Not a cook...how do I talk to mom..?

[oldnurse28]

My current patient is on a real food puree diet. He does get supplements of a prepackaged version when mom doesn't make his foods and I have no problem preparing it for his feeds just like any other formula preparation BUT mom said yesterday "I want to show you how to make his breakfast" so she now expects me to cook and make his purees.

I checked my plan of care and it clearly states mom will provide food for meals but how do I talk to mom about this. I am not under any circumstances going to be cooking and now ding these special recipes dietary has this kid on.

Mom also has weird thoughts on food safety. She leaves food out all night on the counter and then blends it for this kid, it is veggies with no meat but still...it should be put in the fridge.

Any idea how to approach this mom or should I just call my supervisor and ask her to talk to mom about this?

[caliotter3]

It would be best and would take less time (presumably) to rectify if you discussed this with your clinical supervisor. Perhaps a case conference is in order (something most agencies don't even bother with). If you are uncomfortable with preparing meals, then you need to set boundaries with the mother, but you don't want her to approach the supervisor first so that a change is made to the care plan without your input. If the care plan is changed, and the supervising managers then require you do these tasks, time for you to find a new case if you do not want to adapt.

[Queen Tiye, RN]

“Mom providing food” means she will provide the food. It’s within our duties to prepare it if a parent asks. Is she leaving raw veggies out on the counter? There’s no harm in that. These are small things and don’t pose a danger to the Pt and it doesn’t appear that any boundaries are being crossed.

[Orion81RN]

On 11/1/2019 at 7:02 AM, Queen Tiye said:

“Mom providing food” means she will provide the food. It’s within our duties to prepare it if a parent asks.

No, it absolutely is not. This is a perfect example of how parents get confused as to what is acceptable to ask of a nurse. When one nurse does one thing without batting an eye, and another nurse refuses, then it leads to problems. Preparing food and cooking "special dietary recipes" are 2 separate things. Microwaving is the extent of my cooking.

[AdobeRN]

I would have no problem taking the pureed food from fridge and heat up if needed - but I am not going to be the one to do the food prep - the actual pureeing, preparing, storing etc etc. - that is the parent/guardian job.