welcome to the hilton...please dont forget to tip your waitress

gyn/onc-RN · Feb 6, 2004

We had a patient that wanted a private room and we were waiting for housekeeping to clean the room across from hers (she could see it) and when they had not showed up yet, she threatened to leave AMA (SHE WAS A NURSE) So when she got one of those little surveys...she said if SHE had been her nurse, she would have gone and cleaned the room for her patient. Our manager told us that if that ever happened again, WE were expected to clean a dirty room!!! AS IF!! As if we had time!!?? So we all complained that we were not housekeeping etc. My manger had the nerve to produce this Creed or Policy from guess where? The freaking HILTON. Apparently one of our attendings got a copy of it when HE stayed there. It is a little card that the staff there carries around with them with these rules like #1. Be polite. I am guessing what they were, I was so irrate at the time, I forgot what they were. But they were all condescending of course. Then she posted it in our lounge!! I said to her "I am not a BellHop" and she said "Oh yes you are, you are a bellhop, housekeeping, anything you have to be!" We were all pretty upset about this. That is when it occured to me that all the praise we get from her for being good nurses only meant we were good at keeping patients happy by meeting their demands and making the hospital money. Nevermind the clinical skills, hard work, etc.

Funny story...a MD came out of a pts room after spending 10-15mins with her and then came to the desk to tell a new RN that the pt now needed to go to the bathroom. Of course. She asked him why didn't he take her if he was just in there, to which he replied "You see this MD behind my name? Do you see that RN behind yours?" Just then, another experienced RN who never takes crap from any of them spoke up and said "Lets see...MD, MD I guess that stands for Major D***Head!!" The whole station just cracked up laughing! He got mad at her and said he would have her job and she got right in his face and said "You didn't "freaking" hire me and you can't "freaking" fire me!" The manager at that time (not Ms Hilton) stepped out of her office and yelled for MD to come see her. She told him to never talk to her nurses that way again! We miss her...

What really gets me is when the smokers come back from smoking and get into bed and then call me "Can you come shut my door/blinds/lights off? I don't even go in. I tell them "Honey, if you can walk downstairs and smoke, I KNOW you can get back up and do it yourself". They don't ever ask again. And when patients don't want to walk/cough/get up/wear scds/etc I tell them why they need to etc and then I say, "I want you to know that everytime you refuse to walk, we document that we told you to, and why, so when you get a blood clot that goes to your lungs and kills you, it will be your fault". Or when they don't cough and get a temp them pneumonia, I tell them they are going to need xrays and blood cultures etc. "So to avoid all that JUST COUGH!!!

My other favorite line is "I know you don't do this everyday, but I DO and this is what you need to do to get better!" Then the lightbulb goes off that I do know my job and I have seen every possible outcome and "gee, I guess so, you're the nurse" comes out.

Can I just mention the family members that are DOCTORS?? How they think that can read charts, call attendings at home from the room, call me from 5 states away etc???

We had one whose daughter was a chaplain at our own hospital and she didn't like the private room she already had so she went looking in all the rooms to pick one for her mother. Then when they didn't switch her asap, she said "I guess I'll have to THROW MY WEIGHT around here as chaplain!!!" Then her medical knowledge as a previous dental hygentist would come up regarging her mothers HYSTERECTOMY!!

When my grandmother was in the hospital I would visit her on my breaks, but I never once hung out at the nurses station, never demamded her chart, never called the MD for stupid things. You would think that as much as nurses hate other nurses (as patients, family members) that there would be a mutual understanding or respect when they are out of their element. I am not a cardiac nurse, so I kept my nose out of her care. You know the kind, because we always throw that in during report. "Her daughter is in the room and she is a NURSE". Great.

Thanks for letting me vent. I think I might be able to go to work tomorrow!

kate930 · Feb 6, 2004

Before we lose sight on the humor of this thread... I just want to say that I'm sure everyone has appreciated the stories, because they can relate and laugh WITH you.

Also, while some folks are just a lost cause, I do want to say that I do know that most patience are not themselves when theya re hospitalized, especially for extended (or frequent) periods.

My sister was hospitalized for 9 weeks for a complicated triplet pregnancy. She's typically a pretty nice person, and easy to get along with. But, after a few weeks of being confined to a hospital bed, tests done around the clock (NSTs every 6 hours), meds every couple of hours, etc.... she was plain tired, physically and emotionally. She even says when she looks back on that time, she says that psychologically she was going nuts.

I also know that her husband visited everyday after work, and was incredibly supportive. The hospital even allowed him to stay over with their two children a few times.

By the end of the 9 weeks, she was a monster. She said she never felt so deprived of human contact, never got to sleep more than an hour at a time, food was horrible (restricted diet), the meds surely took their toll (Mag Sulfate), and just being pregnant with triplets and never knowing what tomorrow held.

