Hmm...that's nice

Raicho, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 29, 2017

I LOVE it when they are a nurse! I feel like it is a great way to establish rapport immediately. Especially when I ask what area they are in. I am very specialized so when someone tells me they work nights or less, I thank them effusively because, and I tell them this, I could not do the job, so they are helping for making me not feel guilty.

Additionally, this is an issue within our community.

Why would you NOT mention It? Do you know of ANY DOCTOR who would NOT mention It?

Why are we nurses so conflicted? Why would we respond negatively to someone who states that they are?? Yes, it may be someone who is actually a CNA, but perhaps in their home country they are a nurse. Who cares? At the very least they are advocating for their family member, or themselves, and showing that they have some knowledge and may be able to help.

We say that the nursing model is all about treating someone holistically. Wouldn't it help all of us, to give the best care possible, by knowing as much information as possible?

marylou5 · Mar 29, 2017

I NEVER EVER tell anyone who is treating me or my family that I am a nurse. (I know how much, I don't know!)

I want the MD to explain it to my family member in lay terms that they can understand..not have me translate later. I may ask questions being very careful not to use medical terms.

If they are the patient, the MD should be addressing them..not me...

In my opinion, it's rude to leave them out of the conversation like they are invisible.

If the MD knows you, and knows that you are a nurse, the dynamics of the conversation is always directed at you, not the patient.

cleback · Mar 29, 2017

Duplicate post

cleback · Mar 29, 2017

Family members who are nurses, doctors or POAs are not authorized to stand in the patient's room and look over the nurse's shoulder at the computer. Yes, they are entitled to look at the patient's chart -- if they're POA or the patient wishes them to -- but most hospitals have a procedure for allowing chart access. It involves signed paperwork and an appointment for a visit to the Medical Records department so that a physician can be present to look over the chart with them. If they merely want to learn more about the care their family member is receiving, I am happy to go over that with them (without them looking over my shoulder at the computer) or to contact the physician to discuss the care with them. Looking over the shoulder is not allowed. Furthermore, it is rude and offputting. I'm really hoping you weren't one of those family members because that will negatively impact your relationship with your family member's caregivers for the foreseeable future.

This debate of whether or not it's rude to look at the computer kind of surprises me. Of course, to release information you have to have the appropriate permissions. Aside from that, sometimes I feel it's helpful to have them look at the screen. In the outpatient clinic I work at, our monitors swivel so we can have patients/family/caretakers look at the chart at their visit. One frequent reason is to review and confirm their home med list... patients sometimes find it easier to read along with the MA/nurse. My son's physician shows me my son's growth chart or weight-based tylenol chart from the computer. I've done it for patients or caretakers wanting to read radiology reports. As long as you have consent and do not show the list of other patients, I have no issues with this. I'm noting this conversation though that others may not feel this way.

marylou5 · Mar 29, 2017

Any baby, who is in the hospital long term becomes "special" because we get to "know" them and become invested in their recovery... vs. the in and out patients.

Unfortunately for our own well being, we become attached to 'long termers', and are traumatized when we lose one we thought would make it.

We work so hard to "save" them. We are delighted to get to see the progress... and sometimes miraculous recovery of these children, who were touch and go and could have gone either way.

It is what it is..and has nothing to do with the parents' professions.

It's more like, "We all struggled to save this one and look at her/him now! We did it!!!"

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 29, 2017

My instructor tried the card before so that she knows when any laws are being broken she can say "Well, actually I am a nurse as well."
But also she said that she sometimes lets it go to see how the treatment is if they have no knowledge of you being in the healthcare field. It depends, some people do get treated a bit better this way so they try playing the nurse card and some people don't and just see what care they get. Depends on the person.

I'm sorry -- I don't understand your point. Are you saying that people actually get "better treatment" by "playing the nurse card"?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 29, 2017

I LOVE it when they are a nurse! I feel like it is a great way to establish rapport immediately. Especially when I ask what area they are in. I am very specialized so when someone tells me they work nights or less, I thank them effusively because, and I tell them this, I could not do the job, so they are helping for making me not feel guilty.
Additionally, this is an issue within our community.
Why would you NOT mention It? Do you know of ANY DOCTOR who would NOT mention It?
Why are we nurses so conflicted? Why would we respond negatively to someone who states that they are?? Yes, it may be someone who is actually a CNA, but perhaps in their home country they are a nurse. Who cares? At the very least they are advocating for their family member, or themselves, and showing that they have some knowledge and may be able to help.
We say that the nursing model is all about treating someone holistically. Wouldn't it help all of us, to give the best care possible, by knowing as much information as possible?

