Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

Booty Nurse, BSN · Jan 19, 2006

This week I had a 48 y.o. 350 lb schizophrenic woman in w/ COPD. She was a resident at a local nursing home, was a 3-person Hoyer transfer, and was unable to roll over in bed by herself at all. When I answered her bell, she said "Is there any way I could have a cigarette? Please?" I stated that we are a nonsmoking facility, that you need a written MD order to go out to smoke or you need to sign out AMA, and that family or friends would need to bring her out, not us. She proceeded to call the nursing home and asked them to send someone over to take her outside! Yeah, I'm sure the staff in the nursing home has plenty of free time to drive 20 minutes to the hospital, Hoyer this lady out of bed, and bring her outside where it is about 5 degrees and blowing. The funny thing is that when the nurse from the nursing home called us back she said that patients can't smoke there either, and this woman hadn't had a cigarette for a year. Yeesh!

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · Jan 19, 2006

OMG you cant be serious!!! LOL!!!:rotfl:

what?

shape0fmyheart · Jan 21, 2006

He didn't ring the bell (this time) but I was in the room with bed 1 when bed 2 decides to yell out "Hello?!". I look around the curtain and say "Yes?" and he says "Oh, hi. I just wanted to say hi." :rolleyes:

pugmum · Jan 21, 2006

Ok, it is Friday the 13th (with a full moon no doubt!) 86yo male w/dementia. Kept complaining about constipation. Literally screaming for the better part of our shift. We tried everything, boost, enema. Nothing worked for him. Kept screaming. Finally decided to try natures remedy. Heated up some prune juice and made him drink all of it. Put him on a bedpan. Still kept screaming. Told him that the juice will help him, if he would allow it to and all he had to do was relax. Still kept screaming. Finally the screaming stopped, and if you have children, then you know that silence usally means that they are up to something. Went back into the room and wouldnt you know it, he had removed the bedpan and poo was all over the place! Cleaned him up, and fixed his bed, and he went to sleep, for all of 10 minutes, when he screamed for more help. Poo all over again. This repeated about 3 more times. The last time he started screaming, we all went into the room to find out what was wrong, and he said he couldn't take the pain anymore and wanted something for the diarrhea!:angryfire

:rotfl: too......:rotfl: funny......cleaning up the coffee off the screen now.....:rotfl: !!!

LPN1974, LPN · Jan 22, 2006

We had a lady at one time that would put her light on for no reason. When you went in to turn it off she would try to keep you in there for as long as possible for nothing. One shift we counted and she used her light 367 times!
I had a very sweet elderly lady with an angelic smile and the conversation went like this: Honey, do I need surgery. Me: no you don't need surgery. You are perfect just like you are. Her: Well, if I did need surgery, what kind would I need?

Brain surgery.

nsgmjr · Jan 22, 2006

I worked in ltc and have seen a lot of strange things. Once answered a call light to find a little lol w/demensia with a huge smile on her face as she strangled her roomate with the light cord. She couldnt figure out what the problem was her roomate never stopped complaining and i guess she was going to shut her up thank god she set the light off in the process.

kadokin, ASN, RN · Jan 22, 2006

I worked in ltc and have seen a lot of strange things. Once answered a call light to find a little lol w/demensia with a huge smile on her face as she strangled her roomate with the light cord. She couldnt figure out what the problem was her roomate never stopped complaining and i guess she was going to shut her up thank god she set the light off in the process.

AAHH, Dementia. Wouldn't many nurse's lives be boring w/o it?:roll

kjnorris · Jan 23, 2006

had a patient complain of being "constantly constipated I've pooped four times today and just can't get un constipated" just smiled and said we'll try to do our best for ya.

frenchfroggyAPRN, MSN, LPN, RN, APRN · Jan 23, 2006

I work on a cardiac/renal floor, recently we had a sweet little 84 y/o man get confused, walk half way down the unit take a crucifix off of a wall and start into another (CABG) patients room to "take care of that little problem". :saint: :eek: :confused:One of our other patients saw him walking down the hall holding the crucifix up like he was in psycho and hit the emergency button on their call light.

NurseStace · Feb 11, 2006

I had a res. when I was in LTC that pushed the call light because she was hungry. When the staff didnt respond soon enough, she called 911... 3 TIMES :nono: .. each time telling them that we wouldnt feed her, and asking for somthing else... ended up she asked for a hot dog and a bowl of grits. dispatch called back to nurses station, Not at all happy... Nurse on duty said " should have brought her the hot dog the first time she called".

Had another res, same facility that would have his GF call 911 whenever he felt like he wanted to go to ER... numerous times EMS has come to door asking what the problem is...

Same facility, nice pleasantly confused gent called 911 to report that he was being held hostage.

or those pesky family members living outside the residents room (2nd floor) IN THE TREE!

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Feb 11, 2006

Same facility, nice pleasantly confused gent called 911 to report that he was being held hostage.
or those pesky family members living outside the residents room (2nd floor) IN THE TREE!

Oh! So THAT's why it's called a....

(close your eyes and scroll down)

FAMILY TREE!!! :roll :roll :roll

Sorry, couldn't resist. :clown:

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · Apr 20, 2006

bump