Hands off my vent!!

[adventure_rn]

Lately we've been having some major problems on my unit with family members touching monitors, silencing alarms, turning off pumps, and even attempting to change vent settings!! My personal favorite is, "Guess what, I figured out where the silence button is!" "Well done, sir, because I really didn't need to know that my patient is sating 40%."

Seriously, how is this even a thing?

Public Service Announcement: If you do not have the letters MD, RN, or RT at the end of your name; if you are not an employee of this hospital; if you have absolutely no understanding that what you are about to do could result in serious bodily harm to your loved one, then please--DON'T TOUCH!

I cannot believe that this actually has to be said.

[William2]

If any family touch any monitor, pump, or vent they are out the door. Don't care who you are get out of my room. If they refuse to leave I know big ex military security guards that will gladly escort you on your marry way. It is a privilege to be allowed within the locked unit do not blow it.

My solution.

[armyicurn]

Once had a patient whose family member downloaded and read the entire user manual for the Drager Evita ventilator. He then fully adopted the role of the expert in vent management, making recommendations on different modes of ventilation, adjusting settings, etc.

And this is why there is no free wifi at the hospital. what a lunatic!

[Kitiger, RN]

That's either criminal negligence or murder...a three year old would know better. You don't put food down the air tube!

I had a college-educated adult (a neighbor of my client's) ask me if he used that tube - a trach - to eat. I explained that the trach tube goes to the lungs ...

Granted, my client wasn't on a vent; that would have been a strong clue.

[taif1]

I agree with the problem of too many family orientated rules these days in our hospital they are allowed to dictate visiting policy and what the RN wears as well.

[Lucy1798, BSN, RN]

Families never surprise me. Working in CVICU in my first position, we had a family group that didn't fail to amaze. The patient had been in the unit for some time, and had lived through three open chest procedures on the unit, resulting in a rocky sternum. Patient was wearing a chest binder, and had a betadine drip going. Because of the propensity for strange occurrences, we had moved this patient directly behind the unit secretary's desk, as a means of keeping our eyes on him. One afternoon, during a code, I was scrubbed in with one of the surgeons when we heard screaming. I watched as the unit secretary looked into the patient's room and stepped back covered head to toe in blood. Since the unit was closed during codes, the family had found a way to sneak past us while we were occupied. Once in the room, they decided that the patient was hungry. They disconnected the vent tubing (machines were MA-1's back then) from the ET tube and were shoving small pieces of pizza down the tube, and reconnecting the vent. They didn't get far. He bucked the vent with such force, he blew his aortotomy plegett. With the binder in place, the blood hit the headboard like you were spraying a high pressure garden hose. Mixed with the betadine gtt, the result was quite the mess, and a very dead patient. I still remember the family, blood covered and quite confused. "But he said he was hungry"

This is unbelievable. Wow. 😩

[Double Dunker]

and what the RN wears as well.

Really? Do tell.

[Axgrinder]

Yeah, visitors can be so "helpful".

Maybe equipment that administers a gentle electrical shock to all incompetent to handle them would remedy this growing problem?

[Axgrinder]

Families never surprise me. Working in CVICU in my first position, we had a family group that didn't fail to amaze. The patient had been in the unit for some time, and had lived through three open chest procedures on the unit, resulting in a rocky sternum. Patient was wearing a chest binder, and had a betadine drip going. Because of the propensity for strange occurrences, we had moved this patient directly behind the unit secretary's desk, as a means of keeping our eyes on him. One afternoon, during a code, I was scrubbed in with one of the surgeons when we heard screaming. I watched as the unit secretary looked into the patient's room and stepped back covered head to toe in blood. Since the unit was closed during codes, the family had found a way to sneak past us while we were occupied. Once in the room, they decided that the patient was hungry. They disconnected the vent tubing (machines were MA-1's back then) from the ET tube and were shoving small pieces of pizza down the tube, and reconnecting the vent. They didn't get far. He bucked the vent with such force, he blew his aortotomy plegett. With the binder in place, the blood hit the headboard like you were spraying a high pressure garden hose. Mixed with the betadine gtt, the result was quite the mess, and a very dead patient. I still remember the family, blood covered and quite confused. "But he said he was hungry"

Holy crap on wheat toast!

That beats my story about the quarter ounce of marijuana I found in the bathrobe pocket belonging to the daughter of a vented isolation pt - brought in to "comfort mom". The daughter brought it in and laid it over the pt believing this would calm the pt - whom was bucking the vent (isn't this something you do for animals at the vet? Bring in clothing with your scent to calm the animal?).

Anyway, after the pt tongued her tube out and we had to reintubate I figured I put it back on the pt before the family returned that evening … my charge nurse was not pleased when I called him into the pt's room waiting in around. He obviously had to call the police, and the day wasn't even half over yet.

[klcrn1987]

I've had family members in the hospital but I did NOT mess with anything!!! The only time I even touched my son's IV is when he moved (it was VERY positional) and it beeped. But.... I also had worked on that unit and knew all the nurses and they knew me. I told them I would reset it when it beeped for movement but NOTHING else. Saved us both a lot of hassle and they appreciated not having to run back to our room every 10 mins (hard to keep an 9 yr old still!)

[Vana21, ADN, BSN, RN]

oh heck no. If I find someone touching anything I will warn them. If they do it again I will have security escort them out to never return.

[yahoomagoo]

some do, its deep into the vent settings. but we leave it off so you can push 100% 02 and alarm silence without thinking the machines broke.

[Burks21]

Politely, yet sternly, tell them that if they touch any equipment again that they will be escorted by security off the premises. I don't screw with that kind of crap because if they hurt or kill their loved one, you darn well know they're going to sue YOU and take zero blame.

Thankfully our security team has our backs at all times. Even when I stayed with my grandfather and he was knocking on death's door, I didn't touch a thing. I'm a visitor at that point, not a nurse, even though he was in the unit I work.