What is the worst thing a patient has ever said to you?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Is it me, or are patients getting ruder and more disrespectful each time you clock in for work?

I don't usually let rude patients/families get to me, but last night I had to deal with the most insane people ever. I had the misfortune of informing the patient and his family that he had gone into rapid a-fib and his cardiologist was not on call. The patient didn't believe that he was having a rapid ventricular response since "he didn't feel that his heart was going fast," and had me count an apical pulse and call the monitor tech to see if she concurred with my rate. (I was off by 2 beats).

I was also instructed by the family to print a set of strips indicating that he was in fact in a-fib. Mind you, this patient has a history of a-fib and was on amiodarone for a while, but the family decided to stop it b/c the patient is allergic to iodine. Despite the allergy, he never had a reaction to amiodarone, but the family still didn't want him to have it and... ta-da! He went back into a-fib.

I was also yelled at because I had to start a Cardizem gtt and as this patient has a habit of going hypotensive, decided that BP checks q30 minutes was a prudent thing to do. Oh, I was also a bad nurse b/c I put him on 2L NC. Oh, and my hospital is ridiculous because we don't have those donuts for people to sit on... oh and there CAN'T be a good reason for us to not have them in central supply.

Did I also mention that I was lazy because I left the BP cuff on him and set the machine to recycle every 30 mts? Yes... I did that so I wouldn't have to go in the room all night. (He told this to the PCA and she came and told me) So he refused to leave the BP cuff on, and preferred for me to go in every 30 mts to put the cuff on and off (this only went on for 3 cycles... at this time, he fell asleep and I slipped it on over his gown). This is the same man who complained that us night shift don't let him sleep.

I just had to run out of the room at this point and cry... I usually handle these kind of people really well. Before last night I don't remember the last time I let a patient/family make me cry. :cry: I actually felt bad giving report on this patient in the morning... I felt horrible to pass this person on to another nurse!

*oh and the KICKER. During one of my visits for a BP check, I accidentally bumped his foot which he REFUSES to leave on the bed. He prefers to let his foot hang off the bed on the side I do my care on. He totally went off on me! Apparently during my BSN program I was taught not to be careful, but to bump patients' feet and cause them pain. I also after 3 years of working cardiac, am unfamiliar with caring for dialysis patients and I don't know how to monitor an a-fib patient. He can't wait until I'm sick in a hospital bed so he can give me what's coming to me. this is the most hurtful thing ANYBODY has ever said to me. I couldn't even respond. I just turned around and left the room.

Sorry this is so long, guys. I just really needed to vent.

Specializes in ICU.
wow, your ICU has open visiting hours?? the 2 i have been in are extremely restricted, you can only have 2 people at one time visiting, there is a 2 hour block around shift change so NO visitors are allowed from 0600-0800 or 1800-2000 and then i believe the hours are 0900-1100, 1300-1500, then one more block before 1800 then i think there are two hour visiting blocks thru the night too, but you have to have pass numbers to get in & everything, they are pretty locked down.

i like it, i wish the entire hospital would at least have a block around shift change...

When I worked in Chicago, we had very restricted hours also - one hour block before and after change of shift (no visitors OR phone calls), visiting didn't start until 11A and ended promptly at 8P (security comes around and escorts people out that are, uh, lingering). Two visitors max, 15 minutes per hour. It is still that way there. I might add that nurse satisfaction was always rated very high there, for many reasons, but that was definitely one of them!

But here in WI, as I wrote, it is a free party. They are finally putting a foot down at one of my jobs, but the rest are still fair game for whenever someone wants to show up (and I'm pretty sure that family doesn't normally visit a relative at 2A!).

