Time to admit .. things you've said to pt's/family members that you shouldn't

[kiszi]

In the hospital where I used to work, family members would come up to the desk all the time to say "dad needs a _______ (blanket, cup, straw) and I developed a nasty habit of saying (in a perfectly innocent tone) "Does he know how to use the call light?" Gradually my tone started getting more and more sarcastic. Had to stop that one after a few nasty looks. oops.

Or "that's not real high on my priority list"

I know there's been plenty more....

At least I knew I had to leave the hospital setting for a bit before my mouth could get me in too much trouble. Feeling much better suited to home health, where you can throw whatever you like at me! I'll be out of your house in less than an hour!

[SunshineBaby]

We had a dad who was this religious fanatic and just kept pushing himself on all the nurses. He carried these cards about being saved and kept forcing them on everyone. Here we are trying to take care of your sick infant and all you care about is passing out your **** card. So he turns to me and says, "Are you a Christian?" and I just look him dead in the eye and say "NO, actually I'm not." He left me alone the rest of the time his baby was there

[Batman25]

My patients don't talk much (I

This is my 4lb daughter who is currently ventilated and we're worried about her future bank account...Okaaay...

I'm sending prayers your way and of course the little baby doll's way.

And I just have to know what her genitalia has to do with a bank account? Ick.

[Batman25]

I told a patient's family that if they didn't stop the fighting, yelling, and carrying they were going to give their mother another heart attack. I meant it too. Could have heard a pin drop but they listened and apologized to their mother.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

to the post-cabg patient who had a fentanyl pca and tylox and still whined about how much everything hurt, and how "the doctor said it wouldn't hurt," and demanded that we feed him, hold his water glass for him, etc.: "heart surgery hurts. only an idiot would believe that it didn't. suck it up and deal. now here's your incentive spirometer." (he'd been telling me all night long that i was too fat, too slow, too fast, too ugly and my tits were too big. at least i didn't make comments about the size of his anatomy.)

to the alert and oriented patient whose 80-something year old confused and incontinent mother was visiting: "no, sir. i can't go help your mother go to the bathroom. the visitor's bathroom is outside the icu, and i cannot leave the icu to toilet your mother. " "no sir, she cannot use the employee bathroom. it's inside our break room, where people are actually enjoying their breaks." "no, sir, i do not have a spare depends your mother can use. yes sir, i know the picu is right across the hall and they stock diapers, but i doubt one of their diapers would fit your mother." "your wife brought her in to visit, she must have considered the possibility that she'd have to go to the bathroom while she was out and about."

and lastly -- and i'm not even slightly ashamed of this one -- "sit the hell down and shut the hell up." i was visiting my father in the hospital and mother was running back and forth from the nurse's station to their break room carrying on about how dad needed ice, then straws, then a pillow, then a blanket, then ----. "none of this is an actual emergency and there are people here trying to die." and then i went on to give her a lecture about how the last thing in the world she wanted to do was make the nursing staff hate her because then no one would want to take care of dad. "yes i know they have to take care of dad. but they don't have to like it, and they don't have to take care of you, too." mother sat down and shut up for the better part of an hour.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Had a patient in the ED c/o CP. Prior hx: MI with stent approx 2 years ago, last year had CP; stent found to be occluded = fixed via cath lab (again). Now back in ED for CP.

As I was reviewing his medication list I noticed he wasn't on a blood thinner (just a baby aspirin). When I inquired further he verbalized that he was a veterinarian and he had "seen those ads on TV about Plavix" and how he didn't believe any of it and he was well covered by the daily baby aspirin. I tried to offer education which was promptly met with further reiteration of how he knew better and more because he was a veterinarian blah, blah, blah. I couldn't resist adding my worth that perhaps lack of appropriate anticoagulation was why his stent had reoccluded for the third time in 2 years.

Hey he was a doctor (even if he didnt' treat humans) - of course he knows better than you! And he just had to put you in your place...

If he wants to have multiple hospital admissions, let him put up with the inconvenience.

At least you stood up for yourself.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

When asked by a client's daughter how her mother was doing that day, I told her she needed to ask someone else because she wasn't going to like the answer I gave her about that wicked witch.

The client was a vicious foulmouthed nasty woman in her 70's. We would go to do her ADL's and she'd spit at us and call us whores, and that was on a good day!

Yes, had one of those one day. Got told we were all little better than prostitutes - don't know what planet this lady was on.

Without missing a beat, one of the older nurses replied: 'So are you coming to join our little club then?!'

Laughed hard at the old lady's open mouth - for once she was speechless!

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

I've never said anything to a patient I've regretted. All those "you're an idiot" and "shut the F up, you stupid druggie" were entirely justifieid.

This is SO funny!! You don't believe in being diplomatic do you! I think sometimes you DO just have to say something plainly or in black & white to get the point across.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

On particularlly busy night in the ED, the police brought in a combative patient that kicked the squad car to pieces after being arrested for trying"bound and drown" his wife for the third time that day, lapsed into a "coma" in the back of the crusier. Upon awakening, (after the insertion of a foley cath :-), claimed he was Jesus Christ and requested a "shroud". I told him our "shrouds were plastic but did he have any thoughts as to when he was comming back! You just never know...what if he was........the police officer outside the room fell out of his chair laughing and my "PSYCHOTIC" patient smiled and stated....NOT BAD for a white girl....needless to say he went to jail!

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

AH..one more for today......again in a busy ED.....the usual drug seeking frequent flyer showed up in the middle of mass chaos (personally I think she sat in the car and waited!) demanding "something for her headache". The new ED MD was spending was too much time with her manipulative family that I went into the room to interupt and I said...you need to move it along, I said to "treat her like the terrrorist she is....give her want she wants so she stops keeping us hostage!" After an audible gasp......the left in a huff......promising to never return........I retorted....then my prayers have been answered! AMEN!......thank god for once..they didn't complain but it sure felt good!

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

:yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah:

[MzMouse]

I work in a clinic for a general surgeon and we do minor procedures in the office. After multiple episodes of family members getting lightheaded or not respecting the sterile field we decided the policy would be only the patient in the procedure room.

Most family members understand, and don't want to be in there anyway, but a husband was really trying to push his way in. My response that is was policy wasn't cutting it. The surgeon would have made him leave, but I finally told him "If you become lightheaded and fall over we then have two patients instead of one, and we need our concentration to be on your wife."

He smiled, nodded, and made his way to the lobby without another word.

[ARBY]

When I worked in dialysis I had a first time pt. that I was inserting quite large bore needles into his fistula. He and I were chatting as a way to distract him and somhow we got to talking about glasses. I said, "Yes, I'm blind as a bat without mine." As soon as i saw the look of terror on his face I assured him I wore contacts;)