Must see commercial for nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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Haha does this seem familiar?

How do you nurses feel about that? My mom recently spent two months in the hospital, and when I picked her up when they were ready to discharge her, she was trying to get me to take everything: pillows, drinking bottles with straws, etc. She figured she was paying for it all anyway, so... :-)

Of course when we got home she didn't want to use the hospital pillow because it reminded her of being in the hospital!

I wonder if your mom knows how many times that pillow's been puked on, pooped on, secreted on, and died on?

She did not pay for it all. But thanks to people like that, it increases the costs for all of us.

I work on a PP floor, where all of our c/section pts come up with SCD's on...well low and behold the day that pt was being discharged, the family is walking out with their belonging bags and holding the SCD machine to take home!! :nono: We were like seriously?!? :no:

Specializes in CNA, Nursing Student.

Only thing I've ever left a hospital with as a patient was the disposable plastic water jug labeled with the hospital's name on the side...and that was because the nurse offered it to me. I use it all the time, it's a good constant reminder that I need to be drinking more water to prevent being admitted to the hospital again. haha.

Sheesh. I live in the upper-midwest, and I can't imagine the type of thefts that some of you are describing--and a good portion of our patients are homeless or very poor. The worst thing we've had taken have been pajama bottoms or a towel, and that's very rare.

It's not the people that really NEED the help stealing. I do peds, and if I know that a family is hurting financially, I'll "notice" that they're "almost out of diapers" and get them another pack, or 2. There was a time or two, I "accidently" brought a pack of the next larger size, and due to "infection control reasons," couldn't take them back. :) Same with formula, baby wipes.

It's the people that you can look at their face sheet, they've got a good job, good insurance, and everytime someone walks in their room, they ask for more diapers. Pretty soon, the floor is out of that size, because the tech doesn't know that the nurse got them some, and the nurse doesn't know that the unit secretary got them some and the secretary doesn't know that the helpful other nurse got them some when they went to reset the IV pump. I've had people ask me for more when there's an unopened pack of them sitting in front of me. We supply them while you're here, not for the rest of their life!

One of our families had been stocking up on stuff. They went outside to smoke while I was helping that patient's nurse with a procedure. She checked the little closet. They had more formula, wipes and diapers in there than we had on the rest of the floor. Not to mention, bags filled with towels and blankets, and to top it off, a bunch of movies from the hospital library. Like 10 or 15 of them.

She grabbed the movies and we returned them to the library. The parents came back and actually confronted the nurse for taking the movies they were trying to steal!!

I agree.. taking items that are not single-use is a big no no. But as a student (I'm a new grad), at discharge time I had a pt who was a quad who had his sister take every dressing change kit, tube of barrier cream, and strip of tegaderm she could find in the drawer (in his defense, he had some nasty pressure sores-so I didn't put up a fight). This was on a vent unit, and all of the items were in his bedside drawer. Are those things OK for the pt to take as well? Just wonderin'!

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
I agree.. taking items that are not single-use is a big no no. But as a student (I'm a new grad), at discharge time I had a pt who was a quad who had his sister take every dressing change kit, tube of barrier cream, and strip of tegaderm she could find in the drawer (in his defense, he had some nasty pressure sores-so I didn't put up a fight). This was on a vent unit, and all of the items were in his bedside drawer. Are those things OK for the pt to take as well? Just wonderin'!

Already opened items (barrier creams, etc.) and a couple of dressing change items -- I would always offer these at discharge.

But the items in the drawers do not "belong" to the patient -- they were stocked there for staff use for caring for the current occupant of that bed.

Not OK.

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
How do you nurses feel about that? My mom recently spent two months in the hospital, and when I picked her up when they were ready to discharge her, she was trying to get me to take everything: pillows, drinking bottles with straws, etc. She figured she was paying for it all anyway, so... :-)

Of course when we got home she didn't want to use the hospital pillow because it reminded her of being in the hospital!

The thing is, she wasn't "paying for it all, anyway." She was paying for its use. Why not just take the hospital bed, then?

I'm not heartless - I will send patients who have to do their own dressings home with ABDs and tape. Not tons of it, but enough to get them through the weekend or whatnot.

All of our disposable stuff, I'll offer to the patients at discharge because we will toss it anyhow. But don't pack up the entire room, please.

Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

We have had patients cut the cords to the wall mounted oto and opthalmoscopes. Once the cords are cut the instrument is absolutely useless. Tympanic thermometers last about 5 minutes.

Already opened items (barrier creams, etc.) and a couple of dressing change items -- I would always offer these at discharge.

But the items in the drawers do not "belong" to the patient -- they were stocked there for staff use for caring for the current occupant of that bed.

Not OK.

Sorry if my question seemed repetitive. The opened barrier cream was pretty much a no-brainer.. but yeah, I was a little shocked they were loading up on other things. It was my first discharge and I was kind of on my own and not sure of the protocol. The nurse I was working w/ that day just kind of shrugged when I asked her after the fact. Thanks!

Specializes in ER, Step-Down.

apparently, so the story is told, we once had one of those nifty fetal heart rate ultrasound thingys in our ED. wellllll... a dad let his kiddo play with it one day without the nurses knowing. they walked out with it! :eek: so we no longer have that toy. :( we have a video camera in our supply room to try to catch would be theives (both patients and docs and nurses from other units....). I, personally, thought the commercial was funny. but knowing it smells of the honest truth? i've sent pt's home with the one time items, with 2 days of dressing changes, but that's really it. I've put my foot down on other requests for things. we hardly keep any supplies in common areas due to this.

Specializes in Med/Surg, LTC/Geriatric.

I wouldn't want to take a thing home from the hospital that had been at the bedside....

oooh, the germs!!!

We all pay for them eventually. The music was catchy

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