It's a Hospital, Not a Hotel (Gripe)

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 30, 2005

I am not a nurse, but am sure that you are in some sort of right to say something in a not so rude way. The family obviously needs to be taught some manners and respect. You don't tell someone to do something, rather you ask them to. Although you are there as an employee you are not a servant. Even if you were a waitress you should be treated with respect or risk having your service revoked or told something. Sadly, many get away with it and things go like they never happened. Anyways, you are there to help the patient not cater to the family members needs right?

So sorry you had such experience. Like I said, I am not a nurse and I may be wrong but please there has to be limits. I know this could be viewed in many ways but all I know it that you are not a maid. Best wishes to you. :)

Just my :twocents:

live4today, RN · Jul 30, 2005

I sure hope you did NOT honor those stupid requests. The only ones that I read that sound "nurse necessary" were fetching her the percocet and documenting her level of pain, and following up on her in thirty minutes to an hour to see if the pain med was effective or not, AND...instructing her to save the diaper for weighing and checking AFTER SHE changed the baby's diaper. :rolleyes: As far as the "taxi voucher"....offer it, if she refuses it, that's her calling. Closed subject. :uhoh3: Direct the family to the cafeteria, or if the cafeteria is closed (due to the hour we are talking about) let them know where the vending machines are located throughout the hospital...be done with that, too. As for the chairs, there aren't anymore than what's in the room because the other patients visitors are utilizing them. Be done with that too. Stay assertive yet kind and professional the entire time.

If you aren't sure how to handle a patient and/or the patient's family members or other visitors, please involve your nurse manager. Better to do that than have patient reps come to the floor with complaints against you for not "catering to their every whim". :rolleyes: I hope you brought that patient and family up to the nurse manager and how rude and bossy they were being to you. It's the nurse manager's or shift/charge nurse's duty to get involved as your support system when dealing with people who are being rude for no honorable reason.

Nurse Valium · Jul 30, 2005

Geez...and I thought it was bad Thursday when a patient in the ER said to our tech "Have my waitress bring me a glass of water."

NurseNora, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2005

Don't we all have those days? I think it's good to be able to just get it off your chest like this from time to time. I often leave notes for my nurse manager when I've had some especially demanding, rude, and dissatisfied people just to give her a "heads up" that there may be some negative feedback coming to her. (The ones who are especially demanding are the ones most likely to be dissatisfied because I won't feed the entire family or whatever)

On another thread, I posted that a nurse I was orienting had one of those families. They insisted we feed them, when we didn't, they went through our patient snack kitchen like a swarm of locusts. We encourage labor coaches to help themselves to ice, juice, and other snacks for themselves and the patient. It's unusual for them to take over so much.

After the delivery, the FOB took a shower and came out into the labor room wearing nothing but a towel. I don't know about your hospital's towels, but ours are pretty small! We all decided he must not have had much to hide anyway. When the nurse suggested he get dressed, he said his clothes were dirty, held them out to her, and told her to get them cleaned for him. She gave him a plastic patient belongings bag and suggested he give them to his family.

Some people...

fergus51 · Jul 30, 2005

My philosophy: Just say no! You don't need to be rude or anything, just be firm. "I can't get your boyfriend a sandwich. The hospital doesn't provide food for visitors, but he can go down to the cafeteria and buy whatever he would like". "No I can't get 8 chairs in here, the extra people are free to sit in the comfortable visitor's lounge. Would you like me to show you where that is?". "No we don't have a petty cash fund. Would you still like the voucher?". (All said with a smile while gritting my teeth).

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 30, 2005

On another thread, I posted that a nurse I was orienting had one of those families. They insisted we feed them, when we didn't, they went through our patient snack kitchen like a swarm of locusts. We encourage labor coaches to help themselves to ice, juice, and other snacks for themselves and the patient. It's unusual for them to take over so much.
QUOTE]
impressive.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Jul 30, 2005

Lord preserve me from those customer service hospitals! Here we can politely diect them to the cafeteria and vending machines. If they want their vitals checked they can check into the ER, if they want a waitress, there's a diner across the street.

AtlantaRN, RN · Jul 30, 2005

had an ER patient, head to toe tommy hillfiger, doc wrote for darvocet (cause she had been in MVA), she asked if he could write it for "her baby" (9 months old), cause she had "medicaid"

1. FRAUDULENT

2. babies don't take darvocet!!!

SHEESH!!!

atlantarn

daisybaby, LPN · Jul 30, 2005

I sure hope you did NOT honor those stupid requests. The only ones that I read that sound "nurse necessary" were fetching her the percocet and documenting her level of pain, and following up on her in thirty minutes to an hour to see if the pain med was effective or not

Guess I wasn't clear..the percocet request was for a visitor, not the patient. Can you stand it?

I did redirect the ridicuous requests to a more appropriate venue, but it just kills me that we are still thought of as servants. :angryfire

The advice to bring it up to the nurse manager was a great one, too. She's not particularly proactive, but my hospital is huge on the Press-Ganey survey thing and I can just see one coming back about me not feeding/comforting/catering to non-patients...

SmilingBluEyes · Jul 30, 2005

My philosophy: Just say no! You don't need to be rude or anything, just be firm. "I can't get your boyfriend a sandwich. The hospital doesn't provide food for visitors, but he can go down to the cafeteria and buy whatever he would like". "No I can't get 8 chairs in here, the extra people are free to sit in the comfortable visitor's lounge. Would you like me to show you where that is?". "No we don't have a petty cash fund. Would you still like the voucher?". (All said with a smile while gritting my teeth).

exactly right. You are NO one's doormat. You can be assertive and firm in your response to unreasonable requests. Every nurse runs into times when he or she must set limits. You are there now. Be firm, but be professional.

and feel free to gripe HERE anytime you want. Glad to listen. :)

sunnyjohn · Jul 30, 2005

Sheesh... How rude are some people.

I will be doing much tongue biting in my future career. I hope I dont bit it clean off!

lol