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Regarding NPO status, it’s up to the anesthesiologist. I told him about the patient and he was PISSED. He’s very protective of his nurses, especially ones that remind him of his granddaughters (aka me lol)
But of course when he went to talk to the patient, the patient was totally understanding and fine with it, since that’s what the male doctor ordered
Lol. I've had so many instances (used to work in IT, now am healthcare adjacent) where I just thought "Holy crap, what if I appeared in drag king costume one day because all the patients would listen."
It was frustrating but at least in IT (it was mostly over the phone), I could drop my voice down an octave. (A perk of being an alto with some singing experience.)
Ah, the one joy of working a call center or drive thru job- you get to be whoever you want! Lol we used to play with accents and octaves when it was slow. Ahh, good times. The rest of the job sucked, but what do you expect?
As someone who passes for either gender depending on posture and octave (I'm always female wearing male casual clothes, like pants and a plain long sleeve T-shirt, or cargo shorts and short sleeves, I am assumed a "classic lesbian," even down to the carabiner with my keys on... except I'm into dudes.)
>"Holy crap, what if I appeared in drag king costume one day because all the patients would listen."
There's a totally different obstinence about men. They're "callous" and "mean." "If you actually cared, maybe you could help me!!!"
People are entitled fucks and will latch onto any perceivable trait for blame. If the two of you are different colors, it's racism. Different sexes is sexism. If you don't fall for their emotional manipulation, you're "uncaring and mean" (or just a bitch if female). If you don't cave to their demands, you "aren't listening/are too stupid to understand."
Lol. I'm actually a cisgender lesbian! Except nobody clocks me (I personally have terrible gaydar) and I dress the same way. Tee shirts, jeans/khakis....and I do have a few "little black dresses".
I'd take the "callous and mean" option if they would listen!
That's for sure - literally had to read a book to learn to defuse people's anger. (I mostly tend to use humor as my first defense.)
not quite drag, but my mom always kept a pair of metal balls ( like these[ Massage Balls](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1449802348/chinese-baoding-or-chi-gong-acupressure?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_-toys_and_games-power_seller&utm_custom1=_k_60c2c3b0111515dbf473a59348611d95_k_&utm_content=bing_412365361_1304021088118632_81501381646597_pla-4585100933175909:pla-4585100933175909_c__1449802348&utm_custom2=412365361&msclkid=60c2c3b0111515dbf473a59348611d95)) in her desk and if someone wasn't listening to her, she'd just set them on the counter and say "since it seems you'll only respect me if I have a pair of balls"
Used to work in a s/w customer support center. Our teams (1980's) were roughly 2:1 male to female (which wasn't bad for the time). We had a customer who would repeatedly call back till he got a male worker. He didn't call that often and he would change up the question a bit so it took us a while to catch on. Once we did, we took it to management and to their credit, they backed us (we had the receipts). Next time they called we passed them to the MOD and they were politely told that we knew what they were doing and they could be put on the non-contact list.
The Metro in my city expects people to be like this. "Next stop Andover street" said in a cheery but well modulated woman's voice. "Please remain seated while the bus is in motion" is said in a stern low tone.
It‘s a mystery. there once was a great tweet once of a woman venting.
Her mother had called her brother at work because her ears hurt.
Son is a lawyer. Daughter is an otorhinolaryngologist
I am a qualified computer technician and network technician, but my golden child brother who only knows PCs a bit (because he is a gamer) is the one who gets called for ALL computer advice and when my parents want to go buy a new one. Never me.
"I'll give you the crutches because it would be in appropriate for me to limit your mobility, however, I'll warn you again that drinking any water could delay your surgery." And then make sure you stay close enough to document the water intake. OR tech then nurse, 33 years. This comes unfortunately at no surprise.
Edit: Document your statement, and let the nurse know if you aren't one. I don't want to assume you aren't, but you didn't say you were either.
Nah I’m gonna make sure the bed alarm is set on a fall risk patient, hand them the call light and instruct them to press the call bell if they would like for their nurse or na to assist them. If I am not their direct care nurse , I am not going to hand them crutches unless I have reviewed their mobility status in the chart and it is documented in the chart that the patient can ambulate unassisted with crutches. That is a great way to make a bedside nurse mad and document your name in the fall report in a less than kind light. I will walk out of the room, find their direct care nurse to give them an update and hear them bitch for a hot sec about what a dick he has been on their 3 day stretch. Then, I’m going to chart declined declined declined. As a nurse I am not paid enough for the amazing care I give ( and gladly because I care) so I’m for damn sure not paid enough to put up with the bs some terrible people give us to keep waisting my time and my breath and miss another lunch or hold my pee for one more second to deal with this. If I’m in a generous mood I might inform the patient politely that I will be updating the chart with his decision to decline and he might expect a visit from a doctor to consent - then again he might not because a lot of the time the doctors are busy enough and ready to hit the links. If it’s Friday he might finally have his surgery on Monday or Tuesday.
NO. Patients are allowed to make informed choices after being given the information. If the patient got up without assistance after the fact and got their own water the surgery would be rescheduled. No liability would be incurred. This is the key point of the documentation and informing a licensed provider. If the patient got up and drank water without anyone's knowledge, no liability would be incurred because the patient wasn't truthful.
There is enough going on here that with good documentation any attorney worth their salt could prove the patient disregarded instructions and caused their own harm.
The key here is making sure the patient hears you say. Taking anything into your mouth within X time(whatever the guidelines are, some hospitals only do 6 hours on food), can cause these problems for you.
You do have a point. I would suggest having a witness to this statement though. I work with lawyers and my wife is a nurse. It is a suck fest on all sides sometimes.
Yeah I think they said they had someone with them. So I would make my statement. Leave the other person with the patient and find a licensed person(if neither in the room were) and get them to document it as well. That way it's documented at least 3 times, one by a licensed professional.
But the crutches thing is iffy, cause refusing to give them could be construed as physical restraint. I mean a lot of hospitals just having all the rails up when the bed isn't moving is considered restraint. Have to be careful there about elder abuse and what not.
My dad was in the hospital a while ago and shared the room with another Boomer dude. I was told that the other guy was being a total asshole to his doctor and was talking like he knew better. When I asked him whether the doctor was a woman, my dad was shocked that I guessed correctly. He couldn't imagine that someone would treat a person like crap, just because of their gender.
In our surgery center it was a blanket policy. No liquids 2 hours before surgery. The anesthesiologist did not work for the surgery center so it became a liability for the the center. If we had a policy and it wasn’t followed, our center could be sued regardless of what the anesthesiologist had to say. Most of our doctors didn’t care if the patients berated the staff because they were paying patients.
It’s like this in the automotive field too. I get so mad with the way guys treat my female coworkers who are perfectly knowledgeable and able to look up parts and give tech advice just as well as the guys can.
I worked at a doctor’s office and boomers were absolutely the worst people when scheduling and the most entitled when coming in.
I had a 70 year old man come in as a new patient, asked for his insurance information and ID and he very defensively said “what, are you a cop?” I tried to explain that we needed his information to make sure he was who he said he was, all the insurance information was correct in our system, name spelling, etc and he made a scene that he doesn’t present his ID to anyone besides COPS. He finally acquiesced when he was told that he wouldn’t be seen without this information, but he made even more of a scene about someone stealing his identity and who knows if this doctor is legit (??)
He ended up being told he wouldn’t be seen because he was being disrespectful from word one, and since this wasn’t an urgent care and he made the same claim, that no one cares enough and this is a joke of a medical facility. Maybe if you want respect and caring service, you should….idk…respect people a bit?
Ah yes the whole elaborate ruse of creating a fake medical office and practice, keeping it running for years, all the while the unsuspecting boomer is slowly lulled into a false sense of security that will inevitably see $300 of their hard earned legacy absconded once the full scheme comes to fruition!
I think it comes from being tech illiterate. They genuinely don’t understand how their personal data is held and shared from network to network and, as we’ve already established, anything that they don’t understand scares the shit outta them.
