Confidentiality

First names are typically more common than the last name, and it's the best you can do in the situation. At least by saying "Mary? Are you in any pain?" you're not saying "Mrs. Jones", which provides a last name to hunt in a phone book, not to mention would give the detail that the pt. is married.

Referring to "Dr. Smith's patient" provides privacy as much as possible in the situation, and much better than calling the pt. "the lap chole" (ticks me off when i here that)

Referring to a patient as "Dr. Smith's patient" doesn't help much if there are three of Dr. Smith's patients in PACU at the same time. That's just an error waiting to happen. You have to make sure your patient is properly identified for labs, X-Rays, etc.

I'm much more concerned about privacy issues when allowing family members into PACU than I am by a sedated patient overhearing another patient's first or last name.

I too agree with JWK. I feel safety is the primary issue here. However it depends on who I am discussing the patient with. The PACU is the only area in which I address the patient by their given name. At all other times I address them by their surname until or unless they give me permission to call them by their first name. If I am speaking to another nurse or doctor I will give the patients full name and procedure but not so loud so that the entire room has to hear. I like many of you I'm sure have been a patient in the PACU and I can remember perhaps a few minutes of it and barely that.

So, basically you are saying it is ok to use the first name in the PACU where there are other pts in close hearing distance. We have very FEW family visits so we don't worry on that aspect. Thanks.

Hi Sharann, I agree with carcha. Most of our patients tend to be too drowsy or more concerned with their own treatment to worry about the person in the next bay. We have a system that the patients preffered name is on the front of the theatre documentation and about 98% of our patients do prefer to be called by their first name. We only allow the parents/carers of paeds. into the recovery room or very occasionally translators and then the curtains are pulled around that particular patient to maintain the confidentiality of the other patients. The surgeons are usually the worst culprits for shouting out a patients full name across the unit when they bring down the medical notes.