Why do patients.....?

Nurses Humor

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It behooves me to understand why do these little old ladies especially...you know the ones,they are the nicest patients ever who got like 100 pills. You take you time pull and verify each pill. Place it neatly into a medicine cup then these nice patients take your medicinal cup then all of a sudden dumb all the pills onto their sheets on their stomach, pills start rolling everywhere and they start taking them one by one by one.....WHYYYYY!!!! :banghead::banghead::banghead:

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I lay a tissue down on the bedside table and pour them out onto it so they don't roll off onto the floor. Works pretty well.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
Oh yeah, we've all seen that. But that's not as bad as someone who has several pills, you get them all out, crush them, put them in pudding or applesauce, and then they refuse.
Or they drop them.

And you can't find them all'

And some were 'counted' kind!!!

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.

Hated post OHS with their +3 edematous fingers attempting to pick up pills. Your dexterity isn't what it was 2 days ago! That's why I told you to take them from the cup, not your hands.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

What's OHS?

To OP - off the topic here, but you used my most FAVORITE word "behooves". In the whole English vocabulary, I like this word best. But one has to pronounce it correctly for the full effect - BEHOOOOOOOVES.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
What's OHS?

Open Heart Surgery

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The best is when you go through all the "best options" to help them take the medications without dropping them, then they go ahead and take the cup and try to dump it out in their hand, then proceed to drop the narcotics on the floor.

*sigh*

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab.

I have a guy who's had teeth removed recently, so he's got Chlorhexidine to swish & spit out to prevent infection. Last night when I gave it to him, I also gave him a pain pill with a cup of water. He took the pain pill with the water. Then - and I kept telling him to swish and SPIT OUT the Chlorhexidine - he poured it into his mouth, spit it back out into the water cup, but then picked it back up and drank it! Makes me wonder if he was doing that in his room the other few times I'd given it to him. Of course, I immediately looked up how dangerous that was to swallow it, and given that it was only 5mL, it didn't appear to be too bad, but will really try to make sure he doesn't do that tonight.

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Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.
All after you just read off each one, stated what each was for, asked if they had any questions BEFORE opening each package and placing them into the medicine cup in front of them. I cannot remember which tiny white pill is which, that's why I went over everything BEFORE opening them:(

And what about when you do all that...and then they say oh I'm refusing that white one today....arrhhh :banghead:

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Specializes in ER.

There was a patient named Shoney,

Whose fingers were shaky and bony,

She dropped all her pills,

And made lots of big spills,

All because she was. . . . lonely.

It's a big social moment. What better way to make it last?

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Or when they absolutely do not want that little white pill today because (fill in the blank) it makes me feel funny, or it makes my feet tingle, or my neighbor told me her cousin took it and died. So you round up a witness to help you waste it, etc., and 30 minutes later their daughter comes to the desk to complain that you didn't give it. GGRRR!

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Or when they absolutely do not want that little white pill today because (fill in the blank) it makes me feel funny, or it makes my feet tingle, or my neighbor told me her cousin took it and died. So you round up a witness to help you waste it, etc., and 30 minutes later their daughter comes to the desk to complain that you didn't give it. GGRRR!

Or it's the end of the shift and the narc report is ran and you are told that you pulled the pill such and such for so and so but it wasn't documented as being given. God, I wish that report also included if it was refused/dropped/spat out and then WASTED in the same PIXIS that generated the pulled med report...nope, had to be manually checked:arghh:...yet another task to complete before leaving.

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The one resident who will refuse his H.S. pills if not given within a certain timeframe. In his case you have from 1855 to 1905 to give it or else.

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