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Nurses General Nursing

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My husband and I have been having this discussion since my DR recently found a nodule on my thyroid. What do you think or what would DR's think of a spouse requesting to be in the operating room during a surgery? Do you think it is possible, have you ever had anyone request this. I know it is probably something that people just don't address with their DR's but my husband is adament about this stuff, not wanting if something should happen for me to be alone with strangers if i should pass away. Your thoughts and ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Here is my experience in the OR when my wife had her C-section. It had been a difficult, 36-hour labor, and other methods of inducing labor were not working. The doctor announced that he was proceeding with the section.

I quietly said that I was not leaving. Based upon the foregoing posts, I was being unreasonable, and I suspect that I was not thinking perfectly clearly. But, at that point, I was not going to leave the room under my own power.

So they brought me a gown and mask, and the doctor asked me to sit down at her head. I told him that that wasn't necessary (I have witnessed autopsies without incident), but the doctor told me that the last father who was "fine" fainted, hit his head and sued the hospital. So I sat down.

Soon our son was screaming lustily. He's 7 now. Seeing him before he had started to breathe, and then afterwards, was easily the most amazing experience of my life.

Specializes in medical/telemetry/IR.

But this is a thyroid nodule. Its going to the lab for testing.

I HAVE worked on the floor, for five years! I certainly don't need a new grad of less than a year to tell me what floor nursing is about!!

You and your DH seem to be the epitomy of what is wrong with today's society. Me, Me, Me!!! Everything is not about YOU!!!

Okay, now that I have that said, I would recommend you speak to an Infectious Disease MD or RN and have them explain to you why DH shouldn't be in the OR.

You know, when you first posted, I truly thought you were looking for advice. As this has gone on, I can see that you are only interested in what YOU want, and now you are angry because you didn't get the responses you were looking for.

How very sad it is that you sit and criticize those of us who gave you advice, you asked for. You don't know any of us, and you certainly are not in any position to tell us what kind of RN's we are. Oh, and by the way, be careful what you ask for, you just never know the day one of us may take care of you!!

Regardless of the outcome, my prayers are with you!

Ok i give up, cause i can see that I am not getting anywhere with the posters here and ultimately you don't have any say in anything just your opinions. So to all of you belittlers out there you are exactly the people that shouldn't be taking care of people, you do your job and that is it,which is fine but you don't deal with families or see the end result of your actions. I know you (whomever) will not care about what a patients outcome was post surgery and that is fine, maybe as you guys put I should come to the OR and observe, not that I haven't) but if you can to the regular floor you would see how much or how little family involvement is and what it means to a positive outcome, which is what we all want. Family involvement is encoraged and at times very required. As shazam states about sexual assault that is not likely to happen but I am sure somewhere in hx it probably has and I know what goes on saying about this and that about the person on the table. Some surgeons of cases i have been in on have had no conversations not even whispers just the task at hand. I know how nurses are or can be. Sure i would worry about privacy, but if its a private matter as all hospital visits should be it should be done in private or codes should be used. There are people that hear what is going on with others be it roomate or just passing by the nurses station at times it can't be helped you just hope the person on the other end has good judgement not to repeat what has been said. I recently had outpt testing and they use number to recognize the pt but while in radiology the techs just called out the person's name, what about their privacy? There is room for change in all areas, if people are willing to bend a little. Being a hospital employee dont you think you could get some perks.

I didn't mean what was really stated by saying I didn't want you taking care of me or others what i meant was you need to be a little more understanding and flexible to people's wishes, just one wish, not that of many. Yes, i did ask for your advice and i did most certainly get it but I didn't ask for everything else orginally, just asked if it had ever been approached in your facility or seen it? Didn't expect everyone to feel the same as me but didn't really expect so much criticism of myself and as a professional. This goes far beyond the text book stuff, it goes into what nursing should be "CARING" no flaming intended. Did any of you poster ever want to be in with a family or spouse, child just to allay your fears as well as theirs. To me it is not much to ask if the surgeon approves and DH sits there quietly just holding my hand behind the draping. SX wont take long probably under an hour total baring any complications all will probably be well.

