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

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

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

Exactly. I loved my management there but it was a small nursing home not part of some big corporation. I did have a "verbal counseling" from it but those aren't kept in the employee record and it was more for her report for the NH board members that all bases were covered and investigated.

bathrobemom, LPN · Jun 9, 2015

One time while I was a home health aide, I refused to use a sit-to-stand with a client (90+ years) that refused to wear shoes and was weight bearing on one leg. He told me I was too old (34 years), not strong enough for my job, and that I didn't know how to use the sit-to-stand.

~PedsRN~, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2015

most of the time, my patients are mean about me behind my back. :) But I did have a family member ask to see my "credentials" because I didn't look like "no nurse". I showed her my badge (which has three sets of "credentials" behind my name) - and she said - "Well, every nurse I've ever seen looked like a professional. You don't. At all."

I just smiled and said "That's the beauty of pediatrics! I get to dress to have fun!" and turned and walked out of the room.

Momma1RN, MSN, RN, APRN · Jun 10, 2015

Last week my patient had a new Gtube (one of the really really small ones) and my poor preceptee crushed his meds and clogged the tube. It was clogged reaaaaallllly good. After a few minutes of me trying to get it unclogged, he goes "maybe you girls should go get someone who knows what they're doing". He was the sweetest man and I wasn't offended but ouch! We eventually got it unclogged after taking it apart!

MedChica · Jun 10, 2015

I honestly don't know.

Nothing sticks, though. I worked psych. Psych pt's have the honesty of children, so after routinely getting my soul ripped out in 10 words or less, nothing bothers me now. I've been called every name in the book! I am stone.

Actually, I get sexually harassed at work. It's not even the men. Men really aren't that bold. Women, on the other hand? I have one pt who calls me 'big booty' whenever she sees me. In the beginning, she gave me compliment. Called me "pretty". Now, she just calls me 'big booty'.

That's my name: Nurse Big Boody. She yells it down the hallway, too. She doesn't care. She'll be in that gerichair yelling for me, 'Big Boo-dy!'

It's embarrassing when it's done around nonnursing healthcare professionals, like, the medics and paramedics? They just laugh.

Not only cat-called, I get slapped on the butt.

It's these elderly women. Coming in their wheelchairs, "straightening out" my tops. Rolling past, popping me on the butt. They're not gay. They're just a bunch of old freaks! Stone-cold freaks!LOL

Honestly? I kind of have a complex about my behind. Like, if someone keeps making remarks about a specific body part, you're going to wonder about that body part. So, I'm always thinking, "Well, damn. Is my butt really that big?" I really don't think my behind is that big! I'm well-proportioned, I think.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 10, 2015

I honestly don't know.
Nothing sticks, though. I worked psych. Psych pt's have the honesty of children, so after routinely getting my soul ripped out in 10 words or less, nothing bothers me now. I've been called every name in the book! I am stone.
Actually, I get sexually harassed at work. It's not even the men. Men really aren't that bold. Women, on the other hand? I have one pt who calls me 'big booty' whenever she sees me. In the beginning, she gave me compliment. Called me "pretty". Now, she just calls me 'big booty'.
That's my name: Nurse Big Boody. She yells it down the hallway, too. She doesn't care. She'll be in that gerichair yelling for me, 'Big Boo-dy!'
It's embarrassing when it's done around nonnursing healthcare professionals, like, the medics and paramedics? They just laugh.
Not only cat-called, I get slapped on the butt.
It's these elderly women. Coming in their wheelchairs, "straightening out" my tops. Rolling past, popping me on the butt. They're not gay. They're just a bunch of old freaks! Stone-cold freaks!LOL
Honestly? I kind of have a complex about my behind. Like, if someone keeps making remarks about a specific body part, you're going to wonder about that body part. So, I'm always thinking, "Well, damn. Is my butt really that big?" I really don't think my behind is that big! I'm well-proportioned, I think.

If I were you I would tell that patient "my name is Medchica. Please do not call me nurse bigboody. I will no longer respond to that name. If you need something, please call me by my first name."

Tenebrae, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 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. ...

A colleague had this happen. She went to the supply room and came back with a scary looking pair of forceps and lifted the patients member into the urinal.

Surprisingly enough, the invisible ailment that was preventing the patient from using his own urinal was healed from that moment on:yes:

Tenebrae, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2015

Last week my patient had a new Gtube (one of the really really small ones) and my poor preceptee crushed his meds and clogged the tube. It was clogged reaaaaallllly good. After a few minutes of me trying to get it unclogged, he goes "maybe you girls should go get someone who knows what they're doing". He was the sweetest man and I wasn't offended but ouch! We eventually got it unclogged after taking it apart!

60mls normal coke is great for unblocking G tubes

thenightnurse456 · Jun 10, 2015

60mls normal coke is great for unblocking G tubes

We used to do this all the time but aren't allowed to anymore because our facility is claiming that the coke can erode the tube material.

Eeek

icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2015

Colace liquid and warm water is excellent for dissolving curdled tube feeding clogs.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2015

Colace liquid and warm water is excellent for dissolving curdled tube feeding clogs.

Other offbeat ingredients that dissolve clogged feeding tubes include meat tenderizer, fizzy magnesium citrate, and warm cranberry juice.

sasrn0988 · Jun 10, 2015

I recently had an African American patient call her 1:1 CNA a slave and told her to go back to Africa...she could answer all of her orientation questions correctly, too. She also took one look at me at continually called me a liar and said she didn't trust me until her daughter told her otherwise.