Annoyed at the growing number of patients/patient family members who think nurses double as waitresses and/or baristas.
This week, I got asked:
"What's the soup of the day?"
"Can I have some tea? Two bags please and the hot water from the coffee maker is not hot enough so heat it up in the microwave for two minutes. The tea cannot seep in warm water it must be hot." Another family member shouts out, "while you're at it, can I have a glass of ice water? Extra ice please."
Anyone else getting these kinds of requests? I don't mind it occasionally but it seems like everyone wants something and the time I spend fulfilling these requests really adds up.
If they want to treat us like waitresses, we should AT LEAST get tips.
Specializes in Orthopedic, LTC, STR, Med-Surg, Tele.
I take the family members to the kitchen and show them where everything is. For patients I usually don't mind them asking for food, and when I'm giving 6AM meds I like to offer them a cup of freshly brewed coffee and some toast :)
Yes I'm sick of it too! I had a person ask if he could get cappucinos up on the ward! Ahh, no I said you have to go down to the cafe for that - grumble, moan, moan. They should have one up here, he said, stalking away to get his cappucino.
I swear to God if we HAD a cappucino maker, they would be asking us to fluff all the milk for them and serve it with a little mint chocolate!! Some hospitals I work at do have the automatic cappucino/coffee ones, but people don't use them cos they don't like them.
I've done my years of making coffees and cappucinos thank you (actually, in a way, I miss it!!)
You obviously haven't worked at one of those hospitals with the Otis Spunkmeyer dough and baking ovens on the floor for you to freshly bake cookies for pts.
(traveler assignment in FL, one contract I did not renew, and lord be, one that required passing the PBDS. Oh, the humanity)
Press Ganey, at your service- the snipes that tell the CEOs what will make them "popular", not medically superior. And we all want perky patients, not healthy ones, right?
I usually am right up front as I introduce myself for the evening. "Hi, my name is locolorenzo, I'll be your/your mom's/dad's etc nurse tonight? How are you feeling today?....ok, I'll make sure to note that concern for the doctor. We will be together all night, as I work until 530 am. Is there anything I can get for you right now?....ok, (to family/visitors) do you need anything? cup of coffee, soda, juice, etc.? ok, give me a few minutes and I'll be back."
When people are proactive about it, you may find that by offering these to begin with, you cut down on the families/patients calling you over and over, because they understand you will get them something when you come around.
We don't encourage them to go to the kitchen area, because then they start rooting around in the fridge, or taking the last applesauce, or the last turkey sandwich, etc.
We're required to do hourly rounding on days now, and every other hour on nights. Part of those rounds are asking if they need any supplies. I actually haven't encountered as many problems with food and drink requests as I thought I would since making the phrase "Is there anything I can get for you?" a part of every room visit. Usually I am upfront about the fact that non-urgent things will be brought in when I can, whereas more important supplies will be retrieved and brought in for them now. I also often restate the things I will be getting before leaving the room, i.e. "Ok, you are rating your pain a 7/10 so I am going to bring you your Tylenol 3 right now. I'll also bring you a Sprite and a popsicle. Is there anything else I can bring when I come back in?" I feel like it drives home the point that I am on a tight schedule with things to do, and that it's necessary for me to cluster activities as much as possible. Most of the time, I only have to do a recap 1x and they decline needing anything else. But sometimes, they add something on to the request ("Oh! Can I get a jello too?") and then I just start over with a briefer recap - "Okay, so Tylenol 3, Sprite, popsicle, and jello. Is there anything else I can get for you?" 90% of the time I don't have them ask for something else at that point. This heads them off at the pass so much AND it makes them feel like I'm actively seeking to make them comfortable. Which I am - I am a nurse, after all!
If they want something that we don't carry in the patient kitchen, it's a different story and we have to make a special request to dietary. At that point, I place all burden and blame on dietary, and explain that it could take up to an hour because food services must serve the entire hospital. If they don't receive their food 1 hour after the order goes in, I'll call down to dietary and remind them about the order.
It's a part of our admission process to orient patient and family members to the unit and show them where the patient kitchen, bathrooms, etc are for them. Therefore many of our family members know how to serve themselves and have no problem doing it. I find that many times they are worried about just helping themselves and need a little encouragement to do it.
And I almost always bring extra. I figure if the patient doesn't eat it, their family members certainly can and will.
And smile and be nice. It goes a long way. I'm kind of tired of hearing rude nurses complain about their rude patients.
Our cafeteria isn't open in the evenings or on Saturday, which makes it harder for everyone. They are on an extremely tight budget, so the food is cheap. What I don't understand is why people come to the hospital in the evening and claim they "haven't eaten all day." Then as soon as they are admitted and NPO, they are suddenly starving! We get lots of calls for "free meal trays" from family members. The cafeteria isn't even open for staff, but we have to go down and make a food tray for the family member, while we have to eat before work, or bring our own. The supper trays are served at 5:00 to the patients, then the cafeteria is closed at 6:00. As for the "free food," I wonder who they think ultimately pays for it.
