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

[lilbit12]

Ok I have a question. I work LTC and I just took a new position at this facility the doctor requires you to fax everything! And I mean everything! If you page him he very rarely calls back and if you call his office his receptionist will say you need to fax it, and he is our medical director to boot! If this normal?? In the other LTC facilities I worked at you could at least get to the nurse! Any thoughts?????

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

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.

Exactly! But what we do is take the phone into the super's office and do it from there. That way no one (its usually the staff who have no reason to have their phones out..*non-licensed staff* who are quick to try and report nurses for having cell phones out) can say we were texting or whatever at the desk etc.

Administration knows we need our cells to text the docs so they turn a blind eye to the policy with licensed staff as its very easy to prove you just texted the doc.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

We fax all labs and minor questions that don't need asap answers and general FYIs on day and evenings. We also try to call later in the shift on days to follow up or early into evenings to follow up if we didn't get a fax or call back. Each doc is different. We have 5 or so docs that come. Some you can call directly, some you page, some we call the service.

Phone calls are the #1 way we get ahold of our docs.

[DPRN]

The Dr rounds on Mondays and his CRNP rounds on Wednesdays and Fridays. Usually all concerns are held until they arrive. For an emergency, we call the office or his cell if after hours. Our Dr is very kind when being called at home.

For those of you that text the Dr, do you have a facility cell phone or do you each use your own cell phones? Just wondering.

[systoly]

send a fax that reads "call me"

Actually, I prefer faxing. I get a copy and there's no question about the info I passed on. I think it solves a lot of communication problems.