Giving the nurses phones

dudette10, MSN, RN · Mar 14, 2015

We have phones. For the most part, the only time I don't answer it is when I'm doing a procedure (Foley, IV, dressing change, etc.), or I'm providing emotional support to a patient. Yes, they do interrupt conversations with patients, but I use my judgment to answer it or not based on who is calling (caller ID) or if I'm waiting for a call back. I always say, "Excuse me, I need to answer this." Never had a patient call me rude or act/appear annoyed because of it. On the days it is ringing off the hook, patients usually say, "You guys are busy!"

If it's a call about another patient, I step out of the room or leave my side of the conversation vague enough to prevent pt identification. If a family is calling, I tell them that I need to get to a more private area or ask them to call back in 10 minutes so that I can "give them my full attention." They are usually cool with that, too.

It's really all in how you manage your phone calls.

ETA: We are supposed to be getting Voceras at some point. I'm perplexed about how I'm going to manage that in patient rooms because it's a speaker phone-type thing. I'd rather wear a one-sided headset for privacy.

sistrmoon, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2015

We have phones and it does not cut down on call lights. It only adds to the noise on nights when it's ringing in my pocket while I have my hands full doing actual patient care. It's just one more way to track and micromanage.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2015

There are floors around that don't already have phones for nurses? The hospital I worked at had them back in 2006. If an MD is calling about a different patient you can step out of the room briefly to take the call, as you would if he called the secretary and she overhead paged you to the phone.

**LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM** · Mar 14, 2015

We had phones at my second job as a nurse on a Mother/Baby unit. It was frustrating sometimes when I was talking to another patient, to have to excuse myself and answer, but no patients seemed to mind. I think in today's world, for better or for worse, people generally accept that we are more dependent on phones and they interrupt life in ways we used to consider rude. Plenty of times patients have done the same thing to me.

What I liked about it was that I could page someone and not have to wait at the desk for a call back, but could keep going about my business and answer on the fly. Also, when we went on break, there was a way to forward all of our calls to the covering nurse's phone, so she didn't have to carry 2 phones but also didn't have to go and check if the call bell ringing was one of our patients---if it was coming from our phone, she'd know it was our patient.

My biggest complaint with the phone was that it was somewhat heavy (think early 2000s cellphones)

springchick1, ADN, RN · Mar 14, 2015

ETA: We are supposed to be getting Voceras at some point. I'm perplexed about how I'm going to manage that in patient rooms because it's a speaker phone-type thing. I'd rather wear a one-sided headset for privacy.

Our x-Ray techs use these in the OR. They drive me crazy! I don't need to hear the whole conversation. All they do is add to the noise.

DisneyLoveRN · Mar 15, 2015

We have phones. They are both good and bad. No matter how many times you tell the pt/family to call the phone instead of the call light - they don't.