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It's OK to Say No



Nursing is known as a fast-paced job full of various responsibilities. Often, accepting responsibilities that are beyond the scope of your nursing license or skill level can sometimes have serious consequences for you, your nursing career, and more importantly, your patients. On the other hand, some patients can sometimes be needy and you can expect rather unnecessary requests and questionable demands from them. In those cases, it’s important to know when and how to say no to some irrational requests coming from patients. Not only will that help you do your job properly and take good care of patients, but it will also protect you from burnout and legal actions. So, here are several situations in which it is perfectly fine to say NO to patients’ needs and requests.

1.      Patient’s request for additional visitation hours


Being in a hospital for whatever reason isn’t easy at all. From your patient’s point of view, spending days or even weeks in this facility can be a real torture. That’s why you’ve probably been in a situation in which a patient asks you for a few additional hours of visitation from his family of friends. Having to say NO to this is probably one of the hardest things, but you have to. If you’d let this patient have his way, all the others would expect the same treatment. And, after all, rules are rules!
 
2.      Patient seeking medications

Painful injuries or surgeries can cause a lot of pain. Thus, endless requests of patients for more medications should be ignored. You are the person who knows what’s best for them and saying NO to this request shouldn’t make you feel bad. After all, your primary focus is taking care of patients and making them feel better.

Related: 5 Ways to Cheer Up Your Geriatric Patients

3.      Requests to be admitted before others

Waiting in line for hours. Who likes that? When you add urgency to that it is almost understandable that some patients request admission before others in line. These situations sometimes create frenziness on the ward, and make everyone nervous. This is where you step in. It’s perfectly OK to warn some patients that they need to wait for their turn and not make other patients in line angry.

4.      Constant need for attention

Have you ever been in a situation in which a patient constantly pages you and asks for your immediate supervision? You are a nurse, of course you have! Although the vast majority of them could be wonderful, some happen to be in constant need of your attention. They are probably bored or tired, but you have to explain nicely to the patient that you have other responsibilities, as well as other patients to take care of.

5.      Disruptive behavior

The majority of patients are a pleasure to work with. They make the job truly rewarding and treat your staff with respect. But there are also those who can sometimes make your life miserable. For example, they use inappropriate language, make unreasonable demands, or even worse, turn to physical abuse. Thankfully, these inappropriate situations are rare, but when they occur, make sure to put a stop on it immediately.

Nursing is a profession in which you encounter and constantly work with a wide range of different people. Of course, a great deal of them are extremely polite and understanding. But, like in any other job, you might come across some people who will make unreasonable demands, or even be abusive. These are the situations in which you have to use the word NO in order to put a stop to it and maintain peace on the ward. You will not only make yourself feel better because you did your job right, but also make all the other patients at peace.

Related: 2016 INTERNATIONAL NURSES ASSOCIATION (INA) SCHOLARSHIP AWARD


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