What are some of the most ridiculous requests you have heard?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

All day breakfast - Are you kidding me?!

Aren't you amazed by patients (and families) who think nurses are there to wait on them hand and foot. Yes, we provide service around the clock, but it is not in the form of food but medical care. What are some of the most ridiculous requests you have gotten?

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
Can you save those dressings so I can prove to my mother just how gross my leg is?

Can you save those dressings and wash and dry them? I will put them to some use. No? You're so wasteful, that's why health care costs so much nowadays!

(LOL who, according to the family, collected lint from laundry to make pillows and never peeled her potatoes).

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Homecare aide here:

Geriatric patient AND daughter requested that I have a beer with them while on duty. The daughter was a little upset at how "tight" our company is about things.

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Can you save those dressings so I can prove to my mother just how gross my leg is?

Oh, that reminds me. One of my clients was adamant that I reuse gloves because "It's such a waste! You can just hang them up on the shower bar and use them later." She, too, was a little upset that I did not grant her request.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

I kinda understand requests of only certain gender/race nurses assigned to particular patient. Not always, but if you deal with person already deeply demented and living 3/4 of very long life entertaining certain "ideas", it just doesn't worth the battle. But once there was a serious one for nurses and everyone else conracting with the patient being registered member of Republican party, so that The Dear (deeply comatose) One would not be troubled with possibility of wrong influence. To complete the pucture, the TV was to be permanently fixed on Fox news or something named "Redneck family reunion".

These folks were d*** serious. When I entered the room to start a new IV, they first thing asked what party candidate was my favorite. Too bad the Powers desided to play "good customer service" game with them to the very end.

I also saw a family of home care who only allowed people with GPA above 3.75 and Bachelor's to get near Mother Dear. They even devised some sort of shortened SAT to make sure the candidate is able to meet their Requiremenrs of Absolute Excellence. They spent weeks trying to find just such an aide while Mother was rotting alive getting one of the worst bedsores I'd ever seen. It was kind of very guilty pleasure to call State and report them to authorities for elderly abuse.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

A male patient once walked up to me in the hallway with a bottle of hand lotion and asked me to rub some on his cojones. He then proceeded to show them to me, right there in front of God and everyone. He was A & O x 3. smh

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A male patient once walked up to me in the hallway with a bottle of hand lotion and asked me to rub some on his cojones. He then proceeded to show them to me, right there in front of God and everyone. He was A & O x 3. smh

It's exciting for them!!!

(Sheesh)

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Specializes in Critical care.

A Patient rang her call bell .... to ask where her call bell was. Seriously!

Cheers

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Homecare aide here:

Geriatric patient AND daughter requested that I have a beer with them while on duty. The daughter was a little upset at how "tight" our company is about things.

Reminds me of the client I had who can be a bit crotchety at times but overall is a decent guy - one Christmas Day I went to visit and he said "you know, I give you crap sometimes, but I just wanted to tell you you're a great nurse, and I wanted you to have this" handing me a HUGE joint. I told him that was exceptionally kind of him but that probably my coworkers would smell me coming a mile away and they might not like it. He was disappointed but understood.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

It was passed on in report a couple of weeks ago that "Resident X wants her pubic hair trimmed, a nurse told her that someone would". Well, hold that thought while we figure out who promised you that and she'll take care of it for you. I'm not licensed as a cosmetologist of the downtown area!

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Specializes in CVICU CCRN.
Well, hold that thought while we figure out who promised you that and she'll take care of it for you. I'm not licensed as a cosmetologist of the downtown area!

This is outstanding!! Maybe a Brazilian would stop that request cold...and the person who promised the service would have a chance to learn a new skill!

As far as pt requests go, had a wife who chewed me out at 0400 because her husband's implanted defibrillator fired. We were in the middle of treating him; the device had fired several times in a 48 hour period....and she was quite upset that I wouldn't "make it stop!" The poor patient was just scared (understandably) and totally over it. When the wife arrived as I was setting up the second triple pump I think the picture became a little clearer.

Please trust me when I tell you that if I make the device stop firing, you're not going to like the outcome.

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/LDRP/Ortho ASC.

After a couple of years in the Emergency Deparment I wouldn't even know where to start.

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Parent of a 13 year old vegetative state female asked that we shave her lady parts because they're too hairy

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