I recently came across a blog article called "30 Things Nurses Almost Say, But Then Don't". The blog article can be found here, and I highly recommend you read it and a few of the comments before continuing. If you decide you don't have time, here is a brief overview:
Nurses are good people and want to help you. But their work is hard and frustrating at times. Sometimes, we just wish we could be more frank with our patients than we really are, even though shortly after thinking any of the thoughts we probably feel a little guilty about it. Here are a few of my favorites from the list.
4. I require nutrition to function. My taking lunch is not to punish you. I really need to eat.
7. I noticed you’re able to sleep, eat, and/or talk on the phone with that 10/10 pain. Interesting.
12. Don’t abuse the call light. It may disappear.
19. My feelings get hurt too.
22. Removing your oxygen mask doesn’t help you breathe better. You will die.
26. Just because I’m sitting doesn’t mean I’m not working.
I very much enjoyed the article. I thought it was fun and a lot true. I don't actually want to comment on the article itself, because I thought it was well-written without being mean. However, I was surprised by some of the comments. A battle began between people who had been hospitalized feeling upset about the call light remarks and nurses/the author defending the jabs. The author was clear that she was simply trying to be humorous, and not in any way wanting to downplay the importance of people using the call light when they need something. There were a lot of people expressing their views of poor service when they called and no one came for more than 15 minutes or people were rude to them when they called or that they never knew what to call about.
Here are my two cents on the issue, that is surprisingly more sensitive than I ever thought.
First of all, underutilization is a much larger issue than over-utilization. I would say maybe 20-40% of my patients would use the call light correctly. (I forgot to mention I am a nurse and worked on a hospital unit for 3 1/2 years. That's why I feel like I can comment on this). These are the people that call when they need something, and understand that it might take a few minutes to get something less important, but are also grateful when their request is fulfilled.
More often than not, patients will sit in their beds waiting for someone to come in so they can ask for something. While that is okay for some things, many things people want are either easily granted or important enough that I want to know about it. For instance, I personally want my patients to be comfortable. So if you find yourself cold and want a warm blanket, just ask. If I am available, I will get it right away. If not, I will still probably get it to you sooner than if you just wait for me.
The other part to this that is not helpful is to send your family members out to the nurses station to tell me what you need. This plays into #26 above. True, I feel more obligated to get that cup of ice right now because you are standing there and your loved one might get it a whopping 3 minutes sooner than if you just requested it over the call light. But whether you mean to or not, you are giving off the impression that your loved one's ice is more important than the charting I am doing, the antibiotic that I need to hang, or the possibly life-changing results I might be looking up at the moment. I feel like you are assuming that I don't care. You think I am a bad, mean, lazy nurse. Because of those traits, you must stand there to babysit me and make sure I fulfill your request NOW. After all, I am just sitting at the desk. I can't speak for all nurses everywhere, but I personally will always try to get to the wants and needs of all my patients as soon as I can. And that almost always means that I need to prioritize and organize. It is not very organized for me to get up in the middle of typing something to grab something for your family member. Nor would you want me to stop in the middle of charing on said loved one to get someone else something. Common courtesy.
Now, please understand that if there is something that needs to be taken care of right away, I have no problem with a family member coming out to get me. If my patient is throwing up, seizing, has a sudden change in condition, or has diarrhea and really needs to get to the bathroom now, there is no problem. It's the other stuff that can wait 5-10 minutes that cause this issue.
But the thing that I think bothers people is when nurses complain about patients using their call light too much. For me I would say this happened only 5-10% of the time. We talk about it because it can be such a rock in our shoe. Usually these people just want attention, company, or truly think they are the only patient out there. There have literally been times I have gone in and out of the same room 4 times without any other stops to get things, only to have the call light ring again 30 seconds after I think I'm finally done. Most of the time it goes something like this:
"I was wondering if you could refresh my water." I bring more water. "I forgot I also need a warm blanket. Or two." I get them a few warm blankets and tuck them in. "Could I actually have you fix this IV tape? It has been bothering me for an hour I just didn't think of it before." I get another dressing, spend a few minutes fixing everything up, and think everything is good to go. I leave the room and before I can even sit down, hear the call and see the light go on over the door. I pop my head back in, and learn my patient also wanted a yogurt before going to bed. Keep in mind that every time I would get something, before and after would ask if there was anything else they needed. The answer was always no until each individual task was complete.
Now none of these things are bad in and of themselves. But it would be enormously helpful if people could make a list or let me do two things at once. I would much rather get you fresh water and a warm blanket, instead of water and then a blanket. I have never had this problem with a patient who is incapable of figuring this out. I would never be bothered if someone was in a mental state that made it impossible for them to understand what they are doing. But those aren't the people that do it.
So in my opinion, nurses complaining about abundant call-light use does not reflect on most people. I would bet the people that get offended by the comments would not be categorized in that group. The people that we do complain about likely don't even know it or don't care.
As a nurse, I want you to use your call light. I want to know what you need. I do wish there was a better system because there are times that whoever answers the call light doesn't tell me. Then you wait and wait and don't get helped. That frustrates me possibly more than it frustrates you. I don't know how to fix those kinds of problems. Just know that when nurses complain, it probably isn't about you. And if it is and you were reasonable, it just means your nurse needs to cut you a little more slack.
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