex-inlaws, the person that beat me up in high school...took care of them all and they asked for me next time they came in. Do a good job. Treat them like you would any other patient: professionally and compassionately. And just in case it makes you feel a little better, think about the fact that you are now the nurse and they are the person in need. It makes it a little easier to deal with; you're in the power position now.

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I don't think I could take care of my ex-husband unless he was in a situation where he could not speak. Maybe if he was coding I'd bring the crash cart to his room, but trust me... he wouldn't want me caring for him either. Anyone else that I knew on a personal level I would ask if they felt comfortable. I don't want to take care of anyone who wouldn't feel like they couldn't be honest or wanted me to see personal parts of their body. That's their right.

Really, to me a butt is a butt, but my next door neighbor may not feel that way.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

I just ran into that issue, and considering the type of clinical I was in (I'm a student) and the relationship I had with the patient, I excused myself from patient care with the approval of my clinical instructor. In fact, my CI and the primary nurse completely agreed that I shouldn't work with that patient due to privacy issues.

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In a clinic where I work as an aide, there is a patient that I know from real life, and that said a lot of mean things to me (she is a friend of my ex-in laws, and she hates me with passion, but never asked for another aid, she just tries to pick on me at every possibility). I was just keeping calm, and doing my job not daring to ask to switch assignments since I thought it is not professional (and frankly speaking, she made me cry after the shift more than once).

Then, one of the aides noticed how she treats me, asked me privately what's the problem, and said that we are all people and that she would happily take her instead when she comes to the clinic. She also asked me to take care of certain patients that she didn't have particularly good relationships with. The world is so small. :)

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