Is this considered patient abandonment?

[lindsmith88]

I'm a nursing student and am in the process of doing my preceptorship. The other day my nurse and I were notified that we would be getting a patient from the ER. We didn't know the patient had arrived until the nursing assistant told us. They dropped the patient off and left and we never received any kind of report, so we knew nothing about the patient. Is this considered abandonment?

[LouisVRN, RN]

I'm assuming that would depend on the policy at the facility where you work. Are you required to get a verbal/written SBAR of the patient, or is that information available in the computer and you are supposed to see it when you are assigned the patient? You knew you were getting the patient so it wasn't like the patient didn't have a nurse. Either way it is bad practice not to ensure that the receiving nurse is aware of the patient's presence on the unit.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Poor practice maybe? This is where you call the ED and insist on a report.

If this becomes a common practice, this is were a floor nurse manager needs to step in and have a chat with the nurse manager of the ED about what their nurses are doing.

[Asystole RN]

In a technical sense yes.

A nurse, once the nurse-patient relationship is established, is not relieved of duty until the nurse hands the patient off to a licensed nurse who is able to accept the patient. That being said, report can be given by phone, written report, or in person.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

Never assume the worst of your fellow nurses. Always give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe a ER tech dropped the patient off, thinking his nurse had already called report.

[NBMom1225]

This is exactly the (crappy) new standard at my hospital...no phone or faxed report, rarely an SBAR. The only way we know that the bed has even been booked is if the unit secretary is one of the good ones who gives you the heads up..."it's all in the computer" is managements rationale.

This has led to many inappropriate transfers/bed assignments, such as calling a Rapid Response within 10 minutes of the patient being on the floor r/t unstable vitals...one ended up intubated and in the ICU, and when the family showed up later they claimed he was a DNR...no paper work on the chart stating this, and it was definitely NOT in the computer...supposedly the family verbally told the ER RN this info, but it apparently didn't get passed on to the doc or us.

You would think this type of screw-up would be addressed and the traditional phone report process would be reinstituted, right? Nope. I think it'll take a sentinel event and/or a major lawsuit for them to actually address the situation, despite numerous complaints/write ups from the receiving floors...until then, when I have empty rooms I just make it a habit to check out the assignment book every 1/2 hr or so to see if one of my rooms is booked. :uhoh21:

[WildOne]

I've had that happen to me when a pt was being transferred from one hospital to ours. Her bed wasn't even clean yet so they dumped her in the bed across. We found out when the pt who THAT bed was intended for came up from the er and the porter transferring said there was someone already in the bed!

[MunoRN, RN]

According to my State's BON yes, this is straight up abandonment. Abandonment occurs when a Nurses fails to "confirm receipt and understanding of the report" by the receiving Nurse.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

According to my State's BON yes, this is straight up abandonment. Abandonment occurs when a Nurses fails to "confirm receipt and understanding of the report" by the receiving Nurse.

I think "confirm receipt"

is the very important part of this, this is why the "in the computor" line just doesn't cut it.

[AshleyO77]

Maybe the nurse forgot? How many times do we mean to do something and then we forget cuz we get interrupted?

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

Maybe the nurse forgot? How many times do we mean to do something and then we forget cuz we get interrupted?

But I don't understand how someone can just forget to give report?

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Abandonment? Yes. Would I be calling the BON? No.

Multiple scenarios could lead to this happening. Just one: Nurse tells charge she's about to give report. Charge tells tech to transport patient. Tech transports patient. Before nurse gives report, gets caught up with another patient. Nurse may not even realize the patient is gone from the ED.

If it's a one time thing? I'd call to get report and just file it under, "poop happens." If it's a regular thing, then the manager of the floor/floors needs to get with the manager of the ED to fix the system that's allowing it to happen.