On call? Funny phone calls.

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.

We have to be on call one night every two weeks or so. I've been up since 3 when I received a phone call from a woman who was very concerned about her husband's temperature.

What is it? I asked

97.8 she said. I said that was normal but thought I may be missing something. She started to get upset with me because of course she knew that was normal, but she was worried about this coming weekend. (This is Monday at 3 am) "It's going to be in the 90s and I'm worried he may get too hot"

Or the dreaded "Catheter is out call" at 11 pm. "When did it come out?" I asked.

"Oh this morning, but we've been busy all day and I thought I better call now"

Sometimes I feel like hitting my head against a wall, really.:banghead:

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Specializes in LTC/hospital, home health (VNA).

I had a call from a patient's wife. She said he fell when he was trying to rush to the BR. I asked where he was now, if he was ok, etc...The paramedics just left she said and he is fine. I asked what the problem was and she stated that she wanted me to come out (at 4:30am) and clean up his BM because it is EVERYWHERE! I explained that is not a reason for a nurse to come out...especially since he has been checked out by the EMTs. She told me that it is a "crying shame" that we do not have an on-call aide! When I explained that she needed to be able to care for her husband in between our visits she hung up on me!!! Oh well...atleast I wasn't cleaning up the poo!

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.
I had a call from a patient's wife. She said he fell when he was trying to rush to the BR. I asked where he was now, if he was ok, etc...The paramedics just left she said and he is fine. I asked what the problem was and she stated that she wanted me to come out (at 4:30am) and clean up his BM because it is EVERYWHERE! I explained that is not a reason for a nurse to come out...especially since he has been checked out by the EMTs. She told me that it is a "crying shame" that we do not have an on-call aide! When I explained that she needed to be able to care for her husband in between our visits she hung up on me!!! Oh well...atleast I wasn't cleaning up the poo!

Oh Jeez. Your story tops my two.

What do these people do when they are on their own???

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Specializes in med-surg, MICU/SICU, Csurg ICU, HH.

Those were hilarious!:yeah:

The only funny one I have gotten so far is my pt that has a wound vac...her daughter called me and said that her mom's dressing was "hissing".:chuckle It had been put on by a nurse not very experienced in wound vacs and she didn't get a good seal.

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Specializes in dialysis, m/s.

I love the story about the 'Code Brown'!!! Crying shame for sure!

My coworker recently got a call from a patient to come check her BP b/c she had gotten in an argument w/ her mother.

I once was called by the son of a FORMER pt (like 1+yr since d/c'd) who said his dad had 'passed out' today and yesterday and was intemittenly complaining of chest pain, and could I come visit today:no:(Mother's Day, BTW).I calmly advised to call 911 or go straight to ER and THEN talk to PCP about home health.Now that I think about it,I don't even know how that all played out, but we never got a referral!

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We got a call that "Mamma's nose is cold" could we come check on it. I wonder if he was talking about Mamma or the puppy!

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Hospice,IV Therapy.

I got a phone call at 10pm on a Saturday night from the wife of a Hospice patient who lived 45 minutes away from me. She was calling to say that he hadn't had a BM in 5 days and could I come and give him an enema. I asked her if he had been seen by a nurse in those 5 days and she said yes but "we didn't say anything when she was here yesterday because we didn't want to bother her about that". And yes, the nurse did ask about bms.:madface:

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I had a patient whom THOUGHT I was on call 24-7, mind you I'm an LPN, but the reason, they always ran out of colostomy bags at midnight, Instead of emptying the bag they would throw the whole set up away!We had the RN, the SW, even the MD tell them, show them, sooooo many times. It was crazy.

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LOL, Mickey! I think I know that patient! Not really but several of our patients think we are sitting by the phone waiting for their call and they are the only patient we have. We had a caregiver call the on-call nurse the other day because her loved one hadn't had a bm in a while. When the on-call nurse asked why she didn't mention it during the visit earlier that day the caregiver said she didn't want to bother the nurse. But, she had no problem bothering the on-call nurse at 10pm. These sweet little patients and their caregivers, ya gotta love 'em!!

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.

We're on call from 5pm-8am. The best call ever happened to me at 5:01..CG said that the catheter hadn't worked all day and that she talked to his nurse at noon who told her to call back at 5pm for the on-call nurse. Very vey perturbed.

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Specializes in LTC/hospital, home health (VNA).
who told her to call back at 5pm for the on-call nurse.

Gggrrr! I feel your pain. I am on-call this Fri and Sat night...can hardly wait to see what joys it brings!

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.
Gggrrr! I feel your pain. I am on-call this Fri and Sat night...can hardly wait to see what joys it brings!

Well, I hope you bring your wipes so you can clean up anything that the patient has excreted all over the floor and walls. Bring your Flo Lantern to shine your way!:smokin:

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