Cellphones

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Recently at my facility, cellphone use while working on the floor with the residents have become an issue with me. Our facility's policy states no cellphone use inside of the building. Well, this didnt stop anything everyone and their brother has their cellphone in their pocket and answering it no matter what they could be doing at the time? I personally dont have a cellphone for any other use than an emergency at which I keep it in my glove box of my car. It's just down right ridiculous how many nurses and staff use them while assisting residents etc. I finally had it when a nurse I asked to help me change an incontinent resident answered her cellphone and proceded to chat with the party on the other end !while we were taking care of this patient! I immediately demanded that she call the person later that this took priority! She said okay, but this didnt stop her using the cellphone later on when she was with residents. What do you think?

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Specializes in ER, Med Surg, Endoscopy, Telemetry.

i think it is unprofessional, can be a privacy issue, and sounds like a real problem at your facility that mgmt. needs to address.

i agree with you-it is ridiculous and i say you go girl for telling the person helping you to hang up! :monkeydance:

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Specializes in NICU.

No kidding. When I was in my 1st semester of NS (in 4th now) I was doing my OR obsevation day. Well, the surgeon is doing his thing and his cell rings. The circulating nurse had it and answered it, told him it was so & so. He grabs a sterile towel and then takes his cell phone from the nurse. I thought man this must be pretty important for a surgeon to stop operating to answer a phone call.....wrong, it was a friend of his and he was talking about an upcoming trip to florida. I couldn't believe it. He finished about 5 minutes later, gave the phone back to the nurse and continued operating. I asked the nurse if he was breaking sterile field and she said no because he used the sterile towel to hold the phone and then threw the towel away when he was done. That kinda made sense to me at the time but looking back, if I was that circulator I may have answered the phone for him but wouldn't have handed it to him Sheesh people, could that not have waited?

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Specializes in Surgical Intensive Care.
No kidding. When I was in my 1st semester of NS (in 4th now) I was doing my OR obsevation day. Well, the surgeon is doing his thing and his cell rings. The circulating nurse had it and answered it, told him it was so & so. He grabs a sterile towel and then takes his cell phone from the nurse. I thought man this must be pretty important for a surgeon to stop operating to answer a phone call.....wrong, it was a friend of his and he was talking about an upcoming trip to florida. I couldn't believe it. He finished about 5 minutes later, gave the phone back to the nurse and continued operating. I asked the nurse if he was breaking sterile field and she said no because he used the sterile towel to hold the phone and then threw the towel away when he was done. That kinda made sense to me at the time but looking back, if I was that circulator I may have answered the phone for him but wouldn't have handed it to him Sheesh people, could that not have waited?

WOW! That is super unprofessional. When I was in the OR with 2 surgeons in school, one of their phones rang and he had me get it out of his pocket, answer it, and tell his 4 year old son that "your daddy is helping someone, but he will call you back when the person is all better." I thought that was both appropriate and sweet. I HATE cell phones. I do have one and talk on it at times, but if in a store or anywhere I must communicate with people, I simply ask the person on the phone to hang on, set the phone on the counter, talk with the clerk or whomever, finish my business, and then carry on with the phone conversation AFTER I have given the person my full attention.... I think it's only appropriate to give a person your full attention when they are waiting on you. Remember the golden rule....

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, Emergency, SAFE.
I asked the nurse if he was breaking sterile field and she said no because he used the sterile towel to hold the phone and then threw the towel away when he was done. That kinda made sense to me at the time but looking back, if I was that circulator I may have answered the phone for him but wouldn't have handed it to him Sheesh people, could that not have waited?

This is SUCH a pet peeve of mine in the OR. The towels (at least in my facility) are not impervious (unless theyre paper), making what that surgeon did probably contaminate himself and then the field. The surgeons here use them, to fix their glasses, adjust headlights, and grab random unsterile stuff, including phones. :angryfire That is contamination!!

Sorry to hijack the thread..:) lol

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

Geez, it doesn't matter where it happens, it's just so RUDE!! If I need to catch up with someone or take care of a business thing...I'll use the landline, when there are NO call lights going off and nothing upcoming/scheduled...usually if I'm charting..or if it's the 11P-3A downtime..where almost everyones sleeping.....

I figure we're there to work, so do your job.....Cellphones are so risky and I know a girl from NS who got fired because she took a picture of her friend on her cell phone...in the break room! NO cellphones on property means just that......

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:angryfireI hate it when I see nurses where I am at using them when they are on the floor!!! I think it is very unprofessional. It makes us look bad. We have a nurse here who has been told numerous times and nothing has been done about it. She even uses it when she is passing meds!:trout:Talk about increasing your chances of making a med error.:uhoh3: What are some people thinking? Anything????

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Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.

I've noticed this in our unit. I feel extremely hypocritical to tell parents/familes that they can't use their cellphones when I know good and well a good number of our nursing staff have them in their pockets. I see a lot of text messaging going on at the desk. I think this issue is being addressed. This just really gets under my skin in a big, big way!!!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho.

I think cell use during working hours is totally out of line unless you facility has them for nurses use in patient care. I found 2 of our CNAs in the linen closet one evening texting their boyfriends and that did it for me. I have no patience for them during working hours. We have land lines in the unit that can be used and that is all that should be used for personal calls while on duty. IF you have to take a personal call, thats another issue in my book.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Personal phone calls of any kind are not allowed in the workplace unless it is an emergency situation. We're there to work, not jabber on the phone.

When I went back to work years ago when my kids were young, I stressed upon them to only call me at work if there were an emergency. My son who was about 7 or 8 at the time called me at work. When I reminded him about the 'emergency' rule he said, "But, Mom, this IS an emergency. We don't have any potato chips!!!"

No cell phones on the units are to be answered while taking care of patients.

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

Break times or meal times, fine, but not otherwise. I work in a clinic and it got so bad that the manager finally had to address it. (And specifically say that cell phones need to be on vibrate!!)

The very few times I was expecting an important call (usually family matters) I have excused myself and apologized and stepped out of the room very briefly. Of course the phone was on vibrate.

I pretty much hate cell phones anyway. I get really, really tired of being forced to hear the trivial details of other people's lives and don't care to have people listening to my business, either. I also don't really like being totally accessible 24/7/365 and frequently will use my voice mail to screen my calls.

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Specializes in peds and med/surg.

I work in another county and 4 cities over, so any calls I have to make are long distance (which I can't make from the one land line we have at our nursing station), and it is also difficult for others to call me if they need for this reason. I carry my cell phone on vibrate in my pocket in case someone needs for one of my kids. I let it vibrate and when I am done doing what I am doing, I'll go somewhere and see what it was. Occasionally, I'll use it to check in with my kids, especially if they are sick at the time while on my morning or lunch break. One time however, my father in law called me late in the morning, which he never does b/c he works nights so I knew something was really wrong, so I excused myself......my nephew had been rushed to the hospital for emergency brain surgery due to a tumor that was just found!!! It was a rare tumor and usually fatal. I knew it had to be something. That is the only call I have ever just taken at work.

My nephew is better now, it was touch and go for awhile and he spent a lot of time in ICU, and is now having some extensive treatments.

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