Do nurses get mad when..

When they get out of control or loud, or won't get out of the room for procedures, yeah.

Only when they get in the way or disturb the roomie

Our limit is two in my facility, most of us do not mind three but when you have like five or six then it gets annoying because our rooms are tiny and its hard enough to maneuver without visitors.

Btw. Our unit used to be single patient rooms and admin decided that by adding an extra overhead light it would magically make the rooms double patient occupancy.

If I can't walk in the room, or care for my patient because of the number of people, then yes it is a problem. I shouldn't trip over family to get to grandma. My two cents.

Or if there are babies/small children running amok.

Or when the bevy of family members expect me to wait on them as though they were bedfast patients, then I start having a tad of a problem.

I know I get upset when there are lots of people in the room and I can't get to my patient. If I have to keep saying "excuse me" to get to the pt, I just want to scream sometimes.

It's just hard to give good care with lots of people standing in the way.One time, we had a pt going bad, and the family was standing around in the way while everyone is rushing in trying to bring the crash cart in. It was a big mess. We normally have a limit of 2 at a time. But sometimes a nurse lets it slides for a bit, and the family takes advantage of it.

I have no problem if the family is behaving themselves, and if I don't have to trip over 3 kids on the way to the patient....most family members are understanding enough, that they move if they see you need to get by the patient....If the kids are being loud, disrupting roommate, if I see kids in the hall misbehaving....I have been known to ask "where is your mom or dad?" They take me right to the room, and I say "ok, the kids have to stay here with you now....this is not a daycare."

I see so many patients without any visitors or family members that it really makes me sad. I am not Hispanic, but my family is similar to the OP's. When one of us is in the hospital the whole crowd shows up. I think families are so important in helping with patient care. They often can help the patient bathe, eat meals, toilet, perform ADLs, etc. I think that our hospitals could do a lot more to make sure that families feel comfortable visiting. Obviously there are scenarios where it is inappropriate to have too many family members--ICU for example. But, for the most part I have no problem with visiting (and courteous) families.

If the patient isn't dying or in grave condition, it annoys me. A couple weeks ago I had to kick 16 people out of a room because even with the door closed they were keeping up rooms around them. It was 11pm and there were multiple toddlers there and everyone was making noise. They were NOT happy with me, but ya know, I have a job to do and a duty to my other patients.

On the other hand, i've also had large families in rooms and you really would have no idea anyone was there unless you looked. Absolutely quiet and polite and out of the way.

It doesn't bother me as long as they are respectful and allow me the space to do my work. Some patients take a great deal of comfort from being surrounded by their loved ones during a health crisis.

The ones that bug me are the ones that bring in fast food and scarf it down right there in the room, especially a double room. There are a lot of patients on dietary restrictions and/or NPO, and the smell of fast food really travels. I once had a patient who had to lie flat and was NPO for several hours following a procedure, and his wife sat right there at the bedside noisily crunching her Cheetos and licking her fingers. The poor patient was starving and couldn't have any. Not to mention that we are a cardiac unit, and fast food is one of the big reasons people end up there in the first place. Imagine the poor patient who's just had a heart attack and has just had their dietary consult, and the visitors for the patient next door are scarfing down Micky D's. Sometimes when I'm on hour six without having had a bite to eat and my blood sugar is in the gutter, I find it really insensitive for visitors to be sitting there chowing down.

I have a bigger problem with people who stock the room like it is their pantry. Cakes and food all over, everyone ELSE's drinks on the patient bedside table.

Personally I love having family at the bedside, and often I don't find them much of a burden.

Tait