[nurse2002]

I think our jobs as healthcare professionals would go a lot smoother if these two sayings were banned from all facilities.


"Thats not my patient."

"Thats not my job."


Any other thoughts on this?

[Imagin8tion]

I second that!! All too often I hear this.. It's too bad

~Christina~

[erdiane]

" You'll just have to make do with what you have."

[P_RN]

I suggest "Im not familiar with that patient but let me find you someone who can help you." Or what may I help you to find?

Sometimes "That's not my job" is necessary. You will find that whatever another department abandons Nursing takes up the slack. Moreover Nursing Management is usually the one who volunteers us to do it.

Eg: delivering trays, venipuncture/phlebotomy, respiratory, emptying trash on 2nd and 3rd shift, changing the toner cartridge in the printer in the middle of your documentation, etc.

[memphispanda]

Happens all the time where I am...Since I am new, I have a ton of questions, and I try to ask generic questions of someone who doesn't appear to be in the middle of something...It usually ends up going something like this...
Me: "Mrs. Smith in 53 needs _____...."
Nurse: "She's not mine, you need to talk to her nurse _____"
Me: "well, I just really need to know where"
Nurse: "You need to ask her nurse"
Me: "can you please tell me what shelf the _____ are on so I don't have to disturb her nurse who is in 58 doing ___thing?"
Nurse: "Oh...ok I can show you where something is I guess."

[plumrn]

That sentence is really frowned on where I work. I don't think anyone would have the guts to say it. However, sometimes just as bad: "Oh, Suzy is her nurse."

[Zee_RN]

My standard answer:

"I'm not taking care of her today but is there something I can help you with?"

Something I have heard from the physicians that THEY really hate is when they ask about a patient and they're told..."Oh, that nurse is at lunch." (This is another time I use my above-referenced line.)

[ptnurse]

The first nurse manager I ever worked for would tell you in your interview that if she ever heard you say "that isn't my patient" she would write you up.

[sedate_me_stat]

I am normally shy by nature.
I work on a busy telemetry unit right now and we have one nurse who always says that!
"he is not my patient"
she even went to the trouble of coming to the front desk to tell me that my patient wanted a drink of water.

Usually I let comments slide. But I responded to her and told her that the patients are everyones responsibility and I did not know that I had special "water getting" skills.

She does not like me too much anyway , So it did not bother me to tell her that.

Comments like hers make me sad

[KMLWA2003]

Originally posted by Zee_RN
My standard answer:

"I'm not taking care of her today but is there something I can help you with?"

that's what i usually say.
i try to be as helpful as possible