PsychNurs

Thank you everyone for all of your replies. They have been very helpful!

Hello everyone. I am a new nurse in my first psych nursing role. I would love advice about how you approach answering phones in psych nursing. I have only experienced this a few times so far. I currently get the caller's name, relationship to the person they are seeking, then check the chart to see whether the patient has listed them and what information they can receive. If they are approved, I confirm the patient's presence and transfer the call. If not, I say something to the extent of "I am sorry, but due to privacy laws I cannot confirm or deny the presence of a patient in our hospital." What else do you say? What do you say when the other person gets upset/angry? I know this should be a simple thing to do, but I am so worried that I am going to accidentally break confidentiality and I want to have a plan for how to approach phone calls. I also feel as though it is impossible to verify the true identity of the caller and I am afraid I will transfer a call from someone who is claiming to be someone else. Thank you to everyone who comments.