Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

blueheaven · Sep 1, 2006

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

ROFL!!! That is good!!!!

EKG electrodes sometimes come in little foil pouches...

An elderly gentleman called out one day and my nurse manager (who was doing charge that day) answered the light. He handed her the little foil pouch that the electrodes came in and said it was for her....she opened it up and there were three small marble sized BMs in it! Nothing on his hands, nothing to idicate how they got in there. She and I lost it!!!! Personally, I couldn't think of a better gift for her!!

LOLOL

Little Panda RN, ASN, RN · Sep 2, 2006

Ok not a call light story but the funniest story I have to offer:
I had a patient last week who was the sweetest lady. She was so proper and very quiet and reserved. She was incontinent and on lasix - no foley to prevent infections - needless to say I had changed her linens SEVERAL times that day. I had just rolled her to her side so I could make her occupied bed yet again and in trying to help pull herself further on her side to let out the loudest, fastest, wettest blast of air I have ever heard! I jumped a mile and without thinking said, "Gosh Mi!d*ed, you scared me half to death! I thought it was coming after me!" She proceeded to laugh hysterically all the while tooting up a storm which made her laugh even harder! This quiet reserved woman and I rolled for 15 minutes till we were both in tears!
Everytime I walked into her room after that we laughed till we cried! Oh and the best part was she was in for Pneumo but had been unable to work up a proper sputum sample. In laughing so hard so had a coughing, tooting, peeing fit, which meant we had to change the partially made bed yet again but...we got her coughing and brought up a nice healthy sputum sample for the lab finally!
I love my patients!

:rotfl: :roll :chuckle :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

"OMG" I think I pee'd my pants!

fleur-de-lis, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2006

I'm a student doing clinicals on a busy med-surg floor. I only have 1-2 patients at a time, and the nurses are working short so when I see a call light, I just duck in the room to see if its something I can do so the nurse doesn't have to worry about it.

Well, I ducked into this LOM's room and was greeted with a full moon. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, big pasty behind in full view, he turns his head and says "I need the back of my gown tied". Uh...yes you do, sweetheart!

I love this thread!

Indy, LPN, LVN · Sep 12, 2006

*BEEP*

"Can I help you?"

"My vision is pretty bad and I don't know if I turned my television off. Is my television on or off?"

"I don't know, I can't see it from here."

muffie, RN · Sep 12, 2006

to move kleenex 1 cm closer

perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2006

Called and said she "needed her nurse, no she couldn't bring anything..." to the room, pt's young mom asks if we have any DVDs she could watch...

NS_RN · Oct 1, 2006

I have had many people ring the callbell to ask where the callbell is....

CNAinPA · Oct 1, 2006

One time I had a patient who rang the bell all night long. When we all ran in there he would scram out," Help me!" " Help Me!" I'm dead! I'm dead!" " You have to help me!"

I had another patient who insteted that I was her husband and she would ring, "b/c she just wanted to see him." I am 100% FEMALE!!

Another one of my patients often rang the bell. When I would go into her room she would ask me if I was God. I told her no the 1st 100 times. She would reply, "Ok then, I'm just trying to call God." " Leave me alone so I can do that in peace!."

2 other resons why my patients rang the bell...

1) Monsters under the bed.

2) Lighting bolts in the room.

Holly27 · Oct 9, 2006

I work on a telemetry unit and a pt called and told us he thought his room mate stopped breathing b/c he stopped snoring.

Had one call and said they needed a nurse to come to the room, didn't give a reason just wanted a nurse. When I went she asked if I could paint her toes to match her fingers b/c she couldn't reach them.

Had one in for dehydration. In the night she would ask me to move her coke closer to her to reach. I told her it would be better to drink water since it was a diuretic and had caffeine in it. I guess she wasn't fully awake or didn't understand what diuretic and caffeine meant. b/c she then later called and told the nurse there was poison in the bottle. and if we didn't believe her she would call the police. Well you can only guess what the pt ended up doing.

BTW this all happened in one night. lol

TDub, MSN, EdD · Oct 9, 2006

Years ago, a patient called out over the intercom/call bell system to ask if you could hear the baby cry when he was inside (i.e., before the infant was born) We stifled our giggles and started to patronizingly explain, No, ma'am, you couldn't because there's no air to transmit ...when we all heard a faint cry.

We all looked at each other in shock and beat it into the room. Dana whipped back her covers and there was a baby, out to the nipple line! The patient's epidural was so strong she had given birth and not realized it. This was before EFMs and last we knew, she was a primip at 3 cms.

Taught me not to patronize a patient....

AfloydRN, BSN, RN · Oct 20, 2006

Forgot where my call light was?

RNtoJD · Oct 21, 2006

This goes back to when I was a new grad. I had a man ring the call bell because he wanted me to scratch his member. I told him, "There are some things that I don't get paid to do. That is one of them." So he asked if I wouldn't mind washing it. Well, he was a bit ripe so I agreed. As I was doing this he groaned as if he was "enjoying himself." It occurred to me that it would be best if he didn't itch down there anymore because it was gonna be a long 8 hours if he was going to ring in every time he had an itch "down there," and groan with pleasure while being washed (eeewww!!). So I looked around the room and saw the answer---lidocaine jelly. Yep... smeared it all over that bad boy. Pt thanked me and I wasn't asked to "scratch the itch" or "wash it" again the entire shift.