I NEVER EVER tell anyone who is treating me or my family that I am a nurse. (I know how much, I don't know!)
I want the MD to explain it to my family member in lay terms that they can understand..not have me translate later. I may ask questions being very careful not to use medical terms.
If they are the patient, the MD should be addressing them..not me...
In my opinion, it's rude to leave them out of the conversation like they are invisible.
If the MD knows you, and knows that you are a nurse, the dynamics of the conversation is always directed at you, not the patient.

Your post just answered the previous question -- why would we ever NOT mention that we're nurses. In addition to the fact that it changes the dynamic of the conversation, many people "play the nurse card" -- whether or not they are, in fact, licensed nurses -- in the hope of intimidating or threatening someone or because they expect "better treatment." If we as nurses are doing our jobs, EVERYONE gets our best. So the "better treatment" quest is often seen as an attempt to threaten or intimidate whether or not it really is. Over the years, I've found that people who loudly announce that they or a family member is a nurse are actually doing so to threaten or intimidate. The rest of us lie low until we're outed or busted because we don't want anyone to mistake our intentions.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 29, 2017

This debate of whether or not it's rude to look at the computer kind of surprises me. Of course, to release information you have to have the appropriate permissions. Aside from that, sometimes I feel it's helpful to have them look at the screen. In the outpatient clinic I work at, our monitors swivel so we can have patients/family/caretakers look at the chart at their visit. One frequent reason is to review and confirm their home med list... patients sometimes find it easier to read along with the MA/nurse. My son's physician shows me my son's growth chart or weight-based tylenol chart from the computer. I've done it for patients or caretakers wanting to read radiology reports. As long as you have consent and do not show the list of other patients, I have no issues with this. I'm noting this conversation though that others may not feel this way.

It appears that you are talking about working in a clinic and visiting your son's pediatrician, also in a clinic. Clinic's policies and procedures about the sharing of information may be different than the policies and procedures of a hospital, LTC or other facility. Swiveling a screen is also quite different from someone quietly sneaking up behind to read over the nurse's shoulder without being invited to do so. The former may be appropriate in your setting, the latter is never OK.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 29, 2017

Any baby, who is in the hospital long term becomes "special" because we get to "know" them and become invested in their recovery... vs. the in and out patients.
Unfortunately for our own well being, we become attached to 'long termers', and are traumatized when we lose one we thought would make it.
We work so hard to "save" them. We are delighted to get to see the progress... and sometimes miraculous recovery of these children, who were touch and go and could have gone either way.
It is what it is..and has nothing to do with the parents' professions.
It's more like, "We all struggled to save this one and look at her/him now! We did it!!!"

This is related to my point. The profession of the patient or his relatives really doesn't matter -- we do our best for everyone.

JayHanig · Mar 29, 2017

As both a patient and a RN, I tell the staff that I am a retired nurse, as is my girlfriend, just to let them know that they won 't have to talk down to me as a patient... that I understand what they're saying and we can cut right to the chase. If I get a little professional courtesy, that's always good.

Back when my late father was a fresh CABG, the ICU staff let me stay longer than the other family members because I had worked in a CVICU before and I knew what I was seeing and knew not to get in the way or interrupt them with routine questions. I knew they gave me extra slack and wrote a very nice letter to the administrator complimenting their facility and particularly their staff. Professional courtesy goes both ways, after all.

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Mar 29, 2017

I had just the opposite happen. I was visiting a relative in the hospital in Canada. He had just had orthopedic surgery, and he asked me what he could expect post-op. The nurse who was taking care of him happened by at about that time. She sarcastically said, "You certainly seem to know a lot. Are you a nurse or something?" I couldn't resist the temptation to pull out my RN license. She turned and walked away.

smf0903 · Mar 29, 2017

This is related to my point. The profession of the patient or his relatives really doesn't matter -- we do our best for everyone.

This is the same for people who pull the "I'm related to so-and-so here" as if it will somehow get them better/different treatment. When our hospital president's dad was on our floor everyone was like "Ohhhh" until I said something like "well whomever it is they get the same care as John Doe in the room next to him so what's the big deal?"