Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

sunneeRN · Feb 2, 2007

i wish i had time to read all of these, they are funny!..here is my experience.

had a pt who had a lumpectomy. her husband pressed the call light and said "i just called 5 minutes ago and no one's been in yet. all my wife needs is a pillow behind her head and you don't even have to bring one, there is one in here" i was furious especially since the lady was up walking around, turning herself in bed, etc, .........another nurse went in and said "sir, you don't need a nursing degree to put a pillow behind your wife's head" and the man said that he refused to do it because that was "our job."

so he would rather sit there and do nothing rather than try to put a pillow under his wife's head to make her more comfortable...come on...geez!

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Feb 3, 2007

OMG can she not do this herself? She has two hands like the rest of us.

AliRae · Feb 3, 2007

"sir, you don't need a nursing degree to put a pillow behind your wife's head"

Oh my, I wish I had thought of that yesterday when a patient's mother demanded that a nurse (specifically a nurse) come in and take the tray out of her daughter's room. I think we were supposed to know to do this despite the fact that she flat-out refused to let us in the room and yelled at us when we came near her kid. Oh, and also, there were more pressing matters going on like a code and a kid with sky-high ICPs. Some people ...

prmenrs, RN · Feb 4, 2007

I had a 15 y/o mom once, when I asked her if she would like to change the baby's diaper, told me, "That's YOUR job!". :angryfire Her mother was sitting right there, poor thing was mortified @ what the MOB said.

I just smiled sweetly and replied, "I KNOW how to do it, I need to see if YOU know how".

Sillynicunurse · Feb 4, 2007

I had a pt push the call light so that I could tell her roomate in the next bed that she had a telephone call

edsdcs · Feb 4, 2007

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

that is too funny!

Gromit · Feb 6, 2007

I absolutely loath the "its your job" comment. I've even had a patient who expected me to spoon-feed her -her hands worked just fine (and she always ate snacks that her husband brought in -without any assistance from us). She had managed to get CNAs to do it -they evidently didn't know she was capable of feeding herself- and she got incensed when I told her that 'no, its NOT my job to spoon feed someone who is perfectly capable of feeding themselves', and she threatened to not eat if I didn't do it. She didn't eat that meal -and was surprised when I picked up her plate at the end of the shift. She didn't miss any further meals.

Bammy · Feb 6, 2007

a nurse pushed a patients call button to get me to come and help her off the commode..on my own! the nurse who was there chatting just walked off when i arrived!! rude!

Another was a patient ringing wanting a cup of tea every 10 minutes throughout a very busy day shift agh! lol

Tiwi · Feb 11, 2007

I use to work in a senior assistant facility. They gave us pagers which were activated by the call lights. Well we always see rooms in the Alzheimer's unit coming up. And we would have to go to the computer to manually reset them. Well, when I transfered into the unit I found out why we would get six or seven call lights coming on together. It seems that one of the residents was a wanderer and she would wander into each room, pull the call light and then wanderer to the next room and do the same. And in that unit there was no light above the door and since we did not use pagers up there, we never knew which rooms were set off.
Graduate Nurse

OMG! The reasons I have had for pressing the buzzer are much more boring:

what time is it - when there is a clock right in front of them
can you turn on the television/change the channel/turn it off - when the person can walk
can you wash me - when the person is perfectly capable of washing themselves and walking in the shower

Tiwi · Feb 11, 2007

Question: I have never worked in a private facility. Do you have to do everything they say if you work in one, because they are paying for the care they receive? Or are you allowed to promote independence by refusing to do what the person is quite capable of doing themselves...

Kristyn, RN · Feb 11, 2007

Question: I have never worked in a private facility. Do you have to do everything they say if you work in one, because they are paying for the care they receive? Or are you allowed to promote independence by refusing to do what the person is quite capable of doing themselves...

I work as a CNA in a large (192 beds) LTC. Our policy states that residents should be encouraged to do that which they can for themselves in order to promote independence and retain function. However, las month I was "counseled" by my supervisor because I told a LOL that she needed to "go ahead and try to wipe yourself and if you have problems getting clean I'll help you." I stood by her the whole time to ensure her safety, but apparently my boss agreed with her that that was my job.

k.lvn.mom · Feb 13, 2007

Worked in an AL facility and was a med aid, 87 yr old woman calls me to her room, she had just got done watching CNN, and she asked... Can you tell me what oral sex is? I am not kidding, I must have turned 30 shades of red, and eventually explained it in the most anatomically and professional manner I could.