I had a pt in the ED and the SO was a nurse but did not tell me that at first ,no big deal, and SO is asking me oh what are you hanging? Is it D5 or NS? I said LR knowing that the SO apparently was trying to hint that he/she was in the med field. Then con't asking q's which is fine then finally the SO said oh so&so's a nurse. I thought to myself no **** he/she's only been dropping not so suttle hints.
Okay that's fine if you are in the med field but do you have to make it a point to be known to me? I really don't care if you are or not your family member will be getting the same tx that the rest of my pt's do. Do you think that by saying you are a nurse or anybody in the med field that you will get better care than other pt's. Do you announce that you are a nurse to med staff when a family member is being tx for something? I don't.
It's really not that big of a deal but it just sort of annoys me because I'll do my job just the same not matter if your joe blow off the street or the hosp CEO.
if you have a family member in the hospital ask questions, be picky and a PIA, the nurse you have may be professional and good at the job but they may be slack and lazy
whether or not you want to folow up with your work status is up to you, it may keep staff on their toes
I don't like to annouce that I'm a nurse only because I don't want to be treated differently from anyone else. Sorry, but I feel like I'm one of those nurse-slash-family-members that is trying to throw their weight around. With that said, I'm planning on having weight loss surgery and my hospital has a dedicated unit for it. The unit happens to be right around the corner from the ICU I work in. And I know a ton of residents who are in their anesthesia rotation this month and i'm sure it will come out one way or another. But I don't want to be treated differently just because I'm a nurse.
Specializes in Trauma ICU, Surgical ICU, Medical ICU.
I have never really had any problems with being sick, I have rarely been in a doctors office for myself for anything other than a well-visit checkup. However, my husband is a different story. He ALWAYS tells the doc when hes in the hosp or when were at a clinic for him that I'm a nurse, and it kind of embarasses me. I wish he would'nt do that and I tell him time and time again but he always forgets lol.
Also, I work in ICU and I LOVE it when a family member is a nurse. A lot of what we deal with is end of life care and very sick people. Nurses and other medical professionals who have family members in the ICU can see more easily that things are going bad and are quick to make them a DNR so they do not suffer. It also makes it easier for the whole family and the families seem not to be as scared when they have a family member that can explain information to them. They know their family better than us and know how much the family can handle and how much they understand. Very few nurse family members throw their weight around in our area, and the care doesnt really change when I know someone is a nurse in our unit.
I did have one family member (a 'nurse', no idea what credentials, thats all she said) who decided the pt didnt need her IV and took it out while visiting. I wasnt too happy about that one lol.
i think it depends on the situation... sometimes it hurts more than it helps and vise versa.
when i was recently in the hospital in april, i was in the company of my mom (RN) and my fiancee (also RN). when the nurse came in to start my IV and take my history she asked what we all did. i told her i was a paramedic and mom/boyfriend were both nurses. after that, i didn't see her for almost 9 hours. i know i didn't need much, but she knew that since i was in the company of two RN's, i guess she didn't have to check on me. i saw her for the one med i asked for and she asked if i was more comfortable with one of them giving me my shot since she had so many other patients.. i felt kind of crapped on to be honest.
on another occasion, i was calling a patient to schedule her an appointment to come in for IV therapy. the first sentence out of her mouth was not hi, hello, how are you... it was "i'm an RN, you know." i know it's a great accomplishment, and it's something to be proud of... but i felt like she said it to intimidate me before we even began our conversation. i felt like since she wasn't going to infuse herself, it wasnt really necessary to make the statement that way....
When I'm in the hospital or MD's office with my elderly relative, I do not announce that I'm a nurse ... but it does become obvious from my questions. Not the writing-everything-down-in-a-notebook kind of questions, just using proper terminology, asking about lab values, etc.
when i was recently in the hospital in april, i was in the company of my mom (RN) and my fiancee (also RN). when the nurse came in to start my IV and take my history she asked what we all did. i told her i was a paramedic and mom/boyfriend were both nurses. after that, i didn't see her for almost 9 hours. i know i didn't need much, but she knew that since i was in the company of two RN's, i guess she didn't have to check on me. i saw her for the one med i asked for and she asked if i was more comfortable with one of them giving me my shot since she had so many other patients.. i felt kind of crapped on to be honest.
