....but instead "save up" their requests until you go in there to do something, are just as annoying as patients who are on their call light all the time, IMO.
I *hate* it when I'm just going in to get some vitals or pass a pill, and the patient has saved up all of their requests. They need more water, another blanket, some jello, to go for a walk, to take a shower, and on and on.
Last night, one of my patients' tele said he was in V Tach. Well, since monitors do lie, and I knew the patient well, in my heart of hearts I knew he was probably just scratching his belly or something. But, as a good nurse, I could not ignore it, and got up from where I had logged in on the computer and had all my charts piled around me, trying to catch up on documentation before doing my last rounds, and went in there to make sure the guy was still alive. Sure enough, he was sitting on the side of his bed, just fine and dandy. One of his leads had come off while he was moving around, so I fixed it, and as I'm trying to get out the door to go back and finish what had been interrupted, he says he wants his pills, some new bedding, a snack, more water, etc. I told him I had something to finish up and that I'd be back in a while, and left (I'm learning to prioritize my work; as a former CNA, it's hard for me to not respond to patient requests like this immediately).
So, I went back, logged out of the computer, then went and took care of my two elderly "turn Q2" and incontinent patients, made sure they were clean, dry, and pain free, then went and took care of my isolation patient, since he had only one med pass left for the night and I hadn't checked on him for a while, and saved this guy for last so I could give him the attention he was seeking.
Of course, he complained that I had kept him up "past his bed time". Then he took my hand, and would not let go, while he apologized for being such a difficult patient and thanked me for my hard work, and went ON AND ON, all the while holding onto my hand, which I kept trying to pull away, all about how when you die is when people say all the nice stuff about you, and how you should say nice stuff to people while they're still alive, and on and on and on ad nauseum. I mean, I agreed with what he was saying and appreciated being thanked, but it felt really disengenious, and the way he wouldn't let go of my hand made me really uncomfortable.
Vent away! I totally and completely understand! I HATE when my pt has to share a room with someone else. Every time you go in the other patient needs something else. And how is it possible that it is always the guy who asks you for ice-cream, you check his water, grab a warm blanket regardless of whether he needed one or not, check when pain meds are due and he needs "a pen" "a magazine" "a newspaper" "can I call long distance from here?" UUGGGHHHH! It gets exhausting. It doesn't mean you aren't a caring nurse if you are annoyed when this happens, just as long as you don't let it show. I've mastered the "inner eye roll"!
ooh i can't even explain the horrible weekend i had with 4 patients families and friends( out of my 6 patiets ) that they seemed to come up to the nurses station and ask me stupid questions . i swear one daughter of a patient asked me stupid questions because she knew she would be bothering me.. i had to dscharge her mother and she kept me in the room for 1 hour asking the stupid questions over and over again.. and saying "oh wow i don't have to start her blood pressure meds until the next day because i allready gave them to her for the day" and she asked me that 20 times and then she asked me about " what it means to take a med with food" she kept asking me now should i give her the whole meal or half ?? i said what did you do at home to her and she stated " you tell me what should be doing at home with this med??" what a looser she was.. that was the discharge from hell, and i had to put up with that woman for the whole 2 days from before the discharge...
then i had a patent who's friend was a CNA and she wanted to take the pt's temp for me.. i said no you don't work here and you cannot touch my IVAC... and she screamed at me and it just contuined for the whole day and the day after....
and thats 2 of the problem families
i never knew people could be so selfish and take a busy nurse who is tired and has other patients who need them keep you there for stupid things ...
they know you have been there all day working and take up your time.. i have been a nurse for 22 years and people are becoming so selfish...
For me it is a thing of I don't want to bother or annoy my nurse. When my nurse comes in to do something I generally ask for the things I need, along with a "when you get a chance" and, unless it is the bathroom, which I do use the call light for, I truly do not mind waiting a little while. I realize my nurses are busy. When I am asking for something like a drink from the kitchen I say why don't you bring two then I will not need to ask you later. That way I really don't need to ask her later and as she is getting me one it is just as easy to get two.
I am getting better with this and if I need something using my call bell. I recently had a discussion about this with a couple of members here actually.
