[TrudyRN]

I do exactly what you did - nicely, of course, but firmly.

If I am on the phone, I'm not at the bedside.

Between HIPAA and lots of patients, no secretary, etc., there is no time to take so many family calls. I always get the family to work out who is going to be the contact person and then that person either calls me or I call her once during the shift for an update. I do try to be meaningful "Her lab tests look better, she's more alert, she got tired after PT today and napped a couple of hours", but still secretive. If the doc was in, I tell them. Then they try to call the doctor, LOL, and I can go back to the pts.

[Ruby Vee]

Originally Posted by MedSurgeNewbie

I had a very involved out of state family, I got them all to agree that I would call "kidlette 1" and give her updates at the end of my shift (she was POA) and they could call her - it worked - I have used the family spokeperson model seems to have worked -but I am still very new

Your plan works great with reasonable families. Unfortunately, not all families are reasonable!

[MedSurgeNewbie]

Originally Posted by Ruby Vee

Your plan works great with reasonable families. Unfortunately, not all families are reasonable!

this is where I am blessed to have a supervisor that steps in and is happy to do so, unlike some of the NM I have read about on here she is on the floor and will happily run interfearence

[interleukin]

"The way I see it is that when I keep getting interrupted this is taking away from the care I am providing."

Be careful not to fall into the, "They're keeping me from my patients," excuse.

For it is you who are keeping yourself from your patients. You must set the priorities.

Stop taking the calls. Choose a family spokesperson and stick with him/her..and be unwaveringly consistent.

Of course, when the family cannot agree(uncommon) get the doctor involved!

There's nothing that says only the nurses must coordinate everything. After all, though you've just spent 20 minutes telling them everything, very often the family will then want to speak with the m.d.

And if you're not sure of the situation, don't even get into it...that's a recipe for a mis-informational disaster. Put it into the m.d.'s lap. It's his job to talk to families and don't let him weasel out of it.

[Soup Turtle]

I went to see my grandmother in the hospital years ago and asked her nurse how she was doing. The nurse snapped, "You need to ask your aunt if you want to know that, Honey!". She also started walking in the opposite direction as she was saying this. I thought she was the biggest witch in the world!!! If she had offered a simple explaination, that would have been nice and I would have understood just fine. Maybe there should be some sort of handout explaining the family spokesperson thing if there isn't already one. Some people may just not know.

[interleukin]

That nurse should have been reported!

Too many nurses forget who is working for whom

Setting limits does not mean acting in an un-professional manner.

Setting limits is professional behavior. Otherwise you will be pulled every which way. And, at the end of the day, you will be targeted for not having been organized when all is not done.