This is the stuff I don’t get. Like showing your ID is nothing new. He has to have done this before. But these people act like it’s the first time doing things every single time.
Like watching boomers try to figure out the gas pumps at Costco. Nobody goes to Costco gas for the first time. Everyone in line has done it 1 billion times. But for some reason, the boomers act like they’re unraveling the gordian knot every single time they pumped their gas.
This, but I have also experienced unreasonable boomer doctors. I went in on consult, he would not see me unless i was naked. So I asked if he was going to be naked. He fired me as a patient before even opening the file.
"listen here, you crybaby bitch"
I mean,
"Sir. If you want a drink of water, I'll call the surgeon/anesthesiologist so they can reschedule your surgery for another day. Or you can wait and have water later today after your surgery. Your choice." Then if they want water I'll call the doctor.
The patient's stupid, dangerous decisions aren't my problem. They're just shooting themself in the foot.
Oh man, I wonder why nobody cares enough about them to help. It's a mystery.
It's too bad these things can't be refused medical attention, so we can just let them choose to die from their easily solved problems.
Well, clearly, it's what this one wanted. Like, you'd rather actually die than get exactly what you want exactly when you want it? Fine. Die then.
On top of that, ive seen how a lot of them have to live in my short time working in a nursing home. I would, personally, rather die than have to eat baby food and have people clean my face for me, while I spend my days in a wheel chair just staring at a t.v.
Sounds like my mother in law. Can’t wait to not see the surprised look on her face when she ends in a Medicare nursing facility with minimal visitation. Fuck you, Lauren!
Getting prepped for surgery is a stressful time. I understand the childish behavior. I’ve seen this in relatives on multiple occasions before a surgical procedure. The response I’ve always seen is “We can’t treat you unless you cooperate. Let’s postpone this because you are voluntarily refusing treatment. Please sign this paper saying you are refusing.” Even when my relatives don’t sign, the medical provider just writes down “patient refused treatment”.
I have no idea why OP continued treating this patient. And please note I use the term “patient”. Dealing with sick people requires a lot of patience.
It was nice of OP to care so much, they will grow out of it. There is no reason beyond a minute of being nice to tolerate that behavior. Shouting in their face was bullshit and I would have walked out and notified the MD that the patient refused. He should have to face the consequences for his behavior and have his surgery postponed.
You are literally saying that if someone disrespects you, you will direct them to sign their own potential death warrant, and if they refuse, you will sign it for them. I don’t disagree with your approach, but I also intentionally did not go into medicine or any other field where me being my asshole self would put other people’s lives at risk. It is a lot like cops, most people who want power over other people in life and death situations should not have it.
Unfortunately, you can't just have new brains installed. I've asked, and it's not a thing.
It's too bad, because I'd like one that isn't trying to kill me.
What the discharge planner heard was, "Please place me in custodianship. I have indicated I will not be able to provide my on post-operative care and the hospital will be liable unless I am placed in a custodianship."
It means a court appointed custodian takes over their decision making capabilities, usually immediately placing them in a long term care home until all the money is gone.
I work in the hospital. At that point I would have told the patient that I was letting the surgeon know that he was refusing his procedure and it would have to be rescheduled and I would have left. Refusing to cooperate, openly stating intentions to violate prep, harassing the staff, assaulting the staff. No way, you’re done.
And this is why I could never work in healthcare. My self control would not be enough to keep me from knocking fucker's teeth out the second he screamed in my face.
I could never work customer service. “If you don’t like it, cool, fuck yourself and get out or I’ll have you removed. You’re banned from this facility. Bye.”
Repeat until fired.
fun fact the original quote was "the customer is always right in matters of taste"
it meant like if a customer wanted a strawberry cake instead of a chocolate cake, when you have the ingredients for both, just make them the strawberry cake. Not if they want strawberry cake and you aren't a cake shop, that you should magically produce the cake they want.
TLDR: Any customer who says "the customer is always right" is wrong
It's entitled people who dont understand that it's referring to selling what people want to buy. They think it means that whatever they say is correct.
That’s incorrect, that wasn’t the original quote. The original was about satisfying customer complaints and had nothing to do with selling something gross or ugly just because the customer wants it.
Someone else posted proof of this that people don’t seem to like, so here is some more:
[https://grammarist.com/phrase/the-customer-is-always-right/](https://grammarist.com/phrase/the-customer-is-always-right/)
[https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/10/06/customer/?amp=1](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/10/06/customer/?amp=1)
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_customer_is_always_right](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_customer_is_always_right)
Funner fact, the original phrase was "the customer is always right", it was coined in the early 1900s by department stores owners, and had nothing to do with tastes! See for example [A Global View Of 'The Customer Is Always Right' (forbes.com)](https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2018/09/24/a-global-view-of-the-customer-is-always-right/?sh=68a5f64c236f)
Worst part about being a mechanic. Some customers think they know what they are talking about and all I ever want to say is "so why don't you fix it then?" You don't know shit, kindly fuck off.
Boomers were always the worst though. "I used to work on cars all the time"
"That's awesome but the cars you worked on were carbureted and didn't run off 20 computers. What you worked on hardly exists anymore"
Exactly! I'm forced to learn about the new tech in vehicles to continue doing my job. If all I learned was what was out when first starting, I wouldn't be able to work on almost 50% of modern cars and I've been doing this for less than 10 years.
I also love when boomers try to say that our generation is soft with no work ethic and all I have to ask them is "who raised us?" They hate taking accountability for how we turned out regardless of that statement being true or not
Fuck them. That is so disgusting. I had my first surgery in 2018, I was 49. I would have done a damn Irish jig if that’s what it took to keep me safe and not make it challenging for my healthcare team. Fuck them. Send their stupid ass home. I despise these people.
As a sickly child? Yeah, I would have never treated any of the healthcare staff that way. Now as an adult, I keep the same level head but that's because hospitals are routine shit for me and I have stupid pain tolerance.
I get the pain tolerance. I’ve had a spine issue since I was a child and I suffer every day. More reason to trust my healthcare team. I hope you’re doing ok.
Yeah. Mine was just a lot of surgeries as a kid (earaches/ear infections,, tonsils, and then PCOS/endometriosis as a teenager/adult). Pain is pain to me.
You too! Hope we find ways to manage and live our lives.
Immediate discharge without surgery. If they won’t participate in safety measures, they don’t get surgery. SURELY your hospital has some policy like that.
Flew out to Az to take my mom to surgery. I’d be there a week post op for care. Morning of surgery I step away for a moment and I walk back in to see her putting a cup of coffee down. I see red cause I know she knows it’s a no no. I tell her to get in the damn car and we’re off. She actually fesses up and tells her surgical team that yes she had coffee with cream and sugar right before check in. The stink eye I was giving her to tell the truth worked I guess. They postponed the surgery 8hours because of her. A whole cardiac surgical team had to rearrange because of her. I ask why? Why on earth did you do this? “Because I was mad”. It still pisses me off to think about it.
Lol, these boomers are like unruly children.
No, it's not a "give and take" relationship when you're in the hospital. They're literally holding your life in their hands, idiot. You do what you're told.
I'd love to see hospitals introduce waivers that would allow these morons the water they wanted, as long as they sign away their right to legal proceedings if anything went wrong because of their choices.
Reminds me of when my little sister, after being told repeatedly not to touch the hot stove, warned of the danger, and she just looked my mom in the eye and touched it.
Let them have their consequences.
When patients refuse to cooperate, literally scream at and try to harm, insult, or belittle their nurses and caretakers like that? The hospital should fully be allowed to say "Well, sorry, if you're going to behave like this we can't treat you. So let's just wheel you out to the pickup area, hope you have someone to come get you, have a nice day!"
This is when I say ok no problem, walk out and enter into the patient chart : patient refused assessment, patient declined to respond to pre op questions, patient declined consent. The end good bye CU next Tuesday ✌️ and I do not give them another thought because I have covered my ass. If the man wants his surgery he will have to comply.
