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by deespoohbear

What has happened to common sense in the hospital? I had a patient who had a hysterectomy (TAH and BSO) Tuesday morning. This young lady was only back her room for about 20 minutes when she had about 10 visitors come! She had just fallen asleep when these people showed up! So, of course they wake her up. And they proceed to visit with her like they had just set down in her home with coffee for a long visit. The longer they stayed, the more uptight and tense the patient became. Hence, the worse her pain became. I finally had enough, and asked everyone to leave except her S/O. I just can't believe that some people would be so inconsiderate! A nurse I work with had the same problem on Friday. An elderly lady had a colon resection and within minutes of her returning to the room, several people had gathered to visit. I hate sounding like a hag, but some of these people just don't get it. I just love it also when people barge into the room, when the door is SHUT and the curtain is pulled. They just walk in like it is their own home. That really pops my gasket. I just want to scream "Hey, how would you like me to walk in on you when you have your naked backside exposed to the world?" Anyone else feel the same way about inconsiderate visitors? Maybe I just seem to be the magnet the past few weeks for them.

[SmilingBluEyes]

WE put up w/this IN OB ALL THE TIME!!!!!!! growwwwwwwwwwwll....people (many who are only distantly related or not at all even), who shove their way into a room, damn near knocking us down to "see"....A room where a woman was just delivered....blood ALL OVER, her legs up in the air w/nothing covering her bottom.........room full of contaminated equipment!!!! Does NOT matter if it's 3 a.m....go ahead and drag the SCREAMING toddler and preschooler child who should be in bed in to see his baby sib or cousin!!!!!!

...MAKES ME NUTSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I try to remind them there (VERY POLITELY AND DIPOMATICALLY) are other patients trying to sleep and that we want to give the new family time to bond w/their baby...but they don't care. They just push right past you. Sometimes, esp if the patient expressed a desire to be alone for a while and they are obnoxious, I will literally lead them to the waiting room and tell they WILL KINDLY WAIT THERE OR be escorted off the FLOOR! OH gosh this is my BIGGEST HUGEST PET PEEVE IN THE WORLD!!!!

[mother/babyRN]

Definitely a problem in OB....First we let them in when ever ( the powers that be) and NOW we are told to throw them out....What a way to run a unit....

[SmilingBluEyes]

that is a mess, mother/baby. there has to be a happy medium! where, i dunno. we are so into pleasing everyone that safety and dignity are becoming huge issues and difficult to maintain.

[fergus51]

Another OB nurse who hates this crap. We recently changed visiting policies so that on PP the visitors can only come between 3pm and 8pm (except dads of course). But we're still very lenient on the L&D side, unless the mom doesn't want them there or they are causing a disturbance. I especially love the grandmas who think we should look after the screaming bratty siblings to be while mom is in labor....Cause, you know, we don't have anything else to do (LIKE CARE FOR THE WOMAN IN LABOR!!!!).

[deespoohbear]

Glad to see that I am not the only one who is upset about this! I have "helped" out in OB before (answering the phones, running errands) and the visitors there just floor me!! If I was having a baby I would want the least amount of people in the room that would get the baby delivered safely. Otherwise, everyone else, stay the heck out! Our Med/Surg Floor pretty much has unlimited visiting also. Anymore, I just ask the visitors to leave if I feel like my patient is being overwhelmed or the visitors are preventing me from doing my job. I had an Amish patient once who had about 25 visitors in his room! The visitors would hover over this man (who had just found out he had lung CA) until the poor man would have a panic attack. I kicked everyone out except the wife and promptly put a sign on the door limiting the visitors to 2 at time for 10 minutes. (Seemed reasonable to me ). One of the sons went to a phone and promptly called his Dad's doctor's office and told the doctor the nurses were taking over! LOL! (Only in my dreams, sadly). I got the funniest call from one of the office nurses wanting to know what was going on. The doctor pretty much agreed with me but did tell the family they could have 4 visitors at a time in the room. I still laugh about that one.

[studentnurse_02]

i havent started working yet, but at the hospital i will be working at, there are no certain visiting hours except in CCU and ICU. So, people can visit any time of the day/night they want!

[SmilingBluEyes]

LIBERAL visiting hours and policies don't bother me, Amanda. what bugs me is the LACK OF CONSIDERATION AND COMMON SENSE that is inbred in some of them.....i don't care if support people are here at 4 am. for a laboring mommy....i think it is GREAT. but it gets my DANDER UP and can be SCARY when they are loud, drunk, drugged, rude, pushy and obnoxious. i don't say restrict HOURS necessarily, but give us (nurses) LEVERAGE in who to have removed when they are disruptive or downright dangerous w/o repercussions from family members or doctors who want to please em all but don't have to put up with them once they go home!

[canoehead]

How about the woman who delivers at 6am having been up all night and a 10am is expected to smile and entertain the whole clan until evening visiting hours are over. People just don't think.

[prmenrs]

Grandparents (and other family memebers) who come to see their grandchild in the NICU!!!! as in Intensive Care Unit! and then proceed to "browse" all the other patients. What's wrong with this one? How old is she? etc.

Also, people who lie to the clerk doing the health screening at the desk. Common sense would dictate that if you're sick, the sibling is sick, you wouldn't want to expose your 27wk, 900gm baby (or any one else's) to some little germ or virus that might KILL them? No problem for some folks!!