Patient asking for phone number to keep in touch, what do you say?

Trauma Columnist · Mar 13, 2008

No way, not ever!

I work with chronic pts and those that need to contact me (officially) get my cell number that is turned off when I'm not on call. That's it.

Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2008

I give them the unit phone number, telling them that they should call that number since "this is where I am most of the time anyway!" (said with an oh so cheerful tone and sickly sweet smile...)

Now that I work the ED, I think patients are more relieved to see the door or their inpatient bed. And that's just fine by me - I wish them well and send them on their way.

Blee

sweetnoel · Mar 13, 2008

Maybe not my phone number.... but maybe my e-mail. I work in the NICU and love to keep in touch with my babies families once they are discharged home.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Mar 13, 2008

Nope, nope, nope. To me, this leads to problems. Calls on your personal time, getting more involved than therapeutically advisable and I just don't want to be pestered.

I think that the best thing is to give them the number to where you work, and even, then, to be honest, can be an issue for me. I had one patient who I had to convince to come for follow up treatments because she was afraid to see doctors. After I convinced her, she asked me if she can call the office to speak to me each time she has to see a provider or get a diagnostic test, because I took the fear away. I did give her the general number to the clinic and said that any nurse can answer her questions and concerns. I hate to be cold, but I have to see too many patients to take that responsibility on for general questions. I do make follow up calls to them, but it has to be a limit to them having personal access to me 24 hours a day. Come to think of it, when I was a psych tech, a manic depressive patient even asked me if I would take on her sons as foster children so that she can trust that they will be okay. Said no to that, too.

Ms Kylee · Mar 13, 2008

I always tell them it's against the hospital rules. Everyone here knows I love my patients, but I have to draw the line between working time and real world time.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Mar 13, 2008

Even my residents, who are like family (and who know I carry a company cell phone 24/7/365), don't have my number!! Work is work and private life is private life, and never the twain should meet. JMHO.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2008

Maybe not my phone number.... but maybe my e-mail. I work in the NICU and love to keep in touch with my babies families once they are discharged home.

Me too. A patient's father once friended me on Facebook, too. I didn't mind. But I would NEVER give a patient/family my personal phone number, and if I worked with adults, I probably wouldn't even do email. Or I suppose if the father was not involved with the mother - I know one of my friends got sexually propositioned by the (divorced) father of a patient, and it was a real problem when the child was readmitted later on.

MIA-RN · Mar 13, 2008

Just say no.

It crosses too many boundaries.

nyapa, RN · Mar 13, 2008

Nope, no, nup, never.

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Mar 13, 2008

I had a male patient ask me for my phone number after he was trying to flirt with me. We had just brought him to PACU so he was a wee bit out of it. I just told him that it would not be ethical for me to do so and that I could get in trouble for giving it to him. He said "but we could have had something good, you and me":lol2:

Some people get very happy and affectionate after surgery because they're so relieved it's over...I've been told "I love you" by countless patients and one little old lady was trying to kiss me. That makes up for the ones that have taken a swing at me, LOL.

I think you can tell what kind of drunk people are by the way they respond to anesthetic. You know, some people are happy, friendly drunks, and some are mean, mean, mean.

akosiba · Mar 13, 2008

please don't ever mix work and private life