Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

southernbeegirl, BSN, RN · Oct 9, 2008

One of the funniest reasons a confused patient used her call bed was that she'd lost something. Not so unusual, but what she'd lost was a pig!! Honest-to-God, she thought she'd seen pig run under the next bed! So, down I go on my knees, thinking there might be some slippers or something that might have 'looked' like a pig. A colleague came into the room, and found me under the bed. Upon asking what I was doing, and my answer that I was looking for a pig, she fell over laughing. Pretty soon we were both crawling around on our hands and knees as we humoured our confused lady, calling out "Here, piggy piggy! Here piggy!!" It really turned into a 3-ring circus as the confused lady kept shouting directions to us, we crawled and called, and then the other patient in the room got into the act, yelling out "It went out the door! Quick, catch it!

I almost just peed myself reading this post :chuckle

Melinurse · Oct 10, 2008

Had a very needy patient who was in with a R-ankle fracture. Last ime she called while I was on shift was to ask me to change her TV channel. She handed me her TV remote. Her husband was sitting next to her and did not say diddly to her. ( I was just in her room 10 minutes earlier to get her a glass of water ) So I asked her if there was something wrong with the TV remote that she could not push the button under her finger. Her husband starts smiling. She looks at me like it never occured to her that she could do it herself.

P.S. I had her the next day and found out she was a retired nurse.:smackingf

MayLady · Oct 10, 2008

I had a pt the other night ask me to rub her butt. I asked why and she said "I just like it massaged". Ummm....I don't think so.

dimple87 · Oct 10, 2008

once a patient of mine pushed the emergency button..so I can running into the room, and the woman was sitting there with here eyes closed, I ask here why she called...her answer : Own I felt I was getting sleepy and I didn't want to fall a sleep..so I just push the button so you would come in and wake me..!!

dimple87 · Oct 10, 2008

Once a patient called me to say he lost his hearing device..after a long search in every place I could think of, including laundrybags..It turned out he ment the headphones for the tv :)

duchess_deni · Oct 10, 2008

Hmmmm work in the ICU, I've heard just to see if it would work, just to tell you I needed to fart, and many others but the all time topper

"get that little girl out of my butt she's eating donuts and won't share", I cleared my throat and tried a little reorientation and the pt said "you have your version I have mine, talk all you like but get that girl out of there and make her share the donuts", was not happy until 2 of us turned her over (all 350lbs) and examined the bed to only find that there were indeed donut crumbs all up under her (she had placed them there earlier apparently at breakfast, it's now 11pm at night)

With as straight a face as possible we cleaned her up and told the little girl to leave the room and then informed the pt that the child had eaten all the donuts.

To which she stated "damn ***** never shares the donuts"

:)

quetepye · Oct 18, 2008

Wow these are soooo funny! Last night I had a patient who was convinced his call light was the remote for his TV. Then after about 20 times into his room and explaining how to work the TV vs. the call light, he figured it out. Good, right? Not exactly. He was NPO and he couldn't quite grasp that concept. From then on out, he used his newfound knowledge of a call light to hit the nurse button every 20 minutes begging for coffee. Every time, I'd nicely tell him he's not allowed because..... etc. and then he'd start screaming and cursing (LOUDLY) until he found something interesting out the window to talk about.

It was a lonnnnnnnng night. :)

ShawnF · Oct 22, 2008

I am not a nurse.(yet) But reading these made me think back to my childhood, and of all the nurses that inspired me to join thier ranks. When i was 6 or 7, I got a bad case of croop, 2 weeks in an O2 tent. Thinking back on it I don't remember much of that time I spent alone. The nurses seemed to always be there. I remember that if they left my room, it was for very short periods of time. Looking back on it, I relize what a pain in the butt this must have been for them. The middle of the night hitting the call button cause I had had a bad dream. They would never leave me till i had fell back to sleep, and never seemed to be bothered by it. Those nurses must have been saints. But they changed the life of a little boy...I only wish i could look them up and tell them just how special they were, and to thank them.

rph3664 · Oct 22, 2008

I am not a nurse.(yet) But reading these made me think back to my childhood, and of all the nurses that inspired me to join thier ranks. When i was 6 or 7, I got a bad case of croop, 2 weeks in an O2 tent. Thinking back on it I don't remember much of that time I spent alone. The nurses seemed to always be there. I remember that if they left my room, it was for very short periods of time. Looking back on it, I relize what a pain in the butt this must have been for them. The middle of the night hitting the call button cause I had had a bad dream. They would never leave me till i had fell back to sleep, and never seemed to be bothered by it. Those nurses must have been saints. But they changed the life of a little boy...I only wish i could look them up and tell them just how special they were, and to thank them.

Pediatric patients are very high maintenance just because they're kids. That's not what this thread is about; most of the posts I have seen on here were about able-bodied adults who were asking the nurses to do things they could, and should, do for themselves.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Oct 22, 2008

Methinks Shawn is not criticizing us, just sharing an experience. :)

ShawnF · Oct 22, 2008

Sorry bout the off topic. the stories here just got me thinking. No critisism at all. If anything it is a Big thank you to all nurses.(especially the ones that have had to put up with me as a curtain climber)

Melinurse · Oct 23, 2008

I am not a nurse.(yet) But reading these made me think back to my childhood, and of all the nurses that inspired me to join thier ranks. When i was 6 or 7, I got a bad case of croop, 2 weeks in an O2 tent. Thinking back on it I don't remember much of that time I spent alone. The nurses seemed to always be there. I remember that if they left my room, it was for very short periods of time. Looking back on it, I relize what a pain in the butt this must have been for them. The middle of the night hitting the call button cause I had had a bad dream. They would never leave me till i had fell back to sleep, and never seemed to be bothered by it. Those nurses must have been saints. But they changed the life of a little boy...I only wish i could look them up and tell them just how special they were, and to thank them.

What a beautiful sentiment to those who cared for you. You should post this in the pediatric nurses section. Thank you for this post.