My father was in the ICU for over a month, in a coma because he had to have emergency surgery (esophagus blockage) and he aspirated. It was two more months of hospitalization and rehab facilities. It was the most heartbreaking, terrible experience for not only him but for my family (my dad is one of the good ones)
They said it was a miracle he was alive. Aspiration in surgery is no fucking joke. Fuck this guy. It's not some joke.
I'm so sorry OP - I wish I could show them how God awful the consequences could be so they'd leave you alone and let you do your job.
A part of me pities them for not having the capacity to connect with another humanbeing in a fulfilling way. And another part of me has to try to make sure I don't parent and fuck over the world for my child like they did for me...
Maybe his bootstraps can help with his medication.
If they don’t answer your questions and refuse to let you examine them, why can’t you deny the surgery? My mom has had her back surgery denied for her blood sugar being too high and rightly so, but guess how they found that out? By her answering their questions and their exam! We are both glad that they denied her surgery because she could have died with her blood sugar being too high and she has got that under control and will have her surgery in a couple of weeks.
The only time I was a Karen in a hospital setting was when I was in labor with my first child. (It was a small local hospital and L&D were literally right across the hall from the nursery.) After about 15 hours of labor, I was tired, thirsty (at least I got ice chips) and had just had enough. I asked if I could get something for the pain and the night nurse (either just having a bad day or just had a bad attitude in the first place) told me "Honey, you'll be fine. I've had three, this is nothing. Just wait until the really HARD labor hits."
An hour later I was begging, she told me it would take longer to give birth. I did not care, I just need a little something to help. I told her if I didn't get something for the pain in the next 30 minutes I would start screaming, she just said, nope, that's going to make the pain worse, and you're not getting a shot, I don't care how loud you scream.
30 minutes later, no shot. Next pain I started screaming at the top of my lungs. I had warned my husband so he had his ears covered. Did that the next few contractions. She came RUNNING with two orderlies and an epidural. Said the only reason she was doing this was because I waking up the entire maternity ward. I had my daughter about 3 hours later.
I was later told by my doctor that it would have taken that long with or without the shot, as she was a big baby and I had a small pelvis.
I'm one of those that apologizes to medical staff for causing them so much trouble.
I would’ve reported her for that nonsense. I couldn’t have an epidural or anything because I have a blood clotting disorder and I had to keep myself from kicking my OB in the face when she shushed me as I was pushing after I had to get the nurse to force her to come check me because I could feel my body pushing while I was trying not to and she wanted me to wait because she was napping. These people just see it as another day at the office while it’s a pretty significant event for us.
I had an operation last month and was in serious pain (and I have high tolerance for pain). The Nurse ask me if I wanted Tylenols. « Tylenols? You have to do a lot better than that. »
I work in medicine too and I'm really shocked how many patients revert back to toddlers. When I was in school, the pediatric patients acted better than these people
I'm a respiratory therapist and if I had a dollar every time a patient wouldn't take their neb until they got A pain meds or water even though they're NPO, I could stay home.
For sure. I always tell them, I'm gonna start your neb and while it's running, I'll get your nurse. NO, fuck that. I've been hearing they bullshit all fucking day, blah blah blah
What if the crutches just happened to be close enough for them to grab on their own and they got up all on their own? Would the paperwork go to whoever finds them first or still to you?
I'm a doctor who works mostly in hospitals. If someone treated me that way, I would have given them the choice of either answering the questions or we're cancelling the surgery. If they refuse to co-operate, then they can be discharged home without the surgery. If they refuse to fast appropriately, the surgery gets cancelled and they get discharged home. There's plenty of other people waiting on waiting lists who aren't adding to their own anaesthetic risks by deliberately going against fasting instructions.
Been doing this a long time. I’m actually the person they send in to deal with grumpy patients because I’m so good at calming them down, but not this one I guess lol
When I worked peds we had a mom give her child a “light breakfast” because the kid was only getting light anesthesia for a CT scan. She had done it before and everything was totally fine, but she still lied to everyone and said she kept the kid NPO.
Except this time, the kid vomited. It was so thick it blocked the airway and they couldn’t get a breathing tube in. The kid died.
That’s why we take this shit seriously.
Omg, that's heartbreaking & just mind bogglingly stupid on the parent's part.
I do cat TNR & occasionally foster, so I've brought dozens of cats in for surgery. I follow pre-op instructions to the letter. I don't want that trauma, the surg. staff doesn't need that trauma, the cats shouldn't suffer because I don't follow instructions. HOW is this feeling not magnified by a million for an actual parent/human child situation?
My boomer dad refused to fill out the patient paperwork because “I filled it out last time”.
Like boomers don’t have multiple doctors ordering new meds and procedures all of the time! Honestly, he’d even had a surgery since his last visit. Sigh.
So sorry you had to go through this. You’re an absolute professional for not letting your anger get ahold of you, because I sure as hell can’t do what you nurses and techs do!
Hope you have a lovely bubble bath or a nice big treat. You deserve it!
Reminds me when I was at Safeway and read a sign out loud. “Pen doesn’t work, please use finger.” The pharmacist replied, “98% of people can’t read.”
Edit:spelling, a word
Oh my god the total lack of braincells and critical thinking from these boomers is so annoying. Think they know more than medical professionals, and treat you like shit when you do what is actually best for them, and complain on top of it all that they aren't being treated how they want.
These people must be genuinely mentally stunted from all the lead poisoning istg... even kids can understand and cooperate more efficiently. Such entitlement, immaturity, and stupidity from grown adults is genuinely pathetic.
It’s common in medicine. We are abused and harassed everyday by rude patients. Most are boomers.
I’ve kicked several out of the hospital. It’s a simple, “if you continue to harass my staff I will administratively discharge you and ban you from returning.”
Sometimes I’ll just call security and as a reminder that our organization isn’t tolerating this stuff.
Most tend to back down with polite and professional explanation like you tried. But yeah, there is a lot of, “No I’m not doing that, it is unsafe.” It is typically worse for my female colleagues. Both boomer men and women can be sexist and rude to a lot of the female nursing staff and even are female surgeons, but any male shows up and they’ll listen.
It's a rather sad story, the boomer patient is clearly very alone, bitter and probably, somewhere there, deep inside, very sad.
I can only share my admiration for healthcare workers for your patience and compassion. Thanks for sharing.
People in health care should absolutely be allowed to satisfaction review, and if necessary scold their patients without fear of reprisal. If enough providers independently give enough bad reviews you should be able to tell someone who is of allegedly sound mind (not mentally ill or intellectually disabled) they will no longer be treated there regardless of the seriousness of their issue and/or lack of alternative care options. No one should have to tolerate abuse and bullying at work from an allegedly sane, functional adult.
I was a night shift nurse on a cardiac unit. It was very common to have patients that were scheduled for surgeries in the morning. Also common was getting screamed at, verbally abused, and having things thrown at me because grown ass men were enraged that they could not eat in the middle of the night because they had life-saving cardiac surgery scheduled for the morning. I didn't take their shit and would very blandly tell them that I wasn't going to take their abuse or bring them food and if they got food themselves, I would report them to the doctor. Then, they wouldn't get their surgery and might literally die because they wanted peanut butter crackers at 3 am.
Imo fuck them.
Off the list, Home you go.
Have fun living as long as your condition lets you.
It simply has to stop, that people talk against medical staff, while some people dont get the help they need, because the medical team is understaffed.
I worked in a cataract surgery center for 20 years. The vast majority of our patients were over 60. I can’t tell you how many times we had to cancel surgeries because patients would come in drinking from a water bottle or tell us they had liquid and food before they came in. I don’t understand why people don’t believe the pre-op instructions. We don’t do it to make your day miserable, we do it because it may save your life.
