Patients who can do ADLs but want nurses to

[destova]

I've been coming across more and more patients that are perfectly capable of taking care of their personal needs, but simply don't want to.

Example: ringing the call light to ask for the box of tissues that is a whopping 4 feet away and they have no physical reason to inhibit their ability to reach or get up and get them.

Or the female pt that wants us to clean her after voiding yet she walked into the bathroom herself and did her makeup/ curled her hair that morning...

How do you get the message across that we are not the maids/ wait staff/ personal assistant without making pt feel bad or making them angry? It's so frustrating.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

For those who say they" can't reach", let them know there's a product for that, LOL( not little old lady, laugh out loud_

[video=youtube_share;crfGXmxJ1vM]

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

I've had a male pt who would ask us to scratch his testicles, because he couldn't reach. He even had one of those back scratcher things to use. Totally ewwwww! We would tell him it wasn't safe to use that- it might cause an infection.

I also think someone hit the nail on the head- people come into the hospital and expect you to be their personal nurse, and as such, should be providing them with personal services. Just yuck.

My favorite saying when asked these types of request, is "so , who does this when you are at home?"

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

Yesterday I walked a 50-ish patient from the ED waiting room to a treatment room. She ambulated steadily and had come to the ED from work for an urgent-care type complaint. As I was getting her a gown and orienting her to the room, she said, "I'll need a bedpan soon." Her complaint was not one we would need a urine or stool sample for diagnosis. I replied, "let me show you where the bathroom is before you get undressed, then" ... thinking to save her from having to walk the halls in the dreaded hospital gown if it could be avoided. She looked levelly at me and said, "oh, you're going to be one of those nurses -- you don't want to wait on me or take care of me."

I'll spare you all the rest of the conversation -- but in her mind, coming to the hospital for what would probably be a little over an hour visit meant that she should *enjoy* the perks of another human being "waiting on" her - hand, foot, and peri-area.

True story.

I guess a copay is cheaper than the spa!

[smile_through_it]

I recently had a patient that wanted me to give her a lady partsl suppository. She was perfectly capable of doing this on her own and had no reason to need assistance.

If I'm 100% sure a patient is able to do something on their own I always use the line 'were here to help you get health and stronger. If I do it for you than you will not be able to go home soon.' That usually helps!

[Morainey, BSN, RN]

In nursing school during maternity rotation, my professor made me do peri-care for a recent C-section patient who wasn't on bedrest. It was SO. UNCOMFORTABLE. She was a year younger than me.

[monkeybug]

In nursing school during maternity rotation, my professor made me do peri-care for a recent C-section patient who wasn't on bedrest. It was SO. UNCOMFORTABLE. She was a year younger than me.

Honestly, if she was a fresh section it might be difficult for her to do peri care on herself. Mentally uncomfortable for you, but a real physical pain for her!

[Jenni811, RN]

Pretty sure of someone had to do cares on me and I could id be like yea...um no!

I went to the ER when I split my hand open at work. Long story. Anyway I get to the ER and I'm setting up my own suture trays to prepare for doc. Nurse was like..."Stop! You are the patient." I had plastic surgery suture my hand since it had to be done differently. Anyway normally he worked in clinic and wasn't used to hospital charting. He was like "you can leave as soon as I figure out how to write discharge orders." I was like...ill do it for you! He sat behind me as I wrote my own discharge orders, sent the pharmacy my antibiotic script. Took me 5 minutes and I was out. 20 minutes later I get a call fro my nurse who helped. "You wrote your discharge orders but didn't sign them." I was like..."tube them up to me and ill send it back down." Pretty sure I was the worlds easiest patient. Reason I shared that is because even having the nurse assist with my sutures I felt terrible! I'm.like NO! You have other things to do. I got this. And that stuff is literally a nurses job. I can't even imagine asking a nurse to wipe my butt when I'm 100% capable of doing it.

[Skayda]

Oh yes. The lol who is perfectly capable of using walker to get around house and uses bedside commode at night; when we come running to answer her call light and we aren't there in exactly one second; if its in the middle of the night not only has she just woken us from a sound sleep but we have to come up from the basement and all the way to the end of the house to her room but knowing it might be life or death we run; only to walk in on her as she's just sitting on commode; "I didn't think anyone was coming so I thought its either do it myself or pee the bed!" I said "That's a great attitude! Do you need anything else?" Her; "I need some help here! Wipe me and pull my pants up!" Me; "Is there any reason you can't do those things for yourself?" (She could and did most of the time night or day!) She goes; "What is your job around here if not to help people?!"

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

I had to visit this thread again, as I refused to perform peri care on a woman who was capable of doing it herself. She stared at me, and I stared at her. It became a battle of wills. "You will". "I won't". It wasn't quite that bald. I offered to assist her efforts, with the emphasis on "assist". But, I diplomatically said no.

I have no doubt she'll report/file a complaint against me. Now I have to anxiously wait the days out to see if I'll be reprimanded.

I felt degraded. Insulted. I know that had I washed her "hoo hoo" as she put it, I would have felt diminished for days.

Now I'll be anxiously waiting for repurcussions for days.

I'm not sure which is worse.

Just for the record, staffing frequently makes nurses, CNAs where I work. Personal care is not foreign or disgusting to me.

[linzjane88]

Good to see she was using her big girl words....That sounds horribly awkward. Hugs.

Now wipe me! ;-)

[nursel56]

Hoping it all works out for you, imintrouble. I wouldn't have done it, either. It's upsetting that "customer service" would ever extend to something like this.

[Wheels28]

Ewww.....Just Ewww... As a disabled person I do all of my care on my own, I feel so lucky to be able to do so. I could not imagine asking a nurse to wipe my butt when I can do so on my own to me that is so disrespectful, degrading, you are nurses not slaves. The few times a nurse had to do it for me I apologized and thanked her profusely. (She told me no reason to be sorry and its part of her job.)

I don't know what is with some people but I never even thought of asking that. I would never report a nurse over something so stupid. A nurse would have to do something really bad for me to do that. People who report a nurse over stupid stuff don't realize that they have a family they have to provide for, some are single parents or the sole income of the home, so in doing that they are not just hurting the nurse but everyone in the home. Apparently some people need to learn to respect the scrubs!!