Update on Gross Out Co-Worker

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Last week she came into the nurses station and urinated while she told us something that was going on with a patient. We were shocked...I'm not talking a little dribble...pant leg was clinging to her leg with wetness. She left work and didn't come back the rest of the night.

When she came back the next day, we talked to her, suggesting disposable briefs (I hate using the word 'diaper' with an adult). Her response was that if she wears them, her pants won't fit because she lost so much weight she threw out her chubby pants (they are already bulging, pantyline cutting an outline). She is apologetic, but quite frank about her 'accidents', as if they are a fact of life that we all just have to deal with.

Didn't even get to approach the subject of her foul gas and B.O.

I think she must be under some kind of delusion about herself. It's simply bizarre. She seems to think that she is a little vixen, that some of our male staff has a crush on her (they say no way). She has even commented that since she 'looks so much younger than she really is, she would be willing to model for the hospital billboard. (she is 56, and looks every bit of it). Now, I am certainly not one to feel that heavy people can't model---I think it's great, in fact...but totally aside from her size, her saggy, disheveled, stinky presentation makes it unlikely that she is model material. To be fair, I am angry...angry that she is so inconsiderate, angry that she is not taking gentle cues, and frustrated at her---so I may be being more harsh than necessary.

But I doubt it.

Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.
have to agree there- thank god for MONARC SUBFASCIAL HAMMOCK roflmao.

So does that mean we are all being kept in bladder suspension now?

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

this post amazes me.

After reading all the posts in hereand how barbed and nasty some of the responses are, just amazes me. She obviously needs help.

What really amazes me is that most of you are sympatheyic to drug abusing nurses in other posts. your sympathetic to nurses with other mental disorders that dont offend your sensibilities and need to take mounds of mind altering meds just to get by, but they should be allowed to be nurses. Your sensitive to nurses in chronic pain who cant even get by without taking excessively large amounts of narcotics. Some of you were even sympathetic to those who didnt waste their narcotics but kept the waste. And you all cant even begin to realize that this poor lady has problems and needs help, not derision and nasty comments. This is about her needing help and not how offensive she is to you personally.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
this post amazes me.

After reading all the posts in hereand how barbed and nasty some of the responses are, just amazes me. She obviously needs help.

What really amazes me is that most of you are sympatheyic to drug abusing nurses in other posts. your sympathetic to nurses with other mental disorders that dont offend your sensibilities and need to take mounds of mind altering meds just to get by, but they should be allowed to be nurses. Your sensitive to nurses in chronic pain who cant even get by without taking excessively large amounts of narcotics. Some of you were even sympathetic to those who didnt waste their narcotics but kept the waste. And you all cant even begin to realize that this poor lady has problems and needs help, not derision and nasty comments. This is about her needing help and not how offensive she is to you personally.

And how many posts have said over and over (and over and over, and over and over in the PRIOR thread about this) that she needs help??? How many posts have offered suggestions on how to help, on both threads about this person??

Do not assume that some are not sympathetic to her own situation, however i'm also sympathetic to the situation that the co-workers are in as the result of the physically unhealthy environment she's creating that they didn't ask for, yet have to deal with! :nono:

Management (if they are not already aware) needs to be involved. Maybe HR as well. Help this poor woman. I know the repeated nastiness tends to diminish one's compassion, but she needs help, medical and maybe psych. If she appears this way to you, how must she impress the pts.?

Specializes in Emergency.
this post amazes me.

After reading all the posts in hereand how barbed and nasty some of the responses are, just amazes me. She obviously needs help.

What really amazes me is that most of you are sympatheyic to drug abusing nurses in other posts. your sympathetic to nurses with other mental disorders that dont offend your sensibilities and need to take mounds of mind altering meds just to get by, but they should be allowed to be nurses. Your sensitive to nurses in chronic pain who cant even get by without taking excessively large amounts of narcotics. Some of you were even sympathetic to those who didnt waste their narcotics but kept the waste. And you all cant even begin to realize that this poor lady has problems and needs help, not derision and nasty comments. This is about her needing help and not how offensive she is to you personally.

You can't help anybody that doesn't want help.

I was thinking that there is a definite mental disorder happening here. A person (professional person) pisses their pants when at work and continues to do so? Its inappropriate human behavior. Sure this can happen to anyone, but what is concerning is the persons response to the issue.

You might want to mention to management the risk for increased falls (both patient and staff) with wet floors. Falls equal money, whether it's increase length of stay for patients or injury/disabilty for staff.

oh that is so gross! how can a person live like that? even the pioneers used rags!

She sounds really sick to me. That being said, it is very disruptive. If she was having seizures or Tourette's at work they would terminate her because it interferes w/ her work performance. This does too. I don't know how you work there. Yes---she needs help. That doesn't include having her work w/ you guys and the patients. She is not performing her job if her hygiene is so completely out of whack. What in the world do the patients/families think of her? You need to go to admin. It would be different if she had incontinence issues wore Depends, smelled yucky for a few minutes and excused herself to get cleaned up. She is out of control. I can't believe admin.'s lack of concern. Serves them right if she pees herself, slips, and sues them for workmen's comp!

Specializes in CV Intermediate, M/S, tele, PCU, ortho.

HOW IN THE WORLD could someone not bust out laughing while she was still talking to you with pee dripping down her leg. I just couldn't handle it myself.......I either would be frozen with my jaw open or I would have busted out laughing.......there is NO WAY! How can she return to work? You know hospitals are GOSSIP CENTRAL! That is SOOOOOOOOOO SICK!

Homegirl needs to sneak back under that bridge she's from with the other trolls and graze on some more grass for fiber.........

J/K that was so wrong.............but seriously YIKES it's time for a BLADDER SUSPENSION! god someone should feel sorry for her and do some pro-bono work if they can stomach the stench during the procedure................yes, we need 75 hippocleanse bars for ms. stink a dink.

how about everyone pitch in 1-2 dollars and buy 1 set of scrubs for her, a neutralizer body spray, socks, little make-up, etc. Put it in a nice little basket and give it to her. i know it's hard to work with stinky's . but try to help her if she'll allow. she too must feel bad .:imbar

Specializes in A myriad of specialties.
I wonder why she couldn't be let go for abandonment? I don't always understand management. We've had some very incompetent nurses in the past who have been fired and then management turns around and arranges a job for them in a doctors office. It's not like they were trainable. They were given every chance and then some to learn but continued to make the same mistakes time and time again to the point of being very dangerous. There have been other very competent nurses fired for i.e. absenteeism and they are not help in anyway....just goodbye. It beats me.

Since the OP said that the offender is NOT a nurse but instead is some kind of therapist, I doubt "abandonment" would be an issue....one of the few things that would not be an issue!!! I'd receommend contacting the administrator with the complaints. I liked one poster's idea of referring her to this thread on allnurses.com.

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