This is not a rant about staffing, we are horribly short staffed, but normally we are o.k. We're going through a rough, hopefully temporary time right now as some contracts have left.
I'm taking care of a patient who c/o of chest pain and was admitted, only to later refuse telemetry, leaves the floor to smoke. I see he's up at 5AM and ask him to reconsider the telemetry, as he told an aid, not me. I explained as a cardiac patient he needed to be on it.
"I don't like your attitude, just do what you got to do and leave me alone."
I'm tired, stressed, working overtime, caring for patients above and beyond the normal ratios.
So I say, "You're the one who came in here complaining of chest pain. I don't care if you wear the monitor or not. I'll go care for sick patients that need me. "
He said he didn't like my bedside manner. Well excuse me Mr. Customer I ain't in the mood for kissing ass today.
I DARE and DOUBLE and TRIPLE DARE anyone from management to say anything to me if he complains. Just dare them.
Tweety -- You over that patient yet? C'mon you're bigger and smarter than that. Don't stoop to that guy's level. And don't give him the satisfaction of pulling your strings.
I am thinking of a pt who was basically a drug seeker, on the lite constantly. One nite another nurse and I were extremely busy and bing! on went the lite. I heard Jan (the RN) tell the pt she would get her a shot as soon as she could. 2 minutes later, Bing! The pt said "My doctor said iI could have a shot whenever I want, so GET IT NOW!' Jan said "I am caring for a pt next door who is dying. I will be with you in a few minutes."You guessed it ,2 seconds later, Bing! this time she says " I am paying your salary! I want that shot Now!" Jan said (thru clenched teeth) "No, I AM PAYING YOUR SALARY, SINCE YOU ARE ON WELFARE!Since, I am working for , essentially, ME, I will get your shot WHEN I HAVE TIME! And if thats' not ok with ME, I'll fire myself!" haha, too few of those nurses left out there!
I find it disturbing that a nurse would actually mention a patient's financial status in regards to her care. I know it is very frustrating in those situations, I have been in them all too often, but we have to be the bigger better person. I do think it is a good thing that there are too few of those nurses left out there.
Tweety's response was appropriate, this nurse's words were not.
Delivery of health care SHOULD be about administering those interventions that are a requirement for the patient to return to a state of health. This is our primary function. In other words I am here to give you what you need which is not neccessarily what you want.
A patient may WANT to lie still in bed all day doing nothing BUT we know that that is one of the fastest routes to a coffin that can be taken. What they NEED is to get up and move around.
I have actually said this to patients "I am not here to cater to your wants - I am here to help you to get better, now both you and I know that to do that you must................" In other words I am your nurse NOT your personal slave.
I think Tim has some good points, certainly should not be ignored. Yes, it is true, as nurses, we are cussed at and in a lot of cases abused by the patient, their family and in some cases their physician! However, I think Tim's point about being professional is very appropriate. I refuse to let a patient get me to a point where I lose my professionalism. Yea, I get pretty hot about things, but I vent to my co-workers about it. While I am dealing with the patient or the family, I try to remain as calm and "together" as I can so I can be objective in my dealings. Too often allowing the situation to turn emotional does no one any good. Believe me, I have had my fair share of crazy patients that refuse treatment and I feel much like the rest of you.... "go the hell home." But I always try to remain polite and professional.
Just my humble thoughts .... hopefully there are a few nurses left out there that can agree with me.
Patrick
Thanks for seeing the point I was trying to make. I understand nurses aren't public servants like police, but it's still a similiar situation. For example, when my mom had a surgery a few years ago, and she'd asked her nurse repeatedly for something while she was recovering, she said the nurse had gotten short with her and told her she was just too busy and would have to wait. While I know, this nurse is probably a great nurse and was just having a bad day, my mom is a 60 year old lady who was just trying to get well so she could go home.
The first thing my mom said when I went to see her that night was "that's the last time I come to this hospital" So my point being, it can be beneficial for us (me in the not too distant future) to keep our cool in the face of ridiculousness.
Tim, we tax paying citazens are paying this patients bill as I work in a not-for-profit, not the other way around. So putting put with crap is not mandatory. They don't have to be cussing and swearing for me to tell them it's within their right to refuse the care they came into the hosptial for, and that they aren't hurting me one bit by refusing.
