Patient requests

Nurses Relations

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We all know patients can be demanding. What's your "favorite" patient request? Mine, an iPhone charger...

Specializes in Medical-Surgical / Palliative/ Hospice.

"Can you run over to CVS and buy me some razors on your lunch break?"

Specializes in Peds Medical Floor.

I've also had requests to "get me that tissue"....that's right in front of them. This is when I worked rehab and then we'd have a chat about doing things for yourself so you can go home.

When I say a pt asked to "fix her up something" in the kitchen....she gave me an order something like this: "I'd like turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a slice of pie." When I explained that I wasn't going to/couldn't cook her a dinner, but we had cold cereal and sandwiches she threatened my license. So no, I wasn't going to go out of my way for this particularly lovely pt. :no:

I have however, picked up candy or toiletries for residents when I worked LTC. I've picked up cards for them to send for their grandkids' birthdays and Christmas. If you are nice to me, I'll can be the nicest nurse ever haha.

On this kind of thread I always post, "I need my pillow fluffed."

It never fails to shoot my blood pressure through the ceiling. I don't know why. I've read all the other posts, and while annoying, they don't make my blood boil.

I guess we all have our threshold.

Haha. I work with spinal cord injuries. My tetraplegics ask me to fluff pillows all the time...then again...they can't really fluff themselves can they?

I had one get excited b/c they were an incomplete injury and regained enough movement in their arms to pick their own nose. :yes: True story.

Crackers smeared with 1/4" layer of butter

Crackers smeared with 1/4" layer of butter
Let me guess- cardiac patient?? Yuck!!

My favorite in a funny cute way was my 90+ year old patient's last night. I work in a rehab/SNF and this guy is just ready to go home. So last night at 3am, he calls me into his room to run his "plan" by me. He wanted to know what I thought about his idea to pack up his stuff and leave with his daughters after the visited later that day. Yeah, I think that is kind of a bad idea. I do feel bad for him because he really wants to go back to where he was living and apparently it isn't appropriate for him anymore. :(

Generally, most requests don't bother me out of context. Asking to have your toe nails trimmed doesn't bother me on its own but if it is 3am and I'm in the middle of Q 15min neuro checks because of a fall with all the ensuing paperwork/charting and the only reason you want your nails trimmed is because you heard another patients asking about getting her nails trimmed, well it bothers me a little more then.

I was a CNA when this happened. A rather large woman asked me to scratch her butt and she pulled herself over on the side rails to lift her bottom to a more attainable position for me. I was super nice though. And told her no, but I can wash you up if you like. I won't describe the sounds she made as I provided the service for her. It was humiliating, but not near as bad as what the Good Lord did for me, *sigh*, so ya know.

I don't know about you guys, but phone chargers are the number one left behind item on our floor. Our lost & found is full of them.

Yeah, we have a stash that's what we dig through if someone that's likable asks for a charger. If it's in there, great. If not, tough luck.

I had one get excited b/c they were an incomplete injury and regained enough movement in their arms to pick their own nose. :yes: True story.

I imagine the staff was excited too!

Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

Psych pt. on a locked dept. asked, "If I'm back by midnight, may I go have just one beer (yeah right!)

at that little bar down the road?":roflmao: ...uh...sure. ...why the heck not?!:sarcastic:

Specializes in Hospice.

I got asked for a massage and when i said rubbed their back for 2 seconds and said "wouldn't it be great if we has masseuses here....it's really not my expertise .............they complained and 'fired' me

Specializes in Hospice.

ah and then on the patient survey response sombody gave us negative feedback because "none of the nurse would play bridge with me' (acute care hospital)

Specializes in Family Medicine.

When an alert and oriented patient wants help deciding what to order for dinner, I become secretly irratated. We have so many options, the menu is 6 or 7 pages long, and they usually shoot down everything I suggest. If they ask me questions about the different food items or ask, "what's the soup of the day?" I really loose it (secretly, once again, of course).

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