I'm not coming back to this gig!

[vintagemother]

I suppose this could be posted in the nurse colleague / pt relations forum; but I have decided to see the humor in my situation.

I'm providing non medical care, simply stand by assistance through an agency.

This is my 1st time doing home care.

If I was new to being in this field, I'd probably be freaking out or crying.

Picture it: lives alone, appears A&Ox4, and is not indigent by any means.

Within 5 mins of my arrival, she tells me not to flush her toilet. She's used it about 8 times in the last 7 hrs. [emoji40] UTI.

15 mins into my shift, she tells me I can't wash my hands after assisting her to the toilet. I just pull her brief down and slide a new one up.

Just now, she told me that I wasn't allowed to close the door after I used the restroom.

I told her that she's welcome to call the agency that placed me and tell them she wants me to leave and I will. But I will continue to close the door when I use the restroom.

Then, as she sat on the toilet she suddenly screamed at me and said, "I have no privacy look at me!"

At that moment, I reminded her that I offered her privacy to use the restroom. I said, just because you opted not to accept it, I was still going to close the door to use the restroom.

5 more hrs to go...........

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

Usually crazy comes in groups. I'm talking patient and their entire messed up family. Control freak Mom, dirty old man grandpa, meth head brother, religious fanatic grandma, the list goes on and on.

It's often reality show material...

This is so true and the biggest reason I was willing to drive 50 miles each way for a medicaid case...12 hour shifts with a relatively normal and very large family. The parents would change agencies and the nurses would follow...

Most of my cases were certifiably nuts...they patient and/or family would be psychotic and one even sent me home with so many scratches and bruises that I looked more like I had just left a bar brawl instead of a shift in private duty home care (that little old lady was strong!). The agency I worked for at the time was ticked when I refused to be assigned to the case after two shifts with the same outcome. This was before the time of camera phones/texting pictures or I would have not been able to resist the urge to send them a really battered selfie:blackeye:

[nrcnurse]

ooohhhhh.... God bless you! And, may your mantra be, "this is only temporary."

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

I accepted another home health case this weekend! I'll expect crazy. [emoji3]

[kidsmakingmecrazy]

there's crazy in every health care setting. Most of my home care kids have wonderful but OCD families. After i got fleas at one case and had to bring in clorox wipes to wipe my space clean and sit in a wooden chair and not drink the whole shift so i wouldn't urinate and bring my own pump soap because the pump soap suplied by the agency was covered in God knows what and couldn't eat because of all the aforementioned and had to ball up newspaper and sit my bag on it. 3 shifts and out. Really appreciate OCD parents

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

Update: I declined working for a certain home health client this weekend. Too much crazy going on.

Thanks to all of you for your insight.

Home health nurses, I hold you in awe!