Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

farmerrl · Nov 2, 2005

I'm sure everyone has heard this one......................Can you pick up this glass and give me a drink? The patient points and touches the cup..........is in the hospital for a toe amputation (for example):rotfl:

TreetopAngel_RN · Nov 2, 2005

I'm sure everyone has heard this one......................Can you pick up this glass and give me a drink? The patient points and touches the cup..........is in the hospital for a toe amputation (for example):rotfl:

That's when I make sure their bedside table is as close to them as possible and remind them that their arms are not broken. I also remind them that I am there for the things they CANNOT do for themselves.

grace90, LPN, LVN · Nov 3, 2005

34 M walkie talkie "I think I did something wrong to my IV pump when I unplugged it to go to the bathroom. The numbers on it keep going down. :lol2: " The aide informed him, with a straight face, that I had set the amount of the IV bag to infuse and the numbers were going down as the bag was going in. Then we had a good laugh when she got to the desk. :rotfl:

gizelda196 · Nov 3, 2005

Had a woman who was 101. She rung her bell but then just looked at us. Eventually she said "Am I dead yet?".

:rotfl: :roll

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Nov 3, 2005

Not to mix up ghost stories w/ call bell stories, but there was this guy once that kept pushing the call button because he was mad that he had died.

NO, really.

Every five minutes for 2.5 hrs after he died, the call light went off. . . Until one of our nurses exorcised him. "Frank, you don't belong here anymore. Go to where you belong" (along w/ a few religious references.)

And after that, the call light stopped going off.

~faith,

Timothy.

veegeern, BSN, RN · Dec 13, 2005

:rotfl:
....there should be a limit to the number of times one is allowed to enter a patient room for non-emergency reasons in one hour (I think 17 call bell rings from the same person in one hour is a bit much don't you?)
We have a renal doc who will actually tell a patient who is abusing the call bell "You are only alllowed to press the call light 15 times each day. Chose the times you use it well." :rotfl: (walkie, talkie, A&O x3) Seems to work with our worst call light abusers!

TreetopAngel_RN · Dec 13, 2005

We have a renal doc who will actually tell a patient who is abusing the call bell "You are only alllowed to press the call light 15 times each day. Chose the times you use it well." :rotfl: (walkie, talkie, A&O x3) Seems to work with our worst call light abusers!

Oh how I wish I could do this.

I will tell patients that no staff member will be answering their call light for 15 minutes. This at least gives us a breather so we can take care of our other 19 patients. And I make it stick, the call light is not answered for 15 minutes. I chart the call light abuse and my "fix."

RN and Mommy · Dec 13, 2005

I had a patient call me in the room because she swore her telemetry box was attacking her. she said I felt it grip my throat and I had to fight it.
That's great! :rotfl:

yvonnemuse, BSN, RN · Dec 14, 2005

I had a gentleman ring and say" this is not working" while holding the call light. I assured him it was indeed working, why else was I standing here? He said "Well it is not shaving like it ought" and proceeded to rub the calllight over his stubble. Oh yes, the versitile callights.

smith_nurse2006 · Dec 14, 2005

well i work as a nurse aide at a nursing home and i love helping ppl. EXCEPT for the ppl who ask for the stupidest things and can help themselves. well i come on shift at 2, and this ladys call bell is going off b4 report and nobody wants to answer it and so i do it to be a good nurse aide. i go in there and she yells at me bc we never come in and talk to her and sit down with her and we are always in a hurry, i proceeded to tell her that there are 4 aides to take care of 48 residents and that we do our best. she proceeded to tell me to get her water , which was less than a foot away and she was able to get it, and then to get her 2 bottles of vicks vapo rub and some other stupid stuff. now if she was unable to do it i would have enjoyed doing it for her.....but no she is just annoying and nobody wants to go in her room and she wonders why.............HMMMMMM so i was in a pissed off mood, i tried not to be but this lady gets my bird. ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!! so when i am an RN i will work in a hospital, but im sure this crap happens there 2

we are nurse aides not your damn maids:banghead:

lol nursing students rule:nurse: :beercuphe

DirtRoads · Dec 14, 2005

I had a patient that thought i had worked enough that day (16 plus) and she called 911 to get them to make me go home. I snuck down the hall all that night so that she would not see me. The police showed up, and told her I was going home to rest.

There was a resident at our "sister" facility that called 911 because she heard the nurse say " will someone just shoot me" and thought she was suicidal!

Harleygirl · Dec 14, 2005

Oh so funny.

I remember about 12 years ago I was working in a hospital as a CNA and I had a patient that was a complainer of all complainers. Example

"Can you move my right leg? It's touching my left leg."

"Don't fill that water pitcher much, its just so hard to lift." (Okay, this one wasn't too bad, it was just the whiny voice that went with it.)

And my favorite-

"Can you move that fan 1/8 of an inch? Its blowing too much on my leg."

Now I'm an RN, and I still hear some of the weirdest reasons why someone pushes the call ligt.

"There is a special place in h*** for the inventor of the call light!"

Harleygirl