Another little gem from yesterday... had 4 different people arguing over this one patient's request...
NN= Nice Nurse
SN= Sucky Nurse
S= Supervisor
C= Clerk
Me= Getting increasingly annoyed at the mention of this patient's name...
*phone rings*
Me: Diet Office.
C: Hi! Can I get a soup for patient in room xxxx-x?
Me: *Checks card file* Ummm unfortunately no, the patient's on a liquid restriction.
C: Oh... nurse said she really needed it though... can we maybe remove the liquid restriction?
Me: No, i'm sorry, I can't do that.
C: Ok, i'll tell the nurse... thanks! *click*
A minute later, phone rings, its that floor again:
Me: Diet office.
NN: Hi! You just talked to the clerk about the lady in room xxxx-x wanting a soup... why can't she get it?
Me: Because she's on a liquid restriction and I can't send anything extra, the liquids are evenly spread out between all three meals throughout the day.
NN: Oh... can be maybe increase the amount of liquid she's allowed?
Me: Unfortunately I can't do that... You would have to ask the dietician, he's the one who set this restriction in the first place and so it would be up to him to decide to remove it or not.
NN: Oh, that's ok, I totally understand, your hands are tied... thanks for your help!
*click*
So I think this is all resolved and that'll be the end of that... but not 10 minutes later, my supervisor shows up in my office...
S: Hey Palomita, there's a man outside in the caf right now that says he wants a soup for his wife who's in room xxxx-x
Me: Oh not that again... I already told the nurse I can't do anything for them, the lady's on a liquid restriction
S: He says that he's gonna buy her a soup if we don't give them one though...
Me: So let him buy it; at least it's his fault and not mine if something happens because she had too much liquid.
S: Yeah ok...
She leaves... About half an hour later, she comes back in my office again:
S: Hey... the husband's back again. This time he says he's really pissed that we haven't sent anything to his wife.
Me: Did you tell him why we couldn't?
S: Yeah, but he just won't hear it... he doesn't want to listen to me.
Me: Let me give it a try then...
So I go to talk to the guy... only to find out when I get to the cafeteria that he's gone (my sup doesn't see him anywhere)... although right then i'm approached by a nurse (different nurse than the one I spoke with on the phone)...
SN: So how come this lady can't get her soup?
Me: Because she's on a liquid restriction and there's nothing I can do...
At this point, the other nurse I spoke to on the phone happens to be near and hear me say that so she interjects:
NN (to SN): Oh hey, yeah I called earlier, she explained to me why she couldn't send the soup so its okay.
SN: But the patient didn't even eat the soup she did receive on her lunch tray.
Me: Wait, she received a soup? So why didn't she eat that one?
SN: she didn't like it. She wants something else. So can't we just replace one for the other?
Me: I can't do that either... I have no proof that she didn't eat her soup already, you didn't bring it back down with you... besides, she picked it off her menu choices by herself, so how would I know for sure she didn't eat it and simply wanted another one, which I can't send?
SN: Well then go upstairs and get the soup, I'm telling you she didn't eat it.
At that point I was getting frustrated... fortunately NN interjected again:
NN (to SN): Oh leave her alone, she can't do anything about it and she's explained it to you already.
To that, I smiled at SN and then turned around and went back to my office... fortunately I didn't receive any more calls or any more visits for that patient, thankfully...
NN= Nice Nurse
SN= Sucky Nurse
S= Supervisor
C= Clerk
Me= Getting increasingly annoyed at the mention of this patient's name...
*phone rings*
Me: Diet Office.
C: Hi! Can I get a soup for patient in room xxxx-x?
Me: *Checks card file* Ummm unfortunately no, the patient's on a liquid restriction.
C: Oh... nurse said she really needed it though... can we maybe remove the liquid restriction?
Me: No, i'm sorry, I can't do that.
C: Ok, i'll tell the nurse... thanks! *click*
A minute later, phone rings, its that floor again:
Me: Diet office.
NN: Hi! You just talked to the clerk about the lady in room xxxx-x wanting a soup... why can't she get it?
Me: Because she's on a liquid restriction and I can't send anything extra, the liquids are evenly spread out between all three meals throughout the day.
NN: Oh... can be maybe increase the amount of liquid she's allowed?
Me: Unfortunately I can't do that... You would have to ask the dietician, he's the one who set this restriction in the first place and so it would be up to him to decide to remove it or not.
NN: Oh, that's ok, I totally understand, your hands are tied... thanks for your help!
*click*
So I think this is all resolved and that'll be the end of that... but not 10 minutes later, my supervisor shows up in my office...
S: Hey Palomita, there's a man outside in the caf right now that says he wants a soup for his wife who's in room xxxx-x
Me: Oh not that again... I already told the nurse I can't do anything for them, the lady's on a liquid restriction
S: He says that he's gonna buy her a soup if we don't give them one though...
Me: So let him buy it; at least it's his fault and not mine if something happens because she had too much liquid.
S: Yeah ok...
She leaves... About half an hour later, she comes back in my office again:
S: Hey... the husband's back again. This time he says he's really pissed that we haven't sent anything to his wife.
Me: Did you tell him why we couldn't?
S: Yeah, but he just won't hear it... he doesn't want to listen to me.
Me: Let me give it a try then...
So I go to talk to the guy... only to find out when I get to the cafeteria that he's gone (my sup doesn't see him anywhere)... although right then i'm approached by a nurse (different nurse than the one I spoke with on the phone)...
SN: So how come this lady can't get her soup?
Me: Because she's on a liquid restriction and there's nothing I can do...
At this point, the other nurse I spoke to on the phone happens to be near and hear me say that so she interjects:
NN (to SN): Oh hey, yeah I called earlier, she explained to me why she couldn't send the soup so its okay.
SN: But the patient didn't even eat the soup she did receive on her lunch tray.
Me: Wait, she received a soup? So why didn't she eat that one?
SN: she didn't like it. She wants something else. So can't we just replace one for the other?
Me: I can't do that either... I have no proof that she didn't eat her soup already, you didn't bring it back down with you... besides, she picked it off her menu choices by herself, so how would I know for sure she didn't eat it and simply wanted another one, which I can't send?
SN: Well then go upstairs and get the soup, I'm telling you she didn't eat it.
At that point I was getting frustrated... fortunately NN interjected again:
NN (to SN): Oh leave her alone, she can't do anything about it and she's explained it to you already.
To that, I smiled at SN and then turned around and went back to my office... fortunately I didn't receive any more calls or any more visits for that patient, thankfully...
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