What do your ER patients families say or do that irks you?

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Copying from the OB thread but using ER patients and families.....

I hate when patients say "i'm a hard stick" If I had a penny for every time I have heard this (and usually get a line in the 1st time), I would never have to work again.

:devil: :devil: Texas is an amazing place to live and work. In fact if we could annex Colorado we would have everything. Problem is we'd have to take Oklahoma too, oh well. ;) Come on Granny Lighten up a bit.

Heeey! I heard that!! Someone from Texas is trying to annex my state again! And it's usually an attempt to try to take Colorado!! It might work, after all, Oklahoma is full of residents who either are 1) in the process of moving to Colorado or 2) want to move to Colorado or 3) lived in Colorado and it was too expensive. This plan to annex Colorado as a part of TX just might work, the Oklahomans would go for it but I think you'd have to call the new state "Colorado" because there's not too many Oklahomans who'd DREAM of letting themselves be called "Texas." They'd die before that happened. :p

Not that this has anything to do with this thread. :D

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Specializes in ICU, ED, Transport, Home Care, Mgmnt.
i'm not an er nurse, but i enjoy the humorous threads. right now my icu patient's wife is annoying the $hi* out of me -- she's been hovering here for three hours now, emitting a never-ending string of high-pitched, squeaky baby talk.

[color=#4b0082]

[color=#4b0082]"who's my itty bittsy baby boy? who's the love of my life?"

[color=#4b0082]"you're my ushy gushie lovie boy."

[color=#4b0082]"umpkin, pumpkin, mumpkin boy. you're my lover pumpkin."

[color=#4b0082]"do you need another squishy, sweetie?"

[color=#4b0082]"how's my snuggly wuggly cuddle monster?"

[color=#4b0082]

[color=#4b0082]they're both in their 60s. help!

[color=#4b0082]

[color=#4b0082]ruby

:eek: :barf01: :no: hang in there, the shift will eventually end. ;)

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Never worked in ER, except for in nursing school (which wasn't technically "working") and greatly admire those who do. However, my dad collapsed and was taken to an ER in CT from an educational conference. I think we did drive them nuts!

First off, my dad's call light wasn't working- not good. He kept calling the hospital operator (!) and saying "I need my nurse!" I don't think he really understood that it was the central operator. Finally they got him a working call light, but then he would press the light for the urinal, and it would stay on so long that he would call up the operator again. He's also a Ph.D, so would say "This is Doctor Jones calling" and confuse everybody. Eventually they took away his phone. (When they had time, they explained that they had some very critical patients that they were trying to work with, and that made him feel better about the whole thing.) I had been calling him every 15 minutes on his phone to get an update. Then he called, whispering, from his cell phone to say that they took his phone away and he was running out of batteries and wouldn't be able to call anymore. So THEN I started calling the ER for an update. I kept myself to calling every 2 hours instead of every 15 minutes like I wanted to. Yes, annoying, but he's had a lot of major health problems and I was scared this meant something huge. I knew it was annoying when I called... but it's my dad. He ended up staying the night in the ER because the hospital was full, and got let go that morning. I was miffed that he'd had to get up- with major vertigo- and get his own urinal all the time because the ER was so busy. But then I reminded myself that I AM a nurse, and I've had those nights when the unit is hopping crazy, and I'm sure they were doing the best they could!

So I guess I can chalk myself up as an annoying family member... and my dad as a "difficult" patient. :) I love him to bits anyway.

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eek! that would make me want to stay in a coma!

oh, well, different strokes...

i'm not an er nurse, but i enjoy the humorous threads. right now my icu patient's wife is annoying the $hi* out of me -- she's been hovering here for three hours now, emitting a never-ending string of high-pitched, squeaky baby talk.

[color=#4b0082]"who's my itty bittsy baby boy? who's the love of my life?"

[color=#4b0082]"you're my ushy gushie lovie boy."

[color=#4b0082]"umpkin, pumpkin, mumpkin boy. you're my lover pumpkin."

[color=#4b0082]"do you need another squishy, sweetie?"

[color=#4b0082]"how's my snuggly wuggly cuddle monster?"

[color=#4b0082]they're both in their 60s. help!

[color=#4b0082]ruby

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Education.
Heeey! I heard that!! Someone from Texas is trying to annex my state again! And it's usually an attempt to try to take Colorado!! It might work, after all, Oklahoma is full of residents who either are 1) in the process of moving to Colorado or 2) want to move to Colorado or 3) lived in Colorado and it was too expensive. This plan to annex Colorado as a part of TX just might work, the Oklahomans would go for it but I think you'd have to call the new state "Colorado" because there's not too many Oklahomans who'd DREAM of letting themselves be called "Texas." They'd die before that happened. :p

Not that this has anything to do with this thread. :D

Well, I don't want to be called "Colorado" either! I've lived "south of the Red River" for almost 8 years and I still call myself an Okie! :wink2: Texas wouldn't be what it is without all the transplanted Oklahomans...*LOL*

:saint:

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ER and ICU!!!.

i think my number one peeve though is the parents of the infant that you are getting ready to start a line on. when they say "you've got one chance, one chance only" that kills me. its like they think we stick needles in babies for fun.

Coming from a parent that has a child that has had several open heart surgerys, I tell that to all the people. Before I was able to get some guts, I let one nurse stick my child 4 times before she went and got someone else. It's not that I think people do it for fun, I just do not want you practicing on my child. If you even think maybe you can not get it on the first try, I tell them to get someone else.

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Specializes in ER.

I never guarantee one try even if I see a pipeline on small children, they move so much and so fast it's easy to blow right through the vein. The other issue is that if a nurse is the most qualified on the floor or in the hospital they are obligated to at least try before telling the doc or surgeons they can't get it.

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Specializes in ED, MED-SERG, CCU, ICU, IPR.

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Specializes in ER, ICU.
i think my number one peeve though is the parents of the infant that you are getting ready to start a line on. when they say "you've got one chance, one chance only" that kills me. its like they think we stick needles in babies for fun.

Coming from a parent that has a child that has had several open heart surgerys, I tell that to all the people. Before I was able to get some guts, I let one nurse stick my child 4 times before she went and got someone else. It's not that I think people do it for fun, I just do not want you practicing on my child. If you even think maybe you can not get it on the first try, I tell them to get someone else.

Do you think that telling a nurse that they will be allowed only one stick increases the odds that they will succeed? I have never understood why people say this to me before I attempt the IV. Why not wait and see if I am successful?

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

Dear mdslabod,

Thank you. I appreciate your words of support.

Knoodsen:smokin:

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Coming from a parent that has a child that has had several open heart surgerys, I tell that to all the people. Before I was able to get some guts, I let one nurse stick my child 4 times before she went and got someone else. It's not that I think people do it for fun, I just do not want you practicing on my child. If you even think maybe you can not get it on the first try, I tell them to get someone else.

I've been starting IVs on both adults and children for over 30 years, and yes, even I miss sometimes. So no, I don't do it for fun, I don't do it for "practice", I don't do it to torture patients; I do it because the patient needs it for whatever reason to get well.

It doesn't help when a patient/friend/whoever threatens me before I start the IV. I've heard it so many times it really doesn't bother me, but what does the poor child think when the mom says "only one time"?

Now I do agree that four times is a bit much, but, sadly, sometimes there is no other choice.

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

It doesn't help when a patient/friend/whoever threatens me before I start the IV. I've heard it so many times it really doesn't bother me, but what does the poor child think when the mom says "only one time"?

I agree.

I would think that would increase the child's anxiety.

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