Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

Laughs-a-lot, RN · May 18, 2006

I'm a student, but I had a pt that would ring like every 20 mins to ask me what time is it now?

Nurse-o-Matic · May 19, 2006

I once had a family member use the call button to ask me to get her a glass of water! Then, as if the bulging throbbing vein sticking out of the side of my neck and my steaming red face weren't enough of a hint that I was annoyed, she says, "and not too much ice 'cause I have sensitive teeth!" :uhoh3: Hello?!? Like I don't have enough work to keep me busy? Sure...that will be the next service gimmick for hospitals--where nursing staff fetches water and snacks for all the visitors. Sheesh!

gdaniels40 · May 21, 2006

working in the peds unit at a hospital, kids love the call light. THEY CALL WOLF ALL THE TIME.There reason, it just is funny to hear the wall answer you. and whats messed up, the one time you ignore the light some little kid is going to fall outta bed.

whoamiRN · May 22, 2006

I think LTC would definately win this one. We have those who push it in their sleep, those who pull it from the wall and wander around with it and those who use it like a microphone or a telephone, holding the button up to their mouth and talking into it. We also have one lady who will ring it and then ask you for her call bell, or tell you she would like to go to bed even though she has been in bed for hours. And then their's the woman who asked the staff when it would be convenient for them, she would like her pubic hair trimmed, as it got in the way ! (She's 87, so I'm not sure what it got in the way of, and I'm definately NOT going to ask):chuckle

JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP · May 22, 2006

I once had a family member use the call button to ask me to get her a glass of water! Then, as if the bulging throbbing vein sticking out of the side of my neck and my steaming red face weren't enough of a hint that I was annoyed, she says, "and not too much ice 'cause I have sensitive teeth!" Hello?!? Like I don't have enough work to keep me busy? Sure...that will be the next service gimmick for hospitals--where nursing staff fetches water and snacks for all the visitors. Sheesh!

Is there any way to respond to the intercom so the patient tells you what they need before you go to the room?

Emergency RN · May 26, 2006

Typical of most older hospitals, the intercoms were barely intelligible, so other than knowing that the bell was rung, what the person wanted could not be easily discerned until one actually went into the room.

One night during report an elderly patient with a hip fracture rang the intercom. As the nurse giving report didn't want to interupt the flow of the report, she just gave a cursory "we'll be right there..." shout into the intercom and continued. A few minutes passed and though report was over, the nurses were catching up on some unit gossip when the intercom crackles again. "Someone will be there shortly..." is announced into the microphone and the chit chat resumed.

After a few long moments, a feeble cry of "help... help..." is heard from down the hall. One of the RN's looks down the corridor and sees, on the floor, the hip fx pt crawling towards the nursing station. The nurses all rush to her and admonish her for getting out of bed, asking why she couldn't wait just a few more minutes? The patient replied that the roommate, another patient who is comatose, had an elderly private duty nurse. The old private duty suffered a heart attack and had fallen to the floor. The hip fx pt saw this and had tried, with great effort, to summon help.

Ralph

ShelleyERgirl, LPN · May 26, 2006

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: Maybe that's why they call it "Secret", since you don't remember what it is for!

Had an elderly couple, both very demented. One night he got it up and neither one could remember what this was all about. So she smeared stick deodorant all over it to take down the swelling. She rang to ask if we thought this would work.

crailroderick · Jun 3, 2006

LMAO I just had my first C-section and was in alot of pain and I waited for over and hour for my pain medication. At first I figured that the pharmacy was just taking its sweet time but then when the nurse came into the room she said, "Sorry honey, Shirley just brought the biggest chocolate cake and I had to have me a piece." I can completely understand:chuckle

meintheUSA · Jun 11, 2006

Tonight while working in LTC, an imobile resident rang to inform the staff his "bed was crooked"... Thinking maybe he had had toooooo much pain med, twice he relayed this to staff before we turned the large light on and saw his be had been moved about 2" to the right....How he KNEW his bed was crooked in the dark while he was sound asleep, we will never know...

Another resident in same LTC facility phoned 911 during a college homecoming football game to inform them a sniper was on the roof aiming at him... We were visited with 4 fully-prepared SWAT team members...that learned how demented some residents are...

stasher · Jun 11, 2006

I was recently working as a nursing student on a transplant/urology floor and somehow a patient who would call, I would show up and they would tell me they they pressed the button on accident. This seems fine except that it happened at least a 4-5 times in my 8 hour clinical shift.

valifay · Jun 11, 2006

Here's a couple that'l will make you laugh...

When I worked nights at an LTC, we had a medicare resident that hit the light everytime she wet the bed. Only she didn't know she had wet the bed, she called us to tell us she was going to call the police because the faulty plumbing in the building was flooding her bed.

Another lady, very particular I might add, would call every morning at 3am to have her hair brushed.

And last, one night a resident complained he could not sleep. There was nothing the nurse could do or give him to help him fall asleep. So he lay restless in is bed all night. About 2am he calls me specifically into his room and asked if I wanted to play tiddly winks.

nursedawn67, LPN · Jun 11, 2006

"pull up my covers." Sheesh.

Oh have had this.....had the resident call you to the room, you go in and she/he is pointing at the sheet/blanket with their finger a millimeter from it and ask you to pull it up. And of course you want to say "you are half way to getting it up yourself" but of course you know we do it anyhow!

Or how about when a CNA answers a call light and they say they ned the nurse, so the CNA comes and get the nurse and all the patient wants is some ice or something else that ANYONE could have got.

Ok have another one...had a patient at a small hospital I worked as a CNA at many years ago. Anyhow...the patient is in the room screaming "help me help me", so I go running in there she has her hand/arm flung over her head stating "you have to feed me!" I tell her "you can feed yourself dear if you can get your arm up like that" she then tells me "I'll choke", well this woman had a habit of hollering with her mouth full of food, I told her don't yell while eating and you'll be fine. Turns out she did this because she was trying to "pay back" her daughter (who was like 40) for being such a hard delivery 40 years before. Really was a sad affair, because the only thing wrong with this woman in the beginning was kidney stones, which I know can hurt like H***, but won't disable you. Well she put herself to bed, got foot drop and then things snowballed from there. She was mean to us staff members.

Anyhow great thread, some of these stories are classic! :lol2: