Patients who are too lazy to open their own splenda packets

southernbelle319 · Mar 28, 2008

I hate it when you're by yourself rolling your heavier pt from side to side to either get them cleaned up or changing the linens and family member just sits there watching. Little old ladies/men, no biggie, but if you're clearly capable of helping and you see me struggling, it's greatly appreciated when you at least offer to help. I do appreciate it though when family members help, and I have had quite a few just jump up and help. One man even helped me change his father's linens while he was all decked out in suit & tie !

Diary/Dairy, RN · Mar 28, 2008

Wow - that's a great family member - I had a good family this week too - they helped me turn Grandma, get her to the bedside commode...... the works! :)

I once heard that the future of hospital care is going to be to bring a family member with you to help you do things.

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 28, 2008

I start off by very slowly spelling my last name, showing the family member my name tag. Then I say tell them everything that I am doing, ensuring that they write every little thing down. "Got it all? Good..":yawn: I am so over being intimated by the passive-aggressive note pad.
I am throrough in my documentation - to a fault. So if the family wants to take notes, whatever - my notes are legal documents, not the feverishly scribbled notes by a family member.
I do wish I had the guts to wear a button that says "YES, I wash my hands once a day. Whether they need it or not." :chuckle
Blee

I hear you. Whenever a patient threatens to complain to the management about me, I run and get the complaint form and hand it to them. I spell my name for them, tell them to make sure they make everything as detailed as they can, and make sure to note the time so that everything is documented acurately. This takes the wind out of their sales. Every complaint form I've handed to a patient or family member has never been filled out and returned. Never.

EmmaG, RN · Mar 28, 2008

There was a family member armed with a notepad in the room with the patient around the clock.

Don't ya just love that?

I had one of those idiots just the other day. When they asked for my name, I took their pad and wrote out my full name in HUGE BLOCK LETTERS.

TX_ICU_RN · Mar 28, 2008

I think a big part of the issue is administration and education renaming patients as "clients". This issue is a big part of my decision to pursue advanced practice. In my former life (before staying at home with kids) I was a Pedi NP and LOVED it. However, I have always wanted to do acute care or CRNA...so it is back to the hospital as a ICU RN for me. I start on Monday and pray that the unit I am going to will be have a great staff.

kristen929 · Mar 28, 2008

What I hate most (and makes me cringe as though someone's nails were being run down a chalkboard) is when the patient's are too lazy to even use the call button and just yell out NURSE!!!

CABG patch kid, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2008

With all this talk about patient's family helping out with turning and such, I'm just curious, if a family member was to hurt themselves in some way while helping us do our job, could we as nurses some how be held responsible for letting them help or encouraging it? Like if the family member said "Oh but nurse so-and-so asked me to help turn grandpa...."

FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I · Mar 29, 2008

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.

How true. They look at the nurse as their personal servant to serve them at every beck and call.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2008

how about the patients that can manage to work the call light to call us in there to let the head of their bed up/down? if they can push the call button, can they not push the button right beside it?

:yeahthat:

that is a common syndrome among many patients. it makes me wonder what these people do at home!

i will never forget one case...an ent surgeon was replacing a patient's trach. the new trach was upstairs in pacu, and this surgeon throws a fit if he can't have everything now. and, to be honest, a new trach was kind of important (especially since dr. impatience had removed the first one already) well, anyway, i went running down the hall (i mean running) and was stopped by a visitor who was requesting a blanket for his wife. i told him, while running, that i was in the middle of an urgent issue, but his wife would be my first stop on my way back. he shook his head at me, laughed, and said, "sure." i'm still suprised he didn't run the two flights of stairs to pacu himself.

i guess that was more about a ridiculous visitor, but still!!!

*shakes head*

it shows that no matter what department we work in, what state or country we live in, no matter how rich or poor our patients are, they lose the ability to care for themselves at all.

*~jess~*

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Mar 29, 2008

:yeahthat:
that is a common syndrome among many patients. it makes me wonder what these people do at home!
i will never forget one case...an ent surgeon was replacing a patient's trach. the new trach was upstairs in pacu, and this surgeon throws a fit if he can't have everything now. and, to be honest, a new trach was kind of important (especially since dr. impatience had removed the first one already) well, anyway, i went running down the hall (i mean running) and was stopped by a visitor who was requesting a blanket for his wife. i told him, while running, that i was in the middle of an urgent issue, but his wife would be my first stop on my way back. he shook his head at me, laughed, and said, "sure." i'm still suprised he didn't run the two flights of stairs to pacu himself.
i guess that was more about a ridiculous visitor, but still!!!
*shakes head*
it shows that no matter what department we work in, what state or country we live in, no matter how rich or poor our patients are, they lose the ability to care for themselves at all.
*~jess~*

*dusts off hands*

there! now i don't have to run and get my bifocals. :)

anyhow, back to topic, i had a poa up at the desk one night insisting to see the ceo (get this, it was a sunday night) right away because he didn't think his family member was getting appropriate amounts of attention from the nurse. well, said patient was a walkie-talkie who was slated for d/c the next morning, and i was on the phone helping her nurse get through to the doc for her second rapid response of the night. thank god someone else came around and helped him because all i could do was stare at him in complete disgust.

kxvc · Mar 29, 2008

This reminded me of an old lady in the ER who asked me to set her glasseson the bedside table for her which was, of course, easily within reach. I told her, "No, but I'll move the table closer in case you cannot stretch your arm that far." She replied by putting her glasses down all by her self without me having to move the table. I also told her I was there to help her get better, and I needed to know she could care for her self before sending her home. She was persistent, but all of her other replies were met with similar answers until she just gave up.

1TachyRN, RN · Mar 29, 2008

There's a guy in my pod tonight who's been on his call light several times tonight. On the two occasions I answered it: could I change the channel on the TV so he could watch basketball (the CHAN UP/DOWN buttons on the remote are a bit confusing) and 2) would I please rub lotion on his back so it wouldn't be itchy. He said his belly was itchy, too. I handed him the bottle of lotion and told him to have at it...