Patients wants a back rub

I never said you had to clear it with me. And sorry, pal, but you just played your hand with your last comment.

Feel free to continue discussions along the same vein.

Yea, I'm deleting my original response to this. I'm tired. If *I* think it went too far, then it's too far.

...

I'm sorry, OCNRN63. I'm a toddler sometimes.

Edited Jul 22, 2015 by Farawyn
I forgot a comma!

I think, given the litigious nature of healthcare and the sheer amount of work nurses are expected to do, bedtime back rubs will be considered a thing in the past.

And at the risk of sounding cold, but I had a patient who demanded a foot massage and I was kind of insulted, especially after I told her I needed to do a few things with my other patients. To me, offering a massage would just feed into the already prominent hotel/spa mentality that patients have about hospitals.

Good answer. For those patients who expect spa like services for no therapeutic reason, I think it would be entirely appropriate to say I'll get you the number for the massage therapist.

Good answer. For those patients who expect spa like services for no therapeutic reason, I think it would be entirely appropriate to say I'll get you the number for the massage therapist.

NOADLS has the "Backpages" listings if the hospital does not staff one.

It's not a touchy subject.

Oh...wait. *facepalm*

That was good! It seems the topic has been a sore spot for some and rubbed some others the wrong way.

That was good! It seems the topic has been a sore spot for some and rubbed some others the wrong way.

Now that's just "icky".

Massage is not beneficial ONLY if one is in pain. There are all kinds of therapeutic benefits which have little or nothing to do with relieving pain.

I think the main reason it has disappeared from the nursing landscape is that nurses simply do not have the time to do this kind of care. Patients are very sick, they have more patients than they should, and there is a lot more technology and documentation that has to be done when compared to the days where this was seen as a routine part of nursing care.

I'm surprised at how many people on this thread seem to be sexualizing this to some degree. It's nursing care, folks. It's no different than when you "touch" someone to start an IV or change a dressing. It's certainly a lot less intimate than doing peri care or catheterizing someone (or do people here refuse to do those things, too?) Wow, I really am an old fogey now ...

Peri care and catheterizing someone are way less intimate than a back massage. IMO, an action isn't intimate because of the areas you're touching; it's intimate because of the intention behind it. We touch genitals to clean them or to stick medical devices in them. That's way different than attempting to cause pleasurable sensations by massaging a person.

For the record, if I were a patient and a nurse started slowly massaging my back without my permission, I would be extremely offended. I would feel way more violated than if the same nurse did peri care, and I would make sure I didn't have that nurse back again. I am not okay with people rubbing their hands over me for a reason other than medical necessity.

Peri care and catheterizing someone are way less intimate than a back massage. IMO, an action isn't intimate because of the areas you're touching; it's intimate because of the intention behind it. We touch genitals to clean them or to stick medical devices in them. That's way different than attempting to cause pleasurable sensations by massaging a person.

For the record, if I were a patient and a nurse started slowly massaging my back without my permission, I would be extremely offended. I would feel way more violated than if the same nurse did peri care, and I would make sure I didn't have that nurse back again. I am not okay with people rubbing their hands over me for a reason other than medical necessity.

I don't touch anyone at work without permission.

This reminds me of a funny story. I had a little old lady who was quite curious and she was playing with the bed one evening, unbeknownst to me. I look over at the monitor because it's alarming that she's in V-fib. I shoot into her room and she had put the bed in percussion mode.

She was so excited, she thought it was a massage mode and she kept turning it on. I think it lasts for 10 minutes or so and all my co-workers kept freaking out because the monitor would read V fib from the vibrations. Lol

I once had a patient who requested to have her feet rubbed before sleep. I flat out refused. She said other nurses did it (because they didn't have the courage to say no). I still refused. She happened to be one of the nastiest patients to staff I've ever encountered, so nasty that staff had to be rotated every day. The DON even screamed at her once out of frustration. It was my pleasure not giving in to her Waldorf desire, and at that point I couldn't have cared less about Press-Ganey scores!!

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Back rubs make my skin crawl. I'm not that nurse. Touchy feely is not in my DNA.

Whatever level of enjoyment my patient received, would be equal to my level of repulsion. That's not an exaggeration.

Lol yea, I hear ya, would make me incredibly uncomfortable. I guess it would depend on the circumstance for instance someone laying in excruciating back pain maybe but someone just comfortably laying nah there I would likely tell the pt "I'm sorry but I'm not comfortable doing that". First of all would make my skin crawl even with gloves but also c'mon where do we draw the line? nurse/therapist/maid now masseuse?

I once had a patient who requested to have her feet rubbed before sleep. I flat out refused. She said other nurses did it (because they didn't have the courage to say no). I still refused. She happened to be one of the nastiest patients to staff I've ever encountered, so nasty that staff had to be rotated every day. The DON even screamed at her once out of frustration. It was my pleasure not giving in to her Waldorf desire, and at that point I couldn't have cared less about Press-Ganey scores!!

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Lol I'm curious exactly what you said.