Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Apr 23, 2006

Just to make sure it was working and to make sure we were working as well!

burn out · Apr 23, 2006

Probably not the weirdst but the most annoying call light ring is from the 400-500 pound beached whale that says "Pull me up". I have to keep from biting my tongue and saying "The LORD helps those that help themselves."

ChocoholicRN · Apr 23, 2006

I had a patient today who pressed the call bell literally every 5 minutes, if not sooner. One time after she called on the call bell I went in and what do u think she wants? She wanted me to move the IV pole so she could see the clock. She wanted to be able to count down the minutes to when she could use her PCA button next.

p.s. when i left the room, i walked around the corner and sure enough, there she was on the call bell again!! :nono:

belfry · Apr 24, 2006

Had a lady push the call bell and ask to leave a wake up call! :lol2:

The clerk asked her, "For what time?", and she stated that 7:00 am would be fine. The clerk just laughed and told her that around here the lab comes in at 5:00 am and she would be wide awake long before 7:00!

General E. Speaking, RN, RN · May 4, 2006

"scratch my butt" Noooooooooo thanks, you'll have to handle THAT task on your own

APP · May 4, 2006

"I once had a patient who called me to the room to wipe his butt because he did not wipe his own butt at home....his wife did. :uhoh3: (I'm not kidding about this):rotfl:

That same patient would call me to his room to pull the bedside table closer to him, and pour him a cup of cold water. He didn't have to do this for himself at home. His wife did it, or their "help" did it."

I bet his wife was enjoying her vacation from him while he was in the hospital!

APP · May 4, 2006

Reading this makes me wonder if there should not at least be an intercom so you could talk to the pt to ask what they want before going to their room...

Or maybe have a phone the patients could use for non-urgent requests with an operator to triage the calls, and have a LOUD siren attached to the emergency call button to discourgae it's use!

Indy, LPN, LVN · May 9, 2006

My unit's call lights do that; push a button and ask what they need over the intercom. Of course, they don't always tell you.

Inspired_2b · May 11, 2006

We had a patient who use his phone to call the nsg station for a nurse. ..."Yes, this is Mr. so and so in room 13, I need a nurse to help me get out of bed"

shape0fmyheart · May 18, 2006

Actually the patients that have driven me near insane have been nurses themselves, retired, but nurses nontheless. One of them kept ringing alllll night because her gas was painful. Meanwhile I have post-ops with low urine output and BPs crashing and 2 or 3 dependent cares, but she wants me to call doctors all night and be in her room all night long talking about this gas. The other one was a postop knee, OMG, no one has ever driven me so nuts in my entire 10 month career. She rang, every 5 minutes, ALL NIGHT LONG. And then had the nerve to say that no one was answering her bell!! I am sure that the Dilaudid PCA had something to do with that but come on, I can't stand when people accuse me of that when I actually DO go in there for every stupid request. She would tell me she had an itch, or she needed ice, or just tell me that "Nursing is not what it used to be!" Yeah, she worked in OB and tells me "This is why i never worked med-surg". Yeah, so stop with the $(%# call bell! ahhhh :smackingf

phatgirl76 · May 18, 2006

I had a pt put his call light on, when I entered the room he said "can you pull my covers up on me?" I was thinking, "you can work the call light, but you can't pull your sheet up on you?!?!":smackingf

Chicklet2 · May 18, 2006

Hey.. great post.. we have one resident in LTC that'll constantly push the call bell and u go to her room and she'll say " I didn't call you, I dont know why u are here" when u tell her yes u did call she's like they told me to do it..