10 reasons why patients hate hospitals
1. i don’t enjoy baths in the middle of the night. or at 3 AM! i just don’t. so what if i was not given a bath yesterday?
2. i do not want to be awakened to take my sleeping pill.
3. showing my butt off with those fashionable hospital gowns open at the back is not my idea of fun.
4. i hate telling EVERY person in white coat why i was brought to the emergency room. especially if they come one at a time, every hour.
5. plastic fork, spoon and knife do not increase my appetite.
6. i hate being interrupted in the middle of a good movie.
7. i need to take a stool softener every night? what’s up with that?
8. there are a lot of liars in the hospital. they say “i’ll be right back” when what they really mean is “dream on!”
9. privacy? say that again? unheard of.
10. i am not really sick.
not in that order. but yeah, that’s what the patients, or their family say. or think. (i think!)
i like the smell of hospitals, but i dont like the schedule in which they bring you food, i dont like having a roomate who hogs the tv, (i want a room to myself by the window thank you very much) i dont like being woke up to take my blood pressure-it was alright-leave me alone-now it’s probably high-go away. LOL…thank goodness i’m not a frequent flyer.
Comment by kimmyk — July 23, 2005 @ 3:53 am
Great list. But here’s what I like about hospitals: Nurses who go the extra mile. When I was 12 I was in the hospital a week or two (probably my longest stay ever) and a nurse wheeled me on a gurney into a bathroom and washed my hair. I haven’t soon forgotten that.
When our twins were in NICU at http://www.tgh.org/ we met alot of dedicated nurses also. They taught us the basics - changing diapers, feeding, and holding the babies. I could see where more than half their jobs were parent education, not just caring for the babies. Every one of them was dedicated to their job.
Comment by junebee — July 23, 2005 @ 10:23 am
I often advise my patients that “hospital time” is not much like “real time,” and I ask them not to take it personally if somebody says they’ll be back in a few minutes and it’s like ten hours later when they really do come back.
I tell them that for hospital patients, time goes by at approximately the same rate as continental drift.
Comment by shrimplate — July 24, 2005 @ 9:53 pm
A hospital for me is a place to work in and nothing else. To go to one as a patient or a visitor freaks the hell out of me. Believe me, there’s just something creepy about hospitals when you’re not a part of it. I can definitely empathize with the patients.
There was only one hospital that made me feel so at home as a patient. It was where I had my nursing internship.It was really great there. I had to convince myself to get sick once or twice a year so I’d have an excuse to be confined in one of the suite rooms!
Comment by AlexGrey — July 26, 2005 @ 1:31 am
Nursing sucks! I am so glad I am getting out of it. I kept changing jobs thinking it was the jobs until I realized it was the field. I Wonder why they can throw money @ nurses yet their is such a shortage? Because it sucks! RUN WHILE YOU CAN!
Comment by hippy — April 9, 2007 @ 12:13 am
I’m leaving nursing, too, and can’t wait to be free of this miserable “profession.” No amount of money in the world could keep me in it. I went to nursing school when I was 40, and I’m not young anymore, but I can’t stand the thought of doing nursing for one more day! I would rather do almost anything instead of nursing.
Comment by RNinFlorida — May 14, 2008 @ 8:42 am
I hate Nursing and it’s not just because of the bureaucratic BS that goes on but because PATIENTS totally suck!
1. i don’t enjoy baths in the middle of the night. or at 3 AM! i just don’t. so what if i was not given a bath yesterday?
It’s unbelievable how patients don’t understand the concept of personal hygiene and how filth and germs go hand-in-hand. You have to get on to them all day to take a shower and they always say “well, I’m waiting for so-and-so to help me or to bring me clothes or maybe later.”
2. i do not want to be awakened to take my sleeping pill.
Ha! The only reason the Dr. orders a sleeping pill is because the patient has complained about not being able to sleep “very good” at home. You asked for it, you got it.
3. showing my butt off with those fashionable hospital gowns open at the back is not my idea of fun.
Yeah, but it doesn’t stop you from walking out of the rm every 5 mins to the nurses station instead of using the call light and those gowns sure don’t prevent you from going outside to smoke.
4. i hate telling EVERY person in white coat why i was brought to the emergency room. especially if they come one at a time, every hour.
Well, keep yourself out of the ER. Most patients that end up in the ER are pt’s that don’t have regular follow-ups and don’t follow proper discharge intructions. They don’t fill their RX or take medication as prescribed. Save the ER beds for pt’s that really need them.
5. plastic fork, spoon and knife do not increase my appetite.
I don’t even know how to respond to this pointless complaint.
6. i hate being interrupted in the middle of a good movie.
Well, get better and get the hell out!
7. i need to take a stool softener every night? what’s up with that?
I’m surprised with the question considering most pt’s want stool softeners because they don’t want to get their lazy butts OOB or to eat the recommended dietary fiber to have a BM.
8. there are a lot of liars in the hospital. they say “i’ll be right back” when what they really mean is “dream on!”
You’re not the only “needy, whiny” patient. I have 8 of you to deal with. Get over yourself!
9. privacy? say that again? unheard of.
I always try to respect my patient’s privacy. What I can’t stand is when all your family and friends are present while I’m trying to do my assessment and you don’t mind if they are there.
10. i am not really sick.
Comment by NursingStinks — July 17, 2008 @ 3:45 pm
Hahahaha,
NursingStinks - I could not agree with you more! You are hilarious..and everything you said is SO TRUE! Patients do suck, even when you are the best nurse there could be, there is ALWAYS something pts. have to c/o. I too regret ever entering this dreadful field…
Comment by UnfortunateNurse — August 28, 2008 @ 5:19 pm