I cannot believe a nurse did this......

by shellybsn
  23,762 Views   82 Comments

  1. My grandmother in law is a resident at a local nursing home. My husband took my kids to see her today (I was at home with the baby). The nurse there took the cotton packing out of the top of a bottle of medicine she was opening and tickled my 4 year olds face with it. My husband pulled him away and told me about it when he got home. I'm furious about this. No telling what kind of powder or residue was on the packing..it could have been a chemp drug or who knows what. My husband didn't think to ask, just wanted out of there. Am I crazy for thinking this is absolutely unacceptable? I'm actually thinking of reporting her to the nursing board (she's done a lot of other crazy stuff we've noticed while granny is there). We've talked to admin before about stuff this nurse has said and done, but this is over the top.
    •  

  2. 82 Comments

    Topic Closed
  3. by netglow
    Dec 29, '12
    I wouldn't do that. All this "I'm gonna report him/her to the nursing board" crap going around these days is a bit much...
  4. by SionainnRN
    Dec 29, '12
    Wow, going to the nursing board about this seems beyond overboard. What exactly is your complaint, that your son got tickled by cotton? How is that something worthy of the BON? I'm assuming chemp is meant to be chemo? Is your grandmother on chemo? I think you need to take a step back and look at it from another perspective. The nurse was probably just trying to make your son laugh/be entertained while visiting a sick person, which can be very scary for a 4 year old. Now I don't work in a nursing home so I don't know how they dispense meds, but I seriously doubt there was anything harmful going on. If you have concerns other than "she's done other crazy stuff" I would talk to a supervisor or manager.
  5. by MunoRN
    Dec 29, '12
    I'm not getting what you're so offended by, the cotton does not contain a measurable dose of anything, other than soft, whispy, and fluffiness.
  6. by Palliative Care, DNP
    Dec 29, '12
    No, not acceptable but not worthy of BON. Definately worth a trip into management's office. I would be upset as well. Common sense definitely not so common as once thought
  7. by klone
    Dec 29, '12
    Seriously, you're thinking of reporting her to the nursing board? I think you're being a bit ridiculous. I highly doubt that chemo drugs a) would be packaged in cotton batting, b) would be administered in a nursing home, or c) would be administered near children.

    If it had cotton batting, it was probably an OTC drug, and probably enteric coated. I would seriously relax. She was trying to entertain your children. I really think you're overreacting.
  8. by LTCNS
    Dec 29, '12
    In my experience working in LTCs for more than 15 years, the only medication that a nurse would remove the cotton from is an over the counter stock medication like Tylenol, a multivitamin or a stool softener. All prescribed drugs are specially packaged by the pharmacy and kept in drawers on the med cart labeled with each patient's name.
    Tickling your four year old on the cheek with a cotton ball that likely came from a harmless bottle of a stool softener or multivitamin will not harm your son, and I doubt very seriously she would have done anything that she thought would be detrimental to him. Lighten up.
  9. by DoeRN
    Dec 29, '12
    You're going to report her to the board because she rubbed cotton under your kid's chin? A complaint to management ok yeah. But the BON? Wow! And I have never seen a chemo drug packaged with cotton. And yes I am chemo certified.
  10. by FlorenceNtheMachine
    Dec 29, '12
    I would not be upset at that nurse for trying to entertain my child. It's hard to let go of that control when it comes to our itty bitties, but try to take a breath.

    You would be wasting your time to report this, there are way LARGER fish to fry.
  11. by ~PedsRN~
    Dec 29, '12
    No chemo drug has cotton stuffed in the top of the bottle, nor is it administered in a nursing home.
  12. by vintage_RN
    Dec 29, '12
    Sorry, but I just laughed at this. Woe to the nurse who was trying to make your son feel a little more at ease in what might have been a pretty scary place. People over-react over everything!
  13. by eatmysoxRN
    Dec 29, '12
    When I saw the title of this thread I was excited to read the contents. Until I saw someone complain about a nurse tickling a child with cotton. Really? Are you going to report to the medical board that your pediatrician didn't clean his/her stethoscope before listening to his lungs? Cotton from a medicine bottle is most likely not contaminated with anything at all. Chill.
  14. by OnlybyHisgraceRN
    Dec 29, '12
    I can see if she gave him a pill or something as if it were candy. It really isn't that serious. It makes me wonder what other "little" things you reported.

close