Warning.....Visitor Vent!

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Every once in a while you get a visitor that makes you want to scream an bang your head on the wall. I work in a very small LDRP unit, where we know all our patients rather well. Anyway, a couple showed up to see our only mom and asked to see John & Jane Doe. The problem is John & Jane are not married and Doe is not her last name. They were told, we don't have anyone by that name are you sure of the name. They got huffy and had to think for a minute of Jane's real last name. After they were able to recall the name the women rolled her eyes and said "What do you want our fingerprints too?!" :angryfire This kind of thing drives me crazy! Why the attitude?

Along the same line, it also drive me bonkers when someone calls to the nurse's desk asking for the S.O. by first name only and then gets huffy when we aren't sure who he belongs to!:nono: We are supposed to know every boyfriend, bestfriend, and monkey's uncle's names so we can just direct the call without an inquisition!:uhoh3:

Ok...end of rant. Thanks for letting me vent! :chuckle

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

A simple straight look into their eyes and a comment of "we ask, because we are required to" should help.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Reminds me of a pt. we had the other day, he had a boatload of family in the waiting room, and they all ask how "Bob" is doing". Out of the 121 pts. scheduled that day for procedures, we had 22 "Robert"s. Pick what "Bob" you want to know about. :rolleyes:

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

OH Beth..I soooooo hear you!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get it daily working in an assisted living facility...family or friends that have never shown up in my 2 years working there, or even ones that come seldomly that I am 'suppose to remember'!?!?!? I am mandated to ask!....SHEESH!

I had a man come in yesteday..looked more confused than the patient he was asking about. He wanted to know her room number...well I can't just give that out! SO I asked his relation to the patient...he said "what the *%^@# do you need to know?" Okay...I looked at him straight faced and said, "I guess you are not savy with the way things go around the world today...I can't tell you the patients condition or their room number till I establish kinship! So if you are not even kin, there is the door and my name is _______ for your complaint! If, of course, you choose to treat me with more respect than a common dog, then you may find that I am a very helpful person...oh wait a minute...too late! Cussing is an automatic no...I don't need that around my patients! We have ladies and gentlemen here that don't appreciate that!" and I walked off! (documented to my admin!).

Go figure...I called my administrator and got her up at the front desk right away! Go to find out he was an old "boyfriend" of the client..and was MISSING from his facility! LOL! (and a few meds shy I suppose!). They got him back home, and I got a sincere appology from him on the phone thanks to my admin!

Normally however..it doesn't turn out so interestingly....LOL!!!!!

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We frequently have people come to the desk and ask for people by their first name, and when I ask for a last name, they don't know it. They then get huffy when I tell them I can't give them a room number without the last name. "Well can't you just look it up by the first name?" No, I can't give you the room number of every "Tom" in the building. And frankly, if you don't know my last name, you don't know me well enough to visit me in the hospital!

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.
We frequently have people come to the desk and ask for people by their first name, and when I ask for a last name, they don't know it. They then get huffy when I tell them I can't give them a room number without the last name. "Well can't you just look it up by the first name?" No, I can't give you the room number of every "Tom" in the building. And frankly, if you don't know my last name, you don't know me well enough to visit me in the hospital!

LOL!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!! Where is agnes's room??? Okay Agnes isn't a common name by the times..but I have 13 of them!!! LOL!!!!!!! OH brother! And yes they get really ticked!!!!!!! Like that one Agnes is the only Agnes on the face of the earth! NOT!!!!!!

Oh well..you just keep on smiling some times, and sometimes...as horrid as it seems...I go with my paramedic friends on a quote..."hey, if it weren't for idiots..we wouldn't have job security!"...Sorry..I laugh at that A LOT!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

And the phone calls!!!

"Hello, I'd like to talk to my mom."

"What's your Mom's name?"

"Mary."

"What's Mary's last name?"

"I dunno -- she just got married."

I'm sorry. If you don't know "Mom's" last name, you aren't close enough to call her in the hospital. Or at the hospital, if she's an employee!

Or how about this one: "Hello, this is Dr. Smith. I'd like to know about Mr. Jones' condition."

Since Dr. Smith isn't Mr. Jones' doctor of record, I ask, "What service?"

"Huh?"

"What service are you with?"

"What's it to you? Just get me his nurse!"

"I am Mr. Jones' nurse, and his doctor isn't Dr. Smith. Are you a consultant?"

"Yes, dammit, now tell me how he's doing or I'll have your job! I'm a close friend of Dr. Johnson, the medical director." (Like I give a sh**)

Turns out Dr. Smith, a chiropractor (or dentist or PhD) is a friend/co-worker/ex-lover of Mr. Jones, our patient.

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not a nurse yet but i remember this same type of attitude from people when i used to work at the bank. policy required an id check before check cashingo of 50.00 or more and people would get LIVID over having to get out their license! One idiot was depositing money adn getting cash back and had the neve to tell me that his deposit slip was his ID. I just smiled sweetly and said "but what if you lost your check book?" The rules are in place for a reason, whether it be hospital, bank, school etc... Everybody has job requirements in their place of employment, why is that so hard for some people to understand? (as if it is an employee's joy in life to deal with their crap)

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I see this sort of thing in L and D alllll the time. I can't count how many times I have had phone calls or visits for Jane "I don't know her last name but she's a real good friend" Doe. Nope, not on my watch. Like said before, IF you dont' know em well enough to even have a clue to last name, why do you feel entitled to know her status at the hospital??? EEEEnteresting, the sense of entitlement people have everywhere today.

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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.

I work in an Alzheimer's unit. It's interesting when the family members are just as demented as the residents. One husband asked me who the dead lady in the corner was. He pointed to the corner with NOBODY in it. Or the one who came in screaming at the nurse because we "called him all morning and hung up on him, and when he called back our phones were disconnected." Only no one had called him and the phones were fine.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Here's soethign that annoys me. On the peds floor, pt. mother says "I don't CARE if he WANTS to come in, he ain't ALLOWED, i say. I gotta restaining order against him!"

Ten minutes later, the dad (the one that there's an order against) shows up, nurses say no, he leaves, a few minutes later, hearing 'mom's' cell phone ring.

Ten seconds later, pt. mom storming out of the room and screaming at nurses because Dad was told to leave. Uh, you're the one who didn't want him here, lady.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

this happens on OB a lot, too. UGH. The visitors are a misery sometimes, I tell ya.

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