Patients who are too lazy to open their own splenda packets

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Good grief, some patients want to revert back to being 9 month old infants!!! They also like to ask requests one at a time. Then, after you wait on them hand and foot all shift with the patience of a saint, they turn on you in an instant when their latest trivial request is not immediately granted due to the fact that there is someone circling the drain in the room next door. :rolleyes:

Specializes in geriatrics, wound care, ICU.

I was pulled to a floor today where I had to carry a cell phone that each of my patients had the number to! Imagine how annoying that was! Rediculous! I was recieving phone calls while in other patients rooms. Where does HIPPA fit in here? I personally would be appalled for a nurse to answer a cell phone while in my room if I were a patient Most of the calls were request for pudding or juice! Staff was so scarce, I felt like I wasn't nursing, just waitressing. I had 7 patients (telemetry floor). I did nothing but pass meds all day. The patients were demanding, wanted everything now. They just don't understand what it is like to have so much to do. They must think we are sitting around waiting for them to ask us to do something! The old people are usually very kind when I enter, but the young people are rude and have no understanding of all that I have to do. They want what they want their way and now!

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What did you expect her to do with the tray?

I understand the points you are making, don't get me wrong. But we have to look at stuff from the patient's view point. And we should make a point to communicate and inform people that the aide or dietary will come get their trays and when that will happen. Otherwise, maybe they are just too out of it to think that someone will be back to get it eventually or to be aware of your situation of having 5 wild other patients. Guys, it's not about us at work. It is about the patients. But, as I said, I do understand the frustration bedside nurses feel. I'm one myself. I just try to tell people the truth, try to keep them informed and updated, try not to let the relatively small stuff bug me. It sometimes does but I do try to let it roll off. Just my :twocents:.

When I am a patient, I leave it on the over bed tray and wait for someone to come in to do vitals or some such thing and then they take it from my room. No need for them to make a special trip in just for that.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
i was pulled to a floor today where i had to carry a cell phone that each of my patients had the number to!

:omy:

there are no words.

even from me!

jess

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Specializes in M/S, dialysis, home health, SNF.

Many hospitals use the Spectralink or similar cellphone system. I personally like it because I'd rather the patient call me on that for a cup of ice than be paged to the desk only to be told "room xxx needs you" then go to the room, find out all he needed was ice, go get it, go give it to him.

And while I'm on that subject, why can't the unit clerk ask the patient what they need or the caller on the phone who only wants the call transferred to the room instead of paging me to the desk to handle it because I'm the nurse?

Mini vent on that....

Also, though, I can page a doctor to call my own spectralink, hand it to the patient and let them talk to the doctor. If pharmacy is calling, I can walk into the med room and explain just what the pyxis is doing, just what I'm missing, etc. Or I can call any department without having to go to the desk to find a phone.

The walkie-talkies on the other hand are a pain.

I'm sure I'm off topic now, so I'll just be on my way.

Hope everyone has a good week.

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Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.
I was pulled to a floor today where I had to carry a cell phone that each of my patients had the number to! Imagine how annoying that was! Rediculous! I was recieving phone calls while in other patients rooms. Where does HIPPA fit in here? I personally would be appalled for a nurse to answer a cell phone while in my room if I were a patient Most of the calls were request for pudding or juice! Staff was so scarce, I felt like I wasn't nursing, just waitressing. I had 7 patients (telemetry floor). I did nothing but pass meds all day. The patients were demanding, wanted everything now. They just don't understand what it is like to have so much to do. They must think we are sitting around waiting for them to ask us to do something! The old people are usually very kind when I enter, but the young people are rude and have no understanding of all that I have to do. They want what they want their way and now!

It was a surprise to me how much of nursing is really waitressing. Last summer between first and second year nursing school, I enrolled in a program that gave me extra clinical time so I could take my LVN board exam.

Yeah I passed meds and did dressing changes, but 80% of my time was heating up food in the microwave. fetching juice and pudding and making coffee. When I mentioned this to the nurses I got mixed reactions. Some had a "suck it up and deal with it" attitude. Some glowed and said it was their favorite part of the job. My favorite was a nurse who pointed to her badge and said "you see this RN after my name? Might as well cover that up and put 'waitress' right there."

I had a crisis for a minute. I was stunned to see that after beating my brains out trying to learn all that I have to know to get through nursing school, most of my time will be spent making coffee. Eventually I got through it and decided that okay, if they want me to be a waitress they're going to get a very well-paid waitress. It beats two-fifty and hour plus tips.

