WWYD -- Noisy Nurses at the Next Table

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I find it very hard to believe that any nurse would go out to eat with 'colostomy remains' smeared on their scrubs. At least none of the nurses I know would!
I would probably have said pretty loudly 'You mean like these refried beans???? Ewwwww!!!!'

There doesn’t have to be remains on them. Scrubs are considered dirty when you step into the hospital. Who knows what is floating around there...

That being said, some find it impractical to change after their shift before doing other things. Some do, some don’t. I always go home and change before I go anywhere else. That’s my personal thing.

 

[mom2rtk]

You can't expect to control what other people talk about. If it was bad, you should have asked to be moved.

Should they have used better sense? Yes.
Should you have said something? No.

 

[Hrhpd]

Tonight DH and I had dinner at our favorite Mexican food place. It's not fine dining, but the food is great. The place is about half a mile from a hospital so a lot of their workers eat there. I'm from a medical family (dad was a doc, mom a nurse, etc) so I'm familiar with a lot of the terminology, but growing up, we didn't have graphic discussions at the dinner table.

Tonight two nurses were seated at the table next to ours and one of them mentioned a leaky colostomy bag (at the hospital) that was getting smeared all over. Really NOT something I wanted to hear about while eating refried beans. I managed to not projectile vomit into the nurse's food, but maybe in hindsight I should have asked them to tone down the rhetoric. I wasn't eavesdropping but they were loud and the tables were close together -- overhearing them was unavoidable.

What would you have said or done in the situation?

People in stressful jobs need to vent and discuss. It would not have bothered me, I would have been in awe at the job they do keeping people alive and having to deal with a leaky colostomy bag rather than just hearing about it.

WWID if they were discussing something that did bother me? I would have asked to be moved or more likely ignored them. I would never, ever tell strangers also enjoying their dinner that they had to discuss only topics that I approved of. I am not Queen.

Our dinner table conversation is often discussions of the day's topics which in today's world pretty much means politics sneak in rather frequently. I would not be happy if somebody on their high horse rode in and tried to censor our conversation. We share this world with all sorts of people, tolerance is the only thing that is going to keep us going.

Don't like the conversation, move yourself.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I would have not been listening to the conversation in the first place! You stated you weren’t eavesdropping but you must have been to hear the details so clearly. Enjoy your husband and food. There is no reason to say anything to anybody as it was a public place and they can talk about whatever. You have no rights to dictate what they can talk about.

If that horrible ask to move without making a production about it. No need to tell server or manager just ask if you can be moved.

Your comment that you should have said something is inappropriate. You have no right to tell them to stop talking about things.

 

[sam_gordon]

No but they are worn used scrubs...worn in a hospital/medical setting. Blech. I know its silly but it grosses me out. Just like I need to change after giving the dog a bath...clothes smell of wet dog.

People go out to eat every day in clothes they've been wearing at work all day. I don't get the concern (unless there was obvious stains on the scrubs).

 

[Southernmiss]

It's conversation between friends at dinner. One of the consequences of choosing to go out to eat is eating around other people who talk about their likes, interests, jobs, hobbies in a public place.

Yes, we overhear stuff we don't want to sometimes, but that's part of it.

 

[lovin'fl]

People go out to eat every day in clothes they've been wearing at work all day. I don't get the concern (unless there was obvious stains on the scrubs).

Many people dont work around bodily fluids and illness. Anyway...i have drifted this thread...my apologies.

 

[wvjules]

I would have had to move. Somethings I just can't handle while I'm eating. That would be one. I actually had to move once when the man at the table behind me kept clearing his throat. The phlegm sound was awful. It was either move or vomit. lol

Scrubs that have been worn in a hospital by a provider giving patient care all day are dirty.

It is possible to hear conversations without "eaves dropping" Sometimes you can't help but hear other people's conversations. zoo, have you never heard a conversation from someone that you weren't involved in?

 

[anniemae]

People go out to eat every day in clothes they've been wearing at work all day. I don't get the concern (unless there was obvious stains on the scrubs).

I think it's just because in a medical setting, often times staff is dealing with very sick and very contagious people. Scrubs could have bodily fluids, germs, diseases, blood, fecal matter etc. all over them. It does not have to be visible to the naked eye to be there.

