What rules have you broken to help a patient?

[fedupnurse]

We have a rule where I work about no pets being allowed. Last summer I had a young female patient, vented and going to die while waiting for a lung transplant and she was completely with it. I took care of her a lot and got to know her and her family quite well over the 6 weeks she was with us. I found out early on that she had a cat that she found as a kitten 15 years earlier. I am an animal lover so I decided one night to take her husband aside and see if it would be ok if he snuck the cat in. He nearly started to cry. He said I have been debating trying to sneak the cat in. I can't believe you are going to help me do this. She spent about 20 minutes with her cat and then the cat went home. She seemed more at peace after that. We also brought a dog in once back when I had this wonderful manager. She actually arranged the whole thing. The dog laid on the bed with this COPDer and he died peacefully later that night. His wife siad the dog was beside herself prior to the visit but that she was ok afterward. I guess she just wanted to say goodbye.

So what rules have you broekn to make a patient happy? For me it was well worth every second of those 20 minutes. I wouldn't have cared if they fired me!:)

[zapperbapper]

I once had a terminal lung CA pt in the unit. He was on facial cpap and was struggling for every breath but did not want to be tubed. His daughter happened to be in the same hosp in L&D delivering his first grandson. Me, another nurse, and RT packed him up with all his equipment and took him to see his grandson for the first and last time. I expected the L&D nurses to freak out on us. Instead they wrote a letter to admin. and we all got an outstanding award for it. The look on his face was award enough though. He died 2 days later.

[babynurselsa, RN]

Our Neo is very old school and will not allow parents to hold till the babies are at least 34 weeks. Well me and most of my coworkers "don't let the parents hold" while we do really really really slow linen changes...........

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

You guys are absolutely the best!!!! What inspiration. I want all of you working with me at AllNurses Hospital!! There wouldn't be a nursing shortage at that hospital!!!

[BadBird, BSN, RN]

One time when I was working Er a neighbor kid carried his cat in and asked for help, fortunately the coolest ER doc was on and we snuck the cat in to the treatment room for stitches, the kid brought the cat back a few days later for stitch removal and all went well.

[Maureen007]

In my day-a big no, no was to sit ona bed-godforbid a family member. Many a time I saw families hugging their loved one and closed the curtains so they would have privacy-let parents sleep beside their kids-not allowed then.pizza from outside a no/no and in school tackled the problem of repeater headlice infestation with Principals OK but not parent, cut them off and shampooed his head. Oh-I'm sure there's a lot more but the memory is going-old nurse.

[lakesidenana1]

Enjoyed reading through the posted messages. It does my heart good to know there are so many "rule breakers" out there. Seems to me that rule breaker should be synonomous with caring, dedicated nurse.

I have also broken many rules, sneaked a dog in in a basket to visit with his dying master. The wife was afraid, because he was such a yipper, but it was night shift & we gave it a try. The wife said she had a heart to heart talk w/the dog about being quiet & even the dog(miniature poodle went crazy jumping all over the pt he never made a sound. Many diet rules, visiting, sleeping in emtpy bed, etc.

But, the one I think I am most proud of (because I had only been a nurse for a few years & was still intimidated by rules & regs) was when I worked in the nursery in 1970. The rule then was that only the mother could enter the sanctum of the nursery to feed a preemie. Their was a 16yr old married couple who had preemie twin girls. The father was very attentive to both his wife & to visiting the girls through the glass. I watched the daddy try to ooze through the wire meshed glass as he watched his wife feed one of the twins. Each time she came she fed the alternate baby. Thank goodness I worked evening shift. One night after visiting hours I went out & asked the daddy if he would like to feed the other baby!!!! He grinned like the Cheshire cat & hugged me. I had learned that even though they were only 16 that they had their own home & would be the main ones responsible for caring for those babies. He cheerfully did the scrubbing & put on his gown & head cover. I set up the screen we used to provide privacy for procedures etc. . Somehow the supervisors found out & called me on the carpet. I told them we were failing in our duty to the babies if we allowed them to go home with an untrained parent & what could they point out to me that was out of line. Of course there was nothing except some buearacrats rule. :chuckle They magnanimously allowed the daddy to continue with the feedings until the girls went home.

[SaturnGirl]

I am so in tears here, after reading your stories. Now I KNOW I've made the right decision when I enrolled in college last month for nursing. Thanks for making my day.

[lakesidenana1]

Hi SaturnGirl,

Congratulations on choosing nursing. I have been nursing for 33yrs. I have seen good & not so good nurses & trends in healthcare. I have tried to provide the type of care that I would want one of my family members to receive. Not always easy with time & money constraints that now plague many areas of healthcare. But this is the area that I have controll over & with come many memorable moment.

Keep the faith & don't let anyone tell you this is not the greatest calling in the world. There are things about the "job" that have developed over the years that I don't like, but the real work of nursing is wonderful.

Dottie

[zudy]

Well said, Lakesidenana1 !!!! She is right Saturngirl, it's atough job but I can't imagine doing anything else. It will break your heart some days, but some days you come home with another great stories!:roll :roll Hang in there!!!

[boggle, ASN, RN]

i thank the role models i had on my first job that showed me how important it was to individualize patient care!!

this was many years ago, when patients stays were so much longer. these great nurses would bring in food, help families to sneak in kids and pets through the back entrance, even conspired and arranged a "conjugal vist" for one of our long stay ortho patients.

their inspiration lives on!!:)

[micro, RN]

rules,

have I broken any...........for the patient's rights and sake.........

well, maybe a few'................

but I will only break a rule if it benefits the patient and in with total regard with the patient condition and physician understanding and most times getting an order from physician anyway.............I will look out for the patient because they come first........and come on, use your common sense people...........

please don't quote rules and orders to someone whose prognosis is less than.....?????

sometimes you have to be knowledgeably human and brave enough to be...........and to most surprise.......a majority of doc's are also this way...............

but I am but micro............

and if asked to testify..........I take the fifth

[SaturnGirl]

Dottie, Thank you for the good wishes. I already know how hard it's going to be, but I feel like I've wanted this all my life already. I just had to take the right road to get here, and I finally have. My friend, Julie, and I were discussing how we know--at 29 and 36 years of age--that THIS is what we need to be doing. I told her to look back at her life and see the common thread to so many of her memories and life-paths (both attempted and completed). She and I are so alike: there's a pattern of medical running through our pasts like a river. I finally realized that that pattern is a message, like opportunity knocking on one's door. I FINALLY decided to answer it, and I feel relatively calm. For now. hahahah

Take care!

Sherri