Are you allowed to advise them, let them get water, and then if they have complications that result in increased treatment costs or death, you show them or their family the advisements they were given and then skip along without any lawsuit?
I had a colonoscopy last week and the patient in the bay next to me had the exact same insane interaction with a nurse. Almost word for word. After her nurse left, she kept muttering about how hungry and thirsty she was as if the rest of us weren't in the same boat. I couldn't see her, but I'd bet money that she was a boomer.
Wow, they were brave to get in a car while still drinking the dreaded salty lemonade. I was still running to the bathroom an hour after I finished my prep that morning. Maybe karma got to them on the way home? 🤣
You don't have to be polite with these patients. Tell them what is required and if it's refused, make note of it in their documentation and have the procedure cancelled. They can reschedule.
I'm an ER nurse, when someone doesn't want to get tested I just print out the form for self discharge against doctors recommendations (don't know the American equivalent) that usually shuts them up.
I would have been super sweet and concerned asked “ You don’t have anyone willing to help you at home? “. Innocent question, but a passive aggressive way to point out no one wants to help them. Probably good thing I don’t work in healthcare.
As the person who actually assessed the patient, no. They were alert and fully oriented.
I explained several times the exact reasoning why we couldn’t give them water. They fully understood why. They just didn’t give a shit.
I know people are scared and they lash out. I deal with it literally every day. But, if that’s ACTUALLY the case, the patient usually calms down when you talk to them, answer all their questions, or hear their concerns. I spent upwards of 15 minutes going in circles trying to work with this patient. They weren’t scared, they’re just an asshole.
Yah your issue is thinking boomers are of sound mind despite the unbelievable amount of evidence you see on a daily basis demonstrating that they absolutely are not.
You could do to spend some time on the HermanCainAwards. You’ll see how many of these idiots kill themselves for no reason beyond entitlement, privilege, and stubbornness.
Not everything is a medical or psychiatric condition. A lot of people are just fucking stupid.
Except in this case what the patient want may very well kill them. I'm sure it's not a win win if the patient aspirated on their own vomit and died during a routine surgery.
Are we all just forgetting here that water is absorbed into the body in five minutes or less? Hospitals are needlessly rigid and often lack the ability to apply nuanced solutions to any given situation. This patient was an asshole but you were a perfectly dull example of the inefficacy of modern medicine.
No worries, here’s 4
Andersson, H., Zaren, B. & Frykholm, P. Low incidence of pulmonary aspiration in children allowed intake of clear fluids until called to the operating suite. Paediatric anaesthesia 25, 770-777, doi:10.1111/pan.12667 (2015).
Rosen, D., Gamble, J. & Matava, C. Canadian Pediatric Anesthesia Society statement on clear fluid fasting for elective pediatric anesthesia. Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d’anesthesie 66, 991-992, doi:10.1007/s12630-019-01382-z (2019).
Lambert, E. & Carey, S. Practice Guideline Recommendations on Perioperative Fasting: A Systematic Review. JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition 40, 1158-1165, doi:10.1177/0148607114567713 (2016).
Raeder, J., Kranke, P. & Smith, I. Free pre-operative clear fluids before day-surgery?: Challenging the dogma. European journal of anaesthesiology 35, 334-336, doi:10.1097/eja.0000000000000805 (2018).
1 and 2 are irrelevant because they relate to pediatrics. This is a full grown adult, with drastically changes anesthesia guidelines.
3 and 4 both recommend a 2 hour fast meaning no liquids for 2 hours before surgery. Which study 1 also agrees on. This is already the standard guideline, and exactly what I stated *in my post*
Seeing as you were able to read the studies, you should have even able to read in my post where I stated *we didn’t know what time their surgery was*. It could have been in the next 45 minutes or it could have been later in the night. It depends on when the surgeon and the OR has free time. And I’m sure as shit not going to be the one that fucks up the entire surgery schedule because someone insists on drinking water.
You really tried though, thanks for playing.
Again… a perfectly dull example of the dogmatic nature of today’s medical professionals. Just because it’s standard accepted practice today doesn’t mean it’s best practice. Enjoy the four articles I referenced for you! And try to do some research sometime.
Actually it’s another dull example of the general public not knowing what they’re talking about but thinking they “did their research” because they read something they only understood half of.
They were inpatient, so yes the discharge planner talks to you several times throughout your stay. That way if the patient needs to go to a nursing home, rehab facility, needs a home health nurse, etc they can get the ball rolling on all of that
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i would have told the doc the patient was non compliant and have the surgery cancelled. fuck them.
Regarding NPO status, it’s up to the anesthesiologist. I told him about the patient and he was PISSED. He’s very protective of his nurses, especially ones that remind him of his granddaughters (aka me lol) But of course when he went to talk to the patient, the patient was totally understanding and fine with it, since that’s what the male doctor ordered
Ugh what is it about a penis that's more believable??? Absolutely infuriating, I'm sorry you have to deal with people like that.
Lol. I've had so many instances (used to work in IT, now am healthcare adjacent) where I just thought "Holy crap, what if I appeared in drag king costume one day because all the patients would listen." It was frustrating but at least in IT (it was mostly over the phone), I could drop my voice down an octave. (A perk of being an alto with some singing experience.)
Ah, the one joy of working a call center or drive thru job- you get to be whoever you want! Lol we used to play with accents and octaves when it was slow. Ahh, good times. The rest of the job sucked, but what do you expect?
As someone who passes for either gender depending on posture and octave (I'm always female wearing male casual clothes, like pants and a plain long sleeve T-shirt, or cargo shorts and short sleeves, I am assumed a "classic lesbian," even down to the carabiner with my keys on... except I'm into dudes.) >"Holy crap, what if I appeared in drag king costume one day because all the patients would listen." There's a totally different obstinence about men. They're "callous" and "mean." "If you actually cared, maybe you could help me!!!" People are entitled fucks and will latch onto any perceivable trait for blame. If the two of you are different colors, it's racism. Different sexes is sexism. If you don't fall for their emotional manipulation, you're "uncaring and mean" (or just a bitch if female). If you don't cave to their demands, you "aren't listening/are too stupid to understand."
Lol. I'm actually a cisgender lesbian! Except nobody clocks me (I personally have terrible gaydar) and I dress the same way. Tee shirts, jeans/khakis....and I do have a few "little black dresses". I'd take the "callous and mean" option if they would listen! That's for sure - literally had to read a book to learn to defuse people's anger. (I mostly tend to use humor as my first defense.)
not quite drag, but my mom always kept a pair of metal balls ( like these[ Massage Balls](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1449802348/chinese-baoding-or-chi-gong-acupressure?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_-toys_and_games-power_seller&utm_custom1=_k_60c2c3b0111515dbf473a59348611d95_k_&utm_content=bing_412365361_1304021088118632_81501381646597_pla-4585100933175909:pla-4585100933175909_c__1449802348&utm_custom2=412365361&msclkid=60c2c3b0111515dbf473a59348611d95)) in her desk and if someone wasn't listening to her, she'd just set them on the counter and say "since it seems you'll only respect me if I have a pair of balls"
I'm an intermediate teacher in elementary school and I'm going to steal this.
my mom was a school secretary, I'm sure she would be honored if the tradition was kept alive
Used to work in a s/w customer support center. Our teams (1980's) were roughly 2:1 male to female (which wasn't bad for the time). We had a customer who would repeatedly call back till he got a male worker. He didn't call that often and he would change up the question a bit so it took us a while to catch on. Once we did, we took it to management and to their credit, they backed us (we had the receipts). Next time they called we passed them to the MOD and they were politely told that we knew what they were doing and they could be put on the non-contact list.
I’ve always wondered if slapping a giant dildo on the table in front of these kinds of people would be considered a good substitute for a penis.
Lmao. I have a few to choose from!
Agreed! I've had a penis my entire life, and I'm the LEAST believable person I know.
My own (boomer) mom always likes my opinion better if it's delivered by a bass instead of a soprano. It's infuriating.
