Share The Weirdest Reasons Patients Push The Call Light

student4ever · Jun 21, 2005

I had a pt ring the call light over and over again just to make sure it was working.

LOL, sounds like my friend who has OCD... has to make sure everything is working about 10,000 times a day!

MultipurposeRN · Jun 21, 2005

I was working in a stepdown unit years ago and had a lady who was blind, but otherwise very stable. She called out constantly to have her covers pulled up, kleenex, water, etc. I made a point to put everthing on her table and tell her exactly where it was, but she would still call every little time she wanted something. She actually would time your steps from the room to the nurse's desk (they were close-by) and then put the light on as soon as you sat down.

The last straw was when I helped her to the bathroom and she wanted me to wipe her when she was done. I handed her tp and said, 'here you go.' She said w/ outrage, " I can't wipe myself, I'm blind!" I told her that I didn't have eyes down there either but could wipe myself just fine.....

Gromit · Jun 22, 2005

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.

Thats pretty funny! Oddly enough, I kind of expect you to say he was going to ask 'when's breafast?'

prmenrs, RN · Jun 22, 2005

Babies don't have call lights, so they just settle for setting off their alarms @ least 2/hour!

texas_lvn · Jun 22, 2005

It was not a call light, but still a crazy request. I have a res who can ambulate, can sit up s difficulty and can do all ADL's. I went into her room to give HS pass. She request we crush them. Well, they were crused and ready with some jelly. She was laying supine with HOB down. She requested I manually raise HOB because "I just don't feel like sitting up!" WHAT??? I politely explained she need to raise up and take the meds. She complied. :uhoh3:

Rosie- · Jun 22, 2005

I had a woman demand to see the RN on duty and said it was an emergency. So I walk into the room and ask her what I can do for her.

She says "Pick my nose" OMG :angryfire I said maa'm I don't pick my nose I am surely NOT going to pick yours. She said well that's what I am paying you for! You are supposed to do whatever I say. When she did this it made me very angry but believe me we have gotten a lot of laughs out of it since.

You guys always crack me up, so I came up with this question to hear more funny weird stories.
What were some funny,stupied,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 intersted in knowing more about the actual daily life w/ pt.

TDub, MSN, EdD · Jun 23, 2005

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.

Perhaps soaking in ice water?

TDub, MSN, EdD · Jun 23, 2005

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

One of our hospice families called on a holiday and insisted I drive 103 miles round trip to bring a bedpan for an actively dying pt. In other words, she'd never use a bedpan again. Sigh.

nrskris10 · Jul 3, 2005

Once I answered a call light of a man who was on fluid restriction. I walked in. He asked me to PLEASE get him "a cup of that koolaid from the big jug on the wall".

The big jug being a red sharps container. Poor guy.

~Kristen

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jul 3, 2005

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

Fluffwad, your story is definitely the funniest!! :) The poor old woman!

merlie · Jul 3, 2005

I used to work in a nrsg. home. I don't know why, everytime its raining hard, our hall way is like a big X'mas tree full of X'mas lights. I had a particular resident that will tell us to put some sand bags on the hallway 'coz the river will flow. The other one was cursing because he thought that somebody drove his truck away from his house. Some were just a hobby, pushing call light in their sleep. It was really disaster, but some way it's funny.

hmcna · Jul 3, 2005

Perhaps soaking in ice water?

This reminds me.... not of a call light... but i work with some developmentally disabled kids.... and one boy made an allegation that a particular staff had bit hiim on his private area.

Well as the nurse, i needed to assess and ensure there was no injury.

this boy, makes false allegations all the time, but we still have to check them out....

So he came to my office, and with a staff as a witness i spooke to him and discussed his concern and his "injury" he insisted that it hurt badly.

I did examine it and there was no sign of injury, and i'd given him many chances to recant his story....

So, since he said it "HURT BADLY" I suggested that he hold ice on it for about 10 min on, and 10 min off for the rest of the evening.... at first he said no, that he didn't think that would be very good... and wanted to know if i 'd hold the ice.... for him, he's 14, i said no way....

Then he said he didn't want to put ice on it... but we discussed when you hurt an area putting ice on it is usually one of the first things to do....

I've never seen such a quick recanting of an allegation.... :rotfl: all the way to the point of saying that he had made the allegation because he wanted to see the staff get in trouble and or fired....