Downtime in the home??

[latebloomrn]

HI all-

Im new to this website, and Private Duty Nursing, coming from ICU nursing, but excited about the switch as I am returning to school online and needed the flexibility to make that happen. What I am wondering is what do other PDN's do while your patient is sleeping ? I have a 9 month old baby on a trach and G-tube which keeps me busy , but while my patient is sleeping what is "acceptable" or allowable for me to do after cleaning and charting have been completed? I dont want to appear bored, nor do I want to seem like I am not paying attention to the child if I am reading or online doing classwork or something...any advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

latebloomrn

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

I do a lot of reading during downtime. I knit also. I haven't had any complaints. The patient's family will understand that children sleep. Usually when I start a new case I don't whip out the needles straight away but once the family is used to be and see I provide quality care then it's not a problem.

When you think of private duty nurses in a historical context don't they always depict us with a book or knitting?

My current case I have a more active child with less naps but I still read while he plays. I keep the book in my lap while I keep an eye out. Pt also has a trach and GT. I will be returning in fall to school also to finish my RN and have found my pt's family very supportive.

[caliotter3]

When I work night shift I tend to keep my activities out of sight of the family even when they say it is ok. When I was in school, I tried to study; I read, do my checkbook, look at my mail, watch TV if ok with family. Anything personal takes a back seat to something for the case. I keep the paperwork up to date, clean equipment, staighten the room, fold and put away laundry, tidy the area. If ok with family, will use laptop to look up meds, and info about the case. But keep laptop use to a minimum. And I always ask the family what is acceptable to them as far as my activities that may not be directly related to the patient. If you ask first, they usually say it is ok, as long as you do what needs to be done for the patient first, which, of course, is common sense.

[liveyourlife747]

our families that we have are very open to what you do in the free time as long as their child gets the proper care. most nurses bring their laptops to atleast 2 of our clients homes because there is just so much down time (these kids are in their teens and want their space) i also read, watch tv if the family is ok with it, do schoolwork when i was in school, i even did my online class work, especially when i was doing more night shifts. if the child is awake and a little one, i am close by and playing with them whenever they are interested, but i have got to keep an eye on them at all times because they can get into things really fast if they are mobile!

and i have to agree with the others saying "feel out the family." you have to know what is ok with the family and what they would feel would be wrong. take cues about what they are doing around the child, like the ones that we take the laptops to, their parents are normally on the laptops when we are there.