"they're not my patient" syndrome

Diana,RN · Feb 4, 2008

Ok, chalk this one up to also idealistic a bit....but have you tried the direct approach?
As in, you are up to your elbows in something with a patient, nurse B pulls herself from the internet to come find you and let you know your other patient needs assist to bathroom-have you simply said "I am going to be another 10 minutes to finish this, would greatly appreciate if you could help Mrs Jones".
Some people will never think to offer, but respond to direct approach-esp if truly not that busy. Then after she wipes the surprised look off her face and does it, make sure once you are both finished to say thanks for having my back! Preferably in front of others, with a little luck and good conscience, it may be contagious!

Tried and true, the direct way is the best way to go!

Diana,RN · Feb 4, 2008

I'm all about helping other people, but one incident that happened lately has made me leery of doing so for awhile:
Another aide was at lunch and one of her patients called to go to the restroom. No big deal, right? I go in to help him (he's already halfway out of bed by the time I walk down the hall to get in there), very minimal assistance to help him to the restroom. He coded and died right there on the bathroom floor not five minutes later.
I was stuck having to answer all kinds of questions about what I was doing in there when it wasn't even my patient. Not to mention all the guilt I was feeling! Apparently he was bed rest only for this exact reason, but there was nobody around to tell me that, and nothing about his appearance or attitude indicated to me that I was doing the wrong thing by helping him to the restroom.
Now I like to insist on a small report when an aide goes to lunch, and boy do they get ****** at my delaying them

I am so sorry this happened to you... I hope the NA on lunchbreak had to answer some questions regarding the lack of "pt handoff". Please don't put this on yourself, freaky things like this happen! Live and learn. Hugs to you!

Diana

Ahhphoey · Feb 4, 2008

Yeah, like others have written, I would have politely asked the nurse to help the patient because I could not stop what I was already doing. I also try to lead by example by answering other nurses call lights and assisting their patients. Luckily, where I work, we work as a team and do not hesitate to help each other out. This is in the ICU, though, but I can honestly say, I have not experienced this same level of teamwork when I worked in med-surg, ever. I'm in no way knocking med-surg, but the units I worked on were all very busy and you hit the floor running from the time you walk in the door to the time you clock out, so this attitude was more out of being too busy than being lazy.

harleygirl1704 · Feb 5, 2008

Aren't you are commiting the age old sin of "eating the young"! Do you not remember what it is like to be a GN/newbie?!

Part of being a student nurse is building your foundation with one patient at a time.... and even that can be quite overwhelming. And one patient is within your "scope of practice" according to your instructor and your program... with the looming threat of being kicked out of your program if you do overstep those boundries. The next layer of your foundation is becoming a GN and it becomes even more overwhelming - hence the reason for the "lighter assignments" and orientation/preceptor period. No one is perfect and everyone has their own pace. It is up to us to show the real meaning of teamwork by imparting our experience, wisdom, and a helping hand so that they in turn, can find their "groove" and can learn to return the helping hand.

We don't always welcome the students with open arms so I can understand the "fear". "Laziness", there is laziness everywhere.. not just in some student nurses but it can also be seen in some seasoned veterans. "Ignorance"... ignorance is everywhere in the world but that is where again, we come into play. Life is about learning from those around us. So are you doing your part to help battle ignorance by sharing a minute? A helpful hint? A helping hand??

You are a fountain of knowledge... I know that I always have a cup and an open mind ready because its people like you that can fill my cup and my mind. I feel learning something new everyday- big or small.... makes me a better person, a better nurse, and a better team-player!!

:twocents:

There is one new GN on my unit who is notorious for this. Part of it is because she just cannot manage her workload. She even has lighter assignments than the rest of the "experienced staff" but it never crosses her mind to give us a hand.
Our last two groups of students have really been bad at this. They attend report, they know what is going on in the rooms. They only look after their one patient, not even the other patient in the room they are in.
I don't know if it's fear, ignorance or just plain laziness anymore.

Cardiac-RN · Feb 5, 2008

Our last two groups of students have really been bad at this. They attend report, they know what is going on in the rooms. They only look after their one patient, not even the other patient in the room they are in.
I don't know if it's fear, ignorance or just plain laziness anymore.

It is not the student nurses' jobs to help us with our patient care- they are there to assess and care for their assigned patient as directed by their instructor. If they want to take the initiative to assist someone in the next bed, it it likely stepping outside of their comfort zone, but if they do then great. If not, we certainly should not expect it of them. We are not their instructors to decide who they should care for, what they should do. After all, even if all of the student nurses were not there, there would still be staff assigned to that patient- it is the staff's job.

