regarding overnight visitation..

[dfk, RN, CRNA]

this is sort of in conjunction with nursekerns' "visitation and staying the night" post..

i have had several 'talks' with one of my charge nurses in regards to patient's husband/wife, etc.. staying the night.

as a proponent of quick and effective healing within in my SICU, anything that helps the patient progress (and take a little off my load each night) is always welcome..

now, that doesn't go without saying this is a rule, since not all cases are the same, but let me stay focused on the 'issue' - - -

my charge nurse continues to say that it is ultimately her decision in deciding if a visitor stays overnight.

for VARIOUS reasons, i say otherwise, since it "ultimately" affects me more than her.

any thoughts or similar experiences welcome - -

thanks in advance !

[Artemis2]

What does the unit's visitation policy say? I am a firm believer that a visitation policy must be adhered to even if you don't agree with it. You may not realize the problems it can cause if one nurse lets the spouse stay over night and the other nurses adhere to a policy that doesn't allow it. Remember that families do talk to each other in the waiting room and compare notes. Be aware of the problems it causes your co-workers if you allow the spouse to stay one night and the nurse the next night kicks them out. If you are breaking policy and the charge nurse is trying to enforce it then her position trumps yours. If you don't agree with the policy then try to change things at the policy level. As I said in my post to the other thread, I believe that whatever the policy is all staff must adhere to it to prevent problems. Remember that while you are thinking about what is best for you and your patient, your charge nurse has to do what she thinks is best for the unit.

[ICURN_NC]

I have found that most nurses in our unit do use their own discretion, however we often follow the guidelines. If there is a deviation, our nurses will tell the visitor that this was the nurse's discretion, and the next nurse (or any thereafter) may not do the same thing.

I do agree with the OP that the primary nurse is most affected, but I also see Artemis POV. If I let visitors for pt A stay, they tell visitors for pt B wo have been asked to leave per policy, and then the visitors complain, it usually ends up being the charge nurse who has to put out the fire.

Hard decisions.

[dfk, RN, CRNA]

i agree and see what you're saying as well ICURN...