call lights

PhantomRN · Jan 27, 2002

Yep, do the same thing as Hugs. When I come on shift I always go to each of my patients and introduce myself, chat with them a few minutes, do a little teaching, ask if they have any questions about anything and tell them the plan that I have for the day for them ie. If they are on Q1hr neuros or whatever I let them know I will be in frequently and why. I also ALWAYS ask the elders if they have any special concerns EX. do they need to void frequently, do they have trouble pushing the call light.

Marijke · Jan 27, 2002

I agree with previous posts, talking to your patients and telling them what you are up to and what the plans are, does help a lot. I worked in a hospital in The Netherlands, which was designed by a nurse, they had a total different call system. It was connected to a pager system (on vibrating). You could program it in a way that you would get paged when one of your patients pushed the buzzer. So when one nurse was on a break he/she could either hand over the pager for the patient load or reprogram the system to add the patients to the other staff.

As a result, the units where very quiet, with no buzzers going, the patients got more rest and tended to call less. Have you ever noticed that when one patient calls a lot the other ones start it as well, just because the unit is very restless?

It was also a way to locate staff members if there was a phonecall for them or a docter needing to speak to them. I have never seen anything like it in other hospitals, which is a shame.

rainct · Feb 21, 2005

Im a new CNA and I have found that if I go and intro myself in the beginning of the shift it works too.

Glad to hear more ppl feel the same way.

Blackcat99 · Feb 21, 2005

We have a pt in LTC who is a neurotic call bell maniac. She is of course the last pt at the far end down a long hallway.
We are about to have her family speed-dial the nursing station phone # into the pt's phone. Way easier to just answer the phone and tell her yes we remember you exist than run to her room umpteen times.
Our call light system doesn't have PA :_(

We have one of those at the LTC. In addition to having her call light on all day and all night she now calls the nursing station constantly on her phone.

lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN · Feb 21, 2005

There's a special place in Hell for the person who invented the call light.

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Feb 21, 2005

we have a system where the call light rings to a "cell phone" that the tech uses. The tech then goes and answers the light. If it is a problem the tech cannot handle, then they call the RN and then she goes to the room and takes care of it.

perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2005

thisnurse I have noticed similar phenomena at other hospitals I've been at too... there are a few people who just can't hear or see those call bells! Poor things, such a disability...

Re: thisnurse post: "sometimes the call bells in our hospital are set so that the only one that can see or hear them is me. i know thats what is going on because if anyone else could hear or see them they would answer them. sometimes the other nurses and assistants are standing right under them. they just ring and ring. im finally glad i realized that this conspiracy was going on because it was getting really aggrevating there for a while."

NurseFirst · Feb 22, 2005

There's a special place in Hell for the person who invented the call light.

Awwww, lovingtheunloved, I expected better out of you, with a screenname like that!

I guess you've never been a patient in need of toileting and not in a position to be able to manipulate the monitors, pulse ox and IVs around her...(man, did it seem like I had to push that bell many, many times. That was in the ER; in the hospital itself I had great response, for which I was very, very grateful.)

NurseFirst

cabbage patch rn · Feb 22, 2005

Take care of your patients, anticipate their needs and the call lights will go off less.