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I had a crisis for a minute. I was stunned to see that after beating my brains out trying to learn all that I have to know to get through nursing school, most of my time will be spent making coffee. Eventually I got through it and decided that okay, if they want me to be a waitress they're going to get a very well-paid waitress. It beats two-fifty and hour plus tips.

i propose that we nurses, start accepting tips from our 'customers'.

heck, we've already proven we're not proud.

and we are in a service-oriented industry.

i think tomorrow, i'll start leaving a can labeled, "because i'm worth it" in ea of my pt's rooms. (think of that l'oreal commercial)

i'll deposit a few $$ in it, to start it off and to let the pts know what it's for...

propriety is for the birds.

heh.

leslie

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Specializes in M/S, dialysis, home health, SNF.

Nutrition and hydration are important to the healing process, and if you work with patients whose fluids are restricted because of the disease process, and incorporate teaching into giving them these things, it does mitigate (at least for me) the idea that all I'm doing is waiting on people. I recently asked a doctor to explain the rationale to me in restricting salt on someone whose sodium was already low.

I find it easier to look at the big picture. But I have many times in my career had the feeling that I am just a warm body, a name on the schedule to fill in the blanks.

Which is why I do registry now, to make my own rules, my own schedule, to go where I want and not feel owned and used.

I do hear what you're saying; too often we are seen as servants, and not given the respect we've worked for by anyone, and it's not onlydegrading but discouraging.

That's why we have to make sure we're respecting ourselves first by not allowing anyone to abuse us.

Sorry, another mini vent - or rant.

Now I really am going away.....

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Specializes in M/S, dialysis, home health, SNF.

I do hope that's tongue-in-cheek, Earle58. Let's not encourage the disrespect we already encounter, but find a positively productive way to counter it.

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I do hope that's tongue-in-cheek, Earle58. Let's not encourage the disrespect we already encounter, but find a positively productive way to counter it.

of course you're right.

what was i thinking?

to heck w/using a can.

i'll leave my gucci wallet opened.

leslie

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Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.
I do hope that's tongue-in-cheek, Earle58. Let's not encourage the disrespect we already encounter, but find a positively productive way to counter it.

Oh, for the love of Heaven!!! What is it on here lately? We've had the one on here that will remain nameless trying to shame everyone while regaling us with a trip down memory lane, telling us that our attitudes were the reason that patients were acting the way they were, and following it up with "I hope this helps and that the derision of patient behavior has stopped". Gads, that STILL gets my goat, after all this time. (I think the girls at school are right, I need a drinking program.)

Then we have healing7 on another thread telling us that we need to "change the status quo instead of griping".

And now this. Positively productive way to counter it. I am so blasted SICK of people coming on these vent threads and telling us what mean, nasty people we all are, and how the answer is not to "gripe" about this.

Do you think we don't know that? Do you think it has not been tried? When was the last time you trie to get administration to approve anything that made the nurses life easier?

Bottom line, this is a VENT thread, if you don't want to hear venting, or can not see fit to chime in without criticizing, there's the X button. Feel free to click. This never used to be an issue. Who moved the rock?

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
many hospitals use the spectralink or similar cellphone system. i personally like it because i'd rather the patient call me on that for a cup of ice than be paged to the desk only to be told "room xxx needs you" then go to the room, find out all he needed was ice, go get it, go give it to him.

and while i'm on that subject, why can't the unit clerk ask the patient what they need or the caller on the phone who only wants the call transferred to the room instead of paging me to the desk to handle it because i'm the nurse?

mini vent on that....

also, though, i can page a doctor to call my own spectralink, hand it to the patient and let them talk to the doctor. if pharmacy is calling, i can walk into the med room and explain just what the pyxis is doing, just what i'm missing, etc. or i can call any department without having to go to the desk to find a phone.

the walkie-talkies on the other hand are a pain.

i'm sure i'm off topic now, so i'll just be on my way.

hope everyone has a good week.

i'm familiar with the spectralink system as well. however, i have never heard of patients being given the extension to their nurse's phone!

do my patients really want to talk to me when i'm in the bathroom? :stone

jess

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Specializes in LTC, Medicare visits.
i propose that we nurses, start accepting tips from our 'customers'.

heck, we've already proven we're not proud.

and we are in a service-oriented industry.

i think tomorrow, i'll start leaving a can labeled, "because i'm worth it" in ea of my pt's rooms. (think of that l'oreal commercial)

i'll deposit a few $$ in it, to start it off and to let the pts know what it's for...

propriety is for the birds.

heh.

leslie

ha-ha, I'm leaving one at the nurses station for the families. The rare occasions I get to sit and chart, family members stand there and ask " Are you mom's nurse?", even if I'm not they proceed to tell me a story and would I please pass on this 5 min. story to the right nurse.

I can't even finish a note without interruption and it drives me nuts at times. I think I will take charts next time to the housekeeping closet and see if I can get them done!!!!!!:nuke:

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