What management doesn't seem to realize is that this is really detrimental to all. Family is irritated because we are constantly in the room doing assessments, vitals, meds and disturbing their sleep; the sleeping patient rolls over and sighs and family is all over that, patient needs the nurse, needs pain meds, whatever, when in fact they're still asleep (or were, until family shook them awake, "Ma, are you ok?"), so the patient can't rest. And we can never get anything done because we are responding to all of these now awake people (or more likely their family member who thinks the patient needs something). During the day patients feel forced to be awake and entertain their visitors, instead of resting. I've seen the patient fall asleep while "visiting" and the rest of the clan just keeps on talking among themselves - no clue that maybe they should leave for a while. And why do people think they have to constantly be touching and rubbing the arm of a sick person?

Add to that the intense amount of charting, and charting, and charting, and charting. It's a wonder we really have time to care for the patient at all.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I was getting a pt settled back in bed from dialysis and he was still be NPO for a procedure later that day, when he arrived back to his room he had a lunch tray in his room, so I took the tray out and told him he was NPO and he stated "Ya'll said ya'll would get us back one way or another and laughed". I didn't reply and left the room. At no point in time did I have to endure slavery like my ancestors did nor do I hold grudges for what happened back then. I was glad when my shift was over and was glad I did not have him the next day. But as luck may have it I was blessed to have him again the next week, oh the joy! he then told me that I was to young to be a nurse and didn't know anything, by this time I already knew he was an a*# and told him I am a nurse and no one can do anything about it! He was such a rude and uncouth pt, he even talked to his wife crazy and she waited on him hand and foot, but she was just as rude. Again I was glad that day was over!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in critical care, PACU.

I had a homeless patient who was very cantankerous and grumpy. He called me every insult in the book and made many stabs at my abilities, age, and appearance. I dont know whats wrong with me but I found it hilarious. The bizarre insults and metaphors he came up with were so funny to me. I just let it roll of my back. My stifled laughs probably didnt help with his mood though. Although he was a curmudgeon, I bonded with him and when he coded later when I wasnt working I was sad because I knew the other staff probably didnt find him as entertaining as I had.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psychiatry.

"Get the hell out of my room. I'd rather see you dead lying under a bus than in here again."

The pt had brain mets, so it was hard to be mad at him.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I had an elderly, agitated patient who stopped me and angrily asked me "Why do you all look alike?!". All of the staff had brown hair, and wore it in pony tails, and wore similar scrubs. He then added, "But you're the fat one!" :eek:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
is your patient a dr? they know quite a lot of medical info. i hate working with the pts who want to know what they are taking, where it was made, what its for, when it was created, it kills me to hold in my words!

patients should know what they're taking, what it's for, what the dose is and when they're supposed to take it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in addictions recovery, tele, peds.

I had a patient just yesterday tell me that "I dont care if you have other pt and theyre calling you how dare you leave me in pain" it had only been 15 min and when I apologized he said "dont stand there apologizing just get me my damn pain meds" mind you I had just given him 2 hydrocodone 20 minutes ago and he was wanting something for "breakthrough pain"

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.

Now, see, that would be where my mouth would overload my rear end. Something along the lines of "I don't know that you NEED any more pain meds, you're already a pretty big pain as it is!" would be tempting. Not ethical or service-friendly, but tempting.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Telemetry, IMCU, s/p Open Heart surgery.

one of the issues this patient had was that he felt like he was taking many meds and didn't know what they were for. MY issue was that when i tried teaching him and the family about these meds they weren't very open to learning from me, so i'd go on micromedex and print them a med info sheet, which they just folded and set down on the bedside table...

i do however love when patients say to me: "you're the nurse! you went to school for many years and know what's best for me. just tell me what you want me to do and i'll do it."

*HEARTS*

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I had a patient say "your the devil" over and over and over again.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Wow...I am so glad I work with kids ONLY. I knew after my first clinical in med Surg that I didn't have the patience to take care of adults/elderly.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I immediately thought about other kinds of rudeness, such as a patient insisting on taking a phone call as I am at the bedside waiting to give him his truckload of medications so I can finish there, and try to get my other patients' medications to them in time.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment