our patient:
- doesn’t take his medication, we inform him about the risks and document. He says he’ll take them ‘later’, never does.
- refuses his insulin, we inform him about the risks and document as well as chart.
- refuses his blood thinners, we inform him about the risks and document.
- turns his phone obnoxiously loud, also talks loud.
- insults us several times every day, gets passive-aggressive.
this is not psychiatry, patient is a young, AOX4, fully competent adult.
Fine, you’re a free man and free to do with your life what you want. But why go to a hospital in the first place if you are going to behave like this?
Yesterday we found him unconscious on the floor, vitals were normal, didn’t hit his head. He is being released tomorrow. Doctor agrees.
I have the feeling we’re going to see him again very soon, but he is the biggest asshole I’ve met in my nursing career.
Why do people behave like this? we are literally trying to give him some quality of life and he attacks us each time we open the door. why?
If any of you is a nurse and has some insight, I’m all ears.
Do please notice that I’m not asking how to deal with people like this: we document, chart and move on, but to understand why in the fuck people are like this.
I don’t know why but I’ve been an ER nurse for ten years and the closest I’ve figured is they want help but then get resentful of being told what to do. A lot of mean patients know they aren’t doing the right stuff at home but due to factors they feel ( rightly or wrongly) out of their control they end up with us and are now being told how to act by someone a third of their age! It’s what I tell myself anyway. Remember, we usually just see people on their worst days. The next patient might be nice. If not, the one after that.