Same patient's over and over again

[MattNurse]

Do you ever get to work, look at your assignment and have your heart sink because you know the patient's by name?

My last few shifts I have had the same alcoholic on my assignment . A person I have detoxed so many times . I know alcoholism is a disease, but sometimes I consider becoming a traveling nurse to get away from taking care of the same people for years on end.

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

i love the nights i have a beer for my pt q4h down the ng, makes for a peaceful shift hehe...

that's so wrong but i can't stop lmao :rotfl:

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

that's so wrong but i can't stop lmao :rotfl:

i know, but hey; we can't change them. of course the beer is after all other rx meds have failed. i had one that went from non-verbal to singing after one beer down the ng.

[Picklefreak]

Eh, this is just one of those things you can't take to heart as a nurse. Sometimes when I see a familiar name on the board I just have to sigh and shake my head and then go give them their meds. What else can you do?

[MattNurse, MSN, RN]

Eh, this is just one of those things you can't take to heart as a nurse. Sometimes when I see a familiar name on the board I just have to sigh and shake my head and then go give them their meds. What else can you do?

come to the internet to vent a bit (anonymously).

[foreverLaur]

I work in inpatient psych. It's nothing but repeat customers.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

"Frequent flyers" are very common in psych. With some well-known patients, I can give intake a full report on the patient before the patient even gets to my unit :)

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

If we didn't have repeat "customers" we wouldn't have a hospital.

With that in mind I greet these pts like old friends. All the while I'm mentally

banging my head on the counter.

You really can make your thoughts lighter, by acting as if seeing the same pt for the third time in a month the funnest thing in the world.

Sometimes it works better than others.

[Patti_RN]

I've worked in psych, med-surg, the ED, and with substance users/ abusers. Yes, people have addictions, psych problems, and self-destructive behaviors of all kinds. Cigarette smokers know they're at risk for cancer, CAD, hypertension and a whole list of other ailments; they aren't going to be swayed by nurses educating them of the risks--they already know the risks. Drug addicts know the risks of meth, cocaine, crack or whatever their drug is--they've seen their friends die--what we tell them in 10 minutes isn't going to change what they do. Ditto for alcohol... ditto for over eating and obesity... ditto for those who don't get enough exercise. The psych patients are usually non-compliant because of their mental illness, most mental illnesses cause paranoia that prevents the patient from seeking treatment or complying with their course of treatment. They don't want to be haunted by demons; if they could take one pill and have it all go away, they would (if they were well enough to trust enough to take that pill).

It's short-sighted and unreasonable (not to mention judgmental) to believe that educating a person will cure them of an addiction or change behaviors that are so strongly ingrained. It isn't our job to judge, to expect 100% compliance in patients who fight addictions, mental illnesses, or behaviors that we have never experienced. If it were so easy to lose weight, we'd all be thin; if it were so easy to stop smoking, the cigarette companies would be out of business, etc. I don't know an addict who wants to be an addict or an overweight person who deliberately overeats. No, there is something inexplicable that causes a person to continue taking drugs, smoking cigarettes, over eating, or drinking--something that neither science nor medicine has been able to unlock the reason or treatment for--in spite of billions of dollars spent in research. If scientists can't determine what makes a person pursue self-destructive behaviors, and no cure has been found to effectively treat these addictions and behaviors, do we really think our 5 minute lecture will have an impact?

Instead of feeling frustrated because we see the same patients multiple times, we might muster an ounce or so of empathy for them and their families. We should thank our lucky stars it's not us.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Good suggestion, I was considering moving into the NICU, they never come back.

No, y'all just are responsible for creating the frequent flyers on your local peds respiratory and GI units. :)

I know it's a good day when report only has half of my patients as "former twenty-x weekers."

[Vespertinas]

Between all these patients who come and go, whose names and faces become a blur, and when med passes and discharges/admissions start making m feel like I'm on a hamster wheel..... I welcome the sight of a familiar patient. When I look back at my (short) career, my memories are punctuated by those patients with whom I spent many shifts under many circumstances.

[PeepnBiscuitsRN]

I too spent hours watching those little cartoons (I need oxycontin, I need oxycontin, do you have any oxycontin?) They should be mandatory viewing for all! This would be all too funny if it wasn't so serious.

"I need to poop. Will you help me poop. If Chuck Norris were here he would make me poop- he would kick the c**p out of me".

[pinkfluffybunny]

Didnt read all the posts but thought I would add that one of the problems with healthcare is having to use the ED as a primary care physician due to lack of insurance.