Family Members/Patients Who Write Down Your Name

Nurses Relations

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Do you ever have those patients or family members who write down everything? Your Name, Your title, your care provided, etc.

I get annoyed sometimes but If its a once in a while thing, I am okay. If its a repetitive everytime I go in the room thing, I get a little defensive.

My most recent patient who had a self-appointed scribe stated, "I've asked you ... (flips notebook pages) ... 4 times if she could get something to eat."

The beauty was that I had the patient's chart in my hand, and so was able to flip back through a page of narrative notes and calmy reply, "yes you're correct - I have that documented here - the 4 times I explained to you why your mom cannot have anything by mouth at this time."

Lol you are my twin!

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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Do you ever have those patients or family members who write down everything? Your Name, Your title, your care provided, etc.

I get annoyed sometimes but If its a once in a while thing, I am okay. If its a repetitive everytime I go in the room thing, I get a little defensive.

No reason to get defensive. You are a licensed professional and the patient, who is paying for the care, has the right to know who is taking care of them.

We chart everything on them...so I see nothing wrong with them doing the same.

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I don't think the pt or family has any right to our last names, yet all of ours are on our badges.....Bugs me. How do I know I won't find a disgruntled family member on my door step one day? I am literally one of two people in the entire country with my legal name.....

Where I work, only our first names are on our badges.

If there is ever a lawsuit, the patient will be able to legally obtain the full names of everyone who cared for them. That's fine, but until I have to give it, I don't.

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My most recent patient who had a self-appointed scribe stated, "I've asked you ... (flips notebook pages) ... 4 times if she could get something to eat."

The beauty was that I had the patient's chart in my hand, and so was able to flip back through a page of narrative notes and calmy reply, "yes you're correct - I have that documented here - the 4 times I explained to you why your mom cannot have anything by mouth at this time."

AWESOME. What was her response to that one?

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Those of you who do not have last names on your badges: how do you respond if asked for it?

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Specializes in ER/ICU, CCL, EP.

If someone asks for my last name I state that the information is private for my safety and politely tell them my employee number.

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
AWESOME. What was her response to that one?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE THAT DOCUMENTED?"

Me: "Of course we document all the education we provide to patients & families, and their understanding of that education. It's a very important part of care."

I briefly worried that Scribe would spontaneously combust, her face was so beet red.

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Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).

Yeah, I've had new parents who write down the name of each nurse they have for each shift of the days they spend there. It can be a good thing (when the few kindly souls write a thank you note and mention each nurse by name that they had) and then there's the stinky ones, the ones who think that since you're an employee of a hospital, you're out to violate their brand new bundle of joy with invasive torturous procedures. (You know us OB nurses...twirling our mustaches and rubbing our hands together diabolically!)

Our badges have our photo, and our name with the initial of our last name. It's fun because on our unit there are 4 of us- myself included who have very similar sounding names...and at one point we all worked the night shift! Now two work the night, and the other two of us work evening.

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Specializes in Adult Health.

I've had the "I'm writing everything down" thing happen as an NP when I worked in a hospital. I just started leaving my name, my bosses name, and her phone number for the scribe. I found that if you act as if you have nothing to hide (which I never did, but hey...) then the scribe loses a lot of umph behind the threat to turn you in. Yeah, well, go ahead, here's my bosses name and number, I'll be happy to discuss this with her and you if needed...

Only had one person turn me in, but she turned everyone in and my boss just shrugged it off. The rest sent thank you cards.

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Those of you who do not have last names on your badges: how do you respond if asked for it?

I would say, "I don't give out that information."

If they insisted, I would repeat my initial statement, and direct them to the clinical coordinator of whichever unit I was working on that day if they had a concern they wished to discuss.

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No one has ever asked me for my last name. I've had people who couldn't read my badge ask for my name and I give them my first name. I think they are asking in order to fill out the survey we give them, so I don't have a problem with it.

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Specializes in ICU, BURNS, TRAUMA, TRANSPORT, HH.

I give them my name.

I tell them that they can get messages to me through my boss or the hospital and make certain they have that name and contact information.

I reassure them that if they are unhappy with my care they can report me both to my supervisor AND/OR to the hot line for those complaints and provide them with that number.

I document that they requested that information and that I provided it.

I am not afraid of my patients or their families.

I am just doing my job to the best of my ability.

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