How do I deal with a parent in home health who is trying too get to close as if you're friends?

Published

So I recently told my employer that I needed to get off work 15min early one day due to an appointment. My employer notified the parent that is would be getting off early. When I get to my clients house the parent says," your boss called and told me you would be getting off early on this day,why didnt you tell me ?" I informed her," you are not my employer. My employer manages these things and gets back to you." The parent then says," I figured since we were in the same home you'd tell me." I informed her once again," you were informed and by my employer". I dont get the issue.did I do something wrong?

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×

The clients have reasonably come to expect to be told first because in many cases the only way they find out is from the nurse. Agency personnel frequently drop the ball in communication, both with clients and with the nurses in the field. In reality you did what you are supposed to do, the way you are supposed to do it. However, in the future, it would be best to bring the client into the communication loop sooner to avoid friction. BTW, the title of your thread suggested your post would be different. Simply wanting to be told about an upcoming absence has nothing to do with getting "too friendly".

7
Up Vote Up Vote ×

When I was in HH I tried my best to not step on the toes of any family members because that could make my job a lot less pleasant. I would usually get the "ok" from management before telling the family/patient that I planned to switch a shift around. In the future you could perhaps say "I was planning to tell you once I got the ok from my manager. I'm glad they let you know," or something similar.

7
Up Vote Up Vote ×
48 minutes ago, caliotter3 said:

The clients have reasonably come to expect to be told first because in many cases the only way they find out is from the nurse. Agency personnel frequently drop the ball in communication, both with clients and with the nurses in the field. In reality you did what you are supposed to do, the way you are supposed to do it. However, in the future, it would be best to bring the client into the communication loop sooner to avoid friction. BTW, the title of your thread suggested your post would be different. Simply wanting to be told about an upcoming absence has nothing to do with getting "too friendly".

? I know the title says a little different because I had other thin

14 minutes ago, BiscuitRN said:

When I was in HH I tried my best to not step on the toes of any family members because that could make my job a lot less pleasant. I would usually get the "ok" from management before telling the family/patient that I planned to switch a shift around. In the future you could perhaps say "I was planning to tell you once I got the ok from my manager. I'm glad they let you know," or something similar.

Thanks so much, yeah I had told my employer weeks ago about it.I had honestly forget and when she brought it up then i just let her know I get the ok through my employer.i didnt want to go into the details of it because she tends to gossip alot and mix things up.shes already not pleasant to work around lol..

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You are wise not to go into details with the client. Most of them discuss matters between different nurses or with others, potentially causing drama.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
1 minute ago, caliotter3 said:

You are wise not to go into details with the client. Most of them discuss matters between different nurses or with others, potentially causing drama.

That's exactly what she does so I try to get my work done and limit the conversation because she likes to twist words and create drama.so anything related to the client I keep her in the loop but things as far as me and scheduling I tell my job..yeah I was adding more with the title but it was too long and just kept that out and forgot to change the title.but yeah she often tells me things about other nurses and has even done it to me.so I steer clear of too much conversation with her

Up Vote Up Vote ×
10 minutes ago, caliotter3 said:

You are wise not to go into details with the client. Most of them discuss matters between different nurses or with others, potentially causing drama.

Brings me back to when I told my manager that I had to get a day off for my grandma's funeral. For some bizarre reason they thought they should tell my patient why I was gone. I walk in the next week and the patient goes "so how'd your grandma die?" Uhh...

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

There's a separate forum here for Private Duty Nursing. If you check it out, you'll see that parents of special needs kids can be on the.... difficult.... side sometimes!

3
Up Vote Up Vote ×
41 minutes ago, BiscuitRN said:

Brings me back to when I told my manager that I had to get a day off for my grandma's funeral. For some bizarre reason they thought they should tell my patient why I was gone. I walk in the next week and the patient goes "so how'd your grandma die?" Uhh...

That has happened to me before too.it really pissed me off

Up Vote Up Vote ×
33 minutes ago, brillohead said:

There's a separate forum here for Private Duty Nursing. If you check it out, you'll see that parents of special needs kids can be on the.... difficult.... side sometimes!

Omg thanks so much

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Private Duty Pediatrics.
1 hour ago, LPNTORN704 said:

So I recently told my employer that I needed to get off work 15min early one day due to an appointment. My employer notified the parent that is would be getting off early. When I get to my clients house the parent says," your boss called and told me you would be getting off early on this day,why didnt you tell me ?" I informed her," you are not my employer. My employer manages these things and gets back to you." The parent then says," I figured since we were in the same home you'd tell me." I informed her once again," you were informed and by my employer". I dont get the issue.did I do something wrong?

My employer always wants to know first. That works OK in theory, but - in practice - my employer does not always communicate with the parent in a timely manner. I may have asked my employer about leaving early, but that might not work for the parent. This might have been a day that the parent had to pick up her child's meds on the way home, or any other errand that needed to be done. With advance notice, the parent could have made it work.

It is so frustrating for the parents to find out - an hour before I am to arrive - that I cannot work tonight, when I had told my employer THAT MORNING that I had bronchitis. Had the parents known, one of them might have been able to get in a nap during the day, so as to be able to stay up all night.

I still tell my employer first, but I have learned to also tell the parent.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion