What is it with nurses and cell phones? Just a vent.

Nurses Professionalism

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Recently my hospital has upgraded or introduced multiple new computer programs that have required almost every level of nurse from bedside to administration to attend class in order to use the new technology. I have assisted in teaching numerous classes and before each we ask that cell phones be silenced and put away, that if anyone must make or take a call or text to please exit the room and return when done, and not to text while in class or you will be asked to leave. Despite this every class we have multiple violators and the majority when asked to leave are not embarrassed but become angry when asked to follow rules and be respectful of educators and classmates. I can't say it's any one age group since I've had 22 year olds to 70 year olds as the culprits. Sometimes I just have to shake my head at what passes for professionalism these days. This is just a vent, not looking for validation. Have a great day!

Yes, and as Super Mom you could have saved the day and avoided the hospital visit IF ONLY YOU'D RECEIVED THAT TEXT THE SECOND IT CAME IN!!!! I bet your child would have thought you'd abandoned her if you'd have showed up at the ER 10 minutes later just because you couldn't get your text when you wanted it!

I guess I'd have felt like my mom when she came back from a dinner date with my dad to find that the neighbors had taken me to the ER for falling out of a treehouse. I was 11. They weren't at the ER with me for like an hour and a half. I'm 37 now and still emotionally scarred from that. I totally hate my mother for it. I bet I'd be a better person if we'd had cell phones back then and she could have gotten to me sooner.

Please people, get real.

I'm not saying an ER visit would be avoided, but I don't want my child to be there without me for any length of time. Im not a new mom, mine are 10,7 & 5 so I definitely know how to weed out the emergencies from the nonsense and I always quickly assess my texts. My kids and husband also know to only text if something is wrong so the odds of me getting a text are slim, knock on wood.

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My goodness...leave your names please, I don't want you as my nurse or my employees if you can't detach from your kids for 2 hours.

Anyone remember the days when all of your self-worth wasn't associated with your progeny?

It's not a detaching problem at all. It is simply keeping the lines open if needed. My mind is always where it should be!

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I had a professor that had the best solution. If a cell phone went off in class, the offending person had to SING their ringtone.... all of it. I saw many students have to get up and sound utterly ridiculous in class. And he didn't care whether it was the middle of an exam or in regular class. The best ones were when they didn't have a ringtone but rather a siren or bell ringing. The sight of a person having to recreate a siren for a full minute was hilarious! All that being said, I had him for A&P 1 and A&P 2. In A&P 1, it happened quite a few times throughout the semester but by A&P 2, everyone figured it out and cellphones did NOT go off in class. Embarrassment is a powerful tool in preventing it from happening again!

(and for those that think it is mean, the students had the choice to either leave class immediately or sing the ringtone)

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No, it's so great. A patient that is on their cell phone during an appointment obviously doesn't need/want to be there and is wasting the NP or doc's time.

Actually, due to extremely LONG wait times in Canadian ER's, I was using mine to keep in contact with loved ones who were worried. That, and when I was the only person in there at 9 o clock at night, and was made to wait three hours just to have my vitals taken, obviously the doc didn't care too much about wasting my time.

And yes, when my vitals finally were taken, I looked around. I was the ONLY person there. The ER doc and the 5 nurses on duty were standing around socializing.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

I won't answer my cell phone if out in public- yes, I'll reach for it to quiet it, but I'm not going to answer it while standing in line at the grocery store unless it's that really annoying ring tone assigned to the hospital and I'm on call. During an appointment? Why would anyone even at least not silence it if not completely turned off? I don't get the need for being connected 24/7/365. The world won't end if you wait until your break/lunch/after class/after the appointment to check your phone!

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I had a professor that had the best solution. If a cell phone went off in class, the offending person had to SING their ringtone.... all of it. I saw many students have to get up and sound utterly ridiculous in class. And he didn't care whether it was the middle of an exam or in regular class. The best ones were when they didn't have a ringtone but rather a siren or bell ringing. The sight of a person having to recreate a siren for a full minute was hilarious! All that being said, I had him for A&P 1 and A&P 2. In A&P 1, it happened quite a few times throughout the semester but by A&P 2, everyone figured it out and cellphones did NOT go off in class. Embarrassment is a powerful tool in preventing it from happening again!

(and for those that think it is mean, the students had the choice to either leave class immediately or sing the ringtone)

I'd think deducting a percentage of the student's grade for each time the cell phone went off in class would have taught them the lesson much faster....... I may become one of the world's least popular nursing instructors, but unless the school policy forbids it, that may be my plan once I finish my masters and start teaching.

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I'd think deducting a percentage of the student's grade for each time the cell phone went off in class would have taught them the lesson much faster....... I may become one of the world's least popular nursing instructors, but unless the school policy forbids it, that may be my plan once I finish my masters and start teaching.

Some students keep their phone in their pocket, on vibrate. And only answer when the instructor ISN'T talking. Would you deduct say 5% of a students grade if you passed by close enough to hear it vibrating in their pocket or bag?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
Some students keep their phone in their pocket, on vibrate. And only answer when the instructor ISN'T talking. Would you deduct say 5% of a students grade if you passed by close enough to hear it vibrating in their pocket or bag?

If it's loud enough to be heard, it's loud enough to be a distraction. When I was in nursing school, there were lockers outside the classrooms. The only things allowed inside the classroom: textbook, notebook/binder, writing implements, and (if the instructor was generous) a beverage that wasn't noisy (nothing with ice, no soda with that annoying fizzing sound every time the cap was removed). And if the instructor isn't talking but it's not a break, it's still class time. Students are paying lots of money for that instructor's time, and they deserve not to have it interrupted by others' rudeness.

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Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

I had a woman working for me back before cell phones were around. She had a rule for her kids: "Don't call me at work unless flames or blood are involved". I think this rule works quite well today. Somehow we survived for hundreds of years........

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.

I agree that it is ridiculous. We have 7 children, and I am unreachable during the business day unless someone is dead or dying, in which case someone can leave a message with my nurse and I'll get back to them. It is not necessary for me, or anyone else for that matter, to be tethered to a cell phone 24/7. The fact that some don't see how utterly unacceptable it is to take any call or text during an appointment is really unbelievable. People have no couth.

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Specializes in LTC and School Health.

I agree with the OP. I hate seeing people use their cellphone at work. I see it all the time with ALL staff, not only nurses. Young, old, new, veteran, I see it all. I hate it. I don't even use my cellphone while checking out at the grocery store, its' just rude.

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Specializes in Med Surg.

I'm just blown away by the number of people who can't trust their children's other parent. There are some much deeper issues than cell phones.

I still stand by my assertion that anyone on the phone during an exam doesn't need to be there. I just don't understand the rudeness present in today's society, I guess.

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