Ok - Does any else have this problem? Visitors who think that visiting hours don't apply to them! They seem to think that when the announcement is made that visiting hours are over, it doesn't apply to them!
This is what happened tonight that has gotten me so steamed up!
I noticed at 2200 there was still a visitor in one of the rooms. (visiting hours ended at 2030). I mentioned it to a collegue. She said Yeah - I've told him to go and so did Jane. So, as I was "in charge" I went in and said politely, "Visiting hours ended at 8:30 - you have to leave now". He said "I am the husband, I am staying". I said "No, you are not. You have to leave now. You may have 5 minutes to say goodbye".
I notice that the roommate is looking upset about his continued presence. (note pt is here for rehab, is 1 week + postop fracture femur). Visitor says "No, I am staying". I told him if he did not leave in 5 minutes I would call security. He said he was staying because he was "the husband". I reiterated - "5 minutes, then I call security." I list reasons he cannot stay, (roommate, not req'd, etc etc) And left the room. He comes up to nsg station, says he is going and wants my name. I gave it, said I was in charge. He said he wanted to stay. I said No. He left.
As he was leaving, 2 more visitors for this same lady come in! I say - visiting hours over! Visitors hold up special food they brought in. I said "Fine - 2 minutes, then out. From now on - please respect visiting hours". Finally they all leave!
I go to check on roommate - she is all upset, stated she thought was so scared he was going to stay all night. (COPD pt, does not need this type of anxiety). I reassure her and tell her we will make sure he does not stay.
He'll probably report me tomorrow - fortunately, 2 nurses in nsg station say they have my back - I was polite, professional, etc etc.
But OH! These people just make me so mad!:angryfire
Sorry - this is longer than I intended, but dang, I feel better now!
So why is it okay on regular floors to have open visitation? Instead of dealing with "idiot families" of 1-2 patients they are dealing with 6-10 "idiot families". Do you think that doesn't piss off the floor nurses too? If families are willing to respect patients privacy, the staff's time and be respectful in general, visitation shouldn't be a problem anywhere in the hospital. The problem is that most people aren't and most management doesn't allow this to be addressed and corrected. Just my .02.[/quote']
It's ok with me cause I don't work med/surge floors and ya'll can do whatever you want to do as far a visitation. I just know in the units I work at and with most critical care nurses in general prefer closed units compared to open door units. As far as idiot families go, I suggest deal with them best you can, I just lock the door on them.
I agree visiting hours on a non-critical unit with shared rooms is needed, as certain care i always try to plan during times when privacy is a little more assured...bath,extensive dressing changes,etc. But I do remember one case when no one on the floor had the heart to make this 1 husband leave, and we actually rearranged rooms so he and his wife had a private and he could stay,she was 98 and he was 99 and they had been married 70 years and had NEVER spent a night apart!!! So yes, we did bend some rules to accomadate them as I was honestly concerned that having them spend the night apart was more then they or their hearts could handle....she was in for observation having had some palpatations and dizziness....ain't love grand???:loveya::1luvu:
You all have just opened my eyes to what sounds like a mess (sometimes). I am just a student and I don't start clinicals until August so I've not witnessed visitors in my area yet, but from the sounds of it, it won't always be pretty.
I just can't imagine behaving this way in the hospital. I've been a visitor before and I wouldn't even fathom asking for blankets or food! What do these people think?? Why do we accomodate these requests for the visitors? When my family members visited my mother and got hungry, we went to the cafeteria or vending machines. Why should anyone cater to us, we are not the patient! What makes these folks think that they should be waited on if they aren't the patient? And WHY do we cater to them and perpetuate the idea that this is how they'll be treated in the hospital as a guest? It's one thing to cater to the patient, they are stuck there in the bed and can't just get up and get their own snack or whatever, but why are we catering to families? They have legs...go get your own snack or jacket if you are cold or whatever.
The thought of catering to visitors makes me angry. Doesn't that cost the hospital money that they don't recoup from insurance? Wouldn't that be a great way to save money? It just seems so unnecessary and telling a visitor that they must get their own comfort measures seems like a logical, easy fix to this problem. What administrator in their right mind would discipline a nurse for telling a visitor where they can get what they need, rather than providing it for them? I can understand not being rude and giving good "customer service", but this is overboard and it sounds like something I'll be frustrated about when I start working some day.
What do these people think?? Why do we accomodate these requests for the visitors? When my family members visited my mother and got hungry, we went to the cafeteria or vending machines. Why should anyone cater to us, we are not the patient! What makes these folks think that they should be waited on if they aren't the patient? And WHY do we cater to them and perpetuate the idea that this is how they'll be treated in the hospital as a guest?
Shanyone
Because if you not, they'll complain about it in Press Gainey, and you'll be written up for bad customer service. Welcome to the real world of nursing.
All that being said, if 5 people are in there with there shoes off their stinky feet being loud that is one thing, but if someones husband wants to stay with their wife I don't see anything wrong with this. As long as he is quiet and respectful of the other pt in the room I don't think it is our place to say he must go. They might have never spent a night apart, and I don't want to be the one that separates them for no reason, other than "policy".
