r/nursing • u/kpsi355 RN - ER 🍕 • Mar 29 '22

Nursing Hacks What’s a little white lie you tell the completely confused patient?

I’m always telling the cirrhosis dude his truck is in the shop. Then I tell him his buddy dared him to “shoot” his lactulose and give him a sprite chaser.

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254

u/dick_n_balls69 RN - ER 🍕 Mar 29 '22

Male nurse here. I have never told a patient that I'm a doctor, but have also not corrected them when they thought I was a doctor.

137

u/summerbp MSN, RN Mar 29 '22

One time my confused old man thought my male coworker was the sheriff. He straightened right up. I never stopped calling my buddy Sheriff after that.

78

u/ohemgee112 RN 🍕 Mar 29 '22

One patient was using military ranks for us nurses. I told the highest ranking one of us to tell him that apparently it was up to them to tell the patient to go to sleep since they were in charge. 🤷‍♀️

110

u/Loaki9 RN, BSN - Neuro IR / ICU Mar 29 '22

In the Neuro ICU we actually regularly used this. If a particularly chauvinistic pt was being a prick to my female coworkers, they would fetch me, and I would tell the patient to mind themselves and be good to the nurses. We never said I was a doc, and I always had my shiny RN badge on my chest. But the chauvinists will always assume you’re the Doc. It worked far more than it should have.

52

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '22

All male nurses are doctors to them.

14

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '22

Yeah, it's surprising how many oriented patients think I'm a doctor even after telling them I'm their nurse.

3

u/punkbenRN RN - ER Mar 29 '22

Could not have worded that better. My man.

3

u/armlessnephew RN - ICU 🍕 Mar 29 '22

“Call the police!” security shows up for the code grey “the cops are here! You’re safe!”