our patient:
- doesn’t take his medication, we inform him about the risks and document. He says he’ll take them ‘later’, never does.
- refuses his insulin, we inform him about the risks and document as well as chart.
- refuses his blood thinners, we inform him about the risks and document.
- turns his phone obnoxiously loud, also talks loud.
- insults us several times every day, gets passive-aggressive.
this is not psychiatry, patient is a young, AOX4, fully competent adult.
Fine, you’re a free man and free to do with your life what you want. But why go to a hospital in the first place if you are going to behave like this?
Yesterday we found him unconscious on the floor, vitals were normal, didn’t hit his head. He is being released tomorrow. Doctor agrees.
I have the feeling we’re going to see him again very soon, but he is the biggest asshole I’ve met in my nursing career.
Why do people behave like this? we are literally trying to give him some quality of life and he attacks us each time we open the door. why?
If any of you is a nurse and has some insight, I’m all ears.
Do please notice that I’m not asking how to deal with people like this: we document, chart and move on, but to understand why in the fuck people are like this.
My cousin’s wife was an ER nurse for 19 years and quit her job back in 2022 after dealing with the covid patients that “knew better” for 2 and a half years. This attitude seems to still be prevelant in a certain subset of people. They know they need help but they’ve been indoctrinated into believing things that are not in their best interests. I’m sure tiktok told him he could cure his diabetes with microgreens or some shit and his “research” tops all of the medical and nursing degrees in your building.
I work next a group of guys who are the “know better” crowd. Just a few days back, I overheard a conversation these dolts were having on diabetes.
According to the latest in bro medical science, diabetes is due to the body losing its sensitivity to sugar, causing it to no longer release insulin. Complex carbohydrates should be avoided as they break down to sugars more slowly, meaning the body is subjected to prolonged spike in blood sugar, leading to sugar insensitivity. Simple sugars are only an issue when people consume them consistently through the day, so it’s safe if you eat a bunch all at once. Furthermore, diabetes can be cured by staying on a keto diet as saturated fat causes your pancreas to release more insulin.
What. The. Fuck.
Even the parts they Magoo’d their way into being right about, they still screwed up. Impressively so