If you could create the visitors policy....

scoochy · Aug 30, 2010

Effective immediately, visitors are restricted from viewing the nursing staff as the "General Complaint Dept." Please go to the "Customer Service Center" in the lobby on the main floor. A representative will be glad to direct you to the department that handles your complaint.

Thank you for your co-operation. The nurses can now care for your loved one.

Sugarcoma, RN · Aug 30, 2010

visiting would be allowed for 5 minutes at a time at 11 am, 3 pm and 8pm.
visitors cannot bring in food, drinks, small children, screaming babies or grandma unless she can toilet herself.
two visitors at a time in a room, even if it's our four bed ward.
any co-worker who does not enforce these rules gets a verbal warning, a written warning and then termination.
any visitor who violates these rules is escorted off the premises.
visitors toting guns or knives go to jail.
visitors who are more trouble than the patient go home.
visitors who harass, verbally abuse, attempt to intimidate or assault the staff are shot at dawn.
visitors who harass, verbally abuse, stare at, attempt to intimidate or threaten other patients are shot immediately.
any visitor who answers for a patient is gagged.
visitors who attempt to steal supplies, needles, drugs, or the handbags of employees are handcuffed to an ambulance and dragged to jail.
visitors who create drama and/or throw fits are escorted off the premises and straight to the jerry springer studio.
visitors who attempt to shoot up patients are given a nice shot of vecuronium and then left where they fall.
visitors who have sex in the icu are videotaped for u-tube.
visitors who have sex with patients -- especially patients they've just met are videotaped for utube and "america's most wanted"
no cellphones in the icu. violators will have said phone inserted in their anal orifice.
can you tell i've had a hard day?

:yeah:post of the day!!!!!! would love to implement #3, 6, and 7 immediately on my unit!

allnurses Guide · Aug 30, 2010

what would the hours be?

7 pm to 7:15 pm, thursdays only, after karaoke hour.

what can visitors bring into the patients room (food, drinks, crafts, games...etc.)?

a tube of vaseline, a spatula, and some jelly doughnuts.

how many visitors in a room?

30

what would you do to a coworker who did not enforce these rules?

we spank them.

are these rules for in general at the facility or for a specific department?

just psych.

what would happen if a visitor blatantly violated these rules?

they would get a big ol' bear hug.

any rule related to visitors, what would it be?

no renaissance garb allowed, except during october.

Daliadreamer · Aug 30, 2010

On my oncology unit, we usually tell the patients to tell their visitors that they are nauseated and need to vomit. That usually clears them right out.

Fiona59 · Aug 30, 2010

Just because you drove down from Inuvik doesn't mean you get to visit at 02:30. It also does not mean you get to sleep over to save on hotel bills.

Uhm, is that your baby on the bed? Well take it with you because the average age of nurses on my unit is 55, we raised our kids and work in Adult Acute Care. No, we're not going to feed it, change, or rock it to sleep, now take it to the coffee shop with you before we call the Social Worker. Yup, it happened last week. A visitor brought in a new born to see some relative (who was only in for 36 hours) and decided to leave the child on the bed while they went downstairs for a visit.

RNforLongTime · Aug 31, 2010

ICU visitations....
2 visitors at a time. 1 chair will be provided, take turns using the chair. 2 chairs around an ICU bed in a crowded room is too much for me to climb over.
You may come in for 30 minutes, every 2 hours. We will do our best to schedule patient care, turning, procedures and xrays, etc... around those 30 minutes so you can have quality time visiting your family member, but I really do need the hour and half to keep up to date on everything and be able to care for the patient without interruptions.
No overnight visitation in the ICU. Go home, get some sleep - I'm here now but when this patient gets out of the ICU and has a higher nurse/patient ratio or goes home - you will wish you got your sleep.
Assign one family member to be the patient advocate for the family member - this is to be the only person to call the unit for patient updates and if anyone else calls, they will be referred to speak to the advocate. We do not have time to tell each family member every 30 minutes when they call the same thing over and over again. Phone time diminishes patient time.
You will be asked to leave for assessments, turns, clean ups, baths, xrays, bedside procedures, etc... do so without complaint and immediately when we ask you to.
Be respectful to the staff and the ICU environment. If you become loud, aggressive, touch the equipment, silence the monitor alarms, rummage through drawers, attempt to use our computers or try to leaf through the chart you will be told ONCE that the behavior is not OK - if you persist, you will be escorted out of the unit.
No one under 16 years old at the bedside, period. Our patients are dirty with lots of bugs and it is simply not safe for your infant to come in here. That patient in the room the room next to mom? The one that you are letting your toddler bang on the window of? - That patient has an extremely drug resistant disease, your kid cannot fight off the bugs and its not safe. Maybe you are not aware of the dangers - and thats OK. But we ARE aware of the dangers and we will look out for your kids safety. Besides, we don't need lawsuits because your kid caught C-diff crawling around auntie's bedside.
No unattended family members that are unable to care for themselves. You cannot leave your grandpa at the bedside who is incontinent and sundowning and expect me, not only to take care of your sick family member, but to monitor your grandpa, stop him from wandering away AND extubating granny, and also change him and provide him with our own briefs. I will call adult protective services.
Of course, dying patients, minors, etc... exceptions can always be made. But for your run of the mill ICU patient in a locked trauma unit - gotta keep it all under wraps!!!

THIS!!! I'd love to BEAT my coworkers who do NOT enforce visiting hours upon admitting a pt to our ICU so that when I take over the care, I'M the ***** because I'm making them leave when visiting hours end at 9pm. OR I won't get them a blanket or pillow and/or another bed so they can stay by Mom's side all night long because they let me stay last night/over the weekend.

Now if Mom is dying, I will bend over backwards to get what you need. Or if you are keeping Mom/Grandma from falling on the floor because she's got Alzheimers and keeps trying to get out of bed/pull out her IV-Foley/rip off the monitor leads, then I'll let you stay and gladly bring you a recliner chair(and coffee too) as you're helping me keep your loved one safe as I can't be everywhere at once and do have two other patients to tend to in addition to your mother/grandmother.

On the other hand, IF you want to stay and are only there to make extra work for me with your trivial requests, or won't lift a finger to help your loved one to the bathroom, with the urinal, with eating, bathing, etc because "that's my job" then OUT YOU GO!!