But again, if they want to help, great.

Fiona59 · Feb 5, 2008

Student nurses on my unit are told as part of their clinical experience on units in my hospital that they are required to answer call bells and assist both staff nurses and NAs. We've had them refuse to assist with two person turns "because it's not my patient"

Every country educates their nurses differently, so I can only speak from my experiences in my facility.

harleygirl1704 · Feb 5, 2008

Well that's not right and unfair to staff. And if its become such a problem, someone needs to talk to their instructor/school.

We're told to talk to our CN and they take it up with the instructor if there are problems. There is also a hospital liason that runs quality control between student clinicals and the units and their staff.

Maybe you chould suggest something like that to your unit director??

When I have dealt with students, one of the first things I tell them is to take the statement "not my patient" out of their dialogue box. Then I proceed to give them the scenario of their patient crashing, needing the crash cart and meds and not being able to leave the patient's side and how would they feel if the coworker they asked for help responded "Sorry, they're not my patient". I've had alot a positive feedback from students AND instructors... even co-workers..... on the use of that tactic.

Student nurses on my unit are told as part of their clinical experience on units in my hospital that they are required to answer call bells and assist both staff nurses and NAs. We've had them refuse to assist with two person turns "because it's not my patient"
Every country educates their nurses differently, so I can only speak from my experiences in my facility.

jessiern, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2008

Student nurses on my unit are told as part of their clinical experience on units in my hospital that they are required to answer call bells and assist both staff nurses and NAs. We've had them refuse to assist with two person turns "because it's not my patient"
Every country educates their nurses differently, so I can only speak from my experiences in my facility.

It was the same when I was in school. We were not to sit at the nurses station "taking up space". We were not professionals, and we had much to learn, and our instructor felt the best way to learn was to do. We were encouraged to ask for assist if we were uncomfortable with a task, but we were required to help the nurses when they needed help. A classmate was failed becuase she told a CNA it was not her patient that needed help to bathroom. Students also need to understand if they are willing to help the nurses, there is much the nurses can teach them.

banditrn · Feb 6, 2008

For this kind of behavior to stop, it takes an institution policy. I KNEW that at the hospital where I worked that it was frowned upon to have that attitude - it was drilled into us from the day that I started. And I carried that attitude to other places where I worked - I have no patience for someone who states that 'they're not my patient'.

dbsn00 · Feb 9, 2008

The policy on my unit is "ALL residents on the unit are YOURS":rolleyes:. I have regular staff on my unit & since I became manager I make them switch "sides" (we have a North hall/MAR & South hall/MAR) every other month. Now everyone is familiar with all the residents & their medications. Prior to this we had a nurse on the unit for over 20 years that only did one "side" - after 20 years she had no clue about the other half of the unit.

As a previous poster stated "if there was a code would you seek out the other nurse & tell her to deal with it as it's "not my patient" is a good example of why nurses truly need to embrace the term TEAMWORK & practice it. I also hate it when someone searches for you to tell you a patient needs something when it would have been quicker (& helpful) to just do it themselves.

As for nursing students, haven't had any yet that weren't happy to help in any way... guess I've been lucky!

CrazyPremed, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 23, 2008

As a student and a nurse, I can side with the students saying "not my patient." As a student, you have no idea what is going with these other patients (sometimes not even with your own!).

Assisting a nurse with a patient whose background you don't know can be harmful at times. Bringing an NPO patient water, helping a patient on BR to the bathroom, or proimising pain meds to patients that can't have them are common mistakes made by well meaning students. Sometimes it's better to have them/us stay with the patient that they know about.

The truth is, students are there to learn about becoming a nurse, but can easily be viewed as extra CNA's. I've routinely had CNA's ask me to check vitals on three or four of their patients, clean patients, and help walk people when I am setting up IVPB and charting assessments. When looking through a chart and trying to notate orders or obtain medication allergies, I've had CNA's ask why I am "surfing the internet." In these situations, they don't have a complete understanding why I am not jumping up to help them give a bed bath. I don't blame them, but - at that moment - it is important to stay on track.

Although ALL nursing students at some time or another will "do CNA work" because it all falls under the scope of nursing, students are in a particular place during clinicals. They have paid for the experience while others are being paid to be there. There are certain skills that need to be practiced at certain times. During my last semester in school I would always place starting an IV over bringing someone juice. I try to remember this when I see students and those that interact with them.

CrazyPremed

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2008

My personal favorite is when your helping someone else's pt and they come it, see that your busy with their pt, and tell you that your pt needs you. Then proceed to ask why you're helping their pt when they were busy....:uhoh21: