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Discussion

Did I do something wrong as a sitter?

I'm a nursing assistant in a hospital. I picked up extra hours after my shift to break sitters for their breaks. I went to break a sitter. The patient (74 yo male) was sitting on the side of the bed eating. He got up suddenly and his butt was facing away from the bed. He was not wearing pampers nor any underwear. Just a gown. I grabbed him hard so he didn't fall. I told him to sit down on the bed while grabbing him and he was yelling at me to let go. His sister was in the room and she was yelling at me to stop grabbing him. He laid down on the bed and took off the pads underneath him. He and his sister told yelled at me not to grab him ever. I told them I didn't want him to fall. But they said still don't grab him. Had I not grabbed him he would've fallen and there was a pole and drawer behind him. The sister went out and told the clerk that I shouldn't grab him. The clerk came in and said she was just making sure you didn't fall. They didn't want me in the room so I stood outside until the sitter came back from break. I can hear them talking about me. I told the nurse what happened. He said it's fine, don't take it personally because that's why he needed a sitter. For agitation, pulling on things etc. 

But I'm just shaken up because they were staring at me and saying is she going to stay with me all night. Geez. You're too aggressive. I just felt like they didn't understand why I grabbed him. Do I not and let him fall??? I just feel a little upset about it...

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    • Experts

    Yeah, you might have come in a little hot but I guarantee you if he had fallen the family would have raised all kinds of holy hell. You're in a "damned if you do damned if you don't" situation. Let it go. You'll be fine. They'll get over it. 

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    Sweetme2 said:

    But I'm just shaken up because they were staring at me and saying is she going to stay with me all night. Geez. You're too aggressive.

    Let it roll like water off a duck's back.

    3, 2, 1.....gone.

    Sometimes it's possible to recover a situation like this with a bit of charm/extra smiling, "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to startle you! [smiles] It looked like you were about to fall! Let's get you settled back in...."

    If they still don't accept it that's on them.

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    • Experts

    Once rule of thumb which is prudent to always inform the patient of any "hands on" actions. It didn't matter to me if the patient was psychotic or demented, I voiced my intent or actions for the patient, standbys, and for my own focusing.

    Now, in your case Sweetme, immediate action was necessary and there may not have been opportunity, so we do what we need to in order to assure the patients safety. Heck, I remember one time throwing myself on the floor in order to be a buffer for a falling patient. There was not time for me to say, "I am now going to throw myself on the floor in order to be your buffer, thereby decreasing the chance of injury".

    Also, if we remember the two basic emotions that we all feel is love and fear, it heightens our understanding of why individuals react as they do. The patient was experiencing fear over being seemingly accosted upon, and the sister acted out of love for her brother along with a similar fear.

    Emotional reactions are often not based in fact or logic, and we just have to deal with the sometimes-inappropriate emotional reactions of others.

    The bottom-line, Sweetie, is that you did your job, acted on behalf of the patient and, most likely, was unfairly scrutinized.

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    Wuzzie said:

    Yeah, you might have come in a little hot but I guarantee you if he had fallen the family would have raised all kinds of holy hell. You're in a "damned if you do damned if you don't" situation. Let it go. You'll be fine. They'll get over it. 

    100%. And I love how you phrased it— "come in a little hot.”  I'm guessing you lunged at the patient with a look of panic on your face, and it scared them. Okay, well, you're a human being! The fact that you were afraid for him, and you reacted FAST means that you are a caring nurse. 

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    I agree with damned if you do damned if you don't. Please know that as a nurse, assistants are so important to us. I value you and all that you do to make our patient care the best it can be ? 

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    Wuzzie said:

    Yeah, you might have come in a little hot but I guarantee you if he had fallen the family would have raised all kinds of holy hell. You're in a "damned if you do damned if you don't" situation. Let it go. You'll be fine. They'll get over it. 

    ?  Absolutely !  

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    • Guides

    You did nothing wrong because you acted to keep the patient safe. A more suble approach may have been prudent but you don't have that experience yet and you did fine. Don't worry overmuch.

    Hppy

     

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