LTC do I bribe with cookies or do I growl

[rudecat]

In my years of working in LTC I have observed the behavior of families . I feel there are three types: 1) the bullies , take care of my person or else 2) the ones that sweeten up the staff with cookies and 3) the always there to help. Being a RN supervisor I've had the opportunity to get to know these people and yes, many do have worries . Is this because they no longer trust ? Bad things happen yes family involvement is great but on a positive outlook .How can we as Nurses make families feel less worried and have faith in us ?

[luvsltcrn]

This is the million dollar question.

[ponymom]

Adequate staffing helps.

But good luck with that...

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Family dynamics can cause some of the biggest headaches in LTC. There are just way too many variables to even try to get into the reasons why some families are so easy to deal with and some are just about impossible. I've reached the point of just being thankful for the good ones and trying my best to deal with the difficult ones. Sadly cookies don't always help, but then neither does growling. It's a judgement call on a case by case basis which approach might be be better.

[djh123]

There can certainly always be the 'impossible' families or family members, but most of the time I get along well with them, especially after they've seen and talked to me a few times. Most can tell after a few visits that a) I actually care about 'their person' and am trying to do what I can for them, and that b) I have quite a few residents & a lot to do, so I can't spend all of my time on 'their person'. Of course, there are always a few people who never get (b).