1. don't say anything, just finish whatever you need to do and get the hell out of there.
2. politely remind him to be nice and respectful.
3. walk away and come back later.
4. smile and say I'm sorry
I am a new LPN at a new facility. Last night I was helping with the lights. One AxO older pt needs to walk to the bathroom. At first I couldn't find the power button to turn off his air mattress, he got agitated, then he insisted me flatten the bed before pulling him up. He also said I am not pulling him up the right way. I am annoyed and asked his CNA to help him instead. I know it is easy this time because I can walk away since it's not my pt, but what you do if you are stuck with a pt who is not nice?
I look at this way, I am there by my own choice and getting paid to be there. They probably are not. I try to see it as if they are sick, in pain, and probably feeling like crapola with their dignity compromised in those lovely hospital gowns. I just remember that I get to go home at 7(:30ish) and they get to sleep in a hospital bed that night. I know I'm not as nice as I can be when I feel like crap, look like crap, or I'm wearing a gown that displays my gluteus very maximus. Then there are the other kind of patients. We all know the drug-seeker types that munch Doritos and complain of back pain and gripe to the charge nurse that you didn't bring them a blanket fast enough. They not only come in on their own, they come in often enough to notice your new haircut. When these types get all miffed and nasty I imagine them in a clown suit. Well, it doesn't do any good to imagine them in their underwear when everyone is in their underwear, right? Trust me, you imagine this person in a blue wig with a red nose and it takes the punch out of anything they say. It also helps manage to keep a smile!
Really, I do follow the kill 'em with kindness philosophy. You would be surprised at how much you can turn someone's mood around. This grumpy guy might not be so grumpy with a little extra kindness. Who knows what he is thinking, and part of it may be an assumption that you don't care. Show him what a fantastic bedside manner you have, even as frustrating as is it.
Don't beat yourself up if you have a hard time being Ms. Congeniality all the time. You are human, too. Step out, breathe, and regroup before going into the next patient room if you can.
I pretend they are mentally ill and concentrate on my objective in the interaction, not the interaction itself. So if I want them to take meds then I ignore all the comments and try to get the job done. In a way they ARE mentally ill, because it is crazy not to allow your nurse to be your advocate
Maybe some people would prefer to be their own adovcate, rather than have someone they have never met. Esp if that person thinks they are crazy simiply because they refuse to take a medication.
Unless the patient is crossing the line and making disparaging remarks as me as a person, I ignore it.
There is a difference between grumbling and blatant disrespect. Grumbling is not uncommon, true disrespect I have not encountered much at all.
I work with patients and families in crisis all the time. Some of these patients have new life-changing disabilities to deal with, so I don't expect a whole dose of niceness, though the majority of people give no trouble at all.
Specializes in Peds, School Nurse, clinical instructor.
I never, ever take anything a patient says to me personally. I realize that although they may be directing their anger at me, it isn't about me. Whether in a hospital or nursing home setting, people may be afraid, feel they are losing dignity and generally not happy in their current situation. Sometimes, lashing out is the only control they have over their illness or situation.
If they are A and oriented I usually just don't say anything and ignore them. If they are making demands at me I tell them in a stern but professional voice that it will not be tolerated and I document. Sometimes you have to set limits on controlling and irrational behavior.
So,you are going to chart their behavior as "bad" because they are not nice! Do everyone a big favor, don't work in oncology.
Oh please - why such rudeness? I am not an idiot.
Some, maybe even most, behaviors need (and deserve) that free pass because of whatever is happening at the moment. We also all know there are those patients that bad behaviors borderline on abusive and escalate in frequency/severity and yes - I am going to start documenting these behaviors. It shows a pattern of behavior and if further medication management or psych evals are needed there is documentation to support this. Needless to say I am talking about objective documentation with direct quotes if needed to paint the picture of what is going on.
You will be ever so happy to know I don't work in oncology.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Just wondering what you do when pts aren't nice?
1. don't say anything, just finish whatever you need to do and get the hell out of there.
2. politely remind him to be nice and respectful.
3. walk away and come back later.
