OK, don't sweat small stuff about patients, especially from glasshouse

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Ok, this is a vent. At the end of my really, really long shift with OT, finally got the Locum ER to drag her slowpoke fanny in to see an 11 yr old patient. The patient happened to be the child of one of the housekeepers, the humblest and nicest guy in the world.

So, she (ER doc) comes out of the room asking if we have chewable Ibuprofen. I tell her no, but we have liquid. Then she goes on a rant that this 11 yr old doesn't know how to swallow pills as if her parents have committed a crime. I said, why not just give the liquid? Then she wants me to crush a pill because "this child is adult sized and would need 20 ml of the liquid!" ?

OMG. I told her that that doesn't sound like very much. She continued to agonize over the fact that the nicest people in the world hadn't taught their child to swallow pills. When I left she still hadn't ordered anything.

Why do doctors and nurses think they have to reform patients or their families over every little thing? What a waste of energy. Just give the poor kid the liquid Ibuprofen!

End of rant.

Specializes in ER.

There's got to be more going on in her life than just that one ibuprofen dose. She's not even the one that needs to administer it.

3 Votes

As a kid, I could never swallow pills. Thankfully, it was rarely necessary.

When I got old enough to need oral contraceptives, the magic pill swallowing fairy appeared!

It helped that they are small.

3 Votes
Specializes in Public Health, TB.

I learned to swallow pills from having to eat canned asparagus. I hated that stuff so much, that I would cut it into little pieces and swallow them whole so I wouldn't have to chew it. I have heard other people say the same thing about lima beans.

1 Votes
Specializes in Private Duty Pediatrics.
12 minutes ago, nursej22 said:

I learned to swallow pills from having to eat canned asparagus. I hated that stuff so much, that I would cut it into little pieces and swallow them whole so I wouldn't have to chew it. I have heard other people say the same thing about lima beans.

I did that with liver. ?

3 Votes
Specializes in NICU.
On 6/1/2019 at 2:51 PM, Pixie.RN said:

I tell them to practice with M&Ms,

Great idea,I think I will practice very much,love M &Ms

1 Votes
Specializes in NICU.
On 6/1/2019 at 2:25 PM, Emergent said:

Why do doctors and nurses think they have to reform patients or their families over every little thing? What a waste of energy. J

something else is going on,when the pain is just below the surface,little things can open the wound,have empathy for co workers.A deep breath and ...there but for the grace .......

Specializes in Public Health, TB.
1 hour ago, Leader25 said:

Great idea,I think I will practice very much,love M &Ms

That is a waste of a perfectly good M&M.

7 Votes
Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

I taught my 9 year old to swallow pills with a tic tac. He takes concerta for ADD and it is about the same size as a tic tac, so it worked perfectly. He now swallows them without water.

I was his age and couldn't swallow a pill at all. My grandma would smash them and put them in chocolate sauce. I was at least 12 or 13 when I learned to finally swallow pills. I still have trouble with especailly large ones.

1 Votes
Specializes in ER.
6 hours ago, Leader25 said:

something else is going on,when the pain is just below the surface,little things can open the wound,have empathy for co workers.A deep breath and ...there but for the grace .......

I had more empathy for the humble housekeeper coworker who had to be subjected to this condescending, arrogant and judgmental doctor.

I had let this Locum Doc know that the patient was the child of an employee here. Yet she still felt free to be openly derisive of these people.

1 Votes
Specializes in Surgical, Home Infusions, HVU, PCU, Neuro.

If this was the worst thing that happened to her ( The Doc) this shift, then I would say that is a pretty good shift.

3 Votes

My daughter was 19 before she got it right. That doc is an *something I can't say because it'll get bleeped*

I'm 66 and can't swallow pills. Never could. The gag reflex kicks in. I generally use a finger to push them down my throat just far enough to swallow. Occasionally I just chew them.

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