To CCU RN, to correct your statement I am a RN never was a CNA(praise the lord for them) graduated May 2003, yes I am new but I have seen alot in the last year. I do a wonderful job caring for my pts as many as 15 at one time on a med/surg/tele/ortho/peds at a small hospital. I am now doing my dream job OB/GYN

I HAVE worked on the floor, for five years! I certainly don't need a new grad of less than a year to tell me what floor nursing is about!!

You and your DH seem to be the epitomy of what is wrong with today's society. Me, Me, Me!!! Everything is not about YOU!!!

Okay, now that I have that said, I would recommend you speak to an Infectious Disease MD or RN and have them explain to you why DH shouldn't be in the OR.

You know, when you first posted, I truly thought you were looking for advice. As this has gone on, I can see that you are only interested in what YOU want, and now you are angry because you didn't get the responses you were looking for.

How very sad it is that you sit and criticize those of us who gave you advice, you asked for. You don't know any of us, and you certainly are not in any position to tell us what kind of RN's we are. Oh, and by the way, be careful what you ask for, you just never know the day one of us may take care of you!!

Regardless of the outcome, my prayers are with you!

I really hate to tell you when you are a pt in the hospital it should be about ME ME ME, I am paying for your salary (inadvertently) and you are there to do a job and that is to care for ME ME ME, I am not asking you to drop everything to get me a Whopper at Burger king, just to do your job and care for ME the pt physically and emotionally.

Specializes in Case Mgmt; Mat/Child, Critical Care.

OMG, ktwlpn!! :chuckle You literally had me laughing out loud! I don't know, it just struck me as hilarious! Anyway, you're right, WAY more going on here than meets the eye.

Maybe, weeziern,you and your DH could go together to your doc and discuss your fears, together.I'm sure hospital staff and MD will do what they can to accommodate you, short of jeopardizing your care.

weezie-I so hope that you and DHglenn get your wishes and someday die in each others arms...that ain't very likely to occur naturally in real life but you can always have hope.You very respectfully asked for the board's opinion on this matter and then because it was not what you wanted to hear you and DH accuse the board of flaming you and being bad nurses...Any reasonable person can understand the problem with what you propose...As good nurses we KNOW that there is way more going on then what we see here-there are other reasons why you and your DH feel so strongly about your up-coming procedure...You need to talk to your doc about this-hopefully he can assuage some of your fears...

Just a guess but I think her husband is afraid she will be "violated" while under anesthesia.

No you see, as a pt, I am REALISTIC enough to realize that there are other pts than myself, and I wouldn't expect any 'special' treatment, or expect to have my RN kiss my butt for my every whim. I would however expect my basic needs be met compentently and courteously. And you, one pt, does not pay the salary of the RN's. You just reiteratd what I said before, "I'M paying your salary." Me, Me, Me, I, I, I.

You know, this whole thread has hit a nerve with me, so, I'm done with it!!

I really hate to tell you when you are a pt in the hospital it should be about ME ME ME, I am paying for your salary (inadvertently) and you are there to do a job and that is to care for ME ME ME, I am not asking you to drop everything to get me a Whopper at Burger king, just to do your job and care for ME the pt physically and emotionally.
No you see, as a pt, I am REALISTIC enough to realize that there are other pts than myself, and I wouldn't expect any 'special' treatment, or expect to have my RN kiss my butt for my every whim. I would however expect my basic needs be met compentently and courteously. And you, one pt, does not pay the salary of the RN's. You just reiteratd what I said before, "I'M paying your salary." Me, Me, Me, I, I, I.

