What is your least favorite kind of med-surg patient?

PeachyOrthoRN, RN · Jul 4, 2005

Must agree with the family thing, also don't like those pt's who seem to think that they know everything.

The pt who screams that they are a 10/10 pain rating but you try to talk to them and they are falling asleep while talking because they are so medicated. :confused:

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Jul 4, 2005

OK, I heard bowel preps but a good number of them can go to the BR by themselves.

For me, it's hepatic encephalopathy with lactulose (to lower ammonia levels) q 4 or 6 hrs. Not only tons of diarrhea, not only a patient that can't help, but you know the type and smell of the stuff.

Had a guy once that 3x day would be soaked from neck to ankles in it. And it's not like we left him lying in it - that much would come out at once.

ughhh.

And BTW, y'all know it's only a matter of time before somebody complains about how unprofessional this thread is, don't you? In advance, talk to the hand.

~faith,

Timothy.

suzy253, RN · Jul 4, 2005

I had a winner yesterday that just 'made my day'. Going in to take vitals, good morning..........."oh, you're part of the shift change? You're going to be taking care of me today?...oh this should be f***ing fun. Look, I'm due to get my pain med exactly at 7:30 and I want it then or earlier, not a f***ing minute later." She just made my whole day miserable. :angryfire Nothing was right, nothing was done right, you could only do wrong.

mrsallen · Jul 5, 2005

ETOH pts and drug abusers wit tattoos that can't stand needles

nurseunderwater · Jul 5, 2005

Anyone with allergies to Toradol, Demorol, Motrin, Codiene, Tylenol....etc and on the button every 1 hr 50 minutes for thier 2 mgs of IVP MSO4. Oh, and complain that the Ms. Dash didn't come with thier tray and can I have a diet coke, my bed needs to be changed, blah, blah, blah. The best is when I try to switch to IM MSO4 and they have a FIT!

I used to do Detox so don't get me wrong- I am totally compassionate when it comes to someone trying to make it right - what I can't stand is that I might have up to 6 other pts and maybe a PD pt to boot - I just don't have the patience or the time for that matter to deal with such absolute neurosis.

WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

sorry, i guess i have had a little pent up frustration :uhoh21:

suzy253, RN · Jul 5, 2005

ETOH pts and drug abusers wit tattoos that can't stand needles

Yes! Ditto! That's always amazed me. :)

browniepoints · Jul 6, 2005

I'd have to say the only thing to torgue me so far has been the one who was in such pain that he was on his bell every 3.5 hrs for his morphine and refused to get OOB to urinate (he used a urinal while lying in bed), but he threatened to leave AMA and that he was going to sue me b/c he was not allowed to go outside to smoke with his IV pole.

It's difficult to find sympathy sometimes, but I tried to tell myself he was probably having a nic fit....and yes, he refused a nicotene patch, too.

The intern on call at 2am finally wrote him an order to go outside and smoke and let him drag the pole. Thankfully, those things are up to the docs!

nursbaybie, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2005

I'm not the one saying this thread is unprofessional, but its amazing to see what a stigma there is attatched to the DISEASE of alcoholism/addiction. I encourage everyone to attend an AA meeting and learn a little about the disease and what these patients go through their entire lives. Their disease is no different from someone suffering from any disease, in fact it is quite worse than Some because it is not curable. it can remain in remission for a long time if a lifes worth of work is put into it, but there is no cure. Without remission, it does lead to death as we nurses have witnessed. People who don't suffer from addiction do not know the tremendous amount of dedication and work it takes to stay clean and sober. The minds of these people process mind altering chemicals differently from the unaffected person. :uhoh3:

Now, The patient I least like to care for is flat out mean doting parents.

jenrninmi, MSN, RN · Jul 30, 2005

I would have to say, anyone in isolation. Having to gown up etc really slows me down.

AtlantaRN, RN · Jul 30, 2005

I'm with dutchgirl, pancreatitis is the hardest, especially female, they will complain about abd pain, but if you don't watch them, they will eat and drink everything in sight!

I too like post op patients...I like the surgical floor

atlantarn

kimmcgill · Aug 7, 2005

For me, the worst kind of patient is the one who insists on directing his or her own medical treatment. These are the patients who want to change the scheduled times of when they take their medications (after you have already taken off the doctor's orders and transcribed them onto the Med-X), refuses to take medication or receive treatments they really do need, insists that the pain medication they are receiving is never strong enough or lasts long enough (actually makes a written log of when the med is given to them so they know when to push the call light button to get the next dose), tells you what medication the doctor needs to order for them to take and wants you to call the doc and have him give the order for it, rips out their IV because they didn't get their own way and then complains about having to get stuck again. Oh yeah, the greatest one....ripping out the IV and then insisting that they get their pain medication or nausea medication...which of course is only ordered to be given IV. Any ya know what????....I've only been a nurse for 7 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!

shape0fmyheart · Aug 28, 2005

But my all-time least favorite med/surg patients are the females, who are always between 30 and 50, who come in time and time again with c/o 'abdominal pain' for which no cause is ever found, and they are on that call light every 5 minutes: "I need to go to the bathroom" (they walked in from ER), "I can't reach my drink" (the bedside table is a foot away) "I need more pain/nausea/anxiety medicine" (I gave them 125mg of Demerol with 25mg of Phenergan half an hour ago, which was half an hour after they had 10mg of morphine IV, which was half an hour after they had 30mg of Toradol, and I gave them a whole milligram of Ativan in the middle of all this). Yes, I know that pain is whatever the patient says it is, but there are also such things as attention-seeking, and addiction, and neurosis, and even Munchausen's syndrome. AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!

Oh I just had one of those last night :rolleyes: . She came in on the 14th of August for rule out meningitis, which was ruled out but for some reason she stayed until the 23rd anyway. She was back in the ER at 2345 on the 23rd c/o "intractable nausea and vomiting". Intractable, yet when I read the ER report the pt states that the symptoms were sudden and began just before she came to the ER. Who says "Oh my gosh I'm throwing up, I have to go to the ER!!" as soon as they start? :icon_roll