UGH! This is my first vent since I've become a Nurse Intern II while attending nursing school.
I worked over the w/e and had a pt who was extremely large (well over 300 lbs), came in with UTI and A-fib and was incontient. This woman literally drove me to nuts the entire 12 hours I worked her floor.
For starters, for some strange reason, she couldnt lift her index finger to push the call light that was LITERALLY an inch from her finger so she would yell to the top of her lungs, NURSE, NURSE whenever I walked by. I would go into her room and asked her why she felt the need to yell and not use her call light and she said she "couldnt raise her hand" to reach it, (although she could have pressed the call button on the side of the bed rail near her arm). So I ask her what I can help her with and she wanted me to (get this) close her miniblinds. I closed the miniblinds and she said, "the light is still in my eyes, can you move my bed to get the glare out of my eyes since the blinds won't close any further?" This woman is hooked up to 2 L of O2 so I told her there is no way to "move her bed" to the opposite side of the room because of the window, I told her I can turn out all the lights and close the door to see if that would help. She says, "can you put a cover over the window?" I told her no and told her if she needed anything else, to lift her finger and use the call light on the side of the bed. I even put the call light box right on her chest (within arms reach) to use it.
Why no more than 30 seconds later (literally), she is SCREAMING NURSE again? I run into her room and ask her what I can do for her, and she says (get this) Can you move my cup closer to the edge of the table so I can use the straw to drink it? She was USING her hands to eat breakfast, but couldnt use her index FINGER to press the call light.
Then the kicker, I leaves her room (after pulling her cup literally a half inch further than it was on the table) and she is SCREAMING nurse again and this time, she managed to pull out her IV and there was blood everywhere. So, I had to do a linen change (while she was in the bed, as well as clean her up and put on a new gown). The nurse had to start a new IV in which she CRIED, MOAN and complained the entire time. When I put on her grown, she couldnt lift her arms up to put them in the sleeves so I had to pull the gown over her arms, in which she complained I was "hurting" her and she needed a pain pill.
Fastfoward, to an hour later, she is constantly on her call light for little things, like "can you make me some ice tea? can you turn me to the right side? can you turn the channel on the TV?", etc. I ended up putting her on the bed pan and she would ring the light literally as soon as I walked out of the room and to say she "thinks" she is finished pooping and when I go to remove the bed pan, she "squirts" diarrehea all over the damn place, including on my sleeve. NOTHING is in the bed pan. It took 2 nurses and myself to clean her up, and this happened 4 times over the course of 12 hours. Due to her hemmroids, the nurse didnt think she would be benefit from a rectal tube.
Meanwhile, while I'm spending all this time in this pt's room, there is a little ole lady two doors down that is Influenza type A, incontient, and NEVER rings her call light for anything, and I feel bad because I know she's in need of a bath, change, and linen change and I'm wasting all my time in this pt's room who thinks she is in a Holiday Inn Express!
And her family members are just as bad! They literally hunted the nurse down to say that "my sister wants her food cut up because she can't cut it herself because her hands hurt", although her "sister" was eating just fine with BOTH her hands before she got there.
Sorry so long. I just don't get why people don't understand they are in a HOSPITAL and not a HOTEL! We are not room service there to serve your every demanding comand.
We need to have a campaign here on Allnurses for people to write letters to the editor for all of their local newspapers, educating the public on what is and isn't an emergency and how to behave in a hospital.
Maybe it might make a difference.
I think that would be a great idea, however....I don't think it is the people who read the paper that abuse the ED.
"I have the time" is a motto around my work place.
I had a patient who tried to give me her change purse. She wanted me to go down to the gift shop, return and tell her what was "cute" in the store and then purchase the items for her.
I told her I would try to get a volunteer to help her out, but I couldn't leave my other patients to be a personal shopper. She refused and stated, "But you're suppose to have the time to do this!"
She remained upset with me for the remainder of my shift.
I just can't say that. We're supposed to use the same mantra but I won't.
I do ask if there is any thing else I can help them with right now. And I remnid them that I'll be back on my hourly rounds -unless they have something scheduled before that- and use the call light if the need soemthing before my next visit. Overall my pts are pretty good about it.
Occasionally I get some worrywarts who are positive I won't come when they need me.... and I tell them, if I'm helping somene else of the commode or changing their dressing I will have to finish before I answer their light.
You are not alone, and there are LOTS of threads JUST like yours....we all need to vent sometimes! People suddenly become invalids when they were perfectly capable of stomping themselves into the ER waiting room, stomping up and back to the registration desk while waiting to be seen, and so on.
Family members frequently encourage such behavior, fussing over their poor, sick loved one and making sure that mean old nurse takes special care of them. Sick patients be dam*ed, the one who refuses to wipe her own BUTT is the one who should take priority, right?
Vent on, we'll understand :)
AMEN sister! But, also these new hospitals even look like Hiltons!
So true! There is a inverse relationship between the decibel level put out by the pt. and their acuity level. I love telling some of the screamers that if they were truly deathly ill as they are trying to make me believe, I wouldn't be able to hear them at the other end of the ED; and, therefore, the more I can see or hear them, the longer they will wait because I will attend to the quietest ones first.
Funny, they never do teach you that inverse relationship in nsg school.:nuke:
Specializes in CTICU, Interventional Cardiology, CCU.
HAha this thread makes me laugh..I FEEL YOUR PAIN..My favorite is the pt that comes into the ER with c/o CP and SOB, N&V.. and land on my floor at about 0347, EKG, labs ect..the pt bring the whole family that was in the ER about 5 people including a 12 y.o. on a school night..I understand mom-mom is sick but the pt. is admitted have one or 2 family members follow the pt up and send the rest home..here's the kicker and it happens ALL the TIME..it's 0347 pt arrives with the 10,000 family members demand to see the doctor and want a Dx right then and there..explain to the pt. and 10,000 family memers it is 0347 in the morning and they only doc is the house MD and the tele resident, which evaluated the pt in the ED, about 2 hours ago, and at 0730 the doctor assigned to the pt. will be in to see them. not to mention the pt. is in a shared room..then the flood of questions...why isn't my TV turned on, you have to pay for it at 730 am, why isn't my phone working, same deal with the TV not untill 730am and you can't use your cell cause this is a cardiac floor so if u need me to call one of the other 30000 family memers I will do so. I want something to eat call the cafeteria and make them send something, the cafeteria is closed and you will recieve breakfast with the rest of the pt's at 8 am, but in the mean time I can offer ghram crackers and juice, are you Diabetic, no. ok then this is the best...:reminder pt came to the ED with CP, SOB and N&V: pt starts screaming oh lord i am gonna die..oh lord...I I ask r u ok..I feel so sick.. ru going to vomit, did u eat in the ED, yes 2 meals..ok.. more food then most but i didn't say that..I assess, VS stable, +bs ect...I go to chart..I come back the pt is eating FRIED CHICKEN AND A WHOLE PLATE OF FRENCH FRIES...where did the pt. get that at 0347 in the morning..I ask the family they said oh it was left over from tonight when we got take out in the ED..I look at the pt. looked at the family asked them to leave the room for a few minutes...I educated the pt. on a low salt low chol. diet as the pt was inhaling greasy fried chicken and fries that looked like they were triple fried...I asked the pt. to throw it away, pt snarled, began to explain that foods like the fried chicken and fries are mabybe the reason they came to the ED with c/o CP. Pt. could not understand at all...same with the family..finally the house MD came up and was appalled at the pt..not me thank god, MD said to the pt.."I told you in the ED NOT TO EAT THE FRIED CHICKEN, THAT"S WHY U ARE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE", I just turned around and walked out. The house DR. pulled me aside and said "sometimes I feel like a drive through hospital, you want an MI with that"...I almost fell on the floor. turns out pt. had severe CAD after a RHC, pt vowed never to eat foods like fried chicken in crisco ever again, next night know what the family brought..you got it fried chicken, and in all the pt's glory was eating it while smiling at the nurse she had that night, it wansn't me..I educated, educateed and so did the MD's and the other RN..All I could think about that "want an MI with that"...wow sorry that was so long
I think that would be a great idea, however....I don't think it is the people who read the paper that abuse the ED.
You may be right. Maybe it should be printed on beer cans and fast food wrappers. Or maybe have a 6 foot tall, muscular guy explain it to them upon entrance to the ER.
Frankly I do not know any Holliday Inn that cuts your food comes running to move a cup a 1/2 inch for a yelling patron that is too lazy to move it himself. Or that responds this way at all to a yelling patron. Especially one who continues to behave in this mannor.
Really can you see it she comes into the holliday in and yells. Repeatedly for non sense.
Holliday In and the Hilton and others do not put up with this type of patron.
At no time did I read that you set any limits with this person. Limit setting is a priority for dealing with this type of patron ooops patient.
Can you tell I had a horrible night? I usually am a little more tactful in the way I tell things, but last night there was no being tactful with some people.
I think that we have been "tactful " too long and need to start telling it like it is and start doing some serious boundary setting.
Specializes in MedSurg/OrthoNeuro/Rehab/Consultant.
I think there have always been some patients like the ones you are describing, I know that I took care of that kind of patient twenty years ago! But, I think it has become more pronounced in recent years. Our society has encouraged people to feel entitled, it is an expectation to receive good service. It is exhausting to be the one who is expected to give this perfect service. No wonder nurses want to leave their profession. It's really sad.
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ShayRN
1,046 Posts
I think that would be a great idea, however....I don't think it is the people who read the paper that abuse the ED.