I know my dad, after his MI, would have been much better off in the ICU with my mom with him all night. He was very scared and nervous and all he wanted was mom. They weren't letting her in until morning........and he suffered all night because of this "policy". He didn't let her out of his sight for weeks after! I think it should be a case by case deal, IMO.
i think that there is a very good reason besides policy to have set visiting hours with no overnight stays in semi-private rooms. dignity and modesty and feeling of safety for the roommate. i don't think it is fair to expect another patient to feel totally ok sharing a room with their roomie's visitors, esp visitors of the opposite sex. what if the roommate has a trauma history? i know that i would be EXTREMELY opposed to being forced to share a room with a stranger of the opposite sex. it is up to us to advocate for all of our patients privacy, dignity and safety. and if that means that the husband/wife sleeps in the lounge, then so be it.
what if it was you who had to use the commode with so and so's hubby on the other side of the curtain?
private rooms can be appropriate for 1 overnight visitor. and my facility's policy allows for unrestricted visiting for the dying pt.
You all have just opened my eyes to what sounds like a mess (sometimes). I am just a student and I don't start clinicals until August so I've not witnessed visitors in my area yet, but from the sounds of it, it won't always be pretty.
I just can't imagine behaving this way in the hospital. I've been a visitor before and I wouldn't even fathom asking for blankets or food! What do these people think?? Why do we accomodate these requests for the visitors? When my family members visited my mother and got hungry, we went to the cafeteria or vending machines. Why should anyone cater to us, we are not the patient! What makes these folks think that they should be waited on if they aren't the patient? And WHY do we cater to them and perpetuate the idea that this is how they'll be treated in the hospital as a guest? It's one thing to cater to the patient, they are stuck there in the bed and can't just get up and get their own snack or whatever, but why are we catering to families? They have legs...go get your own snack or jacket if you are cold or whatever.
The thought of catering to visitors makes me angry. Doesn't that cost the hospital money that they don't recoup from insurance? Wouldn't that be a great way to save money? It just seems so unnecessary and telling a visitor that they must get their own comfort measures seems like a logical, easy fix to this problem. What administrator in their right mind would discipline a nurse for telling a visitor where they can get what they need, rather than providing it for them? I can understand not being rude and giving good "customer service", but this is overboard and it sounds like something I'll be frustrated about when I start working some day.
Shanyone
Asking for blankets and food? I wish it were that simple lol.
Had a family once bring in grocery bags, and proceed to empty our kitchen of soft drinks, snacks, etc. They even took tube feeding formulas... and got all ticked off when they were told they could not take our patients food.
One of my favorite "I hate people" stories:
I was at the desk, taking off orders and doing some paperwork when the call light went off. A voice on the other end said "sorry, that was a mistake!" Which happens, except that the light was to a room at the end of the hall that was blocked due to a plumbing problem. It was the middle of the night, so I walked down to see what was going on. I opened the door and literally just stood there for a moment totally dumbfounded.
There had to have been at least 8 to 10 people in there; family members from one of our patients. I always check empty rooms, but never went to this one because it was marked as being shut down. These people had dragged in chairs from other rooms and the lounge. Patient recliners, etc. They were stretched out the on the floor on couch cushions, watching TV. All the way across the window sill was a buffet set up for them to graze as they partied the night away.
I regained my voice, and said "you all need to leave this room please". I was nice, probably because I was so stunned. They got in my face, nasty and telling me what did it matter, it was an empty room we weren't using anyway. I again told them that they would have to leave immediately. They hollered at me, got nastier, and said they were staying. I told them I'd would notify the supervisor and security if they refused to leave "...and by the way, the reason the room is not in use is because raw sewage over-flowed from the toilet and has contaminated the entire room."
The look on their faces was priceless. (especially those biting into their food lol)
I was reported to administration for telling them they had to leave that room. Part of me wished I'd let them stay, knowing why the room was closed--- but then I'd probably have ended up with them as patients infected with ecoli :angryfire
i think that there is a very good reason besides policy to have set visiting hours with no overnight stays in semi-private rooms. dignity and modesty and feeling of safety for the roommate. i don't think it is fair to expect another patient to feel totally ok sharing a room with their roomie's visitors, esp visitors of the opposite sex. what if the roommate has a trauma history? i know that i would be EXTREMELY opposed to being forced to share a room with a stranger of the opposite sex. it is up to us to advocate for all of our patients privacy, dignity and safety. and if that means that the husband/wife sleeps in the lounge, then so be it.
what if it was you who had to use the commode with so and so's hubby on the other side of the curtain?
private rooms can be appropriate for 1 overnight visitor. and my facility's policy allows for unrestricted visiting for the dying pt.
I've had nurses tell me that they would just ask the other patient if they minded if Mr. so and so stayed... the problem I have with that is that the patients most likely to be concerned about the situation are going to be the ones most timid about voicing their objections.
And the hospital (and nurse!) need to consider their own liability should something happen.
"What would a reasonable nurse do?" Does that still apply? If so, then it would be damned hard to defend that decision. Especially in a male visitor/female patient scenario. And keep in mind nothing actually has to occur; all that person has to do is make a complaint that it did. What if it's a confused roommate totally fabricating an assault?
I say - visiting hours over! Visitors hold up special food they brought in. I said "Fine - 2 minutes, then out. From now on - please respect visiting hours". Finally they all leave!
:1luvu:
BULLYDAWGRN, RN
218 Posts