It happens to all of us. We're in a patient's room, we go out intending to get that pillow, that sleeping med, whatever (it's usually something minor), and as you're passing another patient's room, Something Very Bad is happening and you're suddenly taking care of a crashing patient, and Stable Patient's pillow is the furthest thing from your mind.
We're not allowed to say to Stable Patient, "I had a patient who needed me more" and now when we go back there a half-hour later, Stable Patient is ready to spit nails because she's been waiting so long for something that seems so simple. She's threatening to write to everyone up to the Pope about this inefficient service, and you know that she's the type to do it.
You now have to calm this patient down and take care of her.
How do you handle it? What do you say? How do you smooth things over?
