Cell Phone Withdrawals

[Joe V]

Some people are so connected to their cell phones, it's almost like another appendage. But, for the Nurse, many hospitals do no allow us to carry cell phones on our person. I don't know if I could go without mine for very long without suffering some kind of adverse reaction. LOL! How about you? Are you allowed to carry your cell phone at your Nursing job?

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[Miss Rayanne]

I work in home health and I could not imagine doing my job without a mobile phone. It provides me with access to my E-mail, Calendar, Calculator, Stopwatch, Drug Reference App and much more. When I worked in a SNF, I always carried one on me, despite the companies policies, because I like to be able to call 911 while staying at the patient's bedside. No one knew I had it because I have enough self control to not engage in personal conversations on the clock.

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

After working in corrections & having to leave my phone in my car, it was kind of nice not having it on me. It's also not a distraction for me or anyone else.

[Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN]

I work in a SNF. It stays in my pocket because I love using my pedometer app to track my steps! I only check it here and there for important messages. I have a few nursing centered apps I will occasionally utilize. It doesn't distract me, overall, and then I enjoy catching up on everything after work.

[Farawyn]

I feel nakey without it.

I left the floors about 4-5 years ago and it wasn't as prevalent then. In Employee Health it was laid back, and we were always with our phones. In the clinic we texted the docs and some people got violent (patients, family members, chlamydia is rough stuff, I guess) and there was a "reason" to have them on us. In the school setting it's on my desk.

Once I left the house without it. I was jittery all day. One of my friends did an addiction test on me and substituted the internet/texting/smartphone for drugs and it was a major Far FAIL.

And the AN app? It's KILLING me. If you ever do a Blue Side, I may as well resign my jobs now.

[Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN]

Farawyn said:

I feel nakey without it.

I left the floors about 4-5 years ago and it wasn't as prevalent then. In Employee Health it was laid back, and we were always with our phones. In the clinic we texted the docs and some people got violent (patients, family members, chlamydia is rough stuff, I guess) and there was a "reason" to have them on us. In the school setting it's on my desk.

Once I left the house without it. I was jittery all day. One of my friends did an addiction test on me and substituted the internet/texting/smartphone for drugs and it was a major Far FAIL.

And the AN app? It's KILLING me. If you ever do a Blue Side, I may as well resign my jobs now.

I just like knowing it's there, you know? Google has come in handy a few times at work, too.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

We are allowed to have them on us. I keep mine in my pocket and pretty much forget is there. The rare times I use it is to use it as a 'flash light' when trying to see the numbers on the IV pumps to set it without turning on the overhead lights or to use as a calculator when needed. The one on the computer is such a pain to use, its just easier to have my phone turned on to the calculator and sitting on the desk when I need to calculate I&O numbers etc. It also has a pedometer on it that runs all the time. I may glance at it (its on my home screen of the phone so its sort of impossible not to see) when I'm turning the home screen on to use the light from it to see.

Other than that, I have no real need for it at work. My husband and children are home sleeping in their beds when I'm at work. If they were calling me during my shift, it MUST be an emergency and they'd call the unit phone. If I am not with both my kids and husband, my phone is with me on my person so they can contact me if they need to. If I AM with the 3 of them, the phone maybe with me (to use in emergency etc) but I don't even think about it and tend to ignore texts, calls.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Is this really still a thing? I don't think nurses should be having phones ringing in patient rooms or texting at the desk when call lights are going off or their coworkers are drowning in work, but are there really employers banning adult professionals from having a cell phone on them at all? I use my Micromedex app to check IV compatibilities and my calculator to total up IV volume intakes and calculate doses all the time.