How do you recover from a bad patient experience?!??

[PadmeRN]

I was just reeling from a bad patient experience yesterday. Is it just me or are we nurses being abused all the time? So yesterday I had 3 busy heme/onc patients, blood draw seems like every 2-3 hrs from PICC, chemotherapy, blood admin, electrolytes. I just feel like the whole shift I couldn't even sit to chart because i had to do something or something comes up on my tasklist. Took a 20 min break for my lunch because I could hear my IV's beeping and no one cared about. Anyway long story short while i was catching up on my charting family came up to ask for water I asked the clerk to grab some for them then 5 mins later patient called and specifically asked for me as soon as I got to the room patient's family asked why I didn't get them the water and I had to ask someone else to do it for me since I was just sitting down in the desk not doing anything. I swear to GOD!! I did not yell, cussed or ffff them but I tried to explain honestly in a NOT SO NICE (meaning Ive had had it!) manner that she is not my only patient (i was running back and forth bet 3), i am not the only one in the whole unit that is responsible for getting them water and that even though im just sitting in the desk doesnt mean that Im not doing anything. I was actually charting my 12 noon assessment at 3pm!??!! The point of the story is that arent we nurses humans too? We get tired (all the time), we get hurt, we have feelings too. How come all we hear from management and even CMS is customer service. It just feels like we are slaves in this profession. We all hear about patients rights but how about us NURSE's rights from management abuse, from patients? The only consolation I had from a very distressing shift was when one of my 3 pt's bought me a whole box of cupcakes because I told her that its my birthday tom ( which true). I know not all patients are bad, most i would say are good and appreciative of the care that we give but what do we do with those that deliberately treat like subhumans? I dont think that being sick gives patients the right to mean. Just saying.

[MPKH, BSN, RN]

I would just explain to the patient that I am delegating the task of getting water as I was charting/looking up labs/looking up a med/whatever paperwork/checking labs you have at the desk. I would also suggest that it is within the clerk's scope to get water.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

in the hospital setting nurses have no rights

[LeChien, BSN, RN]

Why does it matter who fetched it for her if she got her damn water in the end?!