Getting fired by a patient/ family member

[DesiDani]

Why were you fired? And what is your average? If you are fired often does that make you a bad nurse? Has a nurse NEVER been fired before? Is it harder for the replacement nurse? Are the expectation heightened? Have you ever hinted that a patient can have another nurse?

(I'm including CNA with nurses)

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

I think I've only been fired once. I was never able to do anything right for the patient's son, and the last straw was when I told him I had to wait for an MD order before giving a new pain medicine he'd just requested. This was inpatient hospice, night shift, and he told me, "If you won't help my mother right now, then you don't ever need to be her nurse again." Okey-dokey, dude. I don't think he had any other issues with staff, so I guess he was just not a fan of mine. *shrug* Haven't been fired since, though I have wished to be at times, LOL.

I had a patient actually fire the other nurse on the floor just today, so we did a last minute trade. The patient is rather anxious but overall has been very polite to me, and even apologized for inconveniencing me - they won't let this other nurse do anything for them, even deliver water. I get the impression it's a major personality difference, though he will discuss it privately with my manager; I don't want or need to know specifics. The nurse I'm here with today is kind of louder, social, in your face, full of information and opinions, which can be overwhelming to some people. Good nurse and knows their stuff; I think this patient just comes from a place where silent and stoic is professional and anything else is decidedly not.

Sometimes patients just don't like you for whatever reason, even if you did nothing wrong. Sometimes we make one misstep and the patient is done with us entirely. Sometimes there is something to be learned from repeated firings. It's very case by case.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I have never been fired yet, but wished I had in several cases.

[amoLucia]

Some pts I wish I could have fired myself!!! :))

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

For some reason I seem to inherit patients when other nurses get fired. As others have said, there are a few that I wish would have fired me! I think being in critical care some of my coworkers are very much "you will, you must, it's this way, etc", I tend to offer a lot more choices (within reason) for how the shift is going to go. There aren't too many things that I need to be confrontational about, and I tend to joke around a bit with people, usually they respond well. I'll take a grumpy old man any day. It's the young whiny ones that push my buttons. 

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

Last time I got fired was by an adult patient's mother who thought I wanted to "knock out" her son by offering him a PRN Benadryl (or something) to help him sleep rather than for "agitation" since she said he hadn't slept for 3 days.

Generally, I consider myself the 'bad' nurse. I let patients refuse 4am vitals (or postpone till later). Want ativan and dilauded together, fine. Want your 10pm meds at 8pm because that's when you sleep, no problem. I try to work with patients to make them less anxious and have their needs met. Not fired too many times, but usually glad I "dodged that bullet".

[Floor_Nurse]

I can tell you of another nurse I knew who was targeted. First of all, he was dispised for being a male among so many female nurses. Then, after being late for work once or twice, he let his nurse licence lapse by just one day (of course, he got taken off the floor until he got it renewed). From then on he was treated badly, and there was obvious retaliation by the supervisor, like, assigning him to two different units at the same time (a lot of walking), or assigning him to the most difficult group of patients (the fighters). It took a while, but they eventually got him tossed out the door. It was very hard to prove that he was singled out but when a supervisor doesn't like someone, they might push their power.

Actually, he wasn't a bad nurse, just had some bad breaks and should have been more timely with his nurse licence.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Generally, if it's the type of patient (or family) who is into "firing" nurses, the nurse is better off for being fired...

[cardiacfreak, ADN]

I have only been fired once and it wasn't a nursing job, I was working in my husband's detail shop, he fired me!  

[Sour Lemon]

I’ve been fired one time that I can recall. The patient requested not to have me back because I started her continuous passive motion machine late. It was a high acuity ortho unit, I was a new grad, and I had eight patients. My personal policy was to medicate them for pain before attempting the CPM machine, as very few people could tolerate it otherwise.  I was soooooo offended. Still am! 
I can deal with just about any type of patient, because my buttons are not easy to push. I usually get the patients who fire other people. 

[DesiDani]

4 hours ago, Sour Lemon said:

continuous passive motion machine

Is that a SCD machine?

[DesiDani]

I don't think some misunderstood my question.

 

One patient literally fired every nurse on the unit (in one shift).  When the CN finally coerced a poor RN to deal with him.  He didn't even want that RN. The CN had to tell him he FIRED everyone else.