Not that it would be used for anything but an emergency, but how do you feel about being told that you may not carry your cell phone while working?
Even if it's off, even if it's on vibrate. Even if it's part of your PDA that helps you get your job done.
I kinda feel like I'm back in high school. All the "grownups" -- docs, managers, administrators -- may keep their cell phones. But I, a lowly staff nurse (middle-aged, educated, professional, and presumably with decent morals and good judgment), cannot.
I bring my cellphone to work. I keep it on silent in my pocket. I look at it when I am on break, when I get one. Most of the time, I am unable to tell whether I got a call or not because my phone doesn't have good signal while in hospital. My reasoning is paranoia...I have a child and I want to make sure that if there is an emergency, she or the person watching her can reach me. However, I don't approve of over excessive cellphone usage in the workplace. I posted before, that I've seen nurses use their cellphone in patient rooms by the window because that's where they get good reception.
I carry my phone with me at all times (just like everyone else). My husband is in Iraq and Im not gonna miss a call unless im in the middle of an emergency or something. My co-workers, boss etc all know this and completly agree and dont care. If my phone rings in a patients room and I am able to look at it I do - to see if its my husband.. If i have to look at my phone to see who is calling or leave the room to answer the phone, I will explain the situation to the patient or family and no one has ever cared.. 100% of people so far have understood my reason for carrying my phone with me at all times (at work or other places)..
Specializes in Med- surg, Amb. Surgery, Recovery Room.
i do carry my phone around -even though i'm not supposed to. it is in my pants pocket and on vibrate. all family members know to text me with any problems/emergencies and then i step in the bathroom or some out of way place to check it. i never check it in front of other staff, patients or families. if it is a problem the really needs to be addressed, i text back or go in the bathroom and call home or wherever..
i know it's against the rules; but personally, i don't care. i don't make a habit of it, i don't sit and chat and it never interferes with my patient care.
i am 52 years old and i feel i can make choices as to what is proper and what is not. i've raised 3 children, gotten my degree, am certified, and a darn good nurse.
if they want to "let me go" over a cell phone; so be it. i know i can get a job anywhere and be working the next day!
This is going to be an unpopular comment I am certain, but perhaps the reason that so many employers treat their staff as children is because of the childish attitudes I see demonstrated:
"The rules should apply to others, not me"
"I don't care what the rules are, I'm doing it anyway"
"I just sneak it in in my pocket"
"They can't make me!"
"My situation is special"
Sound like anyone's favorite adolescent?
A more appropriate response would be to work together with your fellow employees to present the reasons you feel the rule should be changed and parameters you feel appropriate to insure that it is not abused, and request a trial period to see if it impacts patient care.
This would be the professional way to address this issue.
A lot of people I know who carry their cells are less then descreet when they answer them. I've seen nurses texting away from the very publically visable nurses' station and fellow students pull theirs out in patient consultations. Very rude.
I dont' carry mine because I have enough crap in my pockets, and the way i look at it, if someone in the family has an accient or is deead, then they'll still be dead when I get to the phone on my break. Of course, for people with unwell children or the likes, I have no problem with it. I think it's all individual and common sense and professionalism usually prevails with most people and their cell usage in patient settings.
We recently had a policy that if any nursing staff was found talking on a personal cell during work hours they would be terminated. They did fire one nurse. I always keep mine in my locker but now we are treated like 2nd class citizens. It's okay for visitors to be answering and talking in plain site though in a telemetry unit with signs every where that say no cell phones in thevicinity to be used.
My facility simply states that cell phones may not be answered in common areas or patient rooms. We all adjourn to the lounge if we need to return a call. Mine is in my pocket, on vibrate. Since I work nights, it NEVER rings....lol.
However, a co-worker or two will talk on them right at the nurses station, so I am predicting a change in the policy soon.
Specializes in Med- surg, Amb. Surgery, Recovery Room.
"a more appropriate response would be to work together with your fellow employees to present the reasons you feel the rule should be changed and parameters you feel appropriate to insure that it is not abused, and request a trial period to see if it impacts patient care.
this would be the professional way to address this issue. "
this is to "bagladyrn":
i will keep it short and simple: the hospitals/facilities have their rules and it is a lot easier for them to enforce them than change them. i have worked in administration and found it extremely frustrating to abdie by their so called "better way to do things." believe me, i have enough experience in many areas of health care to know what is necessary and what is not. as someone posted earlier...the better way would be to concentrate on those that go against the grain and abuse the system than those that use it on occasion. it's easier to make a blanket rule than enforce it case by case.
"A more appropriate response would be to work together with your fellow employees to present the reasons you feel the rule should be changed and parameters you feel appropriate to insure that it is not abused, and request a trial period to see if it impacts patient care.
This would be the professional way to address this issue. "
Did management go through these long and lengthy steps with US when they started having problems with cell phone usage in the hospital? Nope. They simply made a blanket rule outlawing cell phones rather than addressing the few people that were causing the problem. They didn't tell us they were having issues with it and ask us for input on how to work it out. They simply put a new and unreasonable policy into play for everyone and told us to follow it. Now you want us to put all this time and effort into organizing a cohesive plan to counter their new policy? Sorry. We're too busy trying to take care of patients. It's a silent rebellion. Gotta go...my phone's ringing.
This is going to be an unpopular comment I am certain, but perhaps the reason that so many employers treat their staff as children is because of the childish attitudes I see demonstrated:
"The rules should apply to others, not me"
"I don't care what the rules are, I'm doing it anyway"
"I just sneak it in in my pocket"
"They can't make me!"
"My situation is special"
Sound like anyone's favorite adolescent?
A more appropriate response would be to work together with your fellow employees to present the reasons you feel the rule should be changed and parameters you feel appropriate to insure that it is not abused, and request a trial period to see if it impacts patient care.
This would be the professional way to address this issue.
I have another comment that I am sure is a unpopular attitude but that taking time to "just check" messages ,even tho it is against the rules, takes time from your work ,while you are just checking and then calling back because children don't know what snack to eat, ect Someone else has to answer your call lights, your beeping IV pump,and even give a pain medication. This seems a lot like leaving the unit for a "quick smoke"
Thank goodness we have had a smoke free hospital and campus for over
10 years. Coworkers, patients are left without help and care for those "just takes a sec"activities that last 10-15 minuets. Internet access was taken off the general floors a few years ago. So no more paid time to surf the net. Of course all pt's rooms were wired for wireless internet hook up (for costumer service )so now staff bring their own laptops. So no matter some people are always going to find ways to do what they want to and waste employers time and not give the best care or their whole effort to their job. Just my rant today!
I'm old enough to remember when people didn't have cell phones, and somehow we survived. Somehow all the mothers got the calls from their kids when they got home from school, somehow night shift moms were able to call their kids to wake them up, somehow we all got our emergency calls.
I'm very anti-cell phone while at work. I leave mine in my locker with the rest of my stuff.
If you could count on adults following the rules, or using some common sense, then I'd be o.k. with it. Too many people think they rules don't apply to them and they can do what they want, or they think it's not a big deal.
The problem with it being on vibrate is people answer them anyway.
I might make an exception to the cellphone/pda that is necessary for one's job.
There was a time when humans survived without phones at all. Or electricity or indoor plumbing...
For those of you who say that parents don't need to stay plugged into kids, and they should be able to call 911. In December my son was in a friends backyard, and he fell from a tree and broke his back in 4 places. He was telling his friend to call 911, and to call me. The friend was afraid to call 911 because he said when his mom got back from the store (she was gone for over an hour after my son fell) that she would be mad. Imagine if the friend had not have reached me. What if my son would have been forced to get up to make the call himself, or get help he might be paralyzed now. I was able to be reached, call 911, and go to my son. In the meantime I was able to direct him to remain still so no other damage was done to his back and neck.
I think its great for kids to be independent, but we are their parents, and they should always be able to reach a parent in case of emergency. I know we didn't have the technology to do that in the past, but thank god we have advanced so we do now.
NsgChica
140 Posts
I bring my cellphone to work. I keep it on silent in my pocket. I look at it when I am on break, when I get one. Most of the time, I am unable to tell whether I got a call or not because my phone doesn't have good signal while in hospital. My reasoning is paranoia...I have a child and I want to make sure that if there is an emergency, she or the person watching her can reach me. However, I don't approve of over excessive cellphone usage in the workplace. I posted before, that I've seen nurses use their cellphone in patient rooms by the window because that's where they get good reception.