Rejected by Patient

[AlmostThere19]

I'm kind of bummed because for the first time a patient requested not to have me. I apparently kept the patient up all night by coming in and turning on the lights. I needed to turn on the lights to see what I was doing. But the next time I was supposed to have this patient is when they requested not to have me. I know I shouldn't take it personally, but it really makes me feel like a bad nurse. I also wish people would just tell you if something you were doing was bothering them. Has a patient ever requested not to have you?

[Daisy Joyce]

One of my patients complained I was “loud”.

TBF, I actually am loud.

But the nurse she told this to is even louder than me!

[HappyMonkey, ADN, RN]

Got fired once for being too "perky". Go figure.

Don't sweat it!

~Monkey

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I got fired once for asking a parent to not balance their full open cup of Mt Dew on the monitor.

[AlwaysLearning247, BSN]

I have because the doctor decided to lower this patient’s dose of pain and anxiety medication. This patient blamed me for it (while calling me a bunch of names and threatening me). I decided to tell this patient I’m going to hand them over to another coworker and they said “too late, you’re fired.” Can’t please everyone and I was soooo happy to get away from that patient.

[mikeworksRN]

Agree with the other posters- don't waste any more energy on this- we've all been fired for nothing at some time, also, get a penlight for night shift work. I always used a little mag light from Walmart, maybe about 7 bucks, comes with a nifty holster too. You need to see but you don't need to blast those overhead lights unless there's an issue. Some nurses have a little light they clip to their lapels.

I actually got pretty good at working using only the ambient light from the hallway, until I had to spread cream over my patient's back rash, it was due at midnight. Nice patient, always accepted the treatment. I only figured out I was spreading toothpaste over his back when it started to smell of mint in the room. I did seem like that cream was a little thicker this time. So too much light is bad, too little is mistakes.

[Kitiger, RN]

I used to wear a white uniform. The material was thin, and a penlight switched on in my pocket gave me enough light to walk in without bumping into anything. If I needed to see more, I took it out of my pocket.

Turning on the overhead is seldom necessary; the bathroom light on with the door ajar works great.

[Quota, BSN, RN]

I’ve been “fired” once so far in my 8 months. Basically a newly diagnosed leukemia pt in shock and upset about it plus having issues getting pre-existing pain under control. Perfect vortex of small things and miscommunications left her unhappy with my care that day. As the nature with leukemia she was still around about 2 months later when I was assigned her again. She didn’t remember me but was very happy with my care then.

Don’t take it personally. Frequently they are having a bad time with their illness and just trying to exert control where they still can.

[Snatchedwig, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

I got fired by a patient once. My shift was lovely as I listened to the other nurse who picked him up complain about him. Life goes on......and it's better without said patient.

[Serhilda, ADN, RN]

I usually say good riddance and call it a day. I won't be changing up my entire routine because of one person nor will I lose a wink of sleep over it.

[MiralaxOnIceRN, BSN, RN]

I don't blame the patient at all. When I had my babies at the hospital I work for, I was so upset because even admitting came in at 4AM and woke me up to sign papers after I had already been there 24 hours. Sleep is important. Cluster your care. Talk to your patient about what is on the schedule for the evening and ask what is important or what is not to them. Tell them what is a must and the reason why. Some things can wait. 2 AM Heparin or a 6 AM Tacro...

[yournurse]

Do not worry! I’ve had that happen to me recently, but I want you to remember that when a patient requests not to have you, you should be thankful and move on with your day.

[ertoclinics]

I was fired once because I resembled her (the patient's) granddaughter and that upset her. Her family said they did not get along. If the pt. saw me near the door, she screamed. She did this the three times the patient came in. Crazy! Of course, the charge nurse acted liked it was my fault to.