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

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?

Visit Nursing Toons / Memes for more cartoons!

"My girlfriend is catching a cab to come and see me, you guys will pay the driver right"?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
At a previous employer some years ago our nurse managers would make rounds on new admissions within their 1st 24 hours. Apparently my elderly pt was upset that I just so happened to be born Black and she wasn't so happy to have that "N****r nurse taking care of her. My nurse manager thought it was ok to ask me to go to the gift sop and by that witch a gift so that she'd be more comfortable with me caring for her. To say I was dumbfounded is an understatement.

And you should have done exactly that. I would have picked her up a few cans of spray tan and after her sleeping pill kicked in, shellaced (sp?) her until she woke up looking like Viola Davis.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Dialysis.
Maybe it's just me, but I think that's kind of sweet. Now if you could have convinced the grandson and his wife to cook the omelettes instead of obviously incapable Grandma I might have made the rehab kitchen available for them. Who knows, maybe Grandma would have loved directing them on making her famous omelette.

Many facilities, d/t board of health regs, can't let non-employees into the dietary kitchen. Some facilities do have an activities kitchen that may be available

Up Vote Up Vote ×
At a previous employer some years ago our nurse managers would make rounds on new admissions within their 1st 24 hours. Apparently my elderly pt was upset that I just so happened to be born Black and she wasn't so happy to have that "N****r nurse taking care of her. My nurse manager thought it was ok to ask me to go to the gift sop and by that witch a gift so that she'd be more comfortable with me caring for her. To say I was dumbfounded is an understatement.

Where I once worked a patient made a comment about "that black nurse." I hate to say it, but once I have worked with someone long enough, I am pretty much color-blind. They are "insert name". I had to go see who he meant. But I agree with another poster, do NOT insult my co-workers! I told her not to answer that patient's light any more.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC/Rehab, Geriatrics, Dementia.

I think your ideals are excellent, but I've worked with a lot of wealthy clients who are just used to doing things their way and will try to mentally dominate you to achieve their goals. "Grandpa has always slept in his recliner and it's the way it's going to be. But the sore on his bottom needs to be healed because he's taking all of us to Hawaii in 2 weeks for vacation." Or " Mother wants to be left alone in the bathroom. She won't fall. All this fuss is rediculous! ." This comes from the daughter who went ballistic when mother fell in the bathroom and hit her head, causing a goose egg on her forehead and threatened to call state and report us for neglect. And I can't forget the wife who insisted on pawing all of her husbands pills before we administered them to him. Insisting that the ones we gave him didn't look a thing like the ones she had at home. Also intimated that we were drugging him because he seemed lethargic. We later discovered a bottle of alcohol hidden in his room. It's not always lack of medical knowledge, some times it's just, well, people wanting to have control of some sort.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.
Many facilities, d/t board of health regs, can't let non-employees into the dietary kitchen. Some facilities do have an activities kitchen that may be available

Very true and I didn't think of that. Fortunately we have a full kitchen set-up in rehab that can be used if OT doesn't have anything scheduled in it. It is easier for family meals in our dementia unit as they also have a full kitchen but only those residents and their families are free to use it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Ive worked home health for 30+ years. "Can you hang up my laundry? " Can you come tomorrow at 4AM so you can get my trash to the curb? " " When you come to see me can you (pick one) wash my dog, give my cat his pills, check my dog'ears, feed my horse, walk the dog, get my mail from the post office, stop on your way and get me (fill in the blank... Ive probably been asked to pick it up)

Ugh. :yawn: How do you reply to them? (Student here, taking notes on how to respectfully say no!)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, Gyn, Pospartum & Psych.

I had a teen patient who was scheduled for an abortion and family thought they could fly to Europe for Christmas two days later. She was admitted with a tonsil infection that almost had her throat closed up completely which was going to postpone the abortion but family didn't seem to get that this girl would not be getting on that plane.

Last night, I was called to a patient's room only to remove her gauze pad and tape left by lab on a blood draw....twice. And she acted like it was major surgery when I pulled it off.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

1. Overheard at a new admitted baby's bedside: "Look, they have mini booze here!" Figured out they were talking about our blood culture bottles lol

2. A family asked to talk to the charge nurse, that being me.

"You need to assign one nurse to our baby, no other patients, so they can stand here with a hand on our baby at all times. We believe this is best for our baby." Yup, will jump right on that.

3. "Can you tell me when his balls will grow? Maybe he needs a special doctor to look at him, he doesn't have balls" This said about a 24 weeker. Let me sprinkle some special ball grower dust on there.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Dialysis.
Ugh. :yawn: How do you reply to them? (Student here, taking notes on how to respectfully say no!)

That is a service that we do not offer...

Up Vote Up Vote ×

First came the request for a "less dingy gown", followed by the question, "Do you save the nicer gowns for your non-minority patients?" Next the patient's daughter said "Take this ice back. It's not cold enough. She wants colder ice." No fooling, that's what was said!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I seem to always answer the phone and have people looking to see if "Bob" was admitted. I ask for a last name, and they either don't know how to spell it or what the last name is.

I had a lady who called telling me that "I gear you have a set of lungs for me"......????? We did have a donation after cardiac death going on, and the plan was to take her lungs, how tjis person thought to call and ask us from out of state I have no idea. Our OPO staff ended up taking that call.

Being asked if we could just transplant a new brain. Uh.... I don't think that is possible.

The family that took over a confrence room on our floor because the door lock was broken. They used it for a huge potluck. Crock pots and everything.

We had a family member get away with banning a nurse from the side of the unit her husband was on. She didn't like her because she thought she was laughing at her. The nurse wasn't laughing at her.

The family that was just mentioned above was angry that on day shift 8 staff were needed to turn the patient who weighed #500. They were all small women working that day. We tried to explain that, but they were still mad.

This last one makes me crazy! Of course I would be more than happy to sustain a career-ending back injury to lift someone who feels it is their right

to hurt others because they are "disabled" by their self-induced body habitus.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion