Have you ever sighed after a patient demanded a glass of water that was exactly 72 degrees warm or some better-tasting food (um, not gonna happen!)?
Join the club!
We asked our Facebook fans for the one thing they’d make impossible for all patients to do. If you’ve ever responded to your patient’s 35th call bell ring in an hour, we know you’ll be nodding along with them!
The top 10 things nurses wish it were impossible for patients to do!
1. Viewing the “H” as the Hilton, not the HOSPITAL…
—Tina Lester Jones
2. Butt grabbing. As a male nurse, I can say you never want to give an 82-year-old nun an Ambien at 9 pm. She’s a different woman at 2 a.m.
—Jerry Koenn
3. I would make Internet access impossible. That’s right, Mrs. Doe, no WebMD or Mayo Clinic, just smart nurses who dedicated half of their lives to educating themselves so they can take care of you!
—Katerina Milcheva
4. Lying. I would venture to say that if any ER doc walked out into the waiting room, stood on a chair and yelled, “Who is here just for Vicodin?” you would empty out about 60 percent of the patients.
—Scott A. Rimer
5. Calling to see what the wait times are and who the doctor(s) are in the ED today! (They don’t get either bit of info, but they still call!) IF YOU HAVE TIME TO CALL AND ASK…IT’S NOT AN EMERGENCY! STAY HOME!
—Vicki Ovitt Lyons
6. It should be against the law to tell the nurse your pain is a 10/10, and when the doc rounds, “Any complaints?”, the patient says, “No, I’m just fine,” with a huge smile on her face. Geesh!
—Dana Campbell
7. Family who have been told to step out and wait in the waiting room while care is given, then sneak back in and try to peep around the curtain! I want to say, “If you are so darn interested, clean them up yourself!”
—Susan Goodall Aliff Gordy
8. Abusing the call light! If it is in reach and your arms aren’t broken, don’t ask me to get it!
—Apryl Lee
9. Hunting me down like a big game animal! There are call lights for a reason!
—Tammy Kirby Suttles
10. Pulling out a Foley. I didn’t wanna do it the first time and I most certainly don’t wanna do it again!
—Melody Beier
What’s the one thing you’d make impossible for your patients to do?