Have you ever had a pt that you knew in real life?

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I was just wondering if this ever happened and what is the right thing to do. Let's say you are working and a person you know (friend, neighbor) is brought on to your floor. Would you accept them as a pt under your direct care or would it be better for another nurse to care for them? What if they wanted you to be their nurse? Would you, or could you, take that assignment?

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Specializes in Med Surg, Peds, OB, L/D, Ortho.

bEING FROM A SMALL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL i HAVE TAKEN CARE OF MANY FAMILY AND FRIENDS AS A MATTER OF FACT THAT IS HOW i MET MY HUSBAND...HE WAS A FRIEND OF A FRIEND AND MY PT! jUST CARE FOR THEM LIKE EVERYONE ELSE AND DON'T FEEK OBLIGATED TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND ANY MORE THAN FOR ANY OTHER PT. IF YOU FEEL YOU CAN'T REMAIN OBJECTIVE THEN IT IS TIME TO JUST BE THE FRIEND AND LET ANOTHER CO-WORKER BE THE NURSE.;)

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Usually, unless there just is no other option, the best choice is to let someone else care for that person (and that is usually the administration's preference, as well).

If I were in that situation and a friend wanted me to be her/his nurse, I would still decline. Too big a boundary violation for me ...

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

I have done it several times. I always go to the person and explain that they can have another nurse if they like. All of them preferred to have "someone who knows me" as their nurse. I even took care of my OB/GYN once. He had a kidney stone and was just about dying with pain because he refused to take anything. He was afraid he would have a bad reaction. I finally convinced him to let me try the dilaudid that was ordered and I promised to stay with him until he got relief. He trusted my judgement and within 30 minutes he was getting some relief. After that he coudn't thank me enough and even wrote a letter to my nurse manager. But really, it wasn't anything that I wouldn't have done for any other patient.:nurse:

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I give them to someone else. It happened a couple times in my previous town and I'd answer their call light or help with a boost, but I wouldn't take them in my assignment.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Oncology, Psych.

Where I work, taking care of someone you know isn't really an option...if administration finds out that you've been in the medical record of someone you know outside of the hospital context, then that's the end of your job. Being someone's friend or family member as well as their nurse seems to me like a pretty strong conflict of interest. I always thought of that as a HIPAA thing. I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule, like emergencies and such, but in a normal case scenario I it just doesn't seem like the right thing to do.

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I've certainly seen people that I know come in as patients but as soon as I see them, I let my charge nurse know that so and so is a friend/acquaintance/relative, and I am not assigned to care for them. Then, depending on the circumstances, I may or may not even go by their bedside. For example, if so and so had an MI but I had never been told about it on the "outside", I would respect their privacy and not approach them. If the person sees me and calls out to me, then I'm not going to ignore them but, they made the first contact.

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It's not a HIPAA violation to take care of someone you know.

For those of us who work in smaller communities, it is IMPOSSIBLE not to take care of people we know. What happens when a fellow employee, whom EVERYONE knows, is admitted to the hospital? Should no one take care of them?

I've cared for many of my friends (and in a few instances, family, too). In one job, we only had one nurse on at a time, so they knew they would be cared for by me if they presented on my work days. In my job now, if I know someone, I would ask before taking care of them. So far, all have specifically requested me once they found out I was on duty. Only once have I requested to not have a patient I knew, as he was in with a mental health crisis and I thought the relationship would not be therapeutic. I didn't want him to be embarrassed or uncomfortable.

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It's interesting to see your thoughts on this! I love this board because I get many points of view.

The reason I'm asking is because of some situations I have heard of and what is acceptable and what is not. It is probably unavoidable and will happen at some point that you will know a patient. Examples are below.

In clinicals recently a nurse found out she knew a pt who had been admitted, from years earlier. She chose not to work with this pt but did say hello to her.

A family friend who is an RN brought up the fact that she had seen an acquaintance of mine, who I had not seen in years, at the hospital as a pt in her dept. This was before HIPAA. This same RN friend needed surgery and asked *her* RN friend to be next to her during the surgery to make sure her privacy was respected and she was treated well while under sedation. Again, this was years ago and I'm not sure it would be allowed today.

A fellow student of mine who recognized a former pt of theirs from where they work, who was now in this other facility. In that case my fellow student steered clear of that pt because it would have caused embarrassment to the pt under those circumstances.

A friend who went into labor asked if another friend (an RN) was on duty. In that case the one in labor found great comfort in having the RN by her side. The RN actually stayed past shift and after she "clocked out" she remained as a support person and friend through a difficult labor but not in the RN role after her shift was over.

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Specializes in ER.

As many have pointed out, in small communities this is unavoidable. In my ER from 3:30a-7a there are only two RN's, so if someone comes in that I know, it's pretty much a given that we'll be seeing each other! I have received several comments from people I know that I've either taken care of, or talked to while they were there, that they were happy to see a friendly/familiar face, and that it's eased their worry about being in the ER a little. However, if it is someone I know and it's an invasive/uncomfortable procedure (NG tube, foley, vag exam, etc) I would most likely ask a fellow nurse to take over for me.

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

i live in a town with a population of roughly 3,500 people. it's a lovely very historic town and our most summers, between 5,000 and 7,000 people visit. it would be all but impossible to be cared for by a stranger or not to care for someone you knew or were related to at least by marriage. you do not care for relatives though. they get traded off. when i was hospitalized five years ago for a previously undiagnosed bleeding ulcer, i knew every single person -- from dietary staff, aides, nurses, cleaning staff etc. and that actually made it easier for me. one aide was a college student in two of my husband's classes. who was not doing well and tried to extort:eek: a better grade in exchange for doing her usual aide duties. she not only was fired from her aide position, she was kicked out of the nursing school program. except for that person, i was comfortable with knowing my caretakers.

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

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Specializes in Mostly geri :).

When I was a sitter, I had a pt. who turned out to be the mom of the meanest girl in my high school. She was the complete opposite, go figure.

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