Patient Exchange

Of course it's best to be able to deal with all sorts of people but there is a time when you just can't bring yourself to deal with Mr. So and So. Do you, nurses, ever do patient exchange? Is this a common practice? Just curious...

Yes. It's unfortunate, but if you don't get along with a particular patient, that patient can wear you thin. Now, I'm not talking about a patient that has been on your unit for only 1,2...6 or 7 months. I'm talking about manipulative and unhappy patients that are living in the hospital...such as a gentleman that we have that has been with us for over a year. Very few people like taking care of him. He fights with you, he refuses his medications. He's rude and abusive. At least, he used to be with me and somewhere along the line we struck a friendship. He's so unhappy because he has no control over his healthcare.

Anyway, to answer your question, yes. It happens and it sounds bad, but sometimes taking care of the same abusive patient for more than one day in a row can be very draining.

Yes. It's unfortunate, but if you don't get along with a particular patient, that patient can wear you thin. Now, I'm not talking about a patient that has been on your unit for only 1,2...6 or 7 months. I'm talking about manipulative and unhappy patients that are living in the hospital...such as a gentleman that we have that has been with us for over a year. Very few people like taking care of him. He fights with you, he refuses his medications. He's rude and abusive. At least, he used to be with me and somewhere along the line we struck a friendship. He's so unhappy because he has no control over his healthcare.

Anyway, to answer your question, yes. It happens and it sounds bad, but sometimes taking care of the same abusive patient for more than one day in a row can be very draining.

This happens on a regular basis on our psyc unit! There's always at least 2 unpleasant patients on the ward (out of 21 or so) at all times. I wish we could trade them! But we don't have much control over that.

It happened last night. Got this one resident's PRN within 5 mn of her asking time during the thick of my medpass and all she could do was lament that she had waited so long and that she's going to get her "next" PRN late because of this and so on and so on. I didn't go into the tirade of how she is not the only one that I had to pass meds to. I just merely explained that I came as soon as possible. She is A&O!!!

This happens on a regular basis on our psyc unit! There's always at least 2 unpleasant patients on the ward (out of 21 or so) at all times. I wish we could trade them! But we don't have much control over that.

Sometimes changes of patient between staff happens, even during midshift. Preferably before a staff comes in when they had a really bad shift the day before then try and rotate. Sometimes patients and families become irate with a specific nurse or vice versa that it would hinder patient care. I'm not saying that the nurse would ignore the patient throughout the whole shift, but for some reason if you don't get along with a patient then sometimes it makes it harder for you to go into that patient's room to do what's required, much less chat. It's just for the best of the patient and the staff usually. One thing I don't agree with though is changing patients because one patient is such a hard work and the nurse is having a hard time caring for the patient, thus she lags behind. In this case helping the nurse would be better as oppose to changing assignments and having another nurse pick up the slack.