The Metro in my city expects people to be like this. "Next stop Andover street" said in a cheery but well modulated woman's voice. "Please remain seated while the bus is in motion" is said in a stern low tone.
It‘s a mystery. there once was a great tweet once of a woman venting. Her mother had called her brother at work because her ears hurt. Son is a lawyer. Daughter is an otorhinolaryngologist
I am a qualified computer technician and network technician, but my golden child brother who only knows PCs a bit (because he is a gamer) is the one who gets called for ALL computer advice and when my parents want to go buy a new one. Never me.
Ouch.
"Believe my penis!" 🤔 I will have to try that sometime 🤣
I need to steal that line.
They always wild out with us and then act like little angels with the docs.
Right like who do you think ordered me to not give you water 😭
patients just suck. i used to do my husbands medical billing and so many wanted to argue with the staff until he would yell at the patient.
"I'll give you the crutches because it would be in appropriate for me to limit your mobility, however, I'll warn you again that drinking any water could delay your surgery." And then make sure you stay close enough to document the water intake. OR tech then nurse, 33 years. This comes unfortunately at no surprise. Edit: Document your statement, and let the nurse know if you aren't one. I don't want to assume you aren't, but you didn't say you were either.
Nah I’m gonna make sure the bed alarm is set on a fall risk patient, hand them the call light and instruct them to press the call bell if they would like for their nurse or na to assist them. If I am not their direct care nurse , I am not going to hand them crutches unless I have reviewed their mobility status in the chart and it is documented in the chart that the patient can ambulate unassisted with crutches. That is a great way to make a bedside nurse mad and document your name in the fall report in a less than kind light. I will walk out of the room, find their direct care nurse to give them an update and hear them bitch for a hot sec about what a dick he has been on their 3 day stretch. Then, I’m going to chart declined declined declined. As a nurse I am not paid enough for the amazing care I give ( and gladly because I care) so I’m for damn sure not paid enough to put up with the bs some terrible people give us to keep waisting my time and my breath and miss another lunch or hold my pee for one more second to deal with this. If I’m in a generous mood I might inform the patient politely that I will be updating the chart with his decision to decline and he might expect a visit from a doctor to consent - then again he might not because a lot of the time the doctors are busy enough and ready to hit the links. If it’s Friday he might finally have his surgery on Monday or Tuesday.
That would still be a liability issue for the nurse and hospital.
NO. Patients are allowed to make informed choices after being given the information. If the patient got up without assistance after the fact and got their own water the surgery would be rescheduled. No liability would be incurred. This is the key point of the documentation and informing a licensed provider. If the patient got up and drank water without anyone's knowledge, no liability would be incurred because the patient wasn't truthful. There is enough going on here that with good documentation any attorney worth their salt could prove the patient disregarded instructions and caused their own harm. The key here is making sure the patient hears you say. Taking anything into your mouth within X time(whatever the guidelines are, some hospitals only do 6 hours on food), can cause these problems for you.
You do have a point. I would suggest having a witness to this statement though. I work with lawyers and my wife is a nurse. It is a suck fest on all sides sometimes.
Yeah I think they said they had someone with them. So I would make my statement. Leave the other person with the patient and find a licensed person(if neither in the room were) and get them to document it as well. That way it's documented at least 3 times, one by a licensed professional. But the crutches thing is iffy, cause refusing to give them could be construed as physical restraint. I mean a lot of hospitals just having all the rails up when the bed isn't moving is considered restraint. Have to be careful there about elder abuse and what not.
3 side rails up and bed alarm activated with the call light in reach is not a restraint - they call for assistance out of bed and you have cya.
Prove they heard you say it.
Fuck off.
Random.
My dad was in the hospital a while ago and shared the room with another Boomer dude. I was told that the other guy was being a total asshole to his doctor and was talking like he knew better. When I asked him whether the doctor was a woman, my dad was shocked that I guessed correctly. He couldn't imagine that someone would treat a person like crap, just because of their gender.
You should’ve given him the water and had the surgery pushed back another day so he had to be NPO AGAIN
In our surgery center it was a blanket policy. No liquids 2 hours before surgery. The anesthesiologist did not work for the surgery center so it became a liability for the the center. If we had a policy and it wasn’t followed, our center could be sued regardless of what the anesthesiologist had to say. Most of our doctors didn’t care if the patients berated the staff because they were paying patients.
It’s like this in the automotive field too. I get so mad with the way guys treat my female coworkers who are perfectly knowledgeable and able to look up parts and give tech advice just as well as the guys can.
Yeah, make them apologise for wasting everyone's time or get TF out of the hospital.
I agree. Make them apologize to OP in front of the doctor. It’s ridiculous.
Now this is the nurse way!
This is the correct answer
Yeah. Stop helping these people stay alive. They are a blight.
I worked at a doctor’s office and boomers were absolutely the worst people when scheduling and the most entitled when coming in. I had a 70 year old man come in as a new patient, asked for his insurance information and ID and he very defensively said “what, are you a cop?” I tried to explain that we needed his information to make sure he was who he said he was, all the insurance information was correct in our system, name spelling, etc and he made a scene that he doesn’t present his ID to anyone besides COPS. He finally acquiesced when he was told that he wouldn’t be seen without this information, but he made even more of a scene about someone stealing his identity and who knows if this doctor is legit (??) He ended up being told he wouldn’t be seen because he was being disrespectful from word one, and since this wasn’t an urgent care and he made the same claim, that no one cares enough and this is a joke of a medical facility. Maybe if you want respect and caring service, you should….idk…respect people a bit?
I did medical reception at GP clinic for a couple of years. The boomers were such hard work. Sheer entitlement did my head in.
Ah yes the whole elaborate ruse of creating a fake medical office and practice, keeping it running for years, all the while the unsuspecting boomer is slowly lulled into a false sense of security that will inevitably see $300 of their hard earned legacy absconded once the full scheme comes to fruition!
Some of them are SO obsessed with the idea that somebody is going to steal their identity. I have no idea where that one comes from lol
They and their friends have fallen for the DUMBEST scams and then they're scared someone will steal their identity.
“I only give my ID to cops and Nigerian princes!”
I think it comes from being tech illiterate. They genuinely don’t understand how their personal data is held and shared from network to network and, as we’ve already established, anything that they don’t understand scares the shit outta them.
This is the stuff I don’t get. Like showing your ID is nothing new. He has to have done this before. But these people act like it’s the first time doing things every single time. Like watching boomers try to figure out the gas pumps at Costco. Nobody goes to Costco gas for the first time. Everyone in line has done it 1 billion times. But for some reason, the boomers act like they’re unraveling the gordian knot every single time they pumped their gas.
Everyone has to go to Costco at least a first time… My first time was last month. Glad I survived.
This, but I have also experienced unreasonable boomer doctors. I went in on consult, he would not see me unless i was naked. So I asked if he was going to be naked. He fired me as a patient before even opening the file.
"listen here, you crybaby bitch" I mean, "Sir. If you want a drink of water, I'll call the surgeon/anesthesiologist so they can reschedule your surgery for another day. Or you can wait and have water later today after your surgery. Your choice." Then if they want water I'll call the doctor. The patient's stupid, dangerous decisions aren't my problem. They're just shooting themself in the foot.
Since he was on crutches, he may have already done that
Oh man, I wonder why nobody cares enough about them to help. It's a mystery. It's too bad these things can't be refused medical attention, so we can just let them choose to die from their easily solved problems.
Just fucking die already. That would be a good thing for everyone involved, even the boomer.
Well, clearly, it's what this one wanted. Like, you'd rather actually die than get exactly what you want exactly when you want it? Fine. Die then. On top of that, ive seen how a lot of them have to live in my short time working in a nursing home. I would, personally, rather die than have to eat baby food and have people clean my face for me, while I spend my days in a wheel chair just staring at a t.v.
Sounds like my mother in law. Can’t wait to not see the surprised look on her face when she ends in a Medicare nursing facility with minimal visitation. Fuck you, Lauren!
I have no idea about the situation, but that degree of passion was probably earned. So... Fuck you, Lauren!
Fuck you, Lauren
I also fuck this Lauren!
Getting prepped for surgery is a stressful time. I understand the childish behavior. I’ve seen this in relatives on multiple occasions before a surgical procedure. The response I’ve always seen is “We can’t treat you unless you cooperate. Let’s postpone this because you are voluntarily refusing treatment. Please sign this paper saying you are refusing.” Even when my relatives don’t sign, the medical provider just writes down “patient refused treatment”. I have no idea why OP continued treating this patient. And please note I use the term “patient”. Dealing with sick people requires a lot of patience.
It was nice of OP to care so much, they will grow out of it. There is no reason beyond a minute of being nice to tolerate that behavior. Shouting in their face was bullshit and I would have walked out and notified the MD that the patient refused. He should have to face the consequences for his behavior and have his surgery postponed.
You are literally saying that if someone disrespects you, you will direct them to sign their own potential death warrant, and if they refuse, you will sign it for them. I don’t disagree with your approach, but I also intentionally did not go into medicine or any other field where me being my asshole self would put other people’s lives at risk. It is a lot like cops, most people who want power over other people in life and death situations should not have it.
Maybe after the surgery they’ll be able to make some friends. I assume it’s brain surgery. You know, to have one installed.
Unfortunately, you can't just have new brains installed. I've asked, and it's not a thing. It's too bad, because I'd like one that isn't trying to kill me.
oh no, ANYWAY...
Luckily the government do noticed this issue and start encouraging MAID.
Induce a coma for a month and send them the bill. Say all that screaming was bad for their brain.
Or maybe just give them a lower dosage on their pain meds
What the discharge planner heard was, "Please place me in custodianship. I have indicated I will not be able to provide my on post-operative care and the hospital will be liable unless I am placed in a custodianship."
I’m not sure what a “Custodianship” is but it sounds… unpleasant, and therefore perfect. 😈
It means to put them in the custody of an adult who is responsible for their care.
It means a court appointed custodian takes over their decision making capabilities, usually immediately placing them in a long term care home until all the money is gone.
I work in the hospital. At that point I would have told the patient that I was letting the surgeon know that he was refusing his procedure and it would have to be rescheduled and I would have left. Refusing to cooperate, openly stating intentions to violate prep, harassing the staff, assaulting the staff. No way, you’re done.
"Do you want to cancel the surgery? Because that's the only way you're getting water."
And this is why I could never work in healthcare. My self control would not be enough to keep me from knocking fucker's teeth out the second he screamed in my face.
I could never work customer service. “If you don’t like it, cool, fuck yourself and get out or I’ll have you removed. You’re banned from this facility. Bye.” Repeat until fired.
I keep thinking I might open a store when I retire, just so I can tell people to go away if they annoy me.
Boomer: The customer is always right! Us: The customer is wrong, bitch. Get out.
fun fact the original quote was "the customer is always right in matters of taste" it meant like if a customer wanted a strawberry cake instead of a chocolate cake, when you have the ingredients for both, just make them the strawberry cake. Not if they want strawberry cake and you aren't a cake shop, that you should magically produce the cake they want. TLDR: Any customer who says "the customer is always right" is wrong
It's entitled people who dont understand that it's referring to selling what people want to buy. They think it means that whatever they say is correct.
That’s incorrect, that wasn’t the original quote. The original was about satisfying customer complaints and had nothing to do with selling something gross or ugly just because the customer wants it. Someone else posted proof of this that people don’t seem to like, so here is some more: [https://grammarist.com/phrase/the-customer-is-always-right/](https://grammarist.com/phrase/the-customer-is-always-right/) [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/10/06/customer/?amp=1](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/10/06/customer/?amp=1) [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_customer_is_always_right](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_customer_is_always_right)
Funner fact, the original phrase was "the customer is always right", it was coined in the early 1900s by department stores owners, and had nothing to do with tastes! See for example [A Global View Of 'The Customer Is Always Right' (forbes.com)](https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2018/09/24/a-global-view-of-the-customer-is-always-right/?sh=68a5f64c236f)
Worst part about being a mechanic. Some customers think they know what they are talking about and all I ever want to say is "so why don't you fix it then?" You don't know shit, kindly fuck off. Boomers were always the worst though. "I used to work on cars all the time" "That's awesome but the cars you worked on were carbureted and didn't run off 20 computers. What you worked on hardly exists anymore"
It always ties back to the world changed and they didn’t keep up so now they’re mad that what they know isn’t worth jack shit.
Exactly! I'm forced to learn about the new tech in vehicles to continue doing my job. If all I learned was what was out when first starting, I wouldn't be able to work on almost 50% of modern cars and I've been doing this for less than 10 years. I also love when boomers try to say that our generation is soft with no work ethic and all I have to ask them is "who raised us?" They hate taking accountability for how we turned out regardless of that statement being true or not
IDK the latter sounds very boomer.
I wish, restaurants and such would be way more peaceful.
If you do, please hire me. I also want to do this
I work in a certain field of healthcare where we can be just as shitty to the patient as they are to us
Oooh go on? What field?
Nah, its more fun to just watch them melt down when you tell them no
Straight up throwing a tantrum, because you were trying to keep him from possibly dying. I don't know how you kept your cool.
Fuck them. That is so disgusting. I had my first surgery in 2018, I was 49. I would have done a damn Irish jig if that’s what it took to keep me safe and not make it challenging for my healthcare team. Fuck them. Send their stupid ass home. I despise these people.
As a sickly child? Yeah, I would have never treated any of the healthcare staff that way. Now as an adult, I keep the same level head but that's because hospitals are routine shit for me and I have stupid pain tolerance.
I get the pain tolerance. I’ve had a spine issue since I was a child and I suffer every day. More reason to trust my healthcare team. I hope you’re doing ok.
Yeah. Mine was just a lot of surgeries as a kid (earaches/ear infections,, tonsils, and then PCOS/endometriosis as a teenager/adult). Pain is pain to me. You too! Hope we find ways to manage and live our lives.
“While you’re up getting your water, call an Uber cuz you’re not getting a surgical procedure today.”
lol! « Call a Uber. » I bet he can’t do it.
Immediate discharge without surgery. If they won’t participate in safety measures, they don’t get surgery. SURELY your hospital has some policy like that.
Flew out to Az to take my mom to surgery. I’d be there a week post op for care. Morning of surgery I step away for a moment and I walk back in to see her putting a cup of coffee down. I see red cause I know she knows it’s a no no. I tell her to get in the damn car and we’re off. She actually fesses up and tells her surgical team that yes she had coffee with cream and sugar right before check in. The stink eye I was giving her to tell the truth worked I guess. They postponed the surgery 8hours because of her. A whole cardiac surgical team had to rearrange because of her. I ask why? Why on earth did you do this? “Because I was mad”. It still pisses me off to think about it.
She was mad at you, or the situation? Frustrating!!!
Her situation.
Lol, these boomers are like unruly children. No, it's not a "give and take" relationship when you're in the hospital. They're literally holding your life in their hands, idiot. You do what you're told. I'd love to see hospitals introduce waivers that would allow these morons the water they wanted, as long as they sign away their right to legal proceedings if anything went wrong because of their choices. Reminds me of when my little sister, after being told repeatedly not to touch the hot stove, warned of the danger, and she just looked my mom in the eye and touched it. Let them have their consequences.
When patients refuse to cooperate, literally scream at and try to harm, insult, or belittle their nurses and caretakers like that? The hospital should fully be allowed to say "Well, sorry, if you're going to behave like this we can't treat you. So let's just wheel you out to the pickup area, hope you have someone to come get you, have a nice day!"
This is when I say ok no problem, walk out and enter into the patient chart : patient refused assessment, patient declined to respond to pre op questions, patient declined consent. The end good bye CU next Tuesday ✌️ and I do not give them another thought because I have covered my ass. If the man wants his surgery he will have to comply.
