dnursewa

I am trying to find out how things work in other hospitals as this has become a topic of debate in mine. Is there a time frame in which physicians have to see a patient after an admission to a critical care unit in your hospital? I feel that if a patient's condition warrants an admission to a critical care unit, it also warrants a visit from the admitting physician. However, in my unit, it can be HOURS before a patient is seen by a physician after admission, even if the patient is a stat-flight or direct admit from another facitily. My concern is that this puts both the patients and the nurses in my unit at risk. Please respond. Am I being overly cautious in wanting my patients seen by their physician, instead of just activating standing orders or is the practice in my facility unsafe? ~Sarah

I am a critical care nurse in Kentucky. What is the time frame for a physician visit after an admission to a critical care unit in your area? It has become a topic of debate at my hospital. I feel that if a patient's condition warrants an admission to a critical care unit, the patient's condition also warrants a visit from the physician. Does your hospital have a policy on this? What is the time frame considered acceptable in other facitilities? Often patient's admitted to our critical care units are not seen by the admitting physicians for HOURS, and I feel as if this puts the patients as well as the nurses caring for them at risk. Please reply.