So this is my first post, and right off the batt I want to say that I'm not a nurse. I'm a personal care assistant and skills trainer to a 19 year old pt who has severe developmental disabilities (dx PDD NOS).
The other day she was in her bedroom hacking and coughing. Mom went up to check on her as I was helping little sis (15 y/o with severe ASD) make something for dessert. Mom comes down and says nothing is wrong. About 10 minutes later the pt was still coughing a lot and it was about time for me to leave. I was getting a bit worried about the fact she was hacking still (this was random dry hacking, not related to apparent cold or chronic condition)... I wanted to make sure she wasnt turning blue on us or something (even if 10 minutes ago she was fine).
So i go up and check, pt is fine but now wants to come downstairs and run a muck. Its time for me to leave as it's the end of the respite session and bedtime for the girls....
But the looks I got from Mom could kill... I just was upset because I was checking to make sure the daughter was okay before I left... in part to cover my ass. She seemed pissed that I confused the pt...making the pt seem like it wasn't actually time for bed. It was an honest mistake and I just wanted to know that she was okay.
But I just felt crapped on because I had accidently caused her to come downstairs where she would need supervision... and I also happened to be leaving.
Does this happen to anyone else? Do you guys get the ugly eye for doing the right thing? I get that the point of the respite care is to get pt fed,bathed,and off to bed... but I didn't want to just let her hack, leave, and wonder if she had choked all night (people with developmental disabilities can just swallow things and die, its one of their leading causes of death)...
the point is the mom seemed more concerned with the fact that i messed up her routine than the fact that the kid was coughing like crazy...
I should have tried to help the pt get to bed but mom just seemed done with me at that point... I talked to staff about it and I think next time I will ask before going to do that kind of check. Simply saying that I'm a little concerned and asking if it's okay before going ahead with it.
I mean... I think I could be overanalyzing the situation as well... Other staff told me that if mom is upset she verbally says so and she didn't... So I'm just not sure
I'm just so afraid of messing up in any way (whether it's upsetting the family or letting someone get hurt or sick) ... I dont know
If you're a personal care assistant and coach, I wouldn't think that you are responsible in any way for your clients' health care. Perhaps you're overreaching a little bit in your sense of responsibility?
Beachy, all I really have to do is identify if there is a potential medical emergency and call 911. That is in my job description... Pt uses chewy keys (traditional "baby" toys) as an alternative to constantly grinding teeth. There have been times that she had a piece of the keys come off and get stuck in her throat-causing a coughing fit... So that's what I was afraid of.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
This thread has been moved to the Home Health Nursing forum to accrue responses from nurses who work in home health and private duty. Good luck to you.
As a home health aide, I understand your frustration: you were trying to be thorough and it resulted in a negative response. As others have already said, just ask mom next time. But also, remember that if you are the person who is willing to be thorough and double check on things, you need to be willing to follow through--in this case, following through would have been staying to get the patient back in bed. I've done this before--literally checked on someone 2 minutes before end of shift and ended up staying an extra 30. It's part of it.
It sounds like an honest mistake. Next time just take the extra time to put the pt back to bed since she obviously misunderstood. As far the coughing I know myself. I would have checked in again and I am not a nurse either but a PT. I like all my visits to be incident free if at all possible. Keep in mind your visits dont always go as you have planned as far as times. Sometimes I end up dealing with someone in one visit that causes me to spend extra time in the home making me late for the next visit. Our resposibilty is to care for the pts needs while in the home. If that means I stay 15 min over because you have issues or a situation then so be it. I would much prefer you to be safe when I leave.
When you work with kiddos, your going to piss parents off sometimes. That is the reality of it, some parents are easy going and some are extremely difficult...but they are the parents so you have to respect that. Just follow your company protocols and stay within the scope of your job duties and try to be sensitive to both parent and child. If a parent denies a treatment, says their child is ok then your only action is to document which will be your saving grace. Talk to the mother, explain where you were coming from and apologize for possibly upsetting her. If she is understanding she might realize you were looking out for her child and be ok. Just try not to cause any issues especially right before your walking out the door.
Being in healthcare is tough, unfortunately you'll run into a lot of unpleasant people (both patient/family and fellow healthcare workers). Don't over analyze, just learn and move on. Best of luck.
mvm2
1,001 Posts
Like I said before mistakes happen. There is no perfect caregiver. All we can ever do is try to do our best and learn from the mistakes we make.