Question for nurses-job related

[princesspumpkin]

I was just wondering, has anyone had a patient lie about them? I mean, an absolute, total, bold faced lie? How did you handle it? There was a patient that I took care of who told another nurse a lie about 3 of us nurses. She told this nurse that no one had ever looked at her perinum. That in fact this nurse was the very first one to do so! Now this is such a big lie because this patient had to be catheterized and we suspected that she had a hematoma as well, so I actually had another nurse come in with me to assess her peri. And that nurse had actually helped another nurse catheterize her beforehand. Although this patient was discharged, her baby was kept for jaundice and I saw her a few times coming and going and wanted to question her (in a polite way, of course) about this. But of course, I didn't and just smiled and asked how she and the baby were. Has anyone actually talked with a patient after hearing that the patient lied about them?

 

[tiggersmom2]

It may be possible that the lady just didn't remember you checking her perineum or she didn't even know what a perineum is. Alot goes on after a delivery and patients can be frazzled. As long as you documented what you did, I wouldn't stress over it too much.

 

[JC2]

That's it! Document, Document, Document!!

 

[princesspumpkin]

Well, she didn't actually say "perineum". I used that word so that the real word wouldn't be deleted. I guess I found it hard to believe that someone wouldn't remember 3 different people "down there", expecially since one of them put a catheter in it (OUCH! after birth) and another one checked it every 2 hours to make sure that the hematoma wasn't expanding. And she told this lie to the other nurse less than 24 hours later! After talking with other nurses, I found out that she actually had issues with everyone who took care of her. I hope she has plenty of support when she goes home because she also has a toddler to take care of. And yes, I'm a firm believer in documentation.

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

I find some OB patients can be a little bit tough to deal with at times and I try to remember my own birthing experiences and be extra patient with them. OB can be a crazy, busy place most of the time..patients are so hormonal, and some have totally unrealistic expectations of the whole delivery process. She sounds like she didn't have the easiest delivery if you were watching for a hematoma...she was probably stressed out to the max, hopefully the baby was fine...emotions can run pretty high right after. Sounds like she feels she wasn't getting the attention she deserved, which as you know, can be totally unrealistic, given the demands on you as an L and D nurse. As long as everything was charted properly, you have no need to worry, and I wouldn't have bothered confronting her, unless she specifically asked to speak with me. At that point, I would find out her concerns regarding her perceived lack of care, and with chart in hand, try to come to some sort of consensus, if necessary with my clinical manager present.

 

[princesspumpkin]

Thanks AuroraluvsPhillip, you're right. I know that her emotions were on overload and that's why I give my patients extra attention. It's just difficult sometimes when the nurse can be the brunt of things due to these emotions. I'd hate for people (especially my nurse manager) to think that I wasn't doing my job just because a patient felt like she wasn't getting the attention she deserved (although someone looking at my "you know" every 2 hours would have been more than enough attention for me )

 

[Kirk]

Originally posted by AuroraluvsPhillip
I find some OB patients can be a little bit tough to deal with at times ...............

Isn't that why they call them patients?

All kidding aside, all you ladies (and few guys to be PC) make the world go 'round IMNSHO! Patience, compassion, understanding, ... I could go on and on! Wish I could find me a single RN for some TLC PRN, mutual of course!

That's another thing! You guys are the Genesis of the Acronym!

Sorry, guess I'm getting a little silly here! But then again, look at my count down! On my way to THE WORLD! w/ my DD, DGD (2 months) and (hand across mouth) DSIL2B