Rejected by Patient

Nurses General Nursing

Published

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?

On 9/30/2019 at 11:54 AM, MiralaxOnIceRN said:

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...

Yes. Well there’s the option of simply making a request that it not happen again as opposed to focusing ones displeasure on a particular employee and declaring that they personally must not darken one’s doorway, as the case with the OP.

I don’t get the focus on individuals in a lot of these instances where clearly there is a routine or even a policy that is being followed. But people just love the idea of there being a wrong-doer who can be punished.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Tele, PH, CM.

You need a penlight. I learned to do anything with a penlight and the light from the hall. As a patient, I have had that happen several times. But I complained to the nurse involved, and that solved the problem. As a nurse, would never go farther before speaking to the nurse involved.

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Specializes in Peds ED.
On 9/26/2019 at 8:34 AM, AlmostThere19 said:

Has a patient ever requested not to have you?

Yes and it's always been a relief TBH.

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On 9/26/2019 at 7:48 AM, JKL33 said:

It isn't worth any more of your time. Don't exaggerate this in your mind; you know that your competence is not, in reality, a matter of this person's opinion. If the experience can help you in any way (as far as something you decide to do differently in the future) then use it to your advantage and move on.

If it isn't the lights it'll be something else, and if it isn't you it will be someone else. These things happen. No harm, no foul.

On the other hand, we do need to remember that patients need sleep and that light can be bothersome.

When I was an inpatient, I was shocked to learn how sleep deprivation made me so irritable. And that was after only 24 hours. Imagine being hospitalized/institutionalized for long periods of time, dependent, in someone else's turf. It's horrible.

As stated above, use the least amount of light that is safe - flashlight, bathroom light that doesn't shine in the patient's eyes.

People seem to rarely have the courage or courtesy to tell you directly when they are upset with you. Forget hoping for this fantasy. Move on.

On 10/12/2019 at 8:31 AM, JKL33 said:

Yes. Well there’s the option of simply making a request that it not happen again as opposed to focusing ones displeasure on a particular employee and declaring that they personally must not darken one’s doorway, as the case with the OP.

I don’t get the focus on individuals in a lot of these instances where clearly there is a routine or even a policy that is being followed. But people just love the idea of there being a wrong-doer who can be punished.

Maybe some people love that idea, but not everyone is like that.

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On 9/28/2019 at 8:02 PM, HappyMonkey said:

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

Don't sweat it!

~Monkey

Was served by a waitress today who was ridiculously perky, loud. I figure she was being friendly or was high. She was a great waitress, but just way too upbeat.

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On 9/26/2019 at 8:41 AM, AlmostThere19 said:

You're right, you can't please everyone. When I first started nursing a few weeks ago, I'd try to quietly sneak into a patient's room so as not to wake them. This resulted in them waking up anyways and being really startled to see me there. So I started announcing myself even if it meant waking them up, but apparently that doesn't work for everyone either.

It's not good to purposely wake up sleeping patient if you can do what's needed while they sleep. I'd be really mad if you woke me unnecessarily.

Yeah, it's a balancing act, but so many people have so much trouble sleeping and getting back to sleep, so why wake them unnecessarily?

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Specializes in Medical Surgical, Postpartum, Derm/Allergy, Hemonc.

I was fired by 2 patients and i had no idea why until i was called in the managers office . Basically i wasn’t perky enough which came off as not caring & nurturing. Also trying to let your patients sleep through the night can backfire ( then it is you were not in the room all night ). I’m going to work on being more perky.

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On 10/14/2019 at 9:35 PM, Kooky Korky said:

I figure she was being friendly or was high.

This made me laugh. I was at a store a couple weeks ago (Lululemon) and one of the sales ladies there was ridiculously upbeat and perky. Annoyingly so. Working with one family and while the son was trying on stuff was telling the young daughter how gorgeous she was (she wasn't) and telling the parents they should get her into modeling. Then the son comes out of the dressing room and she comments how "amazing those pants look" (they looked like work out pants). Told some other woman she was "super buff" and she was "so jealous of her guns" ? All of these comments were loud, perky and I was like "WOW! did she smoke or ingest before coming to work today"?! Or they all work on commission ?

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There's always 2 sides to every story. I will probably be in the hospital eventually for heart surgery to repair an aneurysm. My sleeping habits are horrible. I have to take a lunesta but my dog wakes me up usually around midnight, give an hour or two. And I cannot go back to sleep. I worked alot of evenings and nights as an LPN, and I'm sure that has contributed to it. Ive been retired several,years now but I'm still,not turned around. So if I get woke up I know it won't be the nurses fault. She will have to do what she need to do and I,will just be awake.,I'm not gona lay into her about it. Maybe I'll go back,to,sleep, maybe not. Cross that bridge when we come to to it.,

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

I was fired once by a patient as well because I have a thick Spanish accent (per pt). I was fired another time because I kept asking pt for name and DOB at med administrations and it became "annoying". This was a shared A/B room btw.

I was much younger at the time, now I could give not one care for pettiness. Pick your battles and what you get upset about.

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