don't talk about your patients like this!

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I was waiting to get blood drawn when an elderly woman came out of a room and walked past another room. The 2nd room had it's curtain only halfway closed, and she did a double-take then said "I thought you were someone I knew. But I don't know you," and she walked away but before she was more than 2 steps, the phlebotomist said "We have all kinds of stupid people walking around here" so that I heard across the small room and that her patient heard because there was laughter. I mean wow though!

It reminded me of an article I had read not that long ago, where a man under anesthesia was mocked and he knew because he had something on him that recorded it. He won $500,000.

Don't say stuff like this!

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Specializes in NICU.
the phlebotomist said "We have all kinds of stupid people walking around here"

I guess she was talking about herself.

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You can't fix stupid....in this case, the phlebotomist.

Sometimes people would look at me funny if I was speaking to a patient who was non-responsive.....or speaking in a professional manner around someone who was not thought to be cognizant of what was going on around him (when the prevailing attitude is "what, he can't hear me").

I've always taken the position that I can NEVER be sure what anyone can and can't hear, what anyone can and can't understand. If you always conduct yourself around people as though they were the CEOs of a major corporation, you can't go wrong.

The worst that can happen if your patient really CAN'T hear or really CAN'T understand is that you've listened to yourself speak for a little while, who cares? But the worst that can happen if that patient DOES happen to hear and understand is that you've made someone feel absolutely awful about themselves, or fearful for being in your care. Not worth the off-the-cuff insensitivity that's so easy for some.

Kudos to you for not being that person :)

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Specializes in ORTHO, PCU, ED.

It reminded me of an article I had read not that long ago, where a man under anesthesia was mocked and he knew because he had something on him that recorded it. He won $500,000.

Seriously!?! If I ever have surgery I'm going to wear a recorder too!!!

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Seriously!?! If I ever have surgery I'm going to wear a recorder too!!!

He had the recorder on because he wanted to remember the dr's instructions!

Here's the article

Anesthesiologist trashes sedated patient — and it ends up costing her - The Washington Post

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