r/nursing BSN, RN, FoC, CRRN, CBIS, PCCN Sep 16 '24

Nursing Hacks Just....walk out of the room

Here's a PSA for my fellow nurses, in case anyone hasn't realized they can do this:

If a patient is being rude to you, just walk out of the room. If necessary, don't even say anything beforehand. When you return, at the time of your choosing, simply ask them "Are you ready to be more respectful?"

I haven't had to do this often, because I am aware of he misogynistic attitude patients have in treating me, a male, with more respect than my fellow female employees.

But, it's like having a secret weapon in your back pocket at all times, and you should never feel disrespected/mistreated/abused by your patients. They need you, not the other way around. This certainly falls under the category of "nursing hack".

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597

u/TurtedHen RN - ER, PACU ๐Ÿ• Sep 16 '24

Iโ€™ve done this:

I walk in- โ€œHi, my name is Turtโ€”โ€œ Patient: Starts talking shit Me: Iโ€™ll be back when youโ€™re ready to speak respectfully, turns on heels and walks out immediately before they can say anything

Iโ€™ve only done this like once or twice, but man was it effective! I usually came back to an apology and a much more respectful patient after that. People think they can play with me because I have a baby face.

FAFO is a fun concept to teach

48

u/images-ofbrokenlight RN - PICU ๐Ÿ• Sep 16 '24

I do this to kids too Iโ€™ll come back in 5 minutes and we can try again okay?

47

u/ratkween RN - ER ๐Ÿ• Sep 16 '24

I have found a lot of my kid techniques work on rude adults ๐Ÿ˜‚

3

u/DelightfulyEpic RN - PACU ๐Ÿ• Sep 17 '24

Yes! Lol. I have to bust out my toddler commutation skills.

3

u/ratkween RN - ER ๐Ÿ• Sep 17 '24

You have 2 options โœŒ๏ธ! Can you say "two"?" You can wait patiently โ˜บ๏ธ or AMA ๐Ÿ˜”. BUT you may not threaten the staff ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