A Change In Shift And A Shift In Service

(I am currently a patient at a hospital, recovering from knee surgery to treat a BAD infection that threatened the joint itself. My pain starts to flare up so I press the call button.)

Nurse: “Nurses’ station. Is there something you need?”

Me: “Could you please have my nurse bring me my pain meds?”

Nurse: “Sorry, but we are doing our shift change report and no one is available. I will send your nurse as soon as we are done.” *hangs up*

(Fifteen minutes go by and no nurse. The pain is getting worse so I hit the button again.)

Nurse: “Nurses’ station. Is there something you need?”

Me: “Yeah. The pain is getting worse. Can you please send a nurse with some pain meds? I am in a lot of pain.”

Nurse: “Sorry, we are still in the middle of our shift change report. We will take care of you soon.” *hangs up again*

(I wait another ten minutes before I hit the call button, By this point the pain meds in my system are just about run out.)

Nurse: “Nurses’ station. How can I help you?”

Me: *with pained voice and starting to yell a little* “I am in a lot of pain. Can you please send someone with some pain meds for me? I can’t take this pain much longer.”

Nurse: “We are still doing our shift change, but I will see what I can do.”

(This time, she actually did something and my nurse was sent in with a vial of pain killers to inject into my IV. I just want to know what was so important to report, that all the nurses had to ignore patients for almost an hour!)