Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

Nurses Humor

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You guys always crack me up, so I came up with this question to hear more funny weird stories.

What were some funny, stupid, or weird reasons patients push the call light for?

Are you supposed to go to the room right away or how does it work? I will be an RN next year and interested in knowing more about the actual daily life w/ pt.

Here are some of the best...

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oh yes tons of 911 calls.. we got the pts that call 911 to go out to hospital because they "didn't want to bother the nurse" or the call then refuse to go out!

Well - yesterday was a first. Called to a pts room who was sitting up in bed with her tray table/breakfast in front of her. "I don't have a fork." I located the fork which the kitchen had stacked under her spoon. Asked if I could assist her in opening/cutting etc. "No - you may go." Halfway down the hall again - the light goes on. CNA was on her way and I waved her off and said - thanks, I've got it...and returned "How in the HELL do you expect me to eat breakfast when you have welded my call light to my fork?" CNA followed me into the room at that time and stood confused. I didn't miss a beat. I quickly set the spoon and fork on the opposite side of her plate. Unsnapped her call light and placed it on the other side of her bed - and said that should take care of it. She then asked if she should push the call light then? I explained, no, I'm already in your room and can I do anything else for you. "No - you may go." CNA is still standing there confused. I just smiled. We left. Call light went back on. I was then already at the desk when the charge nurse was in that hallway and I asked her to please look in on my pt and see if I was needed. She soon came back out and said nope, I simply had to put the smoke out in the chair across the room with the call light and she's happy now.

Those call lights....pretty versatile things, aren't they?

OK, I'll start by saying that at the LTC facility where I work, some of the incontinent pads are pink. That said, we have one resident who rang the call bell to be changed, because she is 'allergic to pink'!!!!!!:rotfl:

I once had guy ring, who was going through DT's. He was freaking out because a "wire" had just fallen out of his eye. I nearly fell on the floor laughing, and he said, "I knew you were going to do that! I know it sounds crazy! But it's right there...!"

No wire, have an ativan. You'll be okay.:chuckle

Almost forgot, I had a woman phone 911 and tell them she needed the bed pan!

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.
I have to ask did you wipe it for him lol :chuckle

Hell nooooooo!!! :rotfl:

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

That one is kinda cute. I am not a nurse so I dont know, to you if you were busy I expect it yould have been annoying.

A patient once asked someone to spread his butt cheeks so he could fart. The nurses reply...."I will NOT!"

OMG that is SO funny

Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

Mine fits right along with this one.

One day I had been in and out of Mrs. X room and she began screaming "Get out of my house you demon" (I work on a ALZ unit) anyway 30 min later she puts her call light on again and i answer it . She is holding the phone and say's "this call is for you"

I say "hello"

a lady say's "is this Ms Demon" I said "What" my name is So in so from Weatherford Police Dept and Ms X say's you are a burgler and rapist and wants you out. I started laughing and of course had to start the Nursing home verification process while peeing in my pants.

At a hospital where I used to work, the staff on one floor was notorious for both incompetence and laziness. One night, paramedics from the county fire department showed up at the nurse's desk on this floor. It seems a patient, having rung his call light and waiting for more than an hour for his nurse to bring him some pain medicine, he finally dialed 911 to ask for an ambulance to take him to a "real hospital" before "these imposters" killed him.

Kevin McHugh

Specializes in NICU.
OK, I'll start by saying that at the LTC facility where I work, some of the incontinent pads are pink. That said, we have one resident who rang the call bell to be changed, because she is 'allergic to pink'!!!!!!:rotfl:

Maybe the pink ones have latex in them and the other ones don't???

Wait, why am I making excuses for the crazy lady? Time for bed... :uhoh21:

Had a guy who was up there in age, who woke up screaming and cussing, several of us converged on his room, he was rolled onto his side, tugging HARD on his foley catheter, yelling "I can't get my member out of this hose!"

While not a call light story, this reminded me of one of our old fellas who was deaf as a post, severely demented and ambulatory, albeit slowly.

It took this poor guy 15-20 minutes to ambulate up the hall to the nurses station, 12-20 times a night. When he got to the station he always asked the same question, "When's breakfast?" After trying to tell him without waking the entire unit he would walk back to his room. You can imagine that two trips an hour left him little time for sleep. Finally, instead of yelling, I made signs to cover his question and direction back to bed. Also, if the CNA or I stopped him in the hallway to answer his question, he would still continue to the nurses station to ask his question.

One night he got quite sick and was transported to the hospital. The nurses there were on the phone with me in short order asking what to do about his ambulating and wanting to know when breakfast was. I explained that this was typical nighttime behavior and since he was sensitive to sedatives and anxiety meds the docs preferred not to have him on anything on a PRN basis, at least in my setting. I got one more phone call...towards shift change the RN called me, in high hysterics and told me the latest...

Our guy had pulled out his foley, balloon intact, draped it over his arm and walked out to the nurses station, where they expected him to ask what it was, why did he have it...but his only concern was..."When's breakfast?"

He was shipped back to us quickly.

Oh pt phones! 911 called us one night because the lady in room 16 wanted a nurse and couldn't find her callbell. Another pt called 911 because his doctor hadn't been in for a few days. Another called a neighbouring hospital because she thought she might get better care there, she was looking for a better doctor too. Another called 911 because he was in pain. He'd seen that on TV. But, sir, you're in the hospital!!

In the assisted living facility, we had a patient call 911 because his toilet overflowed and couldn't get anyone to fix it for the past three days. He never did tell us. Then there was the woman who called 911 because, she could not get her panties on her head. And then there was the nymphomaniac that called 911 because no one wanted to have sex with him. Working in Assisted living, I think I have seen in all. Thank god I moved to the hospital as tech. But shortly, I will be the nurse.

Adam

Graduate Nurse

We had a blind, often confused patient who screamed out for the nurse every minute. The visitors were startled by the screams at first, but eventually they got accostumed to it. The patient would continually call out "nurse, nurse, nurse" and when you went to check on her to ask what is wrong, she would reply "oh nothing, I just felt like saying nurse." One night one of the young nurses got tired of hearing this. She went to her room and told her start saying another nurse's name (not knowing the pt would actually remember the name). As soon as the nurse stepped out, the patient started calling out that name over and over again. The nurse rushed back in, "oh no no, don't say that, please go back to saying NURSE!" .... :chuckle And it was back to the same old mantra "nurse, nurse, nurse." One night she stopped saying nurse and started saying "mercy" but it soon switched to "nursie!" And there was no stopping her.

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