I work in a LTC/ Skilled nursing facility, and i would like to hear some opinions about calling long-term residents "sweetie", "honey" or "hun", etc. This is the persons home, and calling them Mrs. or Mr. is textbook and so formal. Of course, i would ask "is it alright if i call you sweetie? or do you prefer Mr. or Mrs." because i customize my care to whatever they would desire.
So whats your opinions on this? (Keep in mind also that i live in the south-ish, FL, were this is common etiquette) :heartbeat i do find it to be inappropriate in acute care settings, because i don't know the person well
:redlight:I AM ONLY REFERRING TO LONG TERM CARE PATIENTS. thank you:redlight:
A patient that I work with likes to be called Gretchen. When I looked at her care plan it stated that when she met her late husband he told her that she looked like a Gretchen. The name has stuck since
I think it depends on the culture of your area. It's not really strange here. Everyone calls everyone "Dear." A lot of small old fishing or logging towns. It's a pretty small place and seems like everyone either knows each other or knows a friend or relative. Normal to hear a pt say "Now Dear... are my test results back yet?" or to hear a nurse say, "Now my doll... let me help you move up in bed." or even hear our local docs (man or woman) say, "My love, It's got you're results back." No disrespect is meant, and as far as I have seen non has been taken either!
i love Canada so much :heartbeat:heartbeat:heartbeat
I think it's splittin' hairs honestly. I call my residents either Miss Sally or John. Some days I call them hon, gramma (because that's what she calls herself to you), babe, darlin'. I would never say "now honey take your pills" that's just..*rolleyes*
Yeah maybe it's a Canadian thing......We routinely call our pts hon, dear, sweetie (some times young feller, if it's a male pt.I work in acute care but we still get to know our pts well and sometimes the pet names just slip out. I currently have a pt that we have known for years. She broke her hip so we have had her on the floor for almost 2 months. If you called her Mrs.____ she's tell you pretty quick her name is Bessie. We have recently had a pt who went by her nickname.If you called her by her real name she would ignore you. Lots of times I will go in their bell is ringing and ask"what do you need dear?". Our charge nurse is the champ at the cute names.
Specializes in L&D; GI; Fam Med; Home H; Case mgmt.
This is very much a "depends on the circumstances" situation. I find absolutes on this topic to be SO unrealistic. Of course, if you are not comfortable ever calling anyone "honey" or "sweetheart" or any other term of endearment, then by all means, don't ever do it! But there are definitely circumstances where I believe it is most assuredly appropriate depending upon the CIRCUMSTANCE and people involved! If you work in LTC and you get to know these people well and you really feel endeared to them and they are a-ok with being called these things (and I'm sorry, if they had a problem with it, you would know eventually) then what is the problem? I am reminded of a recent ER visit with my 13 year old son. He was there for a very personal issue. The triage nurse took one look at him, realized what his problem was, and said "oh sweetheart, don't worry. we will take really good care of you and give you all the privacy you need." When she left the room he looked at me and said "she is really good, huh?". She had immediately put him at ease with the way she addressed him. Now I'm not equating elderly clients with a 13 year old boy, but again, CIRCUMSTANCES.
I think if there's a local tendency to want to call people pet names, there's also probably a local tendency to accept being called those names.
That.
And:
That said, in LTC the care given speaks louder about the respect and dignity given the residents, more than any silly name.
Someone said it's annoying to hear things like, "Now take your pill honey" in a condescending way. It's not the "honey" that makes it condescending, it's that it's said in a condescending way.
I grew up elsewhere and would NEVER have said honey and sweetie. But I moved here, and well, as my husband says, I could now be a Waffle House waitress. They are the true queens of "sweetie" and "honey" and "sugar pie" and all the wonderfully sweet names.
As someone else said, context. Like everything else in nursing, there really aren't (or shouldn't be) hard and fast rules.
My preceptor calls patients honey, sweetie, sweetheart etc. and it makes me cringe and hope the patients are hard of hearing.
Well you'll have a problem with me as your patient. You can call me honey. You can call me sweetie. You can call me the b word that rhymes with witch. But don't EVER call me "Mrs." When my husband got married, he didn't change from Mr. to anything else. When I got married, I didn't change from Ms. to anything else. (Ok, I did change my last name.) Mrs is a huge pet peeve of mine. IMO, it implies that marriage changes the type of respect due a woman in her salutation.
See my previous post. No hard and fast rules. CONTEXT.
We ask the resident and family what they like to be called. Simple and done.
Oh...it should be put on the care plan too. We had a resident that like to be called Gram or Gramma. State hit us for it because they though it was a dignity/ respect type of issue.
i have family in a dementia care unit. the decline was fast. it is heartbreaking to witness, he was the family patriarch as well as a beloved community leader.
i went to visit him and recall how good it made me feel when i heard staff address him as mr ______. it retains,for a ltc resident, what very well may be the last remaining shred of dignity . in fact, it might be even more important to honor dignity in ltc. it is good for the family to witness the honoring of their loved one's dignity.
Poi Dog
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A patient that I work with likes to be called Gretchen. When I looked at her care plan it stated that when she met her late husband he told her that she looked like a Gretchen. The name has stuck since