"Thats not my patient"

Imagin8tion · Apr 18, 2003

I second that!! All too often I hear this.. It's too bad:rolleyes:

~Christina~

Uptoherern, RN · Apr 18, 2003

" You'll just have to make do with what you have."

P_RN, ADN, RN · Apr 18, 2003

I suggest "Im not familiar with that patient but let me find you someone who can help you." Or what may I help you to find?

Sometimes "That's not my job" is necessary. You will find that whatever another department abandons Nursing takes up the slack. Moreover Nursing Management is usually the one who volunteers us to do it.

Eg: delivering trays, venipuncture/phlebotomy, respiratory, emptying trash on 2nd and 3rd shift, changing the toner cartridge in the printer in the middle of your documentation, etc.

memphispanda, RN · Apr 18, 2003

Happens all the time where I am...Since I am new, I have a ton of questions, and I try to ask generic questions of someone who doesn't appear to be in the middle of something...It usually ends up going something like this...

Me: "Mrs. Smith in 53 needs _____...."

Nurse: "She's not mine, you need to talk to her nurse _____"

Me: "well, I just really need to know where"

Nurse: "You need to ask her nurse"

Me: "can you please tell me what shelf the _____ are on so I don't have to disturb her nurse who is in 58 doing ___thing?"

Nurse: "Oh...ok I can show you where something is I guess."

plumrn, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2003

That sentence is really frowned on where I work. I don't think anyone would have the guts to say it. However, sometimes just as bad: "Oh, Suzy is her nurse."

Zee_RN, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2003

My standard answer:

"I'm not taking care of her today but is there something I can help you with?"

Something I have heard from the physicians that THEY really hate is when they ask about a patient and they're told..."Oh, that nurse is at lunch." (This is another time I use my above-referenced line.)

ptnurse · Apr 18, 2003

The first nurse manager I ever worked for would tell you in your interview that if she ever heard you say "that isn't my patient" she would write you up.

sedate_me_stat · Apr 18, 2003

I am normally shy by nature.

I work on a busy telemetry unit right now and we have one nurse who always says that!

"he is not my patient"

she even went to the trouble of coming to the front desk to tell me that my patient wanted a drink of water.

Usually I let comments slide. But I responded to her and told her that the patients are everyones responsibility and I did not know that I had special "water getting" skills.

She does not like me too much anyway , So it did not bother me to tell her that.

Comments like hers make me sad

KMLWA2003 · Apr 18, 2003

Originally posted by Zee_RN
My standard answer:

"I'm not taking care of her today but is there something I can help you with?"

that's what i usually say.

i try to be as helpful as possible

sanakruz, ADN · Apr 18, 2003

Tiresome, isnt it?

allnurses Guide · Apr 18, 2003

"Usually I let comments slide. But I responded to her and told her that the patients are everyones responsibility and I did not know that I had special "water getting" skills."

Oh, that is very funny.

:chuckle

We don't say "not my patient" here either. Truthfully, they are all "our" patients, as when a nurse goes on break or lunch (or off to the breastpumping room for nursing moms like me), the other nurse/nurses are responsible for her patients. When a code is called, we all respond, not just the primary nurse.

Its called TEAMWORK.