There is no respect for nursing. Reading all the above posts, it's clear to me that the loss of that respect is everywhere. I've had little old ladies who've asked me for the bedpan, BSC, denture cleaning....and then say "Oh I'm sorry, you don't do that". There was a time, long ago, when we DIDN'T do that. Could it be that this is the root of that loss? We as nurses DO do it all. We are expected to do it all. Of course I help that little old lady if I'm in the room and she "needs to go". But lines have been taken down that distinguish me from the person who cleans the room and delivers the meal. There is no difference in my uniform and the kitchen personnell, as they wear scrubs too.
Visually there is no difference between the nurse, the cna, dietary, housekeeping. Not mention lab, and xray.
Maybe it was a trade off we didn't know we were making when we abandoned that hateful old white uniform and hat.
I only know there is something wrong when a pt dismisses all the good advice I give. Does not listen when I do pt teaching. But orders me around to the pantry and ice cart like a drill sergeant.
Our cafeteria isn't open in the evenings or on Saturday, which makes it harder for everyone. They are on an extremely tight budget, so the food is cheap. What I don't understand is why people come to the hospital in the evening and claim they "haven't eaten all day." Then as soon as they are admitted and NPO, they are suddenly starving! We get lots of calls for "free meal trays" from family members. The cafeteria isn't even open for staff, but we have to go down and make a food tray for the family member, while we have to eat before work, or bring our own. The supper trays are served at 5:00 to the patients, then the cafeteria is closed at 6:00. As for the "free food," I wonder who they think ultimately pays for it.
My Xmas bonus/gift from the hospital just keeps getting smaller and smaller every year.
There is no respect for nursing. Reading all the above posts, it's clear to me that the loss of that respect is everywhere. I've had little old ladies who've asked me for the bedpan, BSC, denture cleaning....and then say "Oh I'm sorry, you don't do that". There was a time, long ago, when we DIDN'T do that. Could it be that this is the root of that loss? We as nurses DO do it all. We are expected to do it all. Of course I help that little old lady if I'm in the room and she "needs to go". But lines have been taken down that distinguish me from the person who cleans the room and delivers the meal. There is no difference in my uniform and the kitchen personnell, as they wear scrubs too.
Visually there is no difference between the nurse, the cna, dietary, housekeeping. Not mention lab, and xray.
Maybe it was a trade off we didn't know we were making when we abandoned that hateful old white uniform and hat.
I only know there is something wrong when a pt dismisses all the good advice I give. Does not listen when I do pt teaching. But orders me around to the pantry and ice cart like a drill sergeant.
THANK YOU! That's what most people (patients) don't realize is that are a lot of different roles in the hospital, and each person has a different RESPONSIBILITY....does it ever occur to you that I AM able to wash you, put you on the bed pan, take your tray out of here, give you your meds, etc....BUT I don't have the time to do it all?? If it's something urgent, yes, I will do it for them, of course. Or, if I have the time. But, what they don't realize is, there is no one to help us do our job! Yes, I can help my nursing assistant by cleaning you up, and giving you the bed pan every 10 minutes, but then I'm getting behind on your precious pain medicine, and all the charting I have to do. My nursing assistant cannot help me out in return....
So much for being the one to "delegate" out our tasks.....pfff I don't get the chance to delegate my stuff, as I am constantly doing other's job...
There is no respect for nursing. Reading all the above posts, it's clear to me that the loss of that respect is everywhere. I've had little old ladies who've asked me for the bedpan, BSC, denture cleaning....and then say "Oh I'm sorry, you don't do that". There was a time, long ago, when we DIDN'T do that. Could it be that this is the root of that loss? We as nurses DO do it all. We are expected to do it all. Of course I help that little old lady if I'm in the room and she "needs to go". But lines have been taken down that distinguish me from the person who cleans the room and delivers the meal. There is no difference in my uniform and the kitchen personnell, as they wear scrubs too.
I thought nursing used to include things like being responsible for cleaning the hospital and more CNA type responsibilities (back when you didn't need an education to be a nurse) and now it has evolved into including more responsibility and us doing things that Dr's used to be responsible for? I always assumed that's why the elderly especially thought of us as more as servants/waitresses instead of clinical professionals?
:devil:
Morainey, BSN, RN
831 Posts
I take the family members to the kitchen and show them where everything is. For patients I usually don't mind them asking for food, and when I'm giving 6AM meds I like to offer them a cup of freshly brewed coffee and some toast :)