If i did something wrong?

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I am a Lpn working in a surgical unit for FMC for years now, yesterday I had one patient who is a post op patient, she almost called me q 30minutes for warm blanket, later on she experienced diarrhea x 4, I washed her butt twice, then she asked me to give her 2 cups of iced water, 1for her, 1 for her roommate(they both are independent), her roommate said: "I will go to get it", she said;"no, no, the nurse will go to get it for us;", although I am not happy at this moment, I still went to kitchen to get 2 cups of ice water for them, but I told her:"next time you should go to get for yourself;" then I walked away, because I have other jobs to do;

Later on, this patient told every other nurse and patient how mean I was,

Even if a patient in hospital there should be some encouragement where possible to help themselves. We all agree if too poorly to do something we don't mind helping but when you find some people suddenly become paralyzed when admitted to hospital or even after 9pm (been there seen that) then they are wrong. Nurses are already under immense pressure without more being added to it

And this just takes me back to my original post. It looks like we just aren't going to agree.

When someone in my own family is sick, I wait on them. I go out of my way to be extra kind and attentive. I don't see it any different for a patient in a hospital.

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And this just takes me back to my original post. It looks like we just aren't going to agree.

When someone in my own family is sick, I wait on them. I go out of my way to be extra kind and attentive. I don't see it any different for a patient in a hospital.

"wait on them". You summed it up in a nutshell. We are not waitresses or servants. We are professional nurses with up to 9 patients on some shifts. Not one.

While the OP may have some communication issues, those of us working in Canada know the type of unit she's working on an the stages of where the patient is. If a patient is mobilizing, they are encouraged to do for themselves.

There is a huge difference between a fresh post-op and someone who is close to discharge home or to sub-acute.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
While the OP may have some communication issues, those of us working in Canada know the type of unit she's working on an the stages of where the patient is. If a patient is mobilizing, they are encouraged to do for themselves.

I work in the US and I totally agree with this. Part of the return to good health is regaining independence and being able to do things for yourself. Take, for example, a 70 year old recovering from some type of abd surgery. The lived independently in their house before surgery. As the recover from surgery, it may seem "nice" or "caring" to do everything for them. Well, in the long run, its not. If we always do the pillow fluffing for them, always get them their water, always hand them something from the table 5 feet away (when they are more than capable of accomplishing each task) we are doing them a disservice and reducing the chances that they are going to be able to return to their own home in a timely manner. In a few days, they may no longer have a need to be in a hospital, but they would be in no condition to return home.

I also agree that the OP needs to work on how he/she delivers the message, but the overall concept was correct.

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Specializes in Psych - Mental Health.

I guess it's the Psych nurse in me but I love these challenging type of patients. Years ago when I was a student there was a post-op patient on an oncology unit who had had lots of post-op complications following a vulvectomy. She was a very fussy & demanding woman and complained frequently about EVERYTHING. The nurses were happy to assign her to students to get a bit of a break. Of course I had extra time, being a student, but I made it my mission to satisfy this woman. I got water for her flowers, found out just how she liked her care routines, tried to anticipate her needs, etc. Within a couple of shifts she was a pussycat and no longer nearly so demanding. She started doing more for herself too. All she needed was to feel a bit more in control of her life and that empowered her to start to want to be more independent.

Of course there are always going to be patients who want to take advantage but a lot are just scared or feeling overwhelmed and sometimes a small gesture like getting a glass of water for them is very comforting. I think the best approach though was offering to walk with her to get the water!

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Again, it was my understanding the OP was talking about a med/surg unit in a hospital, not rehab. I think those are 2 completely different scenarios.

I am talking about acutely ill/ post op patients in a hospital. Patients who probably don't feel the greatest. I just don't see the big deal about getting water, etc even if they are technically able to.

I have done med/surg nursing and recall it was those little things that could really make the whole hospital experience a positive one.

I know when I was a post op patient and medical patient, those things made a difference to me.

