What's Your Sign Baby?

[AutumnApple]

Something that was said on another thread reminded me of an incident I had when I was on clinicals as a student.

Sock puppets.

Got your attention?

Here is what happened:

My clinical group was doing it's rotation on a M/S unit with tele. This specific unit utilized Telemetry Techs (is that the right word?). The techs would watch the monitors, take care of beeping that was just a result of the pt disconnecting (for instance, to go to the bathroom) types of things and of course alert the nurse if there was a problem.

One of the techs was a middle aged man, I say....oh, 35ish. He was always joking with the nurses which at first seemed nice. We can all use some humor in the day, right? Not his humor. I noticed the nurses often gave him the cold shoulder, or just gave him one word responses while he was carrying on. To be honest, his jokes weren't funny so, I wrote it off as that being the reason for it all.

Nope. There was more. He was a creep. One day he kept following me around with a sock puppet and flirting with me. The sock puppet would say "Hey, you're cute" then he'd apologize for his friend's rudeness. On and on he kept going and all my social ques that he was annoying me went ignored.

Then he started with the "Hi, I'm ToeRiffic, what's your name? I like long walks on the beach, country music, romantic dinners at McDonald's................."

Thank goodness the nurse assigned to the patient I was watching stepped in at this point. She was so casual and smooth about it too: "Oh, hi Autumn. I see you're going to do the dressing our patient is ordered. Why don't you go introduce yourself to the patient while I get your instructor so she can have a little chat with our tech here. I'll be in to join you in just a few."

I loved my clinical instructor at the time. She was detail oriented without being OCD, if that makes sense. Smart too, loved how she always seemed to know what was going to happen before it did. Well, I don't know what she said to that tech but for the remainder of our rotation that semester, he never once rose from his seat or approached another student.

So, we're all aware of how nursing is often turned into a sex symbol thing. Some in the general public still believe this nonsense and think all flirting with nurses is always appreciated.

What's your story about being flirted with while you were nursing?

What'd you do?

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

I worked with a guy who made me very uncomfortable. During bedside reports of male patients, he often would say, this is Mandy's_mom, she is from (insert preconceived idea of exotic location), she likes to (insert preconceived idea of activities done in said exotic location, i.e., climb coconut trees wearing a G-String, provide a good time to "gringoes", etc.) all while hugging me or giving me a back rub. Never received pertinent patient information and always had said patients asking personal questions during my shift, as they felt they had earned the right to know.

I addressed the issue with the guy, but it never went through. Finally, I spoke to a supervisor and was told, "he's socially awkward, try to imagine him in high school, being this awkward teenager, trying to speak to girls. He never outgrew that phase." Unbelievable! I finally moved on to another (better) position and said guy became an ARNP!

I don't "like" this but liked because I do identify with it.

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

Would you believe, at the LTC facility I worked at, we had a UAP who did something similar? It was money, not flirting he was after.

When I got there he was already full blown into his manipulating. People kept telling me "He's a good aid most of the time, he's just had problems lately. He's even won awards here, but for the last year or two something is wrong............"

When he was new, according to them, he was a real go getter. Did his work, helped when he could and eager to learn. He even discussed going to LPN school with the nurses a lot (something he never did, which, I believed to be a part of the problem).

.....

It was long ago. His "punishment" didn't last too long, and while it did, I always got someone else to help. It was not a situation where the CNA did everything. The CNA was assigned as "help" between many nurses....for v/s and assist, if needed....not assigned more than a bath or two for each staff nurse and help pulling up or turning a few here and there. So, the patients would have no idea who was doing their job or not. He would tell me he was already committed to another duty at that time, and that is how he got away with it. But I knew he was avoiding helping me. Eventually, it went back to a fairly normal situation although definitely not the same.

Your guy definitely took advantage of the situation! The one I dealt with misunderstood and thought the flirting he did was leading "somewhere".

[BeckyESRN]

I've had a few patients say, mostly funny, off color things. A few that I remember: 86 y/o guy with severe edema r/t CHF waited until the edema reached his scrotum to see his doctor said "Dang, wish it was this big when I was still using it" referring to his member. which too swollen to fit in the urinal!

A CT and I were washing up a LOL with dementia, when she reached up and cupped my CT's breast and said "How much does one of those weigh?" CT just said "Don't know, haven't weighed them lately"

Another 80sometime patient was having issues with his scrotal edema and I showed him how to fold up a hand towel to...ahem...prop up the boys, he looked at me and very seriously says "How does one so young acquire so much knowledge about balls"

The best accidentally perverted remark was from my favorite cardiologist; he saw me walking down the hallway as a visitor and didn't recognize me until I had already passed by; he then yelled down the hallway "I didn't recognize you with clothes on!"

