What to do in family emergency situations?

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SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS

1 Article; 1,406 Posts

Specializes in nursing education.

Yesterday, a staff member had a family emergency (ambulance/daughter involved), was freaking out and needed to leave stat. She saw me first (I was not in charge)- I said, go. leave, go do what you need to do. I told the charge nurse immediately and coverage was found. No big deal. That is how we do, where I work. That is how I've been treated in the past and seen others treated.

Hugs to you, (((OP))).

Two weeks ago at the beginning of my shift when I was passing meds, my husband called crying because his Dad coded twice in a hospital and was transfered to ICU. He wanted me to come up immidietely because he is afraid his Dad won't make it. I was emotionally too. I talked to my boss. She said they will try find someone as soon as they can so I can leave. In the mean time, she told me to finish my med pass. With my coworker's help, I finished med pass in about five minutes, then I sat at the nurses station and wait for the charge nurse to tell me what to do. She walked down the hall twice for something else like nothing happened. She eventually came up to the desk and told me that the rest of the nurses will take two extra pts of mine. When I gave reports to the charge nurse, she grilled me about the pt I just got for one hour. For example, I have to check in the computer for her what type of dressing the pt has for his cellulitis. Anyway, I finally left 45 minutes later and by the time I got to the hospital, my father-in-law has already passed away. Now the more I think about it, the more I became angry. There were no other emergency in the unit that day, why the charge nurse has to take so long to take my report? Why she can't look for the dressing information in the computer herself? It is the first time this happened to me. I know I can't just leave because it counted as abandoning pts and my license can be suspended. However, is it common practice to expect you to stay 45 minutes when your family memeber is dying? and I'm not even talking about the grandparents.
does charge have her own patients? or other duties ? i do when i am in charge and picking up 2 more pts in the middle of my shift would be a nightmare. in 2 years i never saw a nurse leave in the middle of a shift. call offs plenty but not leave. it does suck
Specializes in FNP, ONP.

I had a family emergency some years ago and had to wait 10 hours for change of shift to go be with my family, who were very angry with me for not being there earlier during the crisis, and to this day bring it up from time to time. I, too, was unhappy about it then, but it could not be helped. It is not uncommon; is just is what it is.

rngolfer53

681 Posts

I had a family emergency some years ago and had to wait 10 hours for change of shift to go be with my family, who were very angry with me for not being there earlier during the crisis, and to this day bring it up from time to time. I, too, was unhappy about it then, but it could not be helped. It is not uncommon; is just is what it is.

I think it can and should be helped, especially with larger facilities.

Staff members are going to have true family and personal emergencies from time to time. We aren't exempt from life because of the job we do.

The specific nature and times of the emergencies are of course not known. "Known unknowns" is the term used. Murphy, who never sleeps, dictates that they will occur at the worst possible times.;) Still, their existence is known, and should be planned for.

When emergencies occur, there should be a set of steps to take, laid out in advance in a procedure to follow. For instance, charge nurse takes over patients while supervisor on duty takes over charge duties and looks for replacement for remainder of shift.

Every facility has emergency procedures for known unknowns of fires, weather, etc. Why not for staff emergencies?

Specializes in FNP, ONP.

What is and what should be are rarely the same. One can advocate for policies in advance of such situations, lobby for change, but quitting after the fact serves no useful purpose.

Aurora77

861 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg.
That's awesome that there is amazing teamwork on some units to divide and take over the pts of the nurse in crisis. However, in California, we have staffing ratios and it is absolutely ILLEGAL to have more pt's than ratio allows. I would NEVER do this unless i had empty beds, nor would anyone expect anyone else to do this. We had an RN that had to leave d/t illness and the Charge RN immediately took over until they were able to get someone from the night shift to come in early and take over.

That's unfortunate and taking the letter of the law to the extreme. What does it hurt to take an extra pt in an emergency situation? Very sad. A few months back, we had a nurse leave after her son was brought into the ER via ambulance. Another nurse was coming, but we divided up her pts so that she didn't have to wait. Humanity should trump legalities anytime.

wooh, BSN, RN

1 Article; 4,383 Posts

That's unfortunate and taking the letter of the law to the extreme. What does it hurt to take an extra pt in an emergency situation?

Because unfortunately, you give an inch, they'll take a mile. A nurse currently on duty's son in the ED will turn into "A nurse called in sick, so we couldn't staff appropriately."

NoviceRN10

901 Posts

I am very sorry for your family's loss. I do not think that getting to leave 45 minutes after the supervisor got notice if your situation is excessive, I actually think that is pretty swift considering that your pts had to have coverage and accomodations for your absence needed to be made.

loriangel14, RN

6,931 Posts

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

That's crappy. We just went through that a couple of days ago. One of my coworkers got the call that an ill family member had been hospitalized and she lwas let go immediately.Our charge nurse left the desk and took over her assignment for the rest of the shift. Our CN has done the same thing before.

PirateArrrNnnn

99 Posts

When my grandmother (whose b-day is today) Died in December, it was in the hospital where my mom and aunt work. My other aunt (also a nurse) flew into town to spend the previous days with g-ma while my mom and aunt worked. The morning she died, my mom and aunt who were scheduled to work visited her before their shifts. They were there to hold her hands and cradle her head before she passed. The charge nurses let my mom and aunt go for bereavement, no questions asked. I think the compassion and understanding this particular hospital is amazing. Everytime gma was in hospital, they were able to get coverage. I am not done with school yet but I am trying very hard to get a job here as soon as I graduate because I hear this place treats their nurses very well.

So sorry for you loss OP, I can understand the anger. I am angry with myself for not being at the hospital when my grandma died.

DizzyLizzyNurse

1,024 Posts

Specializes in Peds Medical Floor.

Every facility has emergency procedures for known unknowns of fires, weather, etc. Why not for staff emergencies?

Exactly.

Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.

I am SO sorry for your loss. I had a similar situation some time ago. The charge nurse redivided my load and I was pretty well caught up, but she was like "well, can u do a little of this stuff early before u leave, are u sure u can't stay a little while longer?" ect.

I had to chase 1 nurse down that was actually hiding from me to not get report. It does happen more often than it should, but I'd hate for u to quit now, may be good to give them a little longer. Hugs to u!

Anne, RNC

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