This nurse was out of line asking if a family memer could adminster the injection. 1. they did not draw up the med 2. they did not sign the MAR 3. they are not on payroll and can not document in the chart........:no:
This nurse was out of line asking if a family memer could adminster the injection. 1. they did not draw up the med 2. they did not sign the MAR 3. they are not on payroll and can not document in the chart........:no:
i know, it was bad business. my mom said sorry honey, as much as i would love to, i'm off the clock.....the nurse got almost huffy that she had to give me my phenergan with two nurses in the room.
I think it depends on the situation as well. Honestly most of the people I come into contact with at our hospital KNOW that I'm a nurse and my dh is an RT. So, they will cut right to the chase and not have to explain things in lay terms.
I had to go to genetic counseling with my last pregnancy and it was funny because they never asked us what we did for a living. They went on to explain how an ultrasound machine worked... I was like "are you kidding me" eventually I spoke up and said "I'm a nurse, I work in OB, I get it and my husband is in healthcare too" She talked much more at our level then.
What drives me crazy is when people say "Oh my sister's a nurse" and the sister shows up and says that she is and come to find out really she's an aide at the local LTC... I mean her expertise is hardly L&D. Call me crazy.
i know, it was bad business. my mom said sorry honey, as much as i would love to, i'm off the clock.....the nurse got almost huffy that she had to give me my phenergan with two nurses in the room.
Her pay was the same for the day right, why should the fact that 2 off duty non employeed rn's in the room make her job easier. If you were another pt without RN's she would have to give the injection. If take just as much time to give an IM injection as it is does to ask you for your consent and the family if they will do it. She still had to do the draw and documentation.
Heck, I even got a better explanation at the vet the other day when I told him I was a nurse!
This made me laugh - its so true!!
My dog had pancreatitis in March - normal treatment NPO and IV fluids.
Since the vet knew I was a nurse and we were discussing treatment, he let me take him home and do the care there - he was NPO for about 48 hours and had ice chips hourly, and was on Flagyl that I was allowed to give with about 1tbsp of wet dog food.
The emergency vet visit, bill, and labwork and new food switching to was almost 600$. Cant imagine what it would have been if I had to leave him there for IV fluids..
That was a time when the nurse card worked quite well..
But back to the OP:
I try to disclose it sometimes, but othertimes I'll let it slide. However, it usually comes out when they ask 'what do you do?'. I usually let it come out b/c I get annoyed that they arent listening to me at times, and then miraculously, they end up listening after they know im a nurse..
i think nurses are treated differently. not too long ago we had a patient that was a nurse, and the charge nurse put her in a private room as a courtesy type thing.
also... not too long ago my father had surgery. i was talking with the surgeon pre-operatively and i mentioned i was a nurse. i then asked him if he could tell the charge nurse to put my father in a private room, and he followed my request. i'm not sure if it was because i was an rn, or if he would have done it anyway
i did have one family member (a 'nurse', no idea what credentials, thats all she said) who decided the pt didnt need her iv and took it out while visiting. i wasnt too happy about that one lol.
oh *hell* nooooooo!!! see at that point, i would've had to report this person to the sbon immediately!!! like yesterday ~ she step wayyyyyy beyond her boundary for sure !
you have a more forgiving outlook for sure cause the outcome would've been a whole lot different had they tried or did that to me - for sure!!!
:no:
CHATSDALE
4,177 Posts
if you have a family member in the hospital ask questions, be picky and a PIA, the nurse you have may be professional and good at the job but they may be slack and lazy
whether or not you want to folow up with your work status is up to you, it may keep staff on their toes