As far as creepy flirting- as a student on psych, a patient became instantly obsessed with me, so much so that they medicated him, hoping to calm him, it had a paradoxical effect and he became hyperactive and dangerously focused on me. I had to stay on the other side of the locked unit until he was sedated. My instructor had me switch clinical sites. One of my classmates kindly brought me a drawing that he had done the following week of a dismembered stick figure with the same color hair as me! yay!

[kakamegamama]

Kind of a sore subject because I hate this kind of thing. It is so disrespectful.

I once had a co-worker who flirted with me in a not mild but moderate sort of way, mostly just smiles and eye contact sort of thing...never taking it too far until one day he decided to make it physical, making obviously lewd innuendo and brushing a body part with his arm. I was so disappointed and hurt. We didn't speak for days and then tried to go back to normal, but he tried to punish me by not helping with lift, pull patients and other duties as he had previously. And it was his job to help me. Sigh.

P.S. I reported it to my manager who made excuses and did nothing. I know, I know....live and learn.

Sexual harassment is illegal; to not report it (your manager's response) is illegal. If it was recent, I wouldn't let it go....what's to stop this guy, or other like him to go further? Shame on him. Shame on your manager.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

When I was doing clinicals in my last term of nursing school, I was working at a local nursing home where lived an Army veteran who was notorious for flirting with the staff. One day I went in with his lunch tray and asked him if he needed anything else. He promptly pointed to his bed and said, "Yep. I need you and those hooters in my bed. Now."

[Cat365]

My most memorable, maybe not worst, was before I even thought of becoming a nurse. I was sixteen and waitressing at a family oriented place. We had a regular that would come in every day during a slow period in the afternoon and say rude/suggestive things to the waitresses. He was likely in his late 80's so we let him get away with it.

One day I was was delivering drinks to the table across from him and he pinched my butt. I promptly turned around and dumped the ice tea I was holding into his lap. Then l turned to look at my table and smiling said "I'm sorry. I'll be right back with that tea."

My my boss was not thrilled, but he did tell the man to leave. My table thought it was hilarious and left me a very generous tip.

[evastone, BSN, RN]

When I was a student, one of the nurses asked me to check a patient's blood pressure. The patient was a young guy whose eyes never went above my chest. I was a bit creeped out but ignored it until he asked for a massage with a look of lust on his face.

I immediately turned my head towards th door as though I heard someone calling for me and yelled "Coming!" "Sorry, looks like I'm being called", I tell him as I ran out of the door without a backwards glance!

[lavenderskies, BSN]

When I was doing clinicals in my last term of nursing school, I was working at a local nursing home where lived an Army veteran who was notorious for flirting with the staff. One day I went in with his lunch tray and asked him if he needed anything else. He promptly pointed to his bed and said, "Yep. I need you and those hooters in my bed. Now."

Ewwwww

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

I can't get past he was middle-aged about 35ish. Sitting here shaking my head.

35 is middle aged? OMG. Perhaps I should quit now while I'm ahead.

ETA: I didn't see the other posts regarding this. No, 35 is not middle aged (and my age doesn't bother me either). 50s is more like it. 35 was middle aged about 30 years ago.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

I worked with a guy who made me very uncomfortable. During bedside reports of male patients, he often would say, this is Mandy's_mom, she is from (insert preconceived idea of exotic location), she likes to (insert preconceived idea of activities done in said exotic location, i.e., climb coconut trees wearing a G-String, provide a good time to "gringoes", etc.) all while hugging me or giving me a back rub. Never received pertinent patient information and always had said patients asking personal questions during my shift, as they felt they had earned the right to know.

I addressed the issue with the guy, but it never went through. Finally, I spoke to a supervisor and was told, "he's socially awkward, try to imagine him in high school, being this awkward teenager, trying to speak to girls. He never outgrew that phase." Unbelievable! I finally moved on to another (better) position and said guy became an ARNP!

And that would've been a huge report up the chain from me. Disgusting (both the dude and your manager). Sorry you put up with that.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

I'm not offended. I like being in my 40s. But since I plan on living until I'm in triple digits, I would say 50 is middle aged.

I keep telling my kid I'm living until I'm 150!! That makes middle aged for me around 75. I'm older than 35, and let me tell you, except for one knee, I feel better than 25!!

[rayman356307, BSN, RN]

I had an elderly pt try to set me up with her granddaughter and it even got to the point when I was making my last rounds before shift change she grabbed my hand to give me a handshake and quickly slipped her number into my breast pocket >.> I let my charge know about the situation and that I didn't want her my next shift and put the paper into the shredder. I'm here to work not be part of your family #sorrynotsorry