Patrick, I'm famous for my calm demeaner and trust me as I was telling him I didn't care if he wore the monitor or not, I was calm, cool and collected.
As a charge nurse and relief house supervisor I have to deal with irate families and patients that are angry at their nurses all time. So I try to diffuse situations before they get out of control. By calmly telling him, if he was refusing my care and kicking me out of his room that I was going to care for sick people who needed me, I was letting him know he wasn't getting under my skin or harming me in any way.
I have precious little energy at the moment for patients like this. You don't want me in the room, fine, I'm moving on.
I'm just talking from personal experience, all the hospitals in our area are private hospitals.
I have actually said this to patients "I am not here to cater to your wants - I am here to help you to get better, now both you and I know that to do that you must................" In other words I am your nurse NOT your personal slave.
Thanks Gwenith for a nice, friendly suggestion on how to POLITELY tell a pt. what we NEED to get done from a nursing standpoint. I am a new grad and could DEFINATELY use all the "nice" phrases that I can get!
Tweety,
I'm sorry that this particular pt. aggravated you so. I know from your posts that you are very compassionate. I'm sure something terrible had to have happened in order for you to feel this way. Hope your next shift(s) are better! :kiss
I understand the frustration with the customer svc bit. I work in a very large hospital. Some of the customer svc junk that goes on includes this: If a person asks where a dept is we are supposed to drop everything we are doing and actually ESCORT them to that dept. This is any person, not just pts.
Another one...Our manager actually wants us to go into the pts room and while introducing ourselves, end the conversation with "Is there anything else I can get u, I have the time". I dont mind asking if there is anything else i can get them...its the "I have the time part"!! I have had many pts abuse this and be on their call button every 5 mins asking for items such as (NO JOKE!) a lapel clip for their walkman!!
We do send our surveys, now the mgmt wants us to call everyone who has been sent home, 2 days post discharge to see how they are doing. It's a great PR gimmick. But realistically, no one has the time (unless someone is hired just to make those calls)!!
Our dietary dept sends menus out so pts can pick the foods they want. I had one pt get her breakfast and then tell me to call dietary, she doesnt like anything on her plate. She then proceeds to rattle off a breakfast she wants like i'm her waitress (she said I want scrambled eggs not the real ones but immitation, a blueberry muffin or banananut, i want a side of ketchup for the eggs) GIMME A BREAK. I just walked out!
My hospital mgmt acts like people CHOOSE to be admitted here. I'm sorry, but in this area there are over 8 hospitals within a 30 miles radius. If you are in an accident or whatever...you are transported to the nearest ER, not the one the pt actually chooses. Also, with most insurance policies, you are sent the hospital where you dr has priveledges. SO mgmt needs to give us a break and quit acting like people really have a CHOICE!!
I am sure you are. I think I was just making a general statement. It hard to be in these situations and I totally agree with many of the nurses who have posted. However, I think for the students and others that many read this thread, it is good to clarify that professionalism is an important part of being a nurse today and in fact, may be very challenging, if not down right difficult with the types of crazy and unappreciative patients we see on our units today.
Thanks for the reply. Patrick:D
Patrick you point is very well taken. I realize I was very borderline with this patient, bordering on unprofessionalism. What you said is valid. I'm don't mean to invalidate that.
I still refuse to kiss ass and beg people to be treated. I have feelings too. I will not be abused! :)
Tweety -- You over that patient yet? C'mon you're bigger and smarter than that. Don't stoop to that guy's level. And don't give him the satisfaction of pulling your strings.
Do something special tonight!
Regards,
I did something real special. I came back for overtime!!!! I love my job!
Thanks. I so very rarely get a complaint about my "bedside manner" and get thrown out of a room, I guess I allowed it to bother me more than it should. But we have on average 10 to 15 patients waiting in the ER for beds, it takes about 10 to 20 hours to get to the floor. I wish we could just say to jerks like this "NO, YOU get outof my hospital, your not a guest in a hotel and I'm not your servant." :chuckle
Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN
2,722 Posts
Tweety -- You over that patient yet? C'mon you're bigger and smarter than that. Don't stoop to that guy's level. And don't give him the satisfaction of pulling your strings.
Do something special tonight!
Regards,