Hello Mr. VIP! I'm your servant nurse for the night!

[SICU Queen]

So, yeah... VIP patients. I had one for the last two nights and let me tell you how much I wanted to pull my hair out.

Old dude, post exp. lap. w/ lysis of adhesions, stable to the point of taking PO, one maintenance IV, lotso runny diarrhea (15 times the first night with 5 total bed changes :uhoh21: ), you get the picture... sorta kinda COULD be ICU material but not really - but his son is a MAJOR bigwig for our hospital so he got to stay for the better nurse/patient ratio.

He was CONSTANTLY on the call light.

Some of the reasons he called me:

"I need a sip of water." (Cup within reach on bedside table, he wanted me to hold it to his mouth.)

"I need you to pull my blanket up ONE INCH. It's a little chilly in here."

"Can you turn the thermostat down? No, not to 65, that's too much. How about to 66."

"Move my arm up on the pillow."

"Can you turn the thermostat up? No, not to 70, that's too warm. Go to 68."

"My room needs to be cleaned. Get some wipes and clean the area by the window, and get the floor mopped." (This was at 2am. I refused, as I was busy with my second, REAL ICU patient.)

This was ALL FREAKIN' NIGHT, both nights... and my second patient was truly sick (bivad, drips, lines, etc.).

Add to this the CONSTANT harassment of all the doctors and residents who were wanting to brown nose, so they came by out of "concern"... The poor dayshift nurse had FIFTEEN pages of BS orders and looked like she wanted to cry when I got back the second night. He drove her insane as well.

I cannot stand a "VIP" desgination. ALL of my patients are treated with the same diligence, compassion, and respect... and it irks the crapola out of me to be made to feel like I have to serve someone or I'm going to get in trouble. This old fart made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that the "head of nursing" would be coming to see him to see how his care had been. GRRRRRR... administration just perpetuates this superior attitude and I can't freakin' stand it. BY the time my shifts were over I wanted to stick a straw in his eye.

Have any VIP stories? How do you feel when you're told that a patient is a VIP?

[RNforLongTime]

Some patients/families wouldn't be happy if Jesus Christ was their nurse for a shift, they'd STILL find something to complain about.

And if the VIP is so important then that person should only have ONE nurse all to him/herself.

[angel's RN]

Here is my to cents worth. A patient is a patient, is a patient, ect. (you get the picture). I have had my share of "special" patients, but I do not treat them any different than any other patient in my CCU. In our facility, the director has told us that "every patient is considedred a V.I.P." In fact, our administration has had "dupes" to be amitted to ICU or CCU to make sure that all of our patients are treated as "special" patients. (CCU won over ICU-YEAH!!!!):yeahthat: Luckly, during the week, we have a Nursing Assistant (great gal, too) that does the "fluffing and pampering", so that we can actually do nursing work. Maybe one day weekend people (me included) can get an assistant to help us!!

Thanks for listening. 's RN

[RNDreamer]

i've also been known to take it a step further.

"don't you know who i am?"

"yes sir. do you know where you are today? do you know the date today?"

or, a favorite of mine: "i'm a close personal friend of dr. jones." (the ceo).

this was an email (forward) sent to me from a friend:

ticket agents response it happened at the denver airport. this is hilarious. i wish i had the guts of this girl. for all of you out

there who've had to deal with an irate customer, this one is for you. an award should go to the united airlines gate agent in denver for being smart and funny, while making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably deserved to fly as cargo.

a crowded united airlines flight was canceled. a single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. he slapped his ticket on the counter and said, "i have to be on this flight and it has to be first class."

the agent replied, "i am sorry, sir. i'll be happy to try to help

you, but, i've got to help these folks first, and i'm sure we'll be able to work something out."

the passenger was unimpressed. he asked loudly, so that the

passengers behind him could hear, "do you have any idea who i am?"

without hesitating, the agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone, "may i have your attention please," she began, her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal. "we have a passenger here at gate 14 who does not know who he is. if anyone can help him find his identity, please come to gate 14."

with the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man

glared at the united agent, gritted his teeth and swore, "f*** you!" without flinching, she smiled and said, i'm sorry sir, you'll have to get in line for that too.

[firstaiddave907]

i wonder what makes some of these pt's VIP stauts ???

[ShayRN]

i wonder what makes some of these pt's VIP stauts ???

