Has anyone ever come across a patient like this? Last night I was caring for 7 patients on my med-surg unit that I work on, and I had this lady who was admitted 4 days ago with electrolyte imbalance which has since been resolved and she is now eating a regular diet and is fully hydrated, and it's looking like discharge time pretty soon, who would put on her call light literally every 5-10 minutes, and the secretary at the nurse's station kept flagging the room for a nurse's aide. After awhile I went in there to give my aide a break, and found that each time she wanted someone to put toothpaste on her toothbrush for her or to stay in there and rub her legs for awhile, or to get her more coffee when she is fully capable of doing these things for herself. She is now strong enough for a shower but insists on a bedbath because she quote "doesn't want to get up". I got her up to the commode, and she told me she wanted me to stay with her because she doesn't like to have to call for someone, and she takes a good while on the commode as do my other patients, so I gave her her call button for when she's through. Eventually she came out and said, "I am paying top dollar for this health care, and I don't care that you have other patients, I should be able to get what I need from you when I need it" Meanwhile we had a man across the hall go nonresponsive even to pain stimulus, and had to immediately be transferred to a more critical floor. My job as her nurse is to help her get as independent as physically possible, not to be her servant. This woman is like none I've ever seen before, and really through me for a loop. Can anyone seriously relate to this?
Hopefully she can be educated on her condition, something along the lines of, "You were admitted for electrolyte imbalances, which have now resolved. All hospital patients are encouraged to do as much for themselves as safety and their condition allow, so as to preserve their independence and dignity. As you are nearing discharge, your condition allows you to be mostly independent at this point, unlike some other seriously ill patients. As your nurse I have continually assessed and reassessed your condition, medicated you as per your plan of care, coordinated your plan of care with other departments and looked after your safety. If there is a specific task where you are having difficulty please let me know so that it can be addressed with your doctor before you are discharged."
And then chart something like, "patient given verbal education on her now resolved admitting dx, independence at self-care tasks encouraged."
Of course she may continue to be demanding, but at least you'll have given her the benefit of the doubt and *educated* her.
That's a great way to handle it. You are educating her and making her take care of herself as she should. All the nurses, etc. should treat her the same way so she doesn't get mixed messages.
Batman24
1,975 Posts
That's a great way to handle it. You are educating her and making her take care of herself as she should. All the nurses, etc. should treat her the same way so she doesn't get mixed messages.