How to be a polite patient/family member

[Semolina]

I hope you don't mind a question about something I've wondered about when I have been with family in the hospital. For a non-emergency request, is it better to press the call button, or to simply speak to someone in the hallway?

In several cases, the patient's assigned nurse was nearby, so I felt silly using the call bell and spoke directly to the nurse. But I always felt as if I was bothering the nurse, who was obviously busy.

We are polite, reasonable people and someone usually remembered to say "thank you" -- I was not asking for anything for myself, and I was not complaining, But I often felt vaguely uncomfortable -- as if I had done something wrong.

I'd love to hear any suggestions -- and I do realize the hospital experience is inherently unpleasant, and that could be the source of my discomfort.

[sandyfeet]

If you use the call light, your request can be delegated properly. Often times something can be handled appropriately by a nurse's aide or even the secretary who answers the call light. Or maybe it needs to go to the doctor and the secretary or aide can get that process started. By stopping a nurse in the hallway, it may interrupt a time-sensitive task the nurse was working on. If I see my patient's call light go off and I really have the time, I will answer it myself. Otherwise I wait to see if it am be handled by someone else until I have the time.

Please and thank you are always appreciated!

[Semolina]

Thank you, Sandyfeet. I think I was unduly influenced by a nurse acquaintance who complained about call lights -- she had a lot of patients -- I think she said 12? Is that even possible on a med/surg night shift? My intentions were good, but perhaps my understanding of the situation was imperfect.

In any case, your explanation is helpful and I appreciate it.

[P B and J]

I work med-surg, and sometimes our aides have 12 patients each. Depends on the night, the floor, acuity, and lots of other things. But we appreciate when the call light is used. If someone stops me in the hall to ask for something, I feel like they are standing there waiting for whatever it is, and I feel (maybe wrongly) obligated to do X right now, so I (almost always) do. Even if I'm in the middle of something.

If a patient or family member uses the call light, whoever has a second will answer on my floor. It could be an aide, someone else's aide, me, another nurse, the charge nurse, or even the supervisor. But whoever has a second to pop in and see what's up, also usually has a second or two to do whatever it is that's needed. This is not necessarily the case for the nurse that's hurrying to give a certain med, or urgently call a doc, etc.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Please use the call light. You don't know what that nurse you've just interrupted in the hallway was on her way to doing . . . or how critical.

[Billy_Ruben]

I always explain to my patients when I admit them that by using the call light their request will be paged out to the appropriate person and should result in a quicker handling of their need.

[SwansonRN]

Not bashing you, but some of my pet peeves: a) patients yelling out for the nurse/shaking their bed rails b) family members coming out in the hall and finding me (sometimes while I'm in another patient's room) c) family members lingering in the hallways. Your needs are absolutely important to me, but know that I am always prioritizing. Just because you come and find me while I'm doing something else doesn't mean that I will stop everything and do that first. Don't take it personally, but I have a lot of responsibilities and I have to address issues in the safest order possible. My respiratory distress patient is going to come first, then the pain med in bed 2, and the new ice water pitcher comes last.

Unless it's a true emergency, it's really best just to use the call bell :)

[Semolina]

I always explain to my patients when I admit them that by using the call light their request will be paged out to the appropriate person and should result in a quicker handling of their need.

This sounds like a good idea, and I wish more nurses were like you. By the way, my question had nothing to do with speed of response.

[ICU56]

Agree with the general consensus being put forth by the other comments. Call bell, absolutely.

Prioritization issues are a major concern. If you come into the hall and grab me, its taking away from something else, or Im going to have to finish something more urgent and get back to you, which may take much more time. Its better for both of us if you use the call light and the task gets delegated appropriately.

Obviously, if your family member is in distress then you are more than welcome to grab me, but understand that for other things...You are not bothering the person on the other end of the call light. Their job is to answer it and delegate the response.

[Semolina]

You are not bothering the person on the other end of the call light. Their job is to answer it and delegate the response.

Thank you -- that is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to know. I wasn't sure if the call bell was only for emergencies.

Everyone seems to think my concern was speed of response, but that is not the case. I had one family member who thought the call bell was only for emergencies -- the same (very polite) family member heard people grousing about answering the bell, and concluded we shouldn't use it.

I wonder if nurses/techs are so busy they just forget to explain how the system works? There is a lot going on at the time of admission, for both hospital staff and patients/families, so it's not surprising that something so routine might be overlooked, or that a family who just spent 12 hours in the emergency room might forget.

I don't recall anyone ever explaining call bells to me. True, a lot of folks won't listen no matter what you tell them, but it might be something for hospital staff to keep in mind.

[Semolina]

Just because you come and find me while I'm doing something else doesn't mean that I will stop everything and do that first.

My question had nothing to do with speed of response to a request. The issue was how to properly make the request.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I wonder if nurses/techs are so busy they just forget to explain how the system works? There is a lot going on at the time of admission, for both hospital staff and patients/families, so it's not surprising that something so routine might be overlooked, or that a family who just spent 12 hours in the emergency room might forget.

I don't recall anyone ever explaining call bells to me. True, a lot of folks won't listen no matter what you tell them, but it might be something for hospital staff to keep in mind.

The staff may not be able to explain call bells separately for every visitor, but we make a herculean effort to make sure that the patient understands.