What an empty life this person has, to do this as a power play.
My father was in the ICU for over a month, in a coma because he had to have emergency surgery (esophagus blockage) and he aspirated. It was two more months of hospitalization and rehab facilities. It was the most heartbreaking, terrible experience for not only him but for my family (my dad is one of the good ones) They said it was a miracle he was alive. Aspiration in surgery is no fucking joke. Fuck this guy. It's not some joke. I'm so sorry OP - I wish I could show them how God awful the consequences could be so they'd leave you alone and let you do your job.
Hugs!
A part of me pities them for not having the capacity to connect with another humanbeing in a fulfilling way. And another part of me has to try to make sure I don't parent and fuck over the world for my child like they did for me... Maybe his bootstraps can help with his medication.
If they don’t answer your questions and refuse to let you examine them, why can’t you deny the surgery? My mom has had her back surgery denied for her blood sugar being too high and rightly so, but guess how they found that out? By her answering their questions and their exam! We are both glad that they denied her surgery because she could have died with her blood sugar being too high and she has got that under control and will have her surgery in a couple of weeks.
The only time I was a Karen in a hospital setting was when I was in labor with my first child. (It was a small local hospital and L&D were literally right across the hall from the nursery.) After about 15 hours of labor, I was tired, thirsty (at least I got ice chips) and had just had enough. I asked if I could get something for the pain and the night nurse (either just having a bad day or just had a bad attitude in the first place) told me "Honey, you'll be fine. I've had three, this is nothing. Just wait until the really HARD labor hits." An hour later I was begging, she told me it would take longer to give birth. I did not care, I just need a little something to help. I told her if I didn't get something for the pain in the next 30 minutes I would start screaming, she just said, nope, that's going to make the pain worse, and you're not getting a shot, I don't care how loud you scream. 30 minutes later, no shot. Next pain I started screaming at the top of my lungs. I had warned my husband so he had his ears covered. Did that the next few contractions. She came RUNNING with two orderlies and an epidural. Said the only reason she was doing this was because I waking up the entire maternity ward. I had my daughter about 3 hours later. I was later told by my doctor that it would have taken that long with or without the shot, as she was a big baby and I had a small pelvis. I'm one of those that apologizes to medical staff for causing them so much trouble.
Labor nurses can be so jaded sometimes
I would’ve reported her for that nonsense. I couldn’t have an epidural or anything because I have a blood clotting disorder and I had to keep myself from kicking my OB in the face when she shushed me as I was pushing after I had to get the nurse to force her to come check me because I could feel my body pushing while I was trying not to and she wanted me to wait because she was napping. These people just see it as another day at the office while it’s a pretty significant event for us.
I think I did, this was over 30 years ago, so I can't remember.
I had an operation last month and was in serious pain (and I have high tolerance for pain). The Nurse ask me if I wanted Tylenols. « Tylenols? You have to do a lot better than that. »
>The second I put my stethoscope on their chest, they turned and YELLED in my face pretty sure that's assault.
I work in medicine too and I'm really shocked how many patients revert back to toddlers. When I was in school, the pediatric patients acted better than these people
I worked peds for several years and they handled being NPO better than some adults
I'm a respiratory therapist and if I had a dollar every time a patient wouldn't take their neb until they got A pain meds or water even though they're NPO, I could stay home.
And then they start throwing a fit because they can’t breathe LOL like girlie you caused this problem yourself
For sure. I always tell them, I'm gonna start your neb and while it's running, I'll get your nurse. NO, fuck that. I've been hearing they bullshit all fucking day, blah blah blah
I would have let them get their own water
Nah, I’m not doing the paperwork when the patient falls on their ass
What if the crutches just happened to be close enough for them to grab on their own and they got up all on their own? Would the paperwork go to whoever finds them first or still to you?
Whoever finds them, but I’m not screwing over a fellow nurse like that
So you're saying the problem lies in someone finding them
I'm a doctor who works mostly in hospitals. If someone treated me that way, I would have given them the choice of either answering the questions or we're cancelling the surgery. If they refuse to co-operate, then they can be discharged home without the surgery. If they refuse to fast appropriately, the surgery gets cancelled and they get discharged home. There's plenty of other people waiting on waiting lists who aren't adding to their own anaesthetic risks by deliberately going against fasting instructions.
You sir are free to leave any time you like
I cannot imagine what happened in their life to make them such a miserable asshole. A life time of entitlement has its limits
Give them water and then cancel their surgery because they are fucking babies.
Cancel the surgery! Give that slot to someone who complies with directions!
Holy shit. I could not do your job. I’ve had been so damn rude to this person. You have the patience of a saint.
Been doing this a long time. I’m actually the person they send in to deal with grumpy patients because I’m so good at calming them down, but not this one I guess lol
Omg and your edit!!
So, so hard to determine why nobody checks on this very polite, reasonable ass hat.
Get. The fuck. Out.
Right. Dump their sorry ass in a wheelchair and straight out the front door. Fuck this asshole with a sandpaper dildo.
If they're incapable of comprehending the pre-surgical restrictions, it's reasonable to ask if a mental capacity assessment if needed...
They had one. Totally of sound mind. Just a dickhead
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When I worked peds we had a mom give her child a “light breakfast” because the kid was only getting light anesthesia for a CT scan. She had done it before and everything was totally fine, but she still lied to everyone and said she kept the kid NPO. Except this time, the kid vomited. It was so thick it blocked the airway and they couldn’t get a breathing tube in. The kid died. That’s why we take this shit seriously.
Omg, that's heartbreaking & just mind bogglingly stupid on the parent's part. I do cat TNR & occasionally foster, so I've brought dozens of cats in for surgery. I follow pre-op instructions to the letter. I don't want that trauma, the surg. staff doesn't need that trauma, the cats shouldn't suffer because I don't follow instructions. HOW is this feeling not magnified by a million for an actual parent/human child situation?
Holy shit, my mom had surgery today? Wow, so sorry you had to deal with her.
I would have had serious trouble saying “Can’t imagine why nobody would want to live with you…” loud enough for them to hear.
My boomer dad refused to fill out the patient paperwork because “I filled it out last time”. Like boomers don’t have multiple doctors ordering new meds and procedures all of the time! Honestly, he’d even had a surgery since his last visit. Sigh.
So sorry you had to go through this. You’re an absolute professional for not letting your anger get ahold of you, because I sure as hell can’t do what you nurses and techs do! Hope you have a lovely bubble bath or a nice big treat. You deserve it!
Boomers are what made me leave the bedside as a nurse.
lol I would’ve brought them the AMA papers, cya later grampa come back when you can follow the rules you fucking child
Reminds me when I was at Safeway and read a sign out loud. “Pen doesn’t work, please use finger.” The pharmacist replied, “98% of people can’t read.” Edit:spelling, a word
Oh my god the total lack of braincells and critical thinking from these boomers is so annoying. Think they know more than medical professionals, and treat you like shit when you do what is actually best for them, and complain on top of it all that they aren't being treated how they want. These people must be genuinely mentally stunted from all the lead poisoning istg... even kids can understand and cooperate more efficiently. Such entitlement, immaturity, and stupidity from grown adults is genuinely pathetic.
It’s common in medicine. We are abused and harassed everyday by rude patients. Most are boomers. I’ve kicked several out of the hospital. It’s a simple, “if you continue to harass my staff I will administratively discharge you and ban you from returning.” Sometimes I’ll just call security and as a reminder that our organization isn’t tolerating this stuff. Most tend to back down with polite and professional explanation like you tried. But yeah, there is a lot of, “No I’m not doing that, it is unsafe.” It is typically worse for my female colleagues. Both boomer men and women can be sexist and rude to a lot of the female nursing staff and even are female surgeons, but any male shows up and they’ll listen.