I apologize if I offended anyone. It certainly wasn't my intent.

I do agree with you an extent, however waiting on able bodied post-ops is really doing them more harm then good. Not to mention the fact that it is really not possible when the guy in 805 BP is in his boots, your getting an admission, 802 is retaining, 804 just spiked a temp and your 1400 meds are long overdue. There are things to do and getting someone water is just not one of them.

The part I agree with you about is that I like to spoil my pts. I work palliative, they are dying, they deserve it, like many of our very sick. I have never had an able bodied pt, but I have had able bodied family members who ask for a water and receive directions, not because I am lazy, but because I have to prioritize.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.
Again, it was my understanding the OP was talking about a med/surg unit in a hospital, not rehab. I think those are 2 completely different scenarios.

I am talking about acutely ill/ post op patients in a hospital. Patients who probably don't feel the greatest. I just don't see the big deal about getting water, etc even if they are technically able to.

I have done med/surg nursing and recall it was those little things that could really make the whole hospital experience a positive one.

I know when I was a post op patient and medical patient, those things made a difference to me.

I apologize if I offended anyone. It certainly wasn't my intent.

But even on med-surg you would expect/encourage a patient to get up, not lay in bed and be "waited on". The best thing for a post op patient is to get up and get moving.

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Specializes in AC, LTC, Community, Northern Nursing.

I am a nurse and last wk for surgery got to be the patient. My nurses more actually my hcas were assisting me with washing up the day after surgery etc when i needed it the most.. The next day i did it.. I needed to move.. They werent being mean.. To prevent complications patients need to move around and not be "waited" on.. It does more harm than good

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I never said patients should lay flat on their backs with their arms to their sides while the nurse does everything for them! I am talking about simple courtesies. Getting someone a glass of ice water is a simple courtesy. So is adjusting a pillow.

When I worked med/surg, the patients had orders to be up to the bathroom, chair, ambulate a few times a day, etc. Of course the patient needs to get up and moving. That to me doesn't equate to patient must do everything themselves and get no special attention, tlc, etc.

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Specializes in AC, LTC, Community, Northern Nursing.

We are not saying they should be on their back but if they are capable they should be doing things for themselves. I dont mind going the extra mile when i have time. But some patients start acting like children so you have to have boundaries too. I work in a rural hospital so we have med/surg, l&d, postpartum, LTC, rehab all on one floor. We have 1L jugs at the bedside. Our hallway is too long to be going back and forth to the machine for every glass. Lol

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Then you get the ones that ring and ask for their box of Kleenex ...which is 2 inches away.

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Specializes in Palliative.

The OP was pretty clear that both patients could get the water themselves and one insisted the nurse do it, even though the other patient was perfectly fine with getting her own water. That has nothing to do with courtesy and everything to do with a sense of entitlement. Everyone has dealt with this kind of patient at some point and knows that having a nurse to do everything for them while they lie there is exactly what they want.

The point remains that acquiescing to such demands isn't helpful to anyone.

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I had outright told a patient that "I'm a nurse, not a maid," and I also gave her a long lecture on how demanding she was (with other patients present - actually, her roommates were complaining to me about how disruptive she was, and I was pretty fed up with her too, so I snapped and gave that lecture...) The patient was discharged a few days later.

Said patient asks for a straw like 5 times a day because she didn't like to reuse the same straw, and she kept dropping them onto the floor when I give her a few at a time. While it's true that it's hard for her to grab them herself from the counter since she is on a wheelchair (but she's mobile enough to go outside for a smoke TID, put on make-ups at *2AM* in the morning, on the phone all the time...) and I just pretty much had it with her. :banghead:

Whether or not she complained about me to the charge nurse or the manager, I had no idea and to be honest I don't really care. It has been two months and I didn't get fired (yet), so I guess I'm okay. ;) Though I know she came back just two weeks ago but she was on a different ward (saw her name on the computer). I have no idea how she's doing now.

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