Boy, I LOOOOVE my mom, but since I've become a nurse I am suddenly inundated with stories of her hemorroids and irritable bowel. I'm not trying to be snooty, but OMIGOD, MOTHER!!!!! I also seem to be a magnet for medical advice at the grocery store too, "Um, excuse me, is high top shoes better for a baby?", "Pardon me, mam, I have a mole that I'm concerned about..." Enough already!! Anybody else get bombarded by family or the public??
I finally learned they just want to vent and have someone act like they really care what happens to them. My standard advice is " what does your nurse practitioner/MD say about it?"
My aunt has been a RN for 15 years. When I graduated an RN in December, she told me she was going to start "deferring" some of her calls to me. I think it's kinda flattering in a way that my family would trust me to ask me; and I know they are all very proud of me. :)
As far as being stopped in the store, now that's just weird. You must live in a small town like I do.
I've heard this before. I always wondered why I wasn't bombarded. THANKS for the answer! They don't trust me. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.
Boy, I LOOOOVE my mom, but since I've become a nurse I am suddenly inundated with stories of her hemorroids and irritable bowel. I'm not trying to be snooty, but OMIGOD, MOTHER!!!!! I also seem to be a magnet for medical advice at the grocery store too, "Um, excuse me, is high top shoes better for a baby?", "Pardon me, mam, I have a mole that I'm concerned about..." Enough already!! Anybody else get bombarded by family or the public??
When I first started nursing school, my mother told the entire family I was going to medical school. They all wanted to know what kind of doctor I was going to be. I have spent countless hours trying to explain the differences between nurses and doctors, and have been bombarded with questions like, "well would a nurse know what to do about this? I got a ...insert your own ailment here.":D At first, I loved it because it made me feel important and knowledgeable.....but soon it becomes annoying and I simply tell them I don't know. If you are that worried about the watchamadoodle you have had for the last six months then you would have seen a doctor by now!
I always dreaded the sentance that started like this"Say youre a nurse what do you think this is?" I would always try to please them with an answer always followed with you should goto a Doctor to find out for sure. But I guess lately my answers always come out "It's cancer,go see a doctor."
I remember this happening to me with my ex's family. His mother is an asthmatic who smokes 2 PPD. She would call me saying she couldn't breathe and I could hear her taking a puff while she was saying it. I got SO tired of telling her she needed to quit smoking and see the doctor that I started telling her she need to take another puff QUICK. She quit calling me after that . Then I was told that I acted like I knew more than they did.
My family, on the other hand, is like another poster's here. They tend to not talk to me about anything medical. It's like pulling teeth to get them to tell me how things are going.
Yes, I have the same problem. I'm a vet tech so I get to hear all the animal ailments while I'm at the grocery store, the dentist, the doctor, the gym, etc. I live in a small town so I'm well known. I've even had clients drive to my house asking me for advice/treatments for their pets. Any more I just tell these well meaning people to call the office and set up a time to have their pet seen by the vet. I also explain that it is illegal to provide a diagnosis, prescribe treatment, or do surgery. Since I have been doing this, my life is more peaceful.
Isn't it funny how alot of relatives ask you for your advice, but then if it's something they don't want to hear, they don't take the advice they were given anyway?
One of the worst offenders, a non-compliant diabetic inlaw. Gee, maybe you always have problems with neuropathy and UTI's because you are always drinking COCA~COLA and chain smoking!?!?!?! She won't switch to diet coke because it just doesn't taste good. She is on oral meds for type II and rarely checks her blood sugar, and when I suggest to her that she needs to see her MD she says she doesn't want to because "he'll be mad if he sees how high my sugar is". :stone
I live in a fairly small town, and I have learned to try my best to stay away from the Walmart! Lots of our ER Frequent Fliers seem to hang out there. One day while I was walking towards Walmart in the parking lot I heard "Hey! You! I know you, you're an ER nurse! Come 'ere, I've got to ask you something!" I cringed and looked in the direction of the shout. It was from a lady putting her bags away in her car. Not even the least bit familiar to me. She told me her complaint and my only advice was for her to see her PMD. She was a bit ticked off, cause she thought she could get a "freebie" when she saw me.
my mother does that, or tells me intimmate medical stuff about her friends/relatives/sports teammates/PEOPLE SHE SEES ON THE BUS TO WORK! i'm constantly saying 'mum, do i really need to know this?' and she'll say 'but you're a nurse!' doesn't matter, i still don't want to know!
forgot to say, there's also nothing she loves more than a childbirth story. whenever someone we know has a baby, it'll send her into a spiel about having babies and next thing i know, she's talking about people pooing while delivering, and the pain of it all, and, worst of all *shudder* tearing. now, i'm 21, single, with no kids. i'd like kids one day, and she wants grandkids, but hearing scary stuff like that doesn't help the cause. i have been known to cover my ears, close my eyes, and sing loudly to myself to block her out..
Enough already!! Anybody else get bombarded by family or the public?? 
. Then I was told that I acted like I knew more than they did. 
Thanks for the idea!
purplemania, BSN, RN
2,617 Posts
I finally learned they just want to vent and have someone act like they really care what happens to them. My standard advice is " what does your nurse practitioner/MD say about it?"