LTC Nurses How do you get a hold of your Doc?

KarmaWiseRaven · Dec 28, 2010

Have you talked to the Admin, DON, Nurse Manager, I would start there and just show concern what can it hurt. It sounds to me your place of business need's to rethink the medical director position. If you have to fax everything to him and if there is an emergency with a resident and your calling him and if he's not answering and your being told to fax it if someone answers. I'm sorry to say he needs to go and your place of employment need's to take the time and shop around for another medical director and not drag their feet on it. These are my thoughts us them as you wish

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 11, 2011

Moved to the LTC forum

Although I am in Canada we fax our doctor during the week if we feel it is important ie blood results that can not wait until they come to the facility. If after 5pm we phone him in regards to something that needs action like INR and warfarin prescribing. We have a requirement that the doctor visits the facility at least once a week taking into account vacation they may take but there is a cover MD for those times although they do not visit the facility but are available by phone or fax for things that can not wait like INR

debRN0417 · Jan 11, 2011

I understand faxing things that are non-emergent...but BE SURE ANY communication you have with the physician is contained in the clinical record. Be sure you document it in the Nurse's Notes and that you place a copy of the fax and the response in the chart to ensure that you cover yourself and have proof that you communicated with the physician. The problem with faxing is that you must make sure that it is followed up on, that someone doesn't fax a comcern to the doc and then three days later he decides to respond...Read F501 thich outlines the duties of the Medical Director. Also F 385 and and F389. 389 talks about Emergency Care and physician availability.

CloudySue · Jan 11, 2011

Most of our doctors will take or return a call promptly, but we will fax anything that is not urgent, like notification of a fall or a non-urgent request for a med or treatment or whatever. But important things we'll leave a msg w the nurse or answering service. We do have one doctor who will not take a fax for anything. EVERYTHING must be called in, meaning we have to page him and then WAIT by the phone until he calls back. And if you don't pick up immediately when he calls he gets huffy and hangs up. Any time we call him he acts very annoyed and patronizing, so we all dread any little thing we have to tell him.He can take one minute up to 90 minutes to call back. Most times I have no time to sit and wait for his call, so I save everything except emergencies to the end of my shift, when I sit and document.

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Jan 12, 2011

I was going to be fresh and say I get a hold of the doc by the back of his pants:lol2: but....at the facility I'm at now we call and they usually call back promptly. I prefer faxing. We have so many non emergent things to deal with it's just easier to fax. I have worked with nurses who thought it was sufficient to fax a lab in the middle of the night! Yah..fine for normals but for abnormal results, you need to call.

Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN · Jan 12, 2011

We have this one MD who its like when he comes in... you turn around and hes done. fleeing out the door. lol I wish more MDs would let us fax non-emergent things. Because some of them(like the one above) takes forever to call back, hangs up after a minute if hes on hold, and when you do get on the phone with him.. hes too quiet and you think he hung up on you.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 13, 2011

One of the physicians at the nursing home where I am employed will not return phone calls or pages, but he responds very well to text messages. If you send him a text message about a change in condition, a nonemergent issue, or a request, he will sent a text message within a few minutes with orders.

Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN · Jan 13, 2011

One of the physicians at the nursing home where I am employed will not return phone calls or pages, but he responds very well to text messages. If you send him a text message about a change in condition, a nonemergent issue, or a request, he will sent a text message within a few minutes with orders.

That really doesn't sound like a bad idea. Especially for a treatment order or a resident needs blood sugar coverage beyond the sliding scale.

casi, ASN, RN · Jan 13, 2011

I work on the TCU so our MD or his NP drop by daily. So most of our communications to them are done through a lovely yellow clipboard hanging at the nurses station. I really don't know how dayshift does things, but at night everything not critical goes on the clipboard and critical things get called to the on-call group who is really good at returning calls in 5-10mins.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Jan 13, 2011

Our docs call twice a day (once on the day shift, once on the 2nd shift) every day around the same time. If we have something going on that happens in between the two calls or during 3rd shift, we can call them or text them. Both tend to call or text quickly when we text them. Faxing only seems to occur when they request we fax a special report (xray, u/s etc) to them.

The odd thing is..our facility has a NO CELL PHONE policy on the floors..if you're caught using one, you're gone..so I never have my cell on me. So I tend to call.

Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN · Jan 13, 2011

Our docs call twice a day (once on the day shift, once on the 2nd shift) every day around the same time. If we have something going on that happens in between the two calls or during 3rd shift, we can call them or text them. Both tend to call or text quickly when we text them. Faxing only seems to occur when they request we fax a special report (xray, u/s etc) to them.
The odd thing is..our facility has a NO CELL PHONE policy on the floors..if you're caught using one, you're gone..so I never have my cell on me. So I tend to call.

But how are you supposed to text an MD if you aren't supposed to use your cell phone. What cell phone do they want you to use?

Obviously on 3-11 there's no administration so I keep my phone on me, if im sitting down charting I'll keep it out so I can see when I get a text. I don't dare use it in a patients room or during a med pass though.