Ever had a nurse or doc as a patient?

Nurses General Nursing

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So... how bad was it?

And while you are at it, ever BEEN a patient? How bad were you?

:chuckle

Com'on... be honest!

i was a pacient i had lower gorin pain and they stuck me nine times to find a good vein for an iv and that hurt like hell. once the er doc came in and assed me it took the nurse i had 3 hours to my daluden shot for pain. i was mad after they stuck me for the fith time i had such bad brusies up my arms and on my hands. but overall they said i was one of ther best pacients

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So... how bad was it?

And while you are at it, ever BEEN a patient? How bad were you?

:chuckle

Com'on... be honest!

I had a doctor, and he was from hell. As for me, yeah, I complained a lot because I couldn't sleep. Hospitals are noisy places.

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Specializes in school nursing.

I just finished a clinical rotation at my nursing school. My patient was a retired nurse that had started her carreer in the army nurses corp and saw duty in both WWII and The Korian war. She was very particular about her care, and taught me a great deal. I am very happy to have had the experience. It was my first clinical, and although initially she was hesitant to have me take care of her because she had never been cared for by a student nurse, I was able to win her confidence. I just kept giving her what she asked for, in the way that she asked to be taken care of. I was happy to do this, as I am sure she knows what she wants. I was quite pleased that I had a good experience in spite of her initial hesitation and reaction to my "great paws" as she still calls my hands. She always seemed to be surprised by my gentle touch.

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Specializes in Psych.
I just finished a clinical rotation at my nursing school. My patient was a retired nurse that had started her carreer in the army nurses corp and saw duty in both WWII and The Korian war. She was very particular about her care, and taught me a great deal. I am very happy to have had the experience. It was my first clinical, and although initially she was hesitant to have me take care of her because she had never been cared for by a student nurse, I was able to win her confidence. I just kept giving her what she asked for, in the way that she asked to be taken care of. I was happy to do this, as I am sure she knows what she wants. I was quite pleased that I had a good experience in spite of her initial hesitation and reaction to my "great paws" as she still calls my hands. She always seemed to be surprised by my gentle touch.

Cool

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Terri wrote: I always want to know what they are hanging and why.

Me too, but I've been like that my whole life, not just since I became a nurse! I've cared for a few docs, who were mostly OK, except for one specatularly awful, autocratic old German doc, who routinely paged the Supe for everything - some water, some tissues, change the channel, the food is awful, there is too much noise in the parking lot, and so on.

Same w/ nurses - I love the old school retired nurses. I get them talking about 'how it used to be' and ask about their training. I usually treat them like the fellow professionals they are, talk about how humans haven't changed much, but technology has, and this is how this piece of equipment works, or how we do this now, or about the newer dressing supplied, 'did you know...' etc. Some things ae VERY different, and it is part of patient education to explain WHY not all dressings are changed 3x a day, etc., If they are still actively in nursing, I ask about their field of practice - I'm 60, but I just became a nurse at 52, so I haven't (and won't) have time to work in a lot of different nursing fields.

But w/o fail, the health-care worker patients from hell have been the NURSING INSTUCTORS, who expect the kind of care you can only give when you have just one patient. I'd love tp be able to give that, but that isn't real-world nursing, and I don't think it ever was! Most of them can't remember that, it seems. They are very high maintenance. :banghead:

Savvy

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>snip

About a year and a half ago, I was in the hospital with gall stones, kidney stones, and gastroenteritis (what fun!). The hospital was just slammed, so I ended up in ICU because there were no med-surg beds. Our ER and ICU sort of adjoin and when EMS brought in a cardiac arrest at 0200, they had problems with their defib...I actually drug myself out ot bed to help them...probably scared the heck out of the family to see someone in a gown with an IV running playing with the defib...

I just love it...I can identify but my story isn't nearly so dramatic. I have hemochromatosis, and regularly go to our out-patient center for phlebotomy (other emplyees see me going there and think I'm getting chemo :rolleyes: ), but while I'm waiting, before or after, more than once when they are really busy, I've gotten up and adjusted somebody's IV or switched a transfusion over to saline or something when the pump alarm goes off. I wink at the patient in the treatment room w/ me, but then I pull out an ID badge from my handbag (a spare, so I can use the employee parking lot and come in the back door). I really don't want them thinking the hospital is TOO casual about who does what! And I don't do it w/o asking the nurse(s) on duty 1st!

Savvy

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Specializes in LTC.

At the LTC facility where I work, we have one resident that we all question why she is there. She has her own car there, goes to the country club a couple times a week with her oxygen tank, drinks a few, and drives back. She use to be an RN and has a mini O2 checker on her keychain and goes around checking the "at-risk" patients oxygen level. She has given the nurses a heads up a time or two.

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At the LTC facility where I work, we have one resident that we all question why she is there. She has her own car there, goes to the country club a couple times a week with her oxygen tank, drinks a few, and drives back. She use to be an RN and has a mini O2 checker on her keychain and goes around checking the "at-risk" patients oxygen level. She has given the nurses a heads up a time or two.

I had a guy like that once. He came for a little R&R after a total knee. After his knee was much better he explained he needed just a little more time. We agreed. He was paying cash, what COULD we say?

After a couple of weeks he explained he just needed a bit more time. Again, whatever he wanted.

Finally I had a chat with him. His name was Charlie. I asked him to be honest, what was up. What was the deal? He was doing everything without the need for assist. So come clean... what's up?

He finally admitted he just liked it there at the facility. He didn't want to leave. He boldly told me he was there to the end and nobody was changing that.

This was a guy that demanded a w/c although he didn't need one. Turns out, it wasn't to sit in, it was to push. He could steady himself while walking if he had his w/c. EVERY single morning about 5AM he would wake up, dress up in a 3pc suit and go for his morning walk.

People from all over the neighborhood were coming to visit Charlie with cookies, cakes, pies, etc. He met them on his walks. He would walk little kids across the street. He would stop and talk to just about anyone. The world loved Charlie. So did I.

He was correct. He was there to the end (years) and he died surrounded by folks that dearly loved him as he died.

He was one that I would go to talk to when I just needed to ... talk. When I needed to vent or I was upset, I'd see Charlie. He had these bumper stickers plastered alllllll over his walls. They all said the same thing, "Be Happy, Don't Worry!" I'll never forget the first time he read it aloud to me. I reminded him that I am surrounded by folks that are in pain, some are dying! This is the real world, how the heck can I be happy and not worry?

His response? "Be happy, Don't Worry!"

It literally took years for that to sink it, but it finally did. Charlie was one cool dude. I will miss him for the rest of my days.

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LOL!! No, but she did insist I take mom for a walk around the halls:rotfl:

Did you say 'walk her around the stalls'?:Snow:

Savvy

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LOL!! No, but she did insist I take mom for a walk around the halls:rotfl:

Did you say 'walk her around the stalls'?:Snow:

Savvy

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This story might be off thread... but when I had my daughter my labor partners where my:Grandmotheran Fnp and Nusing instructer, my aunt an RN w/ a phd and a Nusing insructer, my other Aunt an RN who was a Nurse Manager in the facility and my friend CJ an L&D nurse and lactation consultant. My nurse was new and scared to death...my labor partners fixed my Iv, changed out my bags, and did other care. When it was time to deliver the doctorcouldn't be found- My gram said "Thats OK, I'm a liscensed FNP! I can do the delivery!" My nurse just about passed out!

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