Nasty Patients

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Do you ever get patients that you just cannot stand? I had a guy the other day who had a very unfortunate situation. He was 44 years old and never took care of himself. He came in with a really bad pneumonia. It was so bad that it could not be cleared up and they ended up having to remove the entire lung. They gave him a trach. He came back to our floor after a couple of days in the ICU. His room was in direct line of site of the nursing station. He would call on his call light and we would all answer him immediately and page staff to go into his room. If no one came in within 3 minutes (I timed this on my watch) he would start banging on the bed rails. After about three days of this I got really mad at him. I went in there and told him that I called someone to help him immediately when he rang his call light and that banging on the rails was not going to get his needs met any quicker. I told him to stop banging on those rails. I told him that the only emergency situation that qualified for banging on the rails was if he was bleeding to death, otherwise, lay off the rails. I felt real bad for this guy, I really did but he got on my nerves so bad.

travel50

224 Posts

Specializes in LTC, geriatric, psych, rehab.

We get these type people at the nursing home with some regularity. Last one is a good example. Early 50's, brain injury from a MVA as a toddler (so everyone should feel sorry for him), on the call light constantly, requires 2 to get to a toilet (but walks in his room when he thinks we aren't looking), wants the nurses to rub lotion (any lotion) on his member every few minutes (no sore there), wants the inside of his thigh rubbed b/c he has a rash (no one can see it), wants the aides to get a rag and gently wash his butt ("Oh, yeah, right up in there, oh, yeah, oh, that feels good....followed by an erection), no one pays attention to him, no one wants to help him, on and on and on. When I found out this was going on (about 20 hrs post admit), I had a "small" discussion (one sided) with him. My nurses were not to rub him anywhere. His hands work. Only male aides would be answering his light from then on, only males would give him a bath, etc. He threw a fit. Threatened to leave. I told him to go ahead. He did. I signed him out AMA and notified the doctor. Across the hall is the opposite...man same age, very, very sick and weak, won't ask for anything, never complains, tries to smile despite his weakness. Folks are falling all over themselves trying to do anything they can think of to help him.

Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.

Never be afraid to apply "limit setting" techniques when they are called for. You can even document them in the patient's record.

Lorie P.

754 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.

i can so relate! had this one pt 39yf that was esrd with hemodialysis, frequent flyer type.. every hr on the hr she was on the call bell wanting any and everthing she could get. she would call for her phenergan cause she was nauseated, plus bring me a diet sprite. the it was the benedryl cause she was itching, then it was ativan cause her nerves were bad.

yet at the same time i would go into her room, she was on the phone( cell) saying how terrible she felt, but once the door was closed you could hear her laughing and carrying on like someone at a family get together.

i couldn't wait for this pt to leave. mind you she was getting her phenergan im:yeah: she didn't care, would just roll over while still on the phone and point to her big rear-end. after about 3 episodes of this, i decided to use a larger needle,:D a # 18 gage , had another nurse go with me to give the injection, the other nurse stayed just outside the door, she could see the pt, but pt couldn't see nurse. so i go in, wash my hands, put gloves on , do my 3 checks and pop her in the left buttock. she never once moved, kept talking on the phone, never said thanks.

no sooner do we get back to the nurse's station, bingo! here goes her call-bell. the nurse that went with me answered and then started laughing while covering the call-bell phone.

get this, this pt called and wanted to see her nurse cause she thinks i scratched her with my finger nail after giving her her shot:chuckle. i had gloves on, used a 18 gage needle which she didn't feel, yet my finger nail scratched her!!. un freaking believable!:banghead::banghead: my nails were extra short due to the fact i don't like long nails!

had to give that pt to the other nurse, cause if i had gone back in the room, i would have lost my job plus my license!

have had other nasty pts but hse really %*%*% me off about the finger nail scratching her!

mochabean

411 Posts

I've had patients who were quite independent but put more time and effort into sending text messages all day than trying to wash themselves up. What ever happened to having self-respect?

Atheos

2,098 Posts

Never understood why the patients that are the worst off are always the nicest and those with nothing wrong are PITAs.

Hmmm....

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I can handle a rude or demanding patient.

However, it becomes overwhelming when the family members are disrespectful, aggressive, unrealistic, hateful, or loud-mouthed. If I could get away with it, I would tell these people to go to hell and to take their sorry butts where the sun doesn't shine.

RN1982

3,362 Posts

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

At my old job, we used to have a frequent flyer, nasty old man who came to inherit a large heap of money that he refused to share with the rest of his family. Rude and disgusting were two words I could describe him with.

Rude: The patient he was cohorted with was a GI bleed patient with active bleeding. You all know that special smell they have. Rude old man decided to tell the other patient how disgusting the smell was.

Disgusting: He would always lay in bed with his legs bent up and his balls hanging out.

travel50

224 Posts

Specializes in LTC, geriatric, psych, rehab.

Well, TurnLeftSide,

that gave me a laugh, which I sorely needed after today. How many times I've seen that "legs bent us, balls hanging out" position!!!

allnurses Guide

ghillbert, MSN, NP

3,796 Posts

Specializes in CTICU.

Yes, nothing like a nice view of testicles in the morning...

We have a horrid patient at the moment who calls me "the thing"... she's a charmer. I've only ever been totally polite to her, but she hated me on first sight and it hasn't improved since. Luckily she's an outpatient now so I haven't had to see her for a few months. Horrible manipulative witch.

RN1982

3,362 Posts

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I always try to bring humor into a conversation.

balls, balls, balls.

Lorie P.

754 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.
at my old job, we used to have a frequent flyer, nasty old man who came to inherit a large heap of money that he refused to share with the rest of his family. rude and disgusting were two words i could describe him with.

rude: the patient he was cohorted with was a gi bleed patient with active bleeding. you all know that special smell they have. rude old man decided to tell the other patient how disgusting the smell was.

disgusting: he would always lay in bed with his legs bent up and his balls hanging out.

had those type too! not what i wanted to see balls at 3am or any other time!

had a pt once, he was 400+lbs and would lay with his legs open like a baby does and would never cover up, went in one morning and threw the covers over him and stated" i am sick of seeing you like this, you don't see mr. b( in the next bed) doing this, no one thinks it is cool, sexy or whatever you think it does for us. act like a grown man and not a child" he covered up after that!

takes all kinds to make the world a unique place!

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