SRainny9

Appreciate all the feedback. It's not just "corporate" telling us to do this. It is coming from RN managers and director of nursing also. We now have a "guideline" that has a lot of procedures, and is in accepted layman terms. This was obtained from another hospital that has been doing this for quite a while. I agree that it is up to me to be responsible for my license. I have been using layman terms if its in the "guideline" reference tool or if it's straightford: hysterectomy, etc. If it's an involved procedure or I'm not sure about it, I leave the layman terms area of consent blank. I figure if someone complains, then I'll have more grounds to say why I'm not doing it.

Thanks for the input. We are currently asking patient's their understanding of the procedure and some nurses thought that is what they were suppose to write on the layman terms section of the consent. However, the answer we received from our superiors was no, that is not what we are to put. Sometimes, the patients know little about what they are having done (kidney stone surgery, shoulder surgery, etc.), and it's not always exactly right. So, we (the RN) are writing the layman terms. Again, we have expressed our discomfort about this, but it is a corporate decision. As far as I know, we have no policy and procedure on this yet. We don't have any type of standard layman terms to use. It's what each nurse feels comfortable writing, and I think it puts us in a very touchy spot. It's our licenses, not our superiors, that are on the line. I wonder about the legal implications of this, should something be worded wrong. The MD normally signs the consent prior to surgery after it's been witnessed by an RN in the preadmission process. So, we have no idea what the MD actually told the pt, except what the pt says. I wonder if the corporate lawyers had the idea that the MD would be writing layman terms, and if they have any idea that nurses are "interpreting" the procedure.

Is anyone at a facility that uses "layman" terms on surgical consents? Recently, we are being required to write out the surgical procedure (as indicated by the MD), and also write the surgical procedure in "layman" terms. Apparently this was recommended by corporate lawyers. Sounds great, except for one minor problem. The MD is not the one writing in the "layman" terms, so it is up to the nurse to interpret the surgical procedure, which often times is quite complicated and not even understood exactly what is being done. Nurses have expressed being uncomfortable with this procedure, as it seems like we are having to give informed consent in a way, because what we interpret the procedure to be is what the patient is going to understand and will actually be on the consent form itself. However, we have no choice in the matter. Personally, I find this unsafe, and I think it puts the nurse at risk. I would welcome any input, especially from others that work at a facility that is doing this also.

I left bedside nrsg after working on an orthopedic unit for 7 yrs. I am now working in an outpatient setting where we do nrsg interviews, perform EKG's and draw lab work, preoperatively. Do I miss bedside nrsg?? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I work M-F, no weekends or holidays. I no longer feel like I'm "stroke" material everytime I go to work. I have just enough "hands on" to satisfy me. I'm thankful there are still bedside nurses, but I had enough to last me a lifetime. In the ideal world, if there were patients that appreciated all your time and effort on the floor, realistic staffing patterns, supportive management, and manageable workload...then I might rethink returning to floor work.