Is it wrong to bring a patient coffee?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I'm a cna at a nursing home. I got very attached to one resident (I know that's bad). I do not perform care on him. I only talk to him after my shift is done. We started talking about coffee and he told me how much he misses a certain brands coffee. As a reaction I told him I'll bring him one before my shift starts on another day.

He never has any visitors. He's the most polite man I've ever met. He told me his physical therapist brought him in left overs from an upscale restaurant one day so I thought it would be okay to buy him coffee.

Now I'm having second thoughts. I'm brand new to this nursing home. So far I've made very good impressions to my coworkers, residents, and their families. I don't want to ruin it over coffee. Would it be wrong to buy him coffee one day? Could I be fired?

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Specializes in ACLS, PALS, TNCC, ENPC.

As long as he can have it and he's not on any dietary restrictions. Just check his chart and ask around and you should be good to go!

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Specializes in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.

I would ask the nurses who care for him to make sure it's ok.. Otherwise, I don't see a problem with it. Check to make sure it doesn't violate any policies too.

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I would double check with the nurses. I don't see a problem with it though! I pass snacks/ice/coffee with the CNA's at the hospital I volunteer at.

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Bringing gifts for patients can be a slippery slope. I haven't been a CNA yet but had a similar position in a home for the mentally disabled. They generally discouraged gifts of monetary value.

However, you already said you would so I wouldn't back out of it. I would get him some good coffee this one time, hopefully for his bday or christmas, and try to keep it on the DL so other patients don't feel left out. I don't think this case is a big deal, it's just coffee (and I'd be really sad if I was stuck with crappy coffee for the rest of my life!) but keep in mind it's best not to do this in the future. You probably can't really afford to get a gift for every patient, so it's not really a good idea to get one for just one, kwim?

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