It personally does not bother me because for all I know, the person in scrubs could work in an orthopedic or podiatrists office. Not everyone in scrubs works in an emergency room and is covered in highly contagious or gross matter, but it bothers some people to think about what medical professionals could have been dealing with while working in scrubs.

 

[Southernmiss]

Eh, teachers and day care workers go out to eat after having been immersed in kid germs all day. For most of us, it does us good to be around germs and microbes. Our society has become quite sanitized.

My sons are students of pharmacy. They'll work in scrubs and be around sick people, but not bodily fluids all day long. Lots of medical type people wear scrubs.

 

[cabanafrau]

If I really wanted to address it I might have leaned their way and said something mild -- pardon me, but could you maybe take pity on my sensitive stomach while I'm eating? I think if delivered pleasantly a bunch of nurses are likely going to understand and be willing to be considerate.

 

[msjprincess]

I would have not been listening to the conversation in the first place! You stated you weren’t eavesdropping but you must have been to hear the details so clearly. Enjoy your husband and food. There is no reason to say anything to anybody as it was a public place and they can talk about whatever. You have no rights to dictate what they can talk about.

If that horrible ask to move without making a production about it. No need to tell server or manager just ask if you can be moved.

Your comment that you should have said something is inappropriate. You have no right to tell them to stop talking about things.

Were you there? How do you know how loudly they were talking? Sometimes you can't avoid hearing other people's conversations.

 

[Searc]

No but they are worn used scrubs...worn in a hospital/medical setting. Blech. I know its silly but it grosses me out. Just like I need to change after giving the dog a bath...clothes smell of wet dog.

A lot of nurses don't wear their scrubs out of the hospital. They change back into street clothes to go home after their shift.

 

[cabanafrau]

Personally I'll take being out in public with after work scrubs that bear no obvious signs of anything contagious or foul over secondhand smoke and pungent perfumes and fragrances. My assumption would be that most medical professionals would want to change out of anything they felt was transporting anything problematic for their own sake.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Were you there? How do you know how loudly they were talking? Sometimes you can't avoid hearing other people's conversations.

No but neither were you. We only have OP saying they were loud. It doesn’t mean they were LOUD to others.

 

[msjprincess]

No but neither were you. We only have OP saying they were loud. It doesn’t mean they were LOUD to others.

I have no reason to believe he/she is lying. I have no reason to jump to the conclusion that they were eavesdropping. I'll take his/her version over someone who wasn't even there.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I have no reason to believe he/she is lying. I have no reason to jump to the conclusion that they were eavesdropping. I'll take his/her version over someone who wasn't even there.

There are also two sides to everything... not worth arguing over we can disagree.

 

[lifesavacation]

Hearing people talk about politics or religion at a restaurant offends me far more but I’d never tell them they couldn’t say something. Can’t imagine telling someone what they can and can’t talk about while they’re grabbing a bite to unwind after work.

Why do people do this in a public space where other people are forced to listen to your conversation? On our last flight, the lady in the row behind us talked politics.

 

[kdonnel]

There are also two sides to everything... not worth arguing over we can disagree.

There are always three sides to every argument.

Their side, your side, and the truth.

P.S. When I say their and your I am not speaking specifically of you just generally.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Wow.... even this thread has to go political. Alllll righty then.....

I am sorry, but having a different viewpoint or opinion than myself is a human right and freedom of speech. No matter how much some folks wish that all of the sudden the others viewpoints should be censored. No matter how easily and unnecessarily offended and angry others can be. Nobody should have to censor their conversation with their friend/family just because a bystander might not approve. The very suggestion, as mentioned here, (even with the disclaimer of 'I really wouldn't do anything about it') makes me shake my head.

We have really come to the point where political correctness has taken over and run totally amok, so that one can not say ANYTHING that such one-sided and tender ears can not even bear to hear.
Wow.....

That is a completely and totally different thing than discussing something, like human excrement, while other people are eating, like was described in the original post.
That is totally and completely against any basic common respect.
That is just GROSS.

And, I also do not have a favorable opinion of anyone who thinks it is a good thing to 'get a kick' out of purposefully making others uncomfortable.
Especially when it comes to eating and feeding one's body.