This might be a little off topic, but it also becomes very frustrating when pts don't use their call bells and instead send a family member to the desk...everytime!! I've had many pts were they have a visitor that comes to the desk for everything from requesting water or a snack to toileting or my favorite "needs to talk to the nurse". (no specific reason supplied) This becomes difficult when they ONLY seek out the nurse, since many of their requests could be shared between myself and the CNA. Since the call bell is not ringing, the CNA would have no reason to think the pt needs anything and its not worth going and looking for the CNA (I don't mean to suggest they're hiding, but rather they are caring for pts that do use their call bells) for these tasks when I can just do them myself. HOWEVER, I then end up providing one on one care to this pt, doing both nursing and CNA tasks. These also tend to be the pts that when the CNA is around, they are fine and say they don't need anything right now. It has become such an inconvience to keep stopping to do every little thing eveytime the pt sends out their visitor to alert me that they need something else, that I now tell them that they need to use their call bell. :spbox:
This might be a little off topic, but it also becomes very frustrating when pts don't use their call bells and instead send a family member to the desk...everytime!! I've had many pts were they have a visitor that comes to the desk for everything from requesting water or a snack to toileting or my favorite "needs to talk to the nurse". (no specific reason supplied) This becomes difficult when they ONLY seek out the nurse, since many of their requests could be shared between myself and the CNA. Since the call bell is not ringing, the CNA would have no reason to think the pt needs anything and its not worth going and looking for the CNA (I don't mean to suggest they're hiding, but rather they are caring for pts that do use their call bells) for these tasks when I can just do them myself. HOWEVER, I then end up providing one on one care to this pt, doing both nursing and CNA tasks. These also tend to be the pts that when the CNA is around, they are fine and say they don't need anything right now. It has become such an inconvience to keep stopping to do every little thing eveytime the pt sends out their visitor to alert me that they need something else, that I now tell them that they need to use their call bell. :spbox:
I call that "The Lost Look At The Nurses Station" better known as "Can he have this Frappuccino even though he is NPO?"
I'd prefer for them to ask for everything at once. Sometimes the rapid-fire requests are the worst though!!
I had a patient the other night that said, "Hey I drank this whole cup of water you gave me 2 hours ago! I've been thirsty!" So I walked to the kitchen, got him a new cup of water.
When I returned he said, "Is there any way I can get a cup of ice cream?" I think, "sure, why not, he's a diabetic and got a bunch of insulin earlier it can't hurt." Walk to the kitchen, get him some ice cream."
When I returned he said, "LOL I accidentally spilled my urinal on my bed I need new sheets. Just call me Mr. Butterfingers." I say, "hang on a minute I'll be right back. Can I get anything else for ya?" Pt-"nope" Walk to the clean utility, get new sheets. Walked back and changed the bed.
Pt-"Boy all that rolling around in bed made me sore...can I get a pain med?" Me-"yes! Anything else while I'm out there?" Pt-"Nope." I went to ge tthe pain med...returned, handed him the meds.
Pt-"These pain meds can be hard on my stomach, Can I get some graham or soda crackers to eat with it?" Me-"Okay sure. Do you need anything else?" Pt-"Nope" Walk back to the kitchen AGAIN. Return smiling, "here's your crackers sir."
I notice he had dropped ice cream all over himself..
Pt-"Can I get a new..."
Me-"Gown! Yes a gown!! Anything else?" Pt-"Nope."
Make the triangle from the dirty utility to clean utility to pt room.
Pt-"I'm still kinda hungry do you guys have sandwiches up here?"
Me-"Sure do you like ham or turkey? Mayo or mustard?"
Pt-"Ham with mayo please!"
Me-"okay! Is there anything else I can get while I'm out there?" pt-"Nope"
Run back to the kitchen AGAIN. Return to the pt's room.
pt-"Do you guys have milk up here?"
me-"Yes do you like 2%, whole or skim?"
pt-"2% sounds great."
me-"Anything else?"
pt-"nope" Run to the kitchen and back
pt-"hey thanks for the milk, can I get @#$>@#%........"
repeat this ad nauseam for an entire hour. I wasn't otherwise busy or else I would have had to cut it shorter.
I mean, obviously if he had just asked, "I need my bed changed, my urinal's kind of full, and I'm sore and hungry" I would have just done all that in the first place...
I don't mind them not using the call light so much, but I really hate it when they start yelling. Had one screaming the other night. He was at the end of the hall and you could hear him all the way up to the nurse's station. Nurse and I both came running. This guy is the meanest, nastiest patient from you know where. And because we didn't come running fast enough, he called us "worthless pieces of (swear word)." Darn good thing he was HOH too because if I could have gotten away with giving him a piece of my mind, I would have.
I'd prefer for them to ask for everything at once. Sometimes the rapid-fire requests are the worst though!!
I had a patient the other night that said, "Hey I drank this whole cup of water you gave me 2 hours ago! I've been thirsty!" So I walked to the kitchen, got him a new cup of water.
