How do you feel about having other nurses as patients?

TriciaJ, RN · Dec 11, 2016

I've never had a problem with a nurse being the parent of one of my patients (I work in pediatrics). I DID have a difficult time once when the parent of my patient was an adult surgeon at the adjoining hospital. He basically refused to speak to the nurse about anything beyond when the next dose of tylenol was due and when the doctor would be rounding.
He also asked the attending physician if there was a special parking lot for the doctors that was closer than the visitor lot, and if you needed a badge to access it.
He also went behind the nursing station and started digging through files and papers, trying to find a blank sheet of paper and a pen so he could try to draw a diagram of his child's surgical repair (which he ended up drawing wrong).
He also tried to use the computer station in the patients room to chart on his patients, despite the nurse kind of NEEDING that computer, you know, to do their own work.
Most frustrating, the attending physician catered to him and would give him test results without also sharing them with the bedside nurse (before the computer report would come up), so the nurse ended up looking clueless through no fault of their own.

How could his child get the best care with the nurses being constantly undermined like that? He couldn't take a back seat to his own child's needs; it still had to be about â€‹him. "Look at me - see how important I am!" Pathetic.

Leonardo Del Toro, RN · Dec 11, 2016

You better do a good job, they know exactly how the tune goes

Apples&Oranges · Dec 11, 2016

I really like to know if my pt is an MD, PA, RN, even nursing assistant - it changes the way I speak to them because they have a different level of understanding about how hospitals, rounds, routine meds, pain meds, etc, work.

I never speak in a patronizing or condescending way to anyone (unless they are a j*ck*ss,) but knowing the level of medical/nursing education or experience the patient and/or family has does change the language I use.

One of the things we were taught in school, and hopefully have ascertained through experience, is that it is important to "speak to your audience."

For instance, if I were in for DKA, I wouldn't want a nurse telling me that my "sugar was out of whack, and we need to fix it, honey." I would be like, "What's my f'ing BG, pH, K+, and bicarb?!? How much insulin are you giving me, how are you titrating that drip..." Right?

On the other hand, if I was having my first baby, and something was going wrong, I wouldn't remember whether early, late or variable decels were good or bad in the panic of the moment. My L&D friends would be barking orders, I would be freaking out in the corner wanting someone to review basic OB nursing with me - here's what's already happened, here's what's happening now, this is what's going to happen in 5 minutes...

Having a person who is familiar with medicine in any capacity can be intimidating, and I just like to know who I will be interacting with. I feel like it allows me to give better education to all involved.

Sour Lemon · Dec 11, 2016

Quite frequently, I find myself caring for patients who are nurses or who are former nurses, or those who have family members who are nurses. I have to say that these people make me a little more anxious than those who are not and those who do not have any family connection to nursing. When I see RN after a patient's name, it almost makes me intimidated, even though I'm an RN myself.
Although I'm not sure what, exactly, causes this anxiety, I think part of it has to do with feeling the necessity to perform to perfection. Not that I give substandard care to non-nurses, but I feel like I have to be especially mindful when I'm caring for a nurse. After all, they know what is going on, and will likely know if I'm doing something wrong or am missing something.
Does anyone else have this issue?

I find it somewhat intimidating- especially if the nurse has a lot more experience than I do. Nothing is worse than having a doctor as a patient, though ...even though the ones I've had have been super nice.

NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Dec 11, 2016

Quite frequently, I find myself caring for patients who are nurses or who are former nurses, or those who have family members who are nurses. I have to say that these people make me a little more anxious than those who are not and those who do not have any family connection to nursing. When I see RN after a patient's name, it almost makes me intimidated, even though I'm an RN myself.
Although I'm not sure what, exactly, causes this anxiety, I think part of it has to do with feeling the necessity to perform to perfection. Not that I give substandard care to non-nurses, but I feel like I have to be especially mindful when I'm caring for a nurse. After all, they know what is going on, and will likely know if I'm doing something wrong or am missing something.
Does anyone else have this issue?

Nope...can't say I've ever had that problem. When receiving report on a patient, what he or she does for a living matters not to me unless his or her title has a direct bearing on the issues at hand. Even then, if they're lying in a hospital bed, the job (title) is not relative to the plan of care during my 12-hour shift. I assume nothing, even in my patient teaching, because we never know when we may have a nurse-patient who is ashamed to admit to a knowledge deficit on some healthcare issues. Contrary to popular belief, nurses don't know everything; and as patients, should not be treated as if they do...unless they tell you it's ok to skip certain opportunities to 'teach' them.

That being said, I do respect and appreciate that a colleague is now dependent upon us to make them feel better. That colleague should also respect and appreciate the fact that it's time for him or her to hand over the reigns for a little while, realizing that his or her best attempts at health maintenance now requires interventions from other like-professionals.

Now, if you see BSNbeDONE listed as a patient, tell me everything!!! If I am your patient, trust and believe that I was near death, or believed myself to be, in order to show up at the ER. :nailbiting:

ComeTogether, LPN · Dec 12, 2016

Hate it! Nurses make terrible patients because they don't LISTEN! LOL

SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN · Dec 12, 2016

No I don't get nervous but nurses as patients go one of two ways: 1) they are super awesome and understanding or 2) they are burnt out in nursing and want to make other nurses suffer lol. I always like it when I get a veteran nurse who will give advice like "Hey have you ever tried to do an IV this way? It's worked for me for years, try it when you put my IV in". I have gotten great tricks of the trade that way!

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Dec 12, 2016

You would need to acknowledge to THEM.. that you realize you are dealing with fellow professionals.

Most of us would realize that.. and cut you some slack.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Dec 12, 2016

I never tell other nurses/NPs/PAs/doctors I'm a nurse. I also don't let my family either. What for? Like one PP said, it doesn't affect my plan of care. Although I don't advocate for myself but when it comes to family members, you best believe I say something. Lol.

RNrhythm, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2016

The few times I have had a patient's family member claim to be an RN, they were difficult and usually said something that made it clear that they were not actually healthcare professionals. I assume most real RNs do what I do: keep quiet and be very observant. If you are caring for a friend or family member, I go into "secret shopper" mode.

littlespitfire · Dec 12, 2016

I've had the pleasure of dealing with quite a few docs and nurses as patients... We recently also had a police chief and a catholic priest. And a professional psychic. My favorite so far was a retired (not by choice) cardiothoracic surgeon, who was practicing up until he had a stroke, fell after the stroke, and broke a hip. He loved to teach, and he could get you in his room for 30+ minutes with hysterical stories and interesting tidbits of info. He was a diabetic doctor who hid his m&ms from his wife, who was The Boss. They both were amazing. I like to know my patients professions so I can address them appropriately. calling them by their professional title seems to give them a bit of dignity and control back... It's like saying "hey, I know you have a life outside those bedrails." It hasn't been intimidating yet, but we have had a few *rude* medical professional family members, who would call other doctors from cell phones, name drop, and try to steamroll over staff. They have been few and far between though.

Xlorgguss · Dec 12, 2016

I completely understand the anxiety with taking care of former nurses. I am not an RN yet, but am in school. I have taken care of probably 5 or more nurses in the past year and I loved it. To me, they were always nice and understanding. They didn't object to having to be walked to the bathroom, or vitals at 4am, or anything else. Some of my best conversations have been with nurse patients and how nursing has changed over the years. I could spend hours talking to them.