HUGS?!

aellisrn · Nov 15, 2014

To me it truly depends on the patient. Personally I am not a hugging type person, unless it is someone I am really close to. But I have on a few occasions hugged patients or their family members.

annie.rn · Nov 15, 2014

I will hug a patient on occasion if they initiate the hug. I don't want to invade anyone's personal space w/o their permission.

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 15, 2014

It depends on the cleanliness of the patient since I work in emergency services. If i truly am grossed out about their level of hygiene I will tell them I cannot because of infection control.

If you do have a nice clean patient that is huggable I will do it if I am comfortable, kinda gives you that warm fuzzy feeling I guess, like you made a difference in their life.

I once had a patient, while in nursing school, ask me to give him a full body massage. He was in his 60s and quite large and I was like :no: . I would never give any patient any massage because I am just not comfortable doing that and it would just gross me out!

HPRN

annie.rn · Nov 16, 2014

. I once had a patient, while in nursing school, ask me to give him a full body massage. He was in his 60s and quite large and I was like . I would never give any patient any massage because I am just not comfortable doing that and it would just gross me out! HPRN

Eeew! Pervy. LOL.

Spangle Brown · Nov 16, 2014

It depends on the cleanliness of the patient since I work in emergency services. If i truly am grossed out about their level of hygiene I will tell them I cannot because of infection control.
If you do have a nice clean patient that is huggable I will do it if I am comfortable, kinda gives you that warm fuzzy feeling I guess, like you made a difference in their life.
I once had a patient, while in nursing school, ask me to give him a full body massage. He was in his 60s and quite large and I was like . I would never give any patient any massage because I am just not comfortable doing that and it would just gross me out!
HPRN

Easy. I didn't attend Massage therapy school and I would get fired for practicing out of my field.

loriangel14, RN · Nov 16, 2014

I'm a hugger. I give hugs freely unless it's a creepy male patient.

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · Nov 16, 2014

Noooo. I have to be married to someone before I want to hug them. I think my body language makes that clear, so it's usually not an issue. On the rare occasion that someone doesn't "get it", I might lean in, quickly pat them on the back, and say "hug" before backing away. If they're creepy, I just cut right to the backing away part and let them know that nurses don't hug patients.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Nov 16, 2014

Well. . . I work in L&D and hug patients (and their family members) on a regular basis. Hugs range from a perfunctory pat to very emotional embraces. It's 100% situation-dependent. And of course, I provide whatever level of physical support women may need from me during labor, which can range from counter pressure to practically slow dancing with each other!

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Nov 16, 2014

I've worked pedi my entire career... if my patient wants to hug me (instead of kick me in the face), I'm all for it.

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Nov 16, 2014

It depends. I don't think it's flat-out, across the board verboten. You just pick and choose. I've had nurses hug me after clinical and I'm like, "oh, this is nice, I guess." :cheeky:

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Nov 16, 2014

I'm a very huggy type person, so yes if a patient asked I would. Human contact is a very basic human need. It makes people feel better. Didn't you guys learn about touch and how therapeutic it is? Also, yes, nurses can give massages. Something we learned in fundamentals. It's part of their nighttime routine. Maybe not a whole body massage, but yes a patient can get one. On Maslows Hierarchy of Needs this ranks pretty high. Touch is a basic human need which can help in healing. I'm disappointed that people don't understand that.