SLPorterRN

I have recently been appointed interim nurse manager of the ER I work in. . . I have no intention of applying for the job! BUT while I am acting in this role there are a few things I would like to change. One being nurse calls. Our current policy states that the call should be brief and medical advice should not be given over the phone. We (the nurses) would like to see the calls stopped all together. The powers that be feel it is good customer service. We see that it upsets people because we talk to the callers in circles. Nursing also sees it as a safety issue. We do not document these calls, we are pulled away from patient care, the callers press you and press you for any bit of information. The calls make us miserable. I have tried doing some searches for articles on this risky behavior and must not be using the right search words, as I am not having any luck. Does anyone have any policies, words of wisdom to share. I would really like some articles that I can go to my boss with showing why these calls are a bad idea. Does anyone use scripting? Has anyone been successful in un-publishing their ER phone number? How did you gain switchboards cooperation - they turf everything to us that they don't know what to do with. Any help, advice, direction, links, whatever would be appreciated. I do realize that we have an obligation to patients we have recently seen, but I am talking about the "my kid has a rash that looks like . . . " Sheri [email protected]