There were a couple of days when she just couldn't stand hospital food (restricted diet at that!) another day, and refused to eat. Not her typical behavior, but I can only imagine after so many weeks how everything was on the edge for her, and how out of control everything must have felt.

I look back, and laugh, because there is no doubt in my mind that those nurses thought she was the biggest *****! I just couldn't imagine who wouldn't have been after that long, under those circumstances.

Don't believe she ever yelled for someone to fetch her coffee or pull her up in bed LOL, but I do know she was "yelled" at for getting out of bed to do things she felt ridiculous for asking someone to do.

Bottom line, if there were adequate number of nurses to do the job to begin with, most of this wouldn't be an issue! :)

mattsmom81 · Feb 6, 2004

I know people feel a loss of control in the hospital. I've been a patient myself, along with family members. The sad truth is people today use just about any excuse to be rude and demanding to 'service workers' and this is how many folks view nurses. ...as 'service workers'. Hospitals push this image.

I find the 'service requests' especially ridiculous in my ICU because we have such critical things to deal with. The families are the worst.

How about answering a call light to find a daughter pumping her breasts..tries to hand me the breast milk and expects I will store it for her ('You have a frig here where you keep your lunch right??') 'Oh and I'll call you when I want you to fetch it later when Bubba wants to eat." :rolleyes:

Also had family ask me to watch their kids while they go down for a smoke. 'Grandma is too tired to watch Bubba and I need to leave...you don't mind do you nurse??'

Or visitors who ask the docs and nurses if they can get them off the phone for a minute.....(ICU desk area phones) to make personal calls. 'It's too noisy in the waiting room." :rolleyes:

Little old folks are kinda cute with their "fix my covers' and "I'm all tangled up" lines...they just seek attention.

zudy · Feb 6, 2004

Good points, Kate and mattsmom. And I have had hundreds of pts that were so nice, brave, that I was amazed.

On the flip side, I had a visitor this weekend in ED, (her dad was the pt) she had her infant with her, and she got mad at me because we didn't have the certain formula that her baby took.(We don't have peds in our hospital.)

Another pt didn't want the juice or water to drink, she wanted me to go buy her a coke with MY money!

:rolleyes:

seeley · Feb 8, 2004

Remember everyone...we were taught that we are there to do for the patient ONLY what he/she cannot reasonably do for themselves at that time. We were also taught to remind them of that fact (as diplomatically as we can muster it) if they need to be reminded of this fact.

We are NOT!!!!!! waiters/waitresses

seeley:)

ktwlpn, LPN · Feb 8, 2004

I just don't UNDERSTAND what some people are thinking....I had the daughter of an Alzheimer's patient that used to drop her mother off at the LTC every Saturday am.The parents would share his meals..It really became a problem when the mother's dementia led to incontinence and the combative resident stopped recognizing his wife and started getting combative with her.Social service and the DON had fun with that family...Same thing happened in the hospital a few yrs ago-the patient was a retired doc-CTD and a full code.Major stroke and the family reversed his advance directives-he had a tube feeding and could not tolerate more then 20 cc's an hour...all systems shutting down...It was awful.The wife was dropped off every am by the daughter whom continued on with her day of shopping.I lost count of the number of times we ran the wife to the ED-chest pain more then once,increased confusion,weakness-you name it...She never should have been left there alone in her condition..

coastin52 · Feb 9, 2004

Originally posted by gyn/onc-RN
...My manger had the nerve to produce this Creed or Policy from guess where? The freaking HILTON. Apparently one of our attendings got a copy of it when HE stayed there. It is a little card that the staff there carries around with them with these rules like #1. Be polite. I am guessing what they were, I was so irrate at the time, I forgot what they were. But they were all condescending of course. Then she posted it in our lounge!! I said to her "I am not a BellHop" and she said "Oh yes you are, you are a bellhop, housekeeping, anything you have to be!" We were all pretty upset about this. That is when it occured to me that all the praise we get from her for being good nurses only meant we were good at keeping patients happy by meeting their demands and making the hospital money. Nevermind the clinical skills, hard work, etc....

Is this supposed to be some kind of retention tactic?

Sounds to me like an incentive to find another place to work...I'd be talking to your manager's boss. It might be worth while to bring along a copy of your job description.

Good luck!

mattsmom81 · Feb 9, 2004

Originally posted by ktwlpn
I just don't UNDERSTAND what some people are thinking....I had the daughter of an Alzheimer's patient that used to drop her mother off at the LTC every Saturday am.She should never have been left there alone in her condition..

That family took advantage of you guys for sure, and I would have had to get APS in on it too...it was a regular occurrence.