You know, this whole thread has hit a nerve with me, so, I'm done with it!!

yes i am realistic enough to believe that i am not the only pt as well i know this for a fact but i do expect as everyone to have their basic needs met, pain mangement, toileting, diet and the ability of the nursing staff to be their to care for me, no "special treatment" just good quality nursing care. No matter what all hospitals are their for the pts from administration to nursing to housekeeping we all have a job to do, to provide safe high quality cost effective care to our pts. Bottom line. If it wasn't for nursing shortages we could do the little things for the pts backrubs etc and have time to sit with them to ease their fears and just listen. A lot of people are becoming very disheartended with their jobs and that is only going to increase. We all do our best hopefully to provide care. Please dont be offended by my comments camay you would want the same for yourself or family.

Actually, it IS all about you weezie. That's what I've been trying to tell you. The rules are what they are because it's all about you, the patient, and obtaining the best outcome. I too am bowing out of this thread. It has developed its own "Twilight Zone" feel to it. I find you a little spooky and your train of thought seems confused. Your husband writes exactly like you, syntax, punctuation, and all, could it have been you writing under his name? Please seek help to address the fears about your situation.

it's definitely strange that an rn cannot understand why her husband is not allowed in surgery.

it's bizarre.

i would think even an "average" person could understand that, once it had been explained. but why can an rn not understand?

~just don't get it~

:uhoh3:

yes i certainly understand the whole bit about the sterile field and infection control but you cant tell me that a lot of infections don't stem from the OR. With the rise of infections in hospital which a good portion being nonsocomial, so what if any likliehood would there be that much more of and infection rate just my hubby being there, i have lived with him for 13 yrs i cetainly know he is not harbering any organisms or infections

OH MY!!!! Weezie, if you really are a nurse--others have pointed out, and I tend to agree, that you certainly do not seem to have a good command of sentence structure, spelling, punctuation and grammar--you must be a VERY inexperienced one. Your nursing notes must get you called on the carpet frequently.

The CDC has gathered plenty of evidence that supports the fact--FACT, weezie--that nosocomial (now called hospital aquired) post-op infections are most often attributed TO POOR HANDWASHING AMONG HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS ON THE FLOORS!!!

We take sterility and the patient's safety very, very seriously in the operating room. It is not a nicety; it is our JOB. All patients get pre-op antibiotics and, if the surgery lasts long enough, intra-op antibiotics. We keep the traffic flow to a minimum in the room, unnnecessary personnel OUT of the room (HINT: YOUR HUSBAND'S PRESENCE IS NOT NECESSARY FOR THE DELIVERY OF DIRECT PATIENT CARE) and laminar flow going for continuous air exchange.

In the rare event that an infection is traced back to the operating room, it is a very, very serious event--a sentinel event. Autoclave logs for that day must be checked; entire loads of instruments might be pulled off the shelves; each person in the room that day is interviewed to try to track down what went wrong. I have seen people put on administrative sick time pending nasal cultures to find out if they were carriers of various strains of strep. Even housekeeping is interviewed. Incident reports must be filled out. Infection control gets involved. The CDC or OSHA may even come on board, as might JCAHO. That particular room might be quarantined, pending room cultures.

I actually have been in ORs where the mothers of babies and young children were allowed to come in just during induction and hold the baby or child on her lap. They leave immediately after the baby is rendered unconscious. I believe the babies probably do better; there must be studies supporting the practice, or they would not allow it.

You, weezie, are not a baby or a young child. You are a grown up, and supposedly a health care professional. For heaven's sake, act like one and realize that rules are in place for a good reason. If you are anxious, wear some headphones with soothing music as you drift off to sleep.

Can't resist one last comment--again, as others have pointed out, did you really think that any of us would buy the idea that DH Glenn was posting? How odd that his sentence structure, spelling, punctuation and grammar are JUST LIKE YOURS!! IDENTICAL, in fact!! Maybe that's what makes the two of you "soul mates?"

Nahhhh-- a more accurate description of you, and you alone, is "Norman Bates."

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