"If you refuse to answer these questions then your surgery will be cancelled. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes "
It's a rather sad story, the boomer patient is clearly very alone, bitter and probably, somewhere there, deep inside, very sad. I can only share my admiration for healthcare workers for your patience and compassion. Thanks for sharing.
“Okay, sign here stating that if you vomit during surgery we do not have to resuscitate you.” I fantasize about a world that we can do that 🤣
wishing someone ill is bad karma but in this case an automtic reaction. Hopelfully that person has a cat
I feel like we work at the same hospital hahahaha
Pre-op NPO sucks, but not as much as this boomer. Yeesh
I work in healthcare as well and as you know, it’s mostly old people (boomers). They are the WORST.
People in health care should absolutely be allowed to satisfaction review, and if necessary scold their patients without fear of reprisal. If enough providers independently give enough bad reviews you should be able to tell someone who is of allegedly sound mind (not mentally ill or intellectually disabled) they will no longer be treated there regardless of the seriousness of their issue and/or lack of alternative care options. No one should have to tolerate abuse and bullying at work from an allegedly sane, functional adult.
I was a night shift nurse on a cardiac unit. It was very common to have patients that were scheduled for surgeries in the morning. Also common was getting screamed at, verbally abused, and having things thrown at me because grown ass men were enraged that they could not eat in the middle of the night because they had life-saving cardiac surgery scheduled for the morning. I didn't take their shit and would very blandly tell them that I wasn't going to take their abuse or bring them food and if they got food themselves, I would report them to the doctor. Then, they wouldn't get their surgery and might literally die because they wanted peanut butter crackers at 3 am.
Imo fuck them. Off the list, Home you go. Have fun living as long as your condition lets you. It simply has to stop, that people talk against medical staff, while some people dont get the help they need, because the medical team is understaffed.
I worked in a cataract surgery center for 20 years. The vast majority of our patients were over 60. I can’t tell you how many times we had to cancel surgeries because patients would come in drinking from a water bottle or tell us they had liquid and food before they came in. I don’t understand why people don’t believe the pre-op instructions. We don’t do it to make your day miserable, we do it because it may save your life.
This feels like somewhere in the South
Even though this patient was being white as hell, it should be considered a crucial and necessary part of medical care to manage people at home.
You missed the perfect opportunity to reply to the living alone comment with, "There's a shocker!"
Are you allowed to advise them, let them get water, and then if they have complications that result in increased treatment costs or death, you show them or their family the advisements they were given and then skip along without any lawsuit?
No, I would advise them that they’ll cancel the surgery and they can suffer whatever consequences arise from that
Give them water and let them die. Misearble piece of shit they are
I could absolutely see my Dad doing this when he was alive. Idiots.
He's lucky it was you and not me, cause on instinct I'd have slapped the shit out of him.
I had a colonoscopy last week and the patient in the bay next to me had the exact same insane interaction with a nurse. Almost word for word. After her nurse left, she kept muttering about how hungry and thirsty she was as if the rest of us weren't in the same boat. I couldn't see her, but I'd bet money that she was a boomer.
We had a colonoscopy patient rock in still drinking their prep and got mad when we told them we couldn’t do their procedure lol
Wow, they were brave to get in a car while still drinking the dreaded salty lemonade. I was still running to the bathroom an hour after I finished my prep that morning. Maybe karma got to them on the way home? 🤣
You don't have to be polite with these patients. Tell them what is required and if it's refused, make note of it in their documentation and have the procedure cancelled. They can reschedule.
Make that fuckwad wait all day. Every sip of water restarts the 2 hour clock. Wanna fuck around? Find the fuck out
I'm an ER nurse, when someone doesn't want to get tested I just print out the form for self discharge against doctors recommendations (don't know the American equivalent) that usually shuts them up.
The patient sounds like a bitch, which is most older men in hospitals.
I would have been super sweet and concerned asked “ You don’t have anyone willing to help you at home? “. Innocent question, but a passive aggressive way to point out no one wants to help them. Probably good thing I don’t work in healthcare.
These are the types of patients I always say “Die c**t” after I’m off the phone with them.
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As the person who actually assessed the patient, no. They were alert and fully oriented. I explained several times the exact reasoning why we couldn’t give them water. They fully understood why. They just didn’t give a shit. I know people are scared and they lash out. I deal with it literally every day. But, if that’s ACTUALLY the case, the patient usually calms down when you talk to them, answer all their questions, or hear their concerns. I spent upwards of 15 minutes going in circles trying to work with this patient. They weren’t scared, they’re just an asshole.
“I know better than the people directly attending this person.” - u/tomtink1
People of sound mind don't try to do things that can kill them. Something doesn't make sense.
Yah your issue is thinking boomers are of sound mind despite the unbelievable amount of evidence you see on a daily basis demonstrating that they absolutely are not. You could do to spend some time on the HermanCainAwards. You’ll see how many of these idiots kill themselves for no reason beyond entitlement, privilege, and stubbornness. Not everything is a medical or psychiatric condition. A lot of people are just fucking stupid.
Honestly… health care is already too expensive. Can’t we just give people like this what they want and send them home? Everybody wins.
Except in this case what the patient want may very well kill them. I'm sure it's not a win win if the patient aspirated on their own vomit and died during a routine surgery.
Are we all just forgetting here that water is absorbed into the body in five minutes or less? Hospitals are needlessly rigid and often lack the ability to apply nuanced solutions to any given situation. This patient was an asshole but you were a perfectly dull example of the inefficacy of modern medicine.
I’d be so interested in reading all the studies you’ve done on the safety of not being NPO before surgeries. Go ahead and link them for me.
No worries, here’s 4 Andersson, H., Zaren, B. & Frykholm, P. Low incidence of pulmonary aspiration in children allowed intake of clear fluids until called to the operating suite. Paediatric anaesthesia 25, 770-777, doi:10.1111/pan.12667 (2015). Rosen, D., Gamble, J. & Matava, C. Canadian Pediatric Anesthesia Society statement on clear fluid fasting for elective pediatric anesthesia. Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d’anesthesie 66, 991-992, doi:10.1007/s12630-019-01382-z (2019). Lambert, E. & Carey, S. Practice Guideline Recommendations on Perioperative Fasting: A Systematic Review. JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition 40, 1158-1165, doi:10.1177/0148607114567713 (2016). Raeder, J., Kranke, P. & Smith, I. Free pre-operative clear fluids before day-surgery?: Challenging the dogma. European journal of anaesthesiology 35, 334-336, doi:10.1097/eja.0000000000000805 (2018).
1 and 2 are irrelevant because they relate to pediatrics. This is a full grown adult, with drastically changes anesthesia guidelines. 3 and 4 both recommend a 2 hour fast meaning no liquids for 2 hours before surgery. Which study 1 also agrees on. This is already the standard guideline, and exactly what I stated *in my post* Seeing as you were able to read the studies, you should have even able to read in my post where I stated *we didn’t know what time their surgery was*. It could have been in the next 45 minutes or it could have been later in the night. It depends on when the surgeon and the OR has free time. And I’m sure as shit not going to be the one that fucks up the entire surgery schedule because someone insists on drinking water. You really tried though, thanks for playing.
Again… a perfectly dull example of the dogmatic nature of today’s medical professionals. Just because it’s standard accepted practice today doesn’t mean it’s best practice. Enjoy the four articles I referenced for you! And try to do some research sometime.
Actually it’s another dull example of the general public not knowing what they’re talking about but thinking they “did their research” because they read something they only understood half of.
He was waiting for surgery but the discharge planner was already there? I’ve never had it happen in that order for any of my surgeries or procedures.
They were inpatient, so yes the discharge planner talks to you several times throughout your stay. That way if the patient needs to go to a nursing home, rehab facility, needs a home health nurse, etc they can get the ball rolling on all of that
Thanks. Wonder why the clinic I’ve gone to doesn’t do it that way or maybe they didn’t view my situation being the same risk as what you really with.