I believe it is a direct relationship to those that know George's (Washington), Abe's (Lincoln), and Ben's (Franklen.) He is the one on the 100.00 bill, right? I don't know him so well, myself:lol2:

[firstaiddave907]

thats a good one shayRN very funney. :rotfl:

[KellNY, RN]

Very famous piano man "B.J." got himself into a stupid drunk driving accident and was airlifted to the hospital my Grandfather was at. Both were patients in the ER, guess who got all the attention-my grandfather who was literally dying (died about 3 hours later) or poor B.J. who broke his wrist and cursed out all the staff?

Go ahead-I'll give you one guess....:angryfire

[Batman24]

Very famous piano man "B.J." got himself into a stupid drunk driving accident and was airlifted to the hospital my Grandfather was at. Both were patients in the ER, guess who got all the attention-my grandfather who was literally dying (died about 3 hours later) or poor B.J. who broke his wrist and cursed out all the staff?

Go ahead-I'll give you one guess....:angryfire

It's terrible that bad behavior was rewarded once again. What is most upsetting is that this happens in a hospital where lives are at stake.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

I had a celebrity as a VIP once. He was actually a really good patient - very cooperative and compliant. His biggest request was a private room (which he was paying for) and to have his door closed. When it came time for him to do his PT in the hallway he didn't have a problem with doing it when others were around. That was my good vip experience.

I had a non vip once yell and scream at me because they (patient and wife) wanted their discharge instructions. I just so happened to be in the midst of a code at the other end of the hallway and they stopped me when i was runnung to gey something from the pyxis. I apologized for the wait and explained that i would be with them as quickly as possible but that i was attending to a code. When i made it back (about 20 minutes in all actuality) they were livid and reamed me out for making them wait telling me they were going to write letters and tell my supervisor about me. I told them that it would be really great if they informed my supervisor that I prioritized a critical situation over a discharge and that it would show good judgement. They didn't have much to ay after that.

[CHATSDALE]

i have dealt with all kinds...some who have been waited on all their life and expect it as their right...we had some who had money or insurance for a private duty nurse but pd-rns are not allowed in icu

we had this one a pulmonary md who must have wante to be an instructor everybody learned so much during his stay..people who are busy in thier own work appreciate the time limitations of other people

on the other hand we have had some people who had never earned an honest dollar in their life and they were so tickled to have someone at their beck and call that they tormented everybody, every shift

one thig that you can count on...the good, the horrible they will all move on one way or another

[tropicalnursingsir]

i love this thread! i also love rubyvee's post on her verbal jiu-jitsu tactics w/ vip pts. it reminds me of the famous fdr "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

pts, families, vips, management, administration, various therapists, etc. they all compete for the precious commodity of a nurse's time during a shift. i guess what i've come to realize, is this...

the best way to be intimidated by any these people is to allow yourself to be intimidated, to forget your role, duties, limits and authority as a nurse.

through experience, i've come to learn that we as nurses cause harm when we do things that people are capable of doing for themselves. for example, when someone is capable of asking for something frivolous, like 'help me with a sip of water, or pull up the sheet an inch for me' i have to reply... 'i need to see if you can drink water on your own, and assess your bed mobility. nobody stays in the hospital forever. it is our job as nurses not to do for you what might be easy for us, but rather to allow you to do these things for yourself as best you are able. we need to assess with every interaction to help you take care of yourself as you would at home, or start arranging for the help you will need as soon as possible.'

i particularly like that longwinded speech, because it sets a good tone for the therapeutic atmosphere that the hospital is and should be. i hate the perception that pts mistakenly get that they are in the four seasons. it is harmful to their recoveries (even though there are 'hospitals' out there that i feel, mistakenly, cater to such 'clientele').

i wish there were more consistent messages in healthcare that people need to help themselves simultaneously as they expect to be helped. the financial and physical resources are continuing to dwindle. sure, everyone's a vip, but that means something. no nurse or patient can afford the useless cost of pampering one at the expense of another's recovery and rehabilitation, or worse yet, life and limb.

[kcrnsue]

This happened a while back at a small rural hospital (no such thing as vip status). One outpatient blood transfusion wrote a complaint. Something about being at a room far away from the nurses station (only one available), slovenly aid (ok, I am an r.n., and I introduced myself as such, and true, I don't iron my uniform, but it comes out of the dryer nice and wrinkle free) I also found her a fan because the room was warm. Ice water was supplied and vitals were taken as per protocol. She stated she was a prominent member of the community and should have had better care. Another incident was some bigwig from a local bank. He went into dt's two nights in a row before his wife admitted that he might have a drinking problem. (He was admitted with an unrelated diagnosis).