How do you feel when you see family members and their Note pads in hand

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Just yesterday, a new patient was admitted. As we transferred the patient from her wheelchair, weighed her , then started her physical assessment. Her daughter had her notebook in hand. Asking each of us our names and she would write it down as she also wrote down what was being done with her mother. Mind you their were 3 of us in the room assisting with the transfer, assessment and settling of the patient. The daughter was friendly. Internally, I was saying to myself, oh oh not another one of those....

I walked to the desk and casually mentioned to another co-worker. Don't families realize when they take those notebooks out and start writing how it makes us feel? To me it seems hostile. It does not make me feel like oh boy I want to go into that room more often. My internal side , warns me, this is a room to avoid, this is a family looking for trouble.

I do not believe this is the message families want to convey. I know they are trying to be proactive in the care their loved ones receive. None the less. I can not help how it makes me feel. It makes me feel somehow like the enemy.

How does it make you feel, when you witness those notebooks and the families writing, writing in them?

This actually doesn't bother me if I don't feel the family is looking for problems but is just trying to ensure continuity of care and for staff to take responsibility.

This is what gets me about the medical profession, we are always giving patients mixed messages: stay informed and knowledgable about your treatment, take notes and ask questions, get second opinions -- then everyone gets huffy when they actually do this!

If I see a patient member taking notes, I help them. I spell my name, I tell them "you might make a note of this," I list the meds for them and tell them what they're for, etc. If you cooperate and are receptive to their note-taking, it goes a long way toward making them less antagonist and/or paranoid (if they are). If I don't have a problem with them taking notes, then I'm not afraid to be called out on some action I did/didn't take, right?

How many times have we, as nurses, asked a patient something like, Did they come up and do your EKG? Did you get your CT Scan yesterday? So you didn't like the aide you had yesterday. Which one was it? Did a doctor see you this morning? Do you know what his name was?

We reasonably expect an answer, but how are we going to get it if they don't take notes?

As far as not letting patient's know my name (unless it's psych), it seems a little paranoid to not let them know your last name, but I can understand how some nurses would have a problem with it. Since the hospital keeps records of what nurse is treating what patient when, why would they need to know (the info is available to the powers that be if family wants to complain or pursue things legally). Yet it could protect the nurse from possible harassment.

Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.

I had a "notebook family" argue with me that Tylenol and antibiotics "thinned" the blood and thus why they were refusing them.

If you are going to be a PITA at least know what you are talking about!

Tait

If you think "the notebook" is bad... Check this out. One time, we had a pt on our unit who had a laptop and camera setup in the room so that family can watch (record?) pt care. Sadly, I cared for this pt for at least 2 consecutive days, and NEVER ONCE did I see a family member come visit the pt.

It doesn't bother me if they have a "notebook" although I have on occasion said "I see that you are writing things down and that's ok. I am going to answer your questions and please write what I say word for word, I will do the same when I document this conversation in your family members chart as well."

If they are looking for problems though, I always bring a second person in the room and tell them we will both document the conversation in the chart. It makes people think.

Sometimes I will encourage my pts family members to do this. I work LTC and the ones that irritate you are the nit pickers..."call bell took 10 minutes to answer" "food was touching other food on the plate" those type of things.

The thing that irritates me about this type of complainer is that they are completely selfish and only care about their own family members. It would never occur to them to take some kind of action like complaining to management about understaffing or trying to raise money for a non-profit facility for better care, or writing to their representative about the state of health care in the country now. They just want to blame the last man on the totem pole.

But then, whatever it is, it's always the nurse's fault, isn't it?

Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
If you think "the notebook" is bad... Check this out. One time, we had a pt on our unit who had a laptop and camera setup in the room so that family can watch (record?) pt care. Sadly, I cared for this pt for at least 2 consecutive days, and NEVER ONCE did I see a family member come visit the pt.

That takes the cake, for sure. Makes me want to quit nursing, frankly.

Oh my gosh! I know what all of you mean! I was working in a office as a medical assistant and this RUDE man would ask me questions after assessing him and write it down. I mean, he would ask questions that were above my level of education at the time and make me feel stupid/degraded later on. I told the patient to ask the doctor those questions when he came in, and I later told the doctor that I would refuse to room this patient again if he continued to act in this manner. Long story short, he developed a better attitude and I became one of the medical assistants he asked for. lol.

When I have a family scrutinizing and documenting everything going on in the room I get concerned because they don't have a real good framework for interpretation. Also...what if the sat probe isn't reading correctly, what if a wave-form is dampened? I feel like people try to take a crash course in critical care medicine so that they can direct their loved ones medical care and it drives me crazy. For people do be documenting numbers and values they they cannot make a useful or reasonable interpretation of seems foolish to me.

ok, call me strange, but i actually somewhat enjoy families taking notes.

whenever i see a notepad, i immediately ask its purpose:

collecting data to relay to others?

as a memorial?

or do you have plans to sue?

i ask with innocence and sincerity.

once i get their answers, i ensure it is passed on from shift to shift, so we're on the same page.

truly, it doesn't bother me in the least.

even for those families who want to blame anything else except the terminal dx.

i'll explain why they have temps, fungating lesions, abn vitals, alt ms, whatever they need to know.

9 times out of 10, they are extremely grateful for my receptivity.

*shrug*

just doesn't bother me...don't know why.

leslie

Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
ok, call me strange, but i actually somewhat enjoy families taking notes.

whenever i see a notepad, i immediately ask its purpose:

collecting data to relay to others?

as a memorial?

or do you have plans to sue?

i ask with innocence and sincerity.

once i get their answers, i ensure it is passed on from shift to shift, so we're on the same page.

truly, it doesn't bother me in the least.

even for those families who want to blame anything else except the terminal dx.

i'll explain why they have temps, fungating lesions, abn vitals, alt ms, whatever they need to know.

9 times out of 10, they are extremely grateful for my receptivity.

*shrug*

just doesn't bother me...don't know why.

leslie

OK leslie, you're strange... :lol2: ;)

I was hired by the patients family to watch over their loved one, although thier loved one was in a skilled nursing unit-had a few hospital trips. The patient's Medical POA insisted I write everything down-went into detail about what she meant by everything. - Then Medical POA didn't even bother to read the notes, however was very demanding and would misinform me and the nurses. I was so happy the nurses were cool. The note writing was humilitating for my patient - so I then I made it a habit to read to her what I had written. The patient was afraid if she said something wrong I would deam her crazy or something in the notes. POA fired me for not forcing the Dr to stay in the room and call her before he left. Dr said he was too busy. Now I know better than to take a job like that again.

Another form on note taking the other day a family member was taking pictures of the patients vitals. and then the wife on one of the patients took a picture when I was putting on his id band which had mysteriously disappeared along with the ER band that everybody gets. She was raising such a stink I went and put another on the patient and then she clicked and took a picture whatever... I dont think that they are suppossed to take pictures. I have also heard that some patients leave their phones off the hook so that family members can listen when staff comes in. Society has gotten really strange if you ask me. I agree with the other poster who said makes you want to get out of nursing. I am sure it is worse in the ICU where the patients are really sick.

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