Mommies and daddys in the trauma room.

nuangel1, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2006

we do not have a hard and fast rule.but we try not to separate parent from child unless parent is too distraught or can't let us work.usually 1 if not bot of parents stay and we explain if poss. as we go

pkapple · Sep 27, 2006

As far as routine ER care goes, we do nothing until a parent is in the room. So unless immenent threat of loss of life, limb or eyesight, mom must be present. The op asked about trauma room, which I assume would include a medical code as well. That is a whole different world, I am in a SMALL hospital, we do not have a chaplain or extra staff, so yep its all about patients care. At 0300 we have only 3-4 nurses and a sleeping doc/midlevel in the building, and up to 15 inpatients and a 5 bed ER to keep safe at the same time. we do have ancillary-lab,RT,xray-on call.

crazy4trauma · Sep 27, 2006

Yes, I was speaking of emergent and life threateneing situations and codes. Major traumas. I am trying to compare how I might react as a mother vs. how I might react to a parent as a nurse. As a nurse, it is easy to say you know how a parent feels if you are one, but as a parent who is not a nurse yet, it does give me some trepidations. One traumatic experience for me (as a secretary) was a SIDS case. The mother was asked to wait in the family room, and they went in and told her her son was dead. Now with SIDS, we all know that there is no coming back, but she did not know this, and after the first unforgettable screams, she kept saying "I should have been there, I should have been there." She felt he died all alone in the trauma room, and she should have been by his side. I agree. But I agree as a mother. As a nurse, I might be thinking differently. I hope not, but I guess I won't really know until I am in that situation.

gr8rnpjt, RN · Sep 27, 2006

I was taught that there were situations where you did NOT separate mother and child - mainly if you have a child with epiglottitis.
Why epiglottitis specifically?

vamedic4, EMT-P · Sep 28, 2006

Most hospitals should have family-centered care. I did my master's thesis on family presence in the ER during resuscitation and found many studies (one that was 10 years in duration) that all proved that there was not a higher rate of lawsuits and there was a higher rate of satisfaction for the families.
You can bet I would never leave my kids' side and mine are 26 and 21!

Very interesting, and great to know!

Yeah, you'd have to DRAG me out of there if it were one of my little one's (4 and 10).

vamedic4, EMT-P · Sep 28, 2006

I was taught that there were situations where you did NOT separate mother and child - mainly if you have a child with epiglottitis.
Why epiglottitis specifically?
Because separating the parent from the child will aggravate the child, further shutting down an already narrowed airway. Big No No.
vamedic4

Kidrn911 · Oct 5, 2006

As a peds ER RN in a level 1 trauma hospital. I dont mind mommies and daddies with in the the trauma room as long as the are not drunk

partyof5 · Oct 5, 2006

We have to remember that healing is not only medicine. 42 years ago, my sister almost drown. They said she would be a vegtable if she survived. Our family doctor, not only recommended, but insisted and ordered... my mother be allowed in the room with her as, the hosptial would not let her. This was almost unheard of back then. I wont go into the whole story,but I belive that my mother at her bedside was part of her healing.

Today my sister.. 2 masters and a doctorate..

jov · Oct 7, 2006

so nice to see all the positive responses that indicate the importance of parents being there for their kids when they are in distress. Have to share an amazing ignorant thread on the nursing students board. It's on cell phones ringing in the classroom, and some moms brought up the fact they want a cell phone just in case their kids need them. A story was posted about a 2nd grader falling during recess and getting a radial fx. One poster actually suggested the incident didn't warrant a cell phone call and that the child could wait in the school nurses office for 1-2 hours until the student nurse's class ended...after all, it's not an emergency, she sniffed.

Can you imagine? First of all, if the school couldn't get a hold of the parent, they would call an ambulance. Second of all, if the school did get ahold of the mom and the mom told them to let the kid sit in the nurse's office for another 1 1/2 hours until she got out of nursing class, the school would call DCFS. Glad she isn't my mom.

mrsalby · Oct 8, 2006

I believe it does help for parents or significants to be allowed. As mentioned they need to not de disruptive.

The hospital I work at allows them if it is a critical situation. Sometimes it is crowded, being a teaching hospital. Most of the time families are cooperative.

I recall one incident where a 16yo nosedived into a concrete ditch and had a huge amt of face trauma. The father was a maxillary-oral surgeon and would not leave the room. He stayed at the head of the trauma bed trying to see his son. He was in the way of the trauma docs trying to intubate and do their thing. Dad didn't have privileges at the hospital and the whole time discussed how "sorry" this hospital was and that his son should have never been brought there and he wanted his son transferred immediately to "his" hospital. Not very therapeutic for the son. The Head trauma surgeon had to be called to speak with dad to remove him from the trauma room so that procedures could be done. He let dad know that the son was HIS patient and that he wouldn't be transferred until he released him when the patient became stable and that that would most likely be a few days. He also let dad know that he was speaking to him as a favor because without his cooperation he would have dad removed by security but was trying to avoid a scene. Dad finally went to a waiting area. Mom showed and was more cooperative, but dad was scary! Come to find out...the son had been drinking and dad caught him and they had a huge fight and the nose dive was the son's suicide attempt! what dynamics and how awful.

So yes there are some situations when family shouldn't be allowed.

CrazyPremed, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 29, 2006

Most hospitals should have family-centered care. I did my master's thesis on family presence in the ER during resuscitation and found many studies (one that was 10 years in duration) that all proved that there was not a higher rate of lawsuits and there was a higher rate of satisfaction for the families.

Thanks for the info!

CrazyPremed

Mama Val, ASN, RN · Oct 29, 2006

2 years ago my 10 year old son was caught in a rock slide. Multi lacs to face and hand resulting in 2 reconstructive surgeries. I picked him up and took him to the ER rather than wait for the ambulance. They called in every department for their eval and opinion. I didn't leave his side even when they said it would be better if I just "took a seat in the waiting room". I told them that I was a nurse and I wasn't going to get in the way and I would let them do their job but my job was to stay here for my son. He was awake up until they took him into surgery asking me questions when he could and I answered as best I could. He was a strong man that day.

When my best friend went to go pick up his father to bring him to the hospital to see him he slammed the door in her face. Some parent6s react in different ways. You could not and would not have gotten me out of that room for anything!!!