Ooooh. Someone needed a new one ripped today.
I'm passing meds and a patient tells me another patient needs assistance. I find her standing in the smoking room with a puddle of charcoal-induced poop on the floor around her and covering her legs and feet. Pt seems not terribly concerned by this fact, as she continues to smoke. She just gives me a "what caused that?" and keeps on puffing.
Poor student nurse is nearby - one of us hangs onto the patient and the other grabs some towels, alerts the custodian, and we get her into the shower. Wrapped her IV site, got all the supplies. Pulled tech who had just brought her breakfast up (we'd been on the floor for a grand total of 1 hour) and the tech is irritated that I pull her away to do the shower so I can finish passing meds.
I get questioned, "Well, can't she do it herself?"
No.
"She looks like she could do it herself."
Well, she can't. I need you to do this.
"Well, I'm sure not gonna feel like eating my breakfast after this."
(Afterward, she apologized and said it was clear after she showered her that the patient wouldn't have been able to do it alone. Well, thanks for the update, Mr. Obvious! I think she also sensed my irritation, as I am generally a pretty easy-going person.)
I commented to the charge nurse, "X is really just going to have to start taking my word when I say something needs to be done." Charge said she'd talk to her.
I get very tired of having to explain my requests. It's one thing if I was asking her to do something outside of her scope of practice, but that's her JOB!
OK - feel better now...