When I returned he said, "Is there any way I can get a cup of ice cream?" I think, "sure, why not, he's a diabetic and got a bunch of insulin earlier it can't hurt." Walk to the kitchen, get him some ice cream."
When I returned he said, "LOL I accidentally spilled my urinal on my bed I need new sheets. Just call me Mr. Butterfingers." I say, "hang on a minute I'll be right back. Can I get anything else for ya?" Pt-"nope" Walk to the clean utility, get new sheets. Walked back and changed the bed.
Pt-"Boy all that rolling around in bed made me sore...can I get a pain med?" Me-"yes! Anything else while I'm out there?" Pt-"Nope." I went to ge tthe pain med...returned, handed him the meds.
Pt-"These pain meds can be hard on my stomach, Can I get some graham or soda crackers to eat with it?" Me-"Okay sure. Do you need anything else?" Pt-"Nope" Walk back to the kitchen AGAIN. Return smiling, "here's your crackers sir."
I notice he had dropped ice cream all over himself..
Pt-"Can I get a new..."
Me-"Gown! Yes a gown!! Anything else?" Pt-"Nope."
Make the triangle from the dirty utility to clean utility to pt room.
Pt-"I'm still kinda hungry do you guys have sandwiches up here?"
Me-"Sure do you like ham or turkey? Mayo or mustard?"
Pt-"Ham with mayo please!"
Me-"okay! Is there anything else I can get while I'm out there?" pt-"Nope"
Run back to the kitchen AGAIN. Return to the pt's room.
pt-"Do you guys have milk up here?"
me-"Yes do you like 2%, whole or skim?"
pt-"2% sounds great."
me-"Anything else?"
pt-"nope" Run to the kitchen and back
pt-"hey thanks for the milk, can I get @#$>@#%........"
repeat this ad nauseam for an entire hour. I wasn't otherwise busy or else I would have had to cut it shorter.
I mean, obviously if he had just asked, "I need my bed changed, my urinal's kind of full, and I'm sore and hungry" I would have just done all that in the first place...
every pt, every shift. all of a sudden they become quadraplegics and need help to do things they did when they walked onto the floor (..hold my cup so I can drink water, wipe me, boost me in bed....)
I call that "The Lost Look At The Nurses Station" better known as "Can he have this Frappuccino even though he is NPO?"
You are far kinder than I am in referring to the look as "Lost" - I find myself calling it "the stink eye" or the "how dare you chart on that computer while I'm looking at you". It's usually paired with the arms crossed pose or the pacing that implies that they are either ready for the discharge papers (can't give 'em till I have 'em), or "oh nothing... I was just hoping to catch the doctor to give him my insurance card..."
To the OP - I don't think you were being insensitive. If anything, you recognized the patient's need and prioritized it appropriately. If it makes you feel any better, think of 10 good things that you did during that shift and concentrate on them. One manipulative patient can make a shift horrible, but after the fact, think about the good stuff. It works -- sometimes! :)
Sometimes when I am covering for the monitor tech I answer the call system and no matter how often you ask what the pt wants the RN for they refuse to tell you so you send down the RN only to find it could have been the PCT who could have done the job.
It also infuriates me when the pt who is NPO for a test complains on and on about being NPO-yet they presented themselves to the ER for help-When I was a recent pt and was NPO I was too ill to complain or worry about it.
nope. she had done it so many times that the MT didnt bother calling the nurse because it was always her way of trying to get attention. she had been down for about 25 minutes when we finally got in there, transporter came to pick her up for CT scan and found her pulseless. big big big drama.
i guess the boy who cried wolf story came to life that day...
To be honest----I never have liked that boy who cried wolf story. Sometimes, the wolf shows up. And I've seen people who find it easier to not trust, because they don't want to even bother to make the effort to check it out. Not even when people try to show them the proof.
I've also had a resident who didn't use the light. She walked to the bathroom by herself, would get up and get dressed, even though she needed someone to help her. She didn't want to be a bother. I got more than a few gray hairs, because I didn't want her to fall and break a hip.
nurseby07
338 Posts
Nancy-
Vent away! I totally and completely understand! I HATE when my pt has to share a room with someone else. Every time you go in the other patient needs something else. And how is it possible that it is always the guy who asks you for ice-cream, you check his water, grab a warm blanket regardless of whether he needed one or not, check when pain meds are due and he needs "a pen" "a magazine" "a newspaper" "can I call long distance from here?" UUGGGHHHH! It gets exhausting. It doesn't mean you aren't a caring nurse if you are annoyed when this happens, just as long as you don't let it show. I've mastered the "inner eye roll"!