patient showering on different floor

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Need some feedback....I work in a hospital and recently an RN was suspended for not accompanying a patient to another floor to shower. Background...pt was A/Ox4, paraplegic that was completely independent at home and was independent in his hospital room. The patient was supposed to leave that day for a rehab for an IV ABX course but couldn't because the he hadnt had a BM yet, go figure. I understand the possibilities for harm to the patient but should the RN have been suspended? No written warning either. My coworkers and I are divided.... Thoughts....

psu_213, BSN, RN

3,878 Posts

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

Did anyone (tech, etc) go with the pt?

Also, did the nurse have prior discipline issues? Would you know about them if this nurse did?

I would have to know more about the clinical situation and other things....There are too may extenuating circumstances here to answer for sure what should have been done.

No one went with the patient. The patient went to see the floor that he would be showering on that afternoon. This particular patient had already gone down to the lobby multiple times on his own. The nurse was written up once around 2 yrs ago for leaving a couple of meds at the bedside because the patient wanted to take them after they ate.

KelRN215, BSN, RN

1 Article; 7,349 Posts

Specializes in Pedi.

Our floor didn't have a tub room when I worked in the hospital. Parents took their kids to neighboring floors to use the tub all the time if it was a kid who wouldn't shower and particularly loved baths. The nurse didn't accompany the patient. The aide didn't most of the time either.

Things are very different in pediatrics. Parents take their kids off the floor without the nurse all the time. The only kids we had on my floor that couldn't go off the floor without a nurse were kids with EVDs.

JKL33

6,777 Posts

Hopefully that nurse will come back just long enough to use up all his/her PTO while finding a better job and then taking a vacation, then resign.

Now where's that corporate-representative poster who is looking for "creative" ways to retain nurses?

cleback

1,381 Posts

I'm guessing by virtue of his paraplegia he was a fall risk, and it's against policy to leave a fall risk patient alone in a bathroom.

While I understand facilities trying to cover themselves in case a fall would occur, in this situation I could see where the policy may cost a person's independence. But who are we kidding... the facility, all facilities, prioritzes preventing financial losses from lawsuits. Thus the nurse would be let go.

beekee

839 Posts

If the nurse had gone with the patient and something happened to one of her other patients, she would have been written up for leaving the floor.

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