Buttering up the nurse's station?

[mjr]

In reference to this thread:

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...d.php?t=113059

My wife told me she basically wants to "butter up" the nurse's station with either cupcakes or cookies.

So, cupcakes or cookies? And does it really matter?

I mean, I think she believes that the nurse's station will tend to me better if they've been given cupcakes/cookies than if they haven't been given anything.

[taxguykarl]

Depends on how many are at that station.

[mjr]

I mean, I don't know if she thinks I'm gonna be a pain in the ass patient or not...I'm gonna try to be a "good" patient. I'd never even considered taking the nurse's station cookies/cupcakes before...but if she wants to do it for peace of mind, I'm not gonna stop her.

[BookstoreEscapee]

My mom makes candy for the eye doctor's office.

Nurses are busy...cookies are generally easier to eat.

[mjr]

My mom makes candy for the eye doctor's office.

Nurses are busy...cookies are generally easier to eat.

If cookies are the way to go, I'd even volunteer to make them. I make a mean chocolate chip cookie!

[csquared]

The nurses will appreciate either. I would vote for cookies. Easier to divide up. Cupcakes, you would need a head count.

After my last stay, The Wife went out and bought two large boxes of fresh baked cookies: one for the day shift and one for the night.

[mjr]

The nurses will appreciate either. I would vote for cookies. Easier to divide up. Cupcakes, you would need a head count.

After my last stay, The Wife went out and bought two large boxes of fresh baked cookies: one for the day shift and one for the night.

That's a good idea. Maybe a couple dozen for each. I'll have to look at my recipe and see how many cookies it makes...

[CoffeeMonkey]

I was in for surgery last year just after Christmas. I brought my nurses those big plastic cans of snack mix (three: one for each shift) as well as a tin of baked goods. They stayed in the car while I was getting fixed up, and my folks brought them in after I had been sent up to the floor. Things that are easy to eat and not too messy are best.

You won't get BETTER care by feeding the staff, since good ones will give you the best they can no matter what, and bad ones aren't going to turn into good ones with a cookie. But there is no level of appreciation or snackery that is too much for nurses and techs.

As for being a good patient:

Follow instructions as best you can
Educate yourself as best you can about both your procedure and the general workings of a hospital, so that you can understand what's going on.
Don't treat them like servants. Do whatever you CAN do for yourself, and enlist your visitors to help you with whatever they are competent to help with. (Stuff like getting a drink or moving your pillow or somesuch.) don't expect them to fetch for your family. (Obvious? You'd be surprised...)
Don't whine about things outside their control. (But if the pain is overwhelming and you just gotta cry it out, go for it. No one's gonna judge you. Post op sucks.)
Be patient. (see what i did there?)
Be polite.
Keep your sense of humor.

I have a decent layperson's understanding of medical stuff due to my parents. Mom's an RN, and Dad is a tech and has worked on post op floors for years. So they know what's going on and were very helpful to me, and to the staff, since my mom could help me in the bathroom and my dad could take me on my walks.

My staff seemed to get a kick out of me, and were impressed at my walkingness (I was both bored, and intent on going home asap, so the more walks the better.) At one point I was doing my laps with my friends as escorts, and another patient was doing walks at the same time. I promptly dubbed her "Brownsocks" and declared that we were racing, and kept up a running narration of the contest. I was Purplesocks. I was further along in recovery than she was, but at the end I slowed up and let her win cuz it seemed like she was having a hard time. The staff thought this was all basically hilarious.

[mjr]

I have my own personal laptop (running Linux Mint!). I was thinking of taking it with me, so when I'm in the hospital for those 3 to 5 days afterward, I can watch movies or something. I don't know if they'll let me take it, though, or if I'll even really have time to watch between resting and people checking in on me.

I know that daytime TV is usually horrible, so I was going to take a DVD of card tricks that I have, and a couple of DVD movies, for if I get bored.

I don't even know how often they allow visitation. My understanding is it's usually a window of time in the morning, and then a window of time in the afternoon/evening.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I make a mean chocolate chip cookie!

I'll send you my address..

[CoffeeMonkey]

The problem with a laptop is that there's no way to secure it. Leaving a piece of valuable equipment out unattended, in a room where people are coming and going constantly (and in some cases may be passing by,) while you sleep is not generally considered a great idea.

[mjr]

The problem with a laptop is that there's no way to secure it. Leaving a piece of valuable equipment out unattended, in a room where people are coming and going constantly (and in some cases may be passing by,) while you sleep is not generally considered a great idea.

That is, indeed, a concern I have. Even though it's an older laptop that doesn't have any personal information on it. I still go back and forth on whether or not I should bring it.