4. smile and say I'm sorry
I am a new LPN at a new facility. Last night I was helping with the lights. One AxO older pt needs to walk to the bathroom. At first I couldn't find the power button to turn off his air mattress, he got agitated, then he insisted me flatten the bed before pulling him up. He also said I am not pulling him up the right way. I am annoyed and asked his CNA to help him instead. I know it is easy this time because I can walk away since it's not my pt, but what you do if you are stuck with a pt who is not nice?
I can't say I've really ever encountered a patient that wasn't nice to me. Some people might be more friendly than others, but the maybe 2 were mean. One was just brought in drunk and I called him on it and he apologized. One was a girl that wasn't so much mean as she was so irritating, it's the only time I've lost patience and snapped at a patient. She was just insistent she didn't want to do any of the things were were going to do so I finally said "so what did you come to the ER for if you don't want any help"
I always feel out my patients and customize my care to the feeling I get from them. It's saved me from any problems.
1. don't say anything, just finish whatever you need to do and get the hell out of there.
2. politely remind him to be nice and respectful.
3. walk away and come back later.
4. smile and say I'm sorry
I am a new LPN at a new facility. Last night I was helping with the lights. One AxO older pt needs to walk to the bathroom. At first I couldn't find the power button to turn off his air mattress, he got agitated, then he insisted me flatten the bed before pulling him up. He also said I am not pulling him up the right way. I am annoyed and asked his CNA to help him instead. I know it is easy this time because I can walk away since it's not my pt, but what you do if you are stuck with a pt who is not nice?
Wow. That guy sounds like a peach compared to some of my grumpy patients. He just sounds frustrated with you not being able to help him up so he could go to the bathroom.
You have to think about how awful it is to be in a helpless situation, unable to use the toilet when you need to, and having to wait with a full bladder while someone figures out how to help you.
I once got stuck on a long bus ride with a full bladder, even though I had gone twice before I left, and I truly thought I was going to lose my mind. Since then I have a pathological fear of going anywhere where I don't know if I have access to the bathroom.
Think about being stuck in a bed ten feet away from the bathroom, needing to go, and unable to get there.
That is not a patient who is not nice, that's a patient who is desperate. I guess the lesson here is to think not about your feelings, but to think about what the patient is feeling.
Now, a truly "not nice" patient is the one who doesn't care about going to the bathroom, he'll just throw his feces at you, or dump his urinal on the floor. For those, I just go to my "happy place" in my head and fix the mess. You just can't take this stuff personally.
If I don't know a residents routines than I ask the resident instead of just assuming. If you ask the resident how they get up and what you can do to help it makes it significantly easier. If you would have stuck around when you asked the aide to help, you would have seen how to deflate the mattress and also how the resident gets up so the next time you'd know what to do and probably eventually you'll have this resident.
It's best to not rely on the aides to do all the scut work since they won't always be around to help. I wouldn't expect the residents to be a ray of sunshine either -consider their point of view and how it would feel to be in that bed.
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badmamajama
32 Posts
I look at this way, I am there by my own choice and getting paid to be there. They probably are not. I try to see it as if they are sick, in pain, and probably feeling like crapola with their dignity compromised in those lovely hospital gowns. I just remember that I get to go home at 7(:30ish) and they get to sleep in a hospital bed that night. I know I'm not as nice as I can be when I feel like crap, look like crap, or I'm wearing a gown that displays my gluteus very maximus. Then there are the other kind of patients. We all know the drug-seeker types that munch Doritos and complain of back pain and gripe to the charge nurse that you didn't bring them a blanket fast enough. They not only come in on their own, they come in often enough to notice your new haircut. When these types get all miffed and nasty I imagine them in a clown suit. Well, it doesn't do any good to imagine them in their underwear when everyone is in their underwear, right? Trust me, you imagine this person in a blue wig with a red nose and it takes the punch out of anything they say. It also helps manage to keep a smile!
Really, I do follow the kill 'em with kindness philosophy. You would be surprised at how much you can turn someone's mood around. This grumpy guy might not be so grumpy with a little extra kindness. Who knows what he is thinking, and part of it may be an assumption that you don't care. Show him what a fantastic bedside manner you have, even as frustrating as is it.
Don't beat yourself up if you have a hard time being Ms. Congeniality all the time. You are human, too. Step out, breathe, and regroup before going into the next patient room if you can.
T