Patient asking for phone number to keep in touch, what do you say?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in MedSurg Tele.

A patient that my coworker cared for frequently was being discharged. The patient asked for her name and phone number to keep in touch. And so she did. I wouldn't feel comfortable at all with that. I've noticed patients tend to want to keep in contact with the staff on how they are coming along. Sometimes the patients leave their address and phone numbers behind to keep in touch. Sometimes they ask their nurse for their specific name and contact number.

What do you say to them?

Would you give out your phone number?

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

No way, not ever!

I work with chronic pts and those that need to contact me (officially) get my cell number that is turned off when I'm not on call. That's it.

Specializes in ED, ICU, Heme/Onc.

I give them the unit phone number, telling them that they should call that number since "this is where I am most of the time anyway!" (said with an oh so cheerful tone and sickly sweet smile...)

Now that I work the ED, I think patients are more relieved to see the door or their inpatient bed. And that's just fine by me - I wish them well and send them on their way.

Blee

Specializes in NICU Nurse.

Maybe not my phone number.... but maybe my e-mail. I work in the NICU and love to keep in touch with my babies families once they are discharged home.

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Nope, nope, nope. To me, this leads to problems. Calls on your personal time, getting more involved than therapeutically advisable and I just don't want to be pestered.

I think that the best thing is to give them the number to where you work, and even, then, to be honest, can be an issue for me. I had one patient who I had to convince to come for follow up treatments because she was afraid to see doctors. After I convinced her, she asked me if she can call the office to speak to me each time she has to see a provider or get a diagnostic test, because I took the fear away. I did give her the general number to the clinic and said that any nurse can answer her questions and concerns. I hate to be cold, but I have to see too many patients to take that responsibility on for general questions. I do make follow up calls to them, but it has to be a limit to them having personal access to me 24 hours a day. Come to think of it, when I was a psych tech, a manic depressive patient even asked me if I would take on her sons as foster children so that she can trust that they will be okay. Said no to that, too.

Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice.

I always tell them it's against the hospital rules. Everyone here knows I love my patients, but I have to draw the line between working time and real world time.

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Even my residents, who are like family (and who know I carry a company cell phone 24/7/365), don't have my number!! Work is work and private life is private life, and never the twain should meet. JMHO.

Specializes in NICU.
Maybe not my phone number.... but maybe my e-mail. I work in the NICU and love to keep in touch with my babies families once they are discharged home.

Me too. A patient's father once friended me on Facebook, too. I didn't mind. But I would NEVER give a patient/family my personal phone number, and if I worked with adults, I probably wouldn't even do email. Or I suppose if the father was not involved with the mother - I know one of my friends got sexually propositioned by the (divorced) father of a patient, and it was a real problem when the child was readmitted later on.

Specializes in Med-Surg, ED.

Just say no.

It crosses too many boundaries.

Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.

Nope, no, nup, never.

Specializes in Operating Room.

I had a male patient ask me for my phone number after he was trying to flirt with me. We had just brought him to PACU so he was a wee bit out of it. I just told him that it would not be ethical for me to do so and that I could get in trouble for giving it to him. He said "but we could have had something good, you and me":lol2:

Some people get very happy and affectionate after surgery because they're so relieved it's over...I've been told "I love you" by countless patients and one little old lady was trying to kiss me. That makes up for the ones that have taken a swing at me, LOL.

I think you can tell what kind of drunk people are by the way they respond to anesthetic. You know, some people are happy, friendly drunks, and some are mean, mean, mean.

Specializes in ICU RN.

please don't ever mix work and private life

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