Had a rather sad case where the caregiver/wife of an Alzheimer's patient had a massive stroke...EMS brought the couple to my ICU, not knowing what to do with him. All family was out of town, it was middle of the night, and I didn't want to call the police to take him away, so I let him sleep in a recliner in her ICU room . He kept trying to leave, we'd chase him down and bring him back...what a wild night!! His son flew in 10 hrs later and altho I got a big hug, it was not an easy shift with 2 ICU criticals and an Alzheimer pt to watch too.. :eek:

FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I · Feb 9, 2004

Waaaaa,haaaa,haaaa,boooo,hoooooo,hooooo. :scrying: Sniff, sniff:sniff: Those big fakers are gonna make it bad for us who really are suffering. Snort, snort:bluecry1:

ejm99 · Feb 14, 2004

I'm not a nurse yet....but have spent my share of time at the hospital. Between having 3 kids, a dh that was mis diagnosed w/ a brain tumor and my middle son who has some funky pulmonary issues....i've seen ALOT of strange stuff..

I think it takes a rare person to be a nurse...and still there are good ones and bad ones....just like there are good patients that truly appreciate your work and UNDERSTAND your efforts to help them in their recovery and those that just don't give a rat's patootie....

I've had some BAD nurses..... the one that SCREAMED at me for asking her for the 200th time to PLEASE call my dr for my epidural order "I gave birth w/out ANY meds....29 hours of HARD labor....if I can do it so can you"....

Great glad you could and did...but I don't WANT to...get my #%$$#% dr on the phone or I'll call him myself! We by the way "missed" my epidural window... my dr won't do one after 7cm....don't ask me why...?

Or the ones in L&D that decided I could be their guinea pig for not ONE student nurse but THREE of them to do their first IV's on when I was there at 8mos for rehydration due to a stomach virus....they knew none of them would get me...I'm a "roller". In fact after FIVE tries by FIVE people I said NO MORE...get me a NICU nurse....and she did it first try. I don't mind giving them a shot..that's how they learn..but jeez...ALL of them????? lol..

then there was the sweetie in Postpartum...not just after my first, but after my 2nd and my 3rd...how's that for weird..the same PP nurse in a span of 10 yrs! She was wonderful....and then again I'm not one to lay around and not do things for myself....heck I was even too embarassed to let her do the uterus massage....and once she showed me how..did it myself....and the kind nurse this past time that when I hit 3cm was like "so...you want your epi?"....HECK YEA!

and even Dr's.....it's the same thing....there are great ones and crappy ones...

mine....again the same OB for all 3 of my kids knew me well enough to know that when I said SOMETHING IS WRONG...decided he better not go grab lunch after all....and waited around just to be sure...even though nothing was SEEMINGLY wrong at the time...that decision saved my youngest sons' life when he went down the tubes. A dr that believes in you is something rare....and then there's his partner...the one who spend 15 minutes wiping the smudges off his new jag in the parking lot while the whole hospital went crazy trying to find him for an emergancy section....MY dh ran out and told him there was a problem and he was being paged all over the hospital (luckily my son's hosp room window looked out right on his parking spot!)...oh and he carried a purse...ok..he calls it a "sachel" whatever..it's a purse! Pair that w/ his HORRIBLE toup and well he is a freakin walking side show.

My point is ....there are always bad apples in the bunch...and there are always more good than bad and as long as we can as healthcare professionals do what we can and keep our patients (no not CUSTOMERS) best interests at heart then we've suceeded whether THEY think so or not.

FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I · Feb 14, 2004

That doctor sounds like he should be in Psychiatric Nursing and then there's his partner...the one who spend 15 minutes wiping the smudges off his new jag in the parking lot while the whole hospital went crazy trying to find him for an emergancy section....MY dh ran out and told him there was a problem and he was being paged all over the hospital (luckily my son's hosp room window looked out right on his parking spot!)...oh and he carried a purse...ok..he calls it a "sachel" whatever..it's a purse! Pair that w/ his HORRIBLE toup and well he is a freakin walking side show.

My point is ....there are always bad apples in the bunch...and there are always more good than bad and as long as we can as healthcare professionals do what we can and keep our patients (no not CUSTOMERS) best interests at heart then we've suceeded whether THEY think so or not.

1OldDinosaurRN · Feb 16, 2004

i'm afraid i have to confess....i've gone down and bought them the cokes!!! :rotfl:

good points, kate and mattsmom. and i have had hundreds of pts that were so nice, brave, that i was amazed.
on the flip side, i had a visitor this weekend in ed, (her dad was the pt) she had her infant with her, and she got mad at me because we didn't have the certain formula that her baby took.(we don't have peds in our hospital.)
another pt didn't want the juice or water to drink, she wanted me to go buy her a coke with my money!
:rolleyes: