Ever had a nurse or doc as a patient?

bjlee · Dec 2, 2005

I had a cardiologist s/p CABG. He was a "treat". on Post-op day #2 he demanded to talk to a pulmonologist to schedule a "bronchoscopy and possible biopsy". After some encouragement with his incentive spirometer, a touch of morphine, and a talk from the cardiothoracic attending, he was breathing much better. I hope he takes that experience back to his practice with him.:)

rach_nc_03 · Dec 2, 2005

I had a hip arthroscopy yesterday- outpatient surgery, but i had some interesting moments...

1. anesthesiologist came in to explain intubation in very simplistic terms. she started talking about using 'medicine to help make you relax', and i said, 'what meds, specifically?' she hesitated, then i mentioned that i'm a nurse, and she immediately switched into medical terminology- in exactly the same tone, though, like i was a three year old. guess that's just the way she talked! :chuckle

2. 2nd anesthesiologist asked how i did with postop pain meds, and i said i had better experiences with dilaudid than morphine- so he said he'd write for fentanyl and dilaudid, which helped tremendously, as i get very nauseated with morphine.

3. OR nurse came in to the pre-op room to talk to me, and she walked me through some of the positioning and whatnot that would happen after i was put under anesthesia...they had to dislocate my hip for the procedure, so i was a little apprehensive. she was so nice and relaxed, it helped me to relax.

4. after i got my versed on the way to the OR, i got chatty. i just remembered a few minutes ago that i was interrogating the CRNA about something while they were trying to keep the O2 mask on me before they started the propofol. How embarassing! :imbar

5. my first nurse in the pacu was great- my pain was 9/10, and she kept pushing the PRNs as frequently as they were ordered until she got me down to a 6/10...then she left to transfer another patient, and i got this really annoying nurse who refused to give me anything else...brought me my percocet and said, 'that should start to work in about 5 minutes'. Hello? Tablets? Then she brought a chair for me to be trasnferred into, lowered my siderails, closed the curtain, and said i needed to edge myself over to the side of the bed and dangle my legs. Then she left! Hey, i just had HIP SURGERY! how about some help? luckily, the first nurse came back, helped me, and gave me more meds.

overall, i think i was an okay patient....i was irritated with the nurse who wouldn't give me pain meds or help me get up, but everyone else was great.

ErikaRNC · Dec 2, 2005

Within 6 months of graduating from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Nursing I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma stage III (of IV) and admitted to UNMC.

I think I was a great patient to the nurses (I didn't even ask for a shower curtain that was missing in my shared bathroom because I didn't want to bother my nurses with something so trivial; yes I showered without a curtain), but I certainly was (and still am) aggressive and demanding of the different physicians that rotated through the cancer service.

Because I not only was a nursing student at UNMC, I had worked there as a phlebotomist and so I knew the ins and outs of getting my most recent lab results before any of my doctors did. Hey -- it's MY life.

I loved my main Oncologist Dr. Armitage ("Call me 'Jim'") who was wonderful beyond expectation in both intelligence and compassion. But another Oncologist, whose named rhymed with the title of a current movie at the time "The Wrath of Kahn" butted heads with me without shame. I refused to let him touch me! One of the times "Dr. Kahn" was the admitting doctor when I needed to be admitted for being "hot and low" (high fever with pancytopenia) "Dr. Kahn", with his entourage of med students told me I needed to have a Lumbar Puncture. I let go of all civility and made it unmistakenly clear that I would not allow him to perform the LP on me. I guess I may have embarrassed him in front of his idolizing students, or the students may have made up their minds that I was one of those horrific "difficult patients". I would only allow Dr. Armitage to do the LP. "Dr. Kahn" said that was a mistake because Dr. Armitage hadn't done an LP in a while. Fact that may be, but I was steadfast. Dr. Armitage did my LP without incident as the med students watched a now very pleasant patient complying by taking the fetal position to allow the insertion of a spinal needle into the sterile spine and aspirate the brain-bathing fluid.

I remain a staunch supporter of patient empowerment -- even if it means a patient decides to use his/her empowerment to defer decisions to others.

~ Erika RN,C

Warpster · Dec 2, 2005

I would have been a peach after my appendectomy had they not left me unmedicated for 10 hours after the surgery. You kniow, if she's sleeping (the anesthesia off) she can't possibly be in pain.

I used the experience whenever I worked in a surgical wards. I never woke anyone up for a sleeping pill, but I sure woke them up for pain meds!

bamiam · Dec 2, 2005

I've been the patient and I loved it. Once they found out that I was an RN they passed it on to all the staff and I received great care! Truly makes a difference. But, then again, I was a very considerate and appreciative patient.

CatLVNRN · Dec 2, 2005

Of all the nurses and doctors Ive taken care of, not one ever gave me a hard time. I just went in, and did my usual thing, and I sort of pride myself that no matter who you are, you all get the same care from me.

I was a patient last January, having had an emergency c-section. I assume the nurses looked at my chart and saw G6, P6, and figured I knew what was what following a section, though my youngest was 8, and I had never had a section before. I had an epidural, and my 7pm-7am nurse (the first nurse) came into my room and started an IV ABT, holding my plain IVF, and when the ABT ran out, she never came back in until the morning, just before her shift ended. (I was OUT thanks to the wonderful world of epidurals)

Blood was backed up in my IV line and she PUSHED IT..

Needless to say, I told her it hurt, she said it was ok, and she forced it, and I felt a POP! I screamed and she decided to call the doctor and ask her if she can DC it and therefore dc my epidural! Less than 24 hours after my section. Great...

The next nurse was nice and made she I was kept comfie. BUt then at 7pm, I must have been assigned to the same nurse, because she NEVER CAME INTO MY ROOM her entire shift!!

Long story short, I didnt tell them I was a nurse, because I didnt want them thinking I knew everything, when it had been to long for me to remember a lot, and I had never had an epi, or section. I could go on and on, but Ill leave it at that lol

My doctor (who also delivered my 4th child) was horrified.

yadda_yadda_yadda, LPN, LVN · Dec 3, 2005

I've had several physicians & nurses as patients. Patient teaching certainly goes smoother.:thankya: Best of all, the medical professionals I've cared for tended to take an active role in their recovery by asking questions & speaking up. I've always enjoyed them, myself.

pannie · Dec 3, 2005

MamaTheNurse - thank you, I'm very blessed. Twenty years ago the survival rate was abysmal and chemo primative compared to today. Every day is a gift.

jndm1966 · Dec 3, 2005

I've worked in LTC for 10 years and I've had several patients who were retired RN's. It's very interesting. In those days, nurses wore white and nursing caps. They had metal bed pans and glass syringes and mortal and pestles (sp). They did total patient care and backrubs and delivered babies. They experienced patients with plagues and fevers that kill. They have lots of stories to tell.

ByTheLake · Dec 3, 2005

I must have really been stressing about it because the day shift charge nurse was right there to console me..." Honey, Don't worry about him... this morning he peed in his denture cup!"

:rotfl: Wow, that's funny! Much more effective that assurances that he puts on his underwear one leg at a time ;-)

Still in nursing school now, in my 2nd clinical, I had an anesthesiologist as a patient. He was so nice and laid-back, it was a great experience. I was nearly floored, though, when he was asking me questions about his care, because he really didn't know - he was in for something that was just totally outside of his specialty. So, we both had a little giggle about the little nursing student teaching the anesthesiologist how to do this thing.

Resqrn28115 · Dec 4, 2005

I have had many RN's and MD's in my care. Most of them have been very pleasent as pt's, and are very wise especially the mature one's.

I also had the oppertunity be a patient in the ICU I work in (had a Type I DeBakey dissecting aortic anyurism) :idea: , that went the whole length of my aorta). Sugery went well had to be opened twice, but my nurses and MD's were acceptional very professional and caring and my discharge education was much easier for them.

Thanks for letting me share.:wink2:

Headhurt, ADN · Dec 4, 2005

I've taken care of numerous docs and nurses...not one problem out of any of them. I did take care of a PA once (he had CF and all that it entailed). He would check his own blood sugar every hour (with his own machine), then he started demanding insulin every time he did it, adjusting the dose to what he thought was acceptable. I told him that his insulin was ordered AC/HS and I would not be giving it to him just whenever he asked for it. He told me that he was friends with his endocrinologist, and would say it was okay. I told him that the endo would have to come in and discuss this with him. Then, the PA decided to gun for "World's Biggest A$$ Award" started yelling that he was a PA, and he knew his body better than anyone, and who was I to question otherwise. I told him that while he probably did know his body better than me, he most certainly was not practicing under my license. Well, the on-call happened to be on the floor at the time, and entered the room to aid in my defense. What ensued was a shouting match between doc and PA that could be heard from all the way on the other end of the hall. The outcome: patient did not get insulin whenever he wanted. His wife was an NP...she was a peach as well.:uhoh21:

The biggest problems I have had have been with family members of patients who have some sort of medical background. A nephew of one patient ranted at the desk about something really dumb, and announced that he was a doctor (turns out, he was a veterinarian).

Another patient I took care of had a wife who was not only "dinosaur nurse", she was also a nursing instructor (and from what one of her former students told me, not a very good one). The patient was on dialysis and slated to go early in the morning. The wife called and demanded that he get breakfast before he go. I told her that they would give him breakfast in dialysis lab. She said that was unacceptable and demanded he have dialysis in his room so he could eat. I told her it wasn't warranted, and he would be going downstairs. The patient had also had toe amputation. During his stay, she would routinely unwrap his dressing, let it "air out", and re-wrap it with the same dressing. Surprisingly, he ended up with a horrible infection and ended up having his whole foot amputated. She was a real cow.

When I am a patient, I try not to let it be known I am a nurse, and when they find out, I just keep quiet and let people do their jobs. The last time, I was in the hospital, I was getting stitches in my hand in some small town ER. The doctor was asking me questions when my mother blurted, "She's an RN for a large city hospital." To which the doctor replied, "So you already know everything then!" I guess this was the one time I did behave like a hefer because he proceded to put stitches in areas that weren't numbed, then couldn't understand why I was unleashing a tirade laced with profanity. He broke the sterile field at least a dozen times, dropped two suture kits which I was ultimately charged for, couldn't figure out how to operate the cart and almost dumping me on the ground, then left my hand looking like a pound of raw ground beef with sutures in them. It was horrible, and I got charged $1300 for this little adventure. I don't think I behaved badly because I was a nurse (I think anyone in that situation would be just as upset), but I'm sure the staff attributed my behavior because I was one.