What's the meanest thing a patient has said to you?

bugya90, ASN, BSN, LVN, RN · Jun 9, 2015

Worst thing said to me was a patient asked when I was due. I was 22 at the time and not pregnant (still don't have any kids today 4 years later). I threw that scrub top in the trash that night because it was apparently not very flattering.

Worst thing I ever witnessed was in LTC as a brand new nurse, only 21 at the time and had a pt call one of the CNAs a N word. She was a very sweet girl that I went to high school with and I was already having a bad night and that just set me off. I walked in the patients room and very bluntly told him that language would not be tolerated on my shift and if he continued to use racial slurs I would have his discharge paperwork drawn up and his daughter called to come pick him up so fast it would make his head spin. I may or may not have said that very nicely either. He didn't say another word the rest of the shift and when I told my DON about it the next morning she had s nice long chat with that patient behind closed doors and the patient write both me and the CNA apology notes.

Red Kryptonite · Jun 9, 2015

Even though the bigotry is never accepted, I understand it from the older generation, because they either had slaves or their parents did.

Ummm, you seem to be lacking both some basic historical knowledge and math skills. The Civil War ended in 1865. That's 150 years ago. For anyone living today to have owned slaves, they'd have to be well over 150 years old. For anyone living today to be the child of those who owned slaves in the United States, going by the usual ages of human fertility, they'd likely be well over 110 years old.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born shortly after the end of the Civil War. She died in 1959 in her 90s....just for some perspective.

Phoenix16, RN, MSN · Jun 9, 2015

Ummm, you seem to be lacking both some basic historical knowledge and math skills. The Civil War ended in 1865. That's 150 years ago. For anyone living today to have owned slaves, they'd have to be well over 150 years old. For anyone living today to be the child of those who owned slaves in the United States, going by the usual ages of human fertility, they'd likely be well over 110 years old.
Laura Ingalls Wilder was born shortly after the end of the Civil War. She died in 1959 in her 90s....just for some perspective.

Does your statement imply that because slavery was abolished means it still didn't exist in their era? Just like there is now a black President so racism just magically disappeared?

Why didn't you put everything in quote?If you read carefully, I also stated that that was the way they were raised. If everyday you wake up and something is being hammered into your brain that that was the correct way of life, that is what you would believe.

Keep in mind that back then they were no cable, fb, or twitter to enlighten them.

Hmm when was Sante Kimes convicted of slavery again? I'm sure it was way past abolishment. In fact I think it was 1985. There' some fun fact for you.

TeleRN44 · Jun 9, 2015

I've had a few patients say some truly shocking things. One truly heinous patient managed to alienate the entire staff, not just myself, with her racial comments. She was a handful and would shriek a constant flow of cuss words as her mother stood by and watched with a serene expression on her face. I understood why the patient was angry...she was dying. It didn't stop me from wanting to slap the mother, however, for creating and failing to control the monster she created.

Typically, it's the guys who get my goat. The able bodied ones who come in and are suddenly no longer able to do for themselves and call you to help them use the urinal. They were texting/drinking from their water pitcher/using the TV remote two minutes ago...now they're unable to lift either their member or the urinal. For them, I have a special list of questions prepared.

Have your arms shrunk since your admission? Do you suffer from T-Rex arm syndrome?

No

Has your member suddenly gained a massive amount of weight since your admission to the hospital?

No

Does anyone assist you with peeing at home?

No

Okay then, this isn't a Mediao, I'm not wearing fishnets or a push-up bra and I'm not here to help you live out a fantasy. Here is your call light, please let me know when you're finished. Is there anything else you need right now?

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses

Raven Sierra, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2015

omg. I might have lost it on that one.

That was my thought, too, NursesRmofun. Holy cow.

krRN86 · Jun 9, 2015

I just died..I read babydaddy and it was over....bahahahahaha

K+MgSO4, BSN · Jun 9, 2015

"I hope a polar bear eats you."
Lol

This is very specific. ?.......

Dogen · Jun 9, 2015

... when I told my DON about it the next morning she had s nice long chat with that patient behind closed doors and the patient write both me and the CNA apology notes.

THAT'S what admins are supposed to do, not be customer-satisfaction-survey-humping desk jockeys.

Raven Sierra, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2015

Had one patient the other night tell me "Why should I listen to you? You make minimum wage." And then in the next sentence, "How about you take off these [restraints] and I take you out to dinner?"

Yahhh, I'll get right on that.... :sarcastic:

Raven Sierra, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2015

Typically, it's the guys who get my goat. The able bodied ones who come in and are suddenly no longer able to do for themselves and call you to help them use the urinal. They were texting/drinking from their water pitcher/using the TV remote two minutes ago...now they're unable to lift either their member or the urinal. For them, I have a special list of questions prepared.
Have your arms shrunk since your admission? Do you suffer from T-Rex arm syndrome?
No
Has your member suddenly gained a massive amount of weight since your admission to the hospital?
No
Does anyone assist you with peeing at home?
No
Okay then, this isn't a Mediao, I'm not wearing fishnets or a push-up bra and I'm not here to help you live out a fantasy. Here is your call light, please let me know when you're finished. Is there anything else you need right now?
Sent from my iPhone using allnurses

I remember being a newbie in the ER and having some guys suddenly need help peeing...I was naive and had just been through the "patient satisfaction" training for new hires. Thankfully, I had a nurse pull me aside and explain that those patients were looking for a sort of satisfaction not measured by Press-Ganey.

Now, I tell them if they can reach the remote, they can reach their member to pee. But I may steal your questions, too. :)

Dogen · Jun 9, 2015

I remember being a newbie in the ER and having some guys suddenly need help peeing...I was naive and had just been through the "patient satisfaction" training for new hires. Thankfully, I had a nurse pull me aside and explain that those patients were looking for a sort of satisfaction not measured by Press-Ganey.
Now, I tell them if they can reach the remote, they can reach their member to pee. But I may steal your questions, too. :)

It bugs the s*** out of me how many times I've heard this exact story from nurses throughout my career. I feel like when we offer the patient their list of rights and responsibilities it should include a behavioral contract. Here, I wrote a draft:

"I, the undersigned, will not harass, whether physically, emotionally, or sexually, any member of the staff. This includes suggestive or disparaging comments, pretending to have T-Rex Arm Syndrome, pretending your broken arm is your member-holding hand when it is not, and other forms of trying to get the staff to touch you in a fashion that should force you to be registered on some kind of list."

Kandy83 · Jun 9, 2015

I worked child psych, the child was assigned 1 to 1 staff and a patient said to the off going tech "but I don't want you to leave, I don't want her, she's so ugly!"
Another child called me ratchet, I had to ask my coworkers what that meant.
I'm not ratchet lol

LMBO, what did she say ratchet meant?