Reply With QuoteBy tough I am assuming you mean uncooperative
Hi everyone,
I am a second year nursing students and we are being asked to consider how to deal with "difficult" patients. Does anyone want to share stories about some tough patients?
Thanks.
By tough I am assuming you mean uncooperative
It depends on the problem, ie, confusion, drunk, demanding, or some psych problem. Each problem requires a different approach...
I think the best approach when dealing with difficult situations is to react and respond to each scenario according to the immediate need because each setting will be different. The challenging aspects of caring for patients range from behavior, (patient and/or family), diagnosis, your mood and past experience(s), or all of the above. Know too, that as you gain experience, difficult situations become easier to handle.
Good Luck,
R
Tough/hard to deal with patients may be approached individually since their reasons for having such behavior may also vary. I think you just need to effectively communicate with them. Another important thing is don’t let yourself be intimidated, because they may actually take advantage of it..
Talk to me after you experience a few ETOH withdrawl patients on 20 mg/hr Ativan gtts who are still throwing things across the room. Experience a few "Bath Salts" patients who defy drug therapy and just need total physical restraint- and they are chewing their own fingers off... I long for the college kid, simple drunk who just needs to sleep it off...
Private rooms these days would help. I had 2 patients arguing at 11pm and threatning to fight each other because one wanted to rest quietly and the other wanted his light on and watch tv. Difficult to manage because there were no private rooms left... this was getting bad with the shouting, etc.... Charge RN and nurse supervisor were at their wits end..we were all trying to find a compromise. I wanted to bail and never come back. And I just may do that... Nursing is getting too stressful
wow..seems scary! But i'll try my best to handle such patients when time comes..i am a new nurse and I know still have much to learn!!
Hi amygarside...I agree!anyway, I think it's okay if I will be able to encounter the toughest patients, so that I will have something to share in the future and of course I will be able effectively handle the others because I already have the experience
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