"VIP" pts

BETSRN · Feb 15, 2005

wanted to get a sense of how my fellow nurses deal with pts who come into the hospital as VIP pts....there's this sense of let's drop everything and cater to these people and screw the rest of the pt population! that burns me up and admin supports that too for the obvious reasons.....let me know how you guys deal with that...thanks....

It depends on what the particular need is. In my book, every patient is the same. I had that happen recently when one of our Nursing Director's daughter's was my patient. The director wanted preferential treatment which I refused: asking this nurse what she expected me to do for her daughter that I would not do for someone else. When she saw the quality of the care we were giving her daughter (and everyone else), she calmed down. We treated the director no different than anyone else's family member.

I have to laugh because when that VIP thing has comes up (on numberous occasions as it always seems to) we are always busy (high census) and these VIP's have to roll with the punches and wait like everyone else does!

I think if nursing quit making such a big deal over the VIP status thing, there would be no issues at all! We screw ourselves by cowtowing to this stuff.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Feb 15, 2005

i've worked for a number of hospitals that actually have vip floors! those patients get a rude awakening when they come to the icu and don't get the same preferential treatment! we put them in a semi-private room, and sometimes we take care of the roommate first!

years ago, when i was a young, skinny, blonde new grad, i was offered a job in the vip unit. it seems they were after nurses of a certain look -- experience was not a consideration. i turned the job down. my philosophy then, as now, was that everyone is a vip. i'm glad that most of my colleauges feel the same way. in fact, one of them once hung up on ronald reagan! he called to find out how someone was doing, wasn't a relative, and my co-worker didn't believe he really was ronald reagon. and then the physician pointed out that the patient was a former high-ranking government official and may well have been a personal friend of the former president! (so much for being a vip!)

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 15, 2005

I have already expressed my personal feelings on this matter in the past. Here is the prior thread for your reading pleasure (and the varying opinions on whether "VIP" rooms should exist or not). It got interesting:

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32097&highlight=VIPs

Happy reading!

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Feb 15, 2005

i've worked for a number of hospitals that actually have vip floors! those patients get a rude awakening when they come to the icu and don't get the same preferential treatment! we put them in a semi-private room, and sometimes we take care of the roommate first!
years ago, when i was a young, skinny, blonde new grad, i was offered a job in the vip unit. it seems they were after nurses of a certain look -- experience was not a consideration. i turned the job down. my philosophy then, as now, was that everyone is a vip. i'm glad that most of my colleauges feel the same way. in fact, one of them once hung up on ronald reagan! he called to find out how someone was doing, wasn't a relative, and my co-worker didn't believe he really was ronald reagon. and then the physician pointed out that the patient was a former high-ranking government official and may well have been a personal friend of the former president! (so much for being a vip!)

that is halarious! poor ronnie!

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Feb 15, 2005

My recent hospitalization has made me look at this issue in a whole new light.......I received VIP treatment from the second I was brought into the ER until they closed the car door for my trip home. :) Everyone from the VP of Nursing to the housekeeping staff practically fell over each other taking care of me, and I'm just one of the nursing staff---I'm not a politician, a CEO, or even a local celebrity, although I certainly felt like one!

I did not, of course, ask for this, which could be part of the reason why everyone was so willing to give of themselves. I think it says a lot about my hospital, though, and I'm prouder than ever before to be associated with it. :)

That doesn't mean that 'certain' patients should be catered to at the expense of everyone else.......all patients deserve our compassion and our best efforts, and I know I'll work even harder in the future to provide those things to everyone in my care.

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 15, 2005

I think all patients should be "VIPs"....

after all, they are ALL SOMEone's :

mom/dad or

sister/brother or

daughter/son or

friend or

husband/wife or

true love or

pastor/minister OR---

Everything.....

People all deserve the best we can give them. Trite? yea I know...but it is what I truly believe.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 15, 2005

Funny that i read this today, considering our facility's vice president had a major kind of general surgery today (cannot specify w/o giving away too much info).

Let's Compare, shall we?

Regular Patient

1 surgeon

1 anesthesiologist

1-3 scrubs, could be techs, could be nurses

1 circulator, possibly another one that's in training.

Hospital Vice President

2 surgeons, with a 3rd as a consult

1 anesthesiologists, with the AA assigned to that room

4 scrubs, RNs or LPNs, no STs

5 (YES FIVE) circulators.

I was ticked. This wasn't fair to treat this guy better than the other pts., and it was to the point of ridiculous.

URO-RN · Feb 15, 2005

Michael Jackson's brother gets to park in front of the ER drop off entrance...for easy and immediate access to his Navigator. :rolleyes:

(In case no one knows what the heck I am talking about, Jacko was rushed to the hospital today with a "severe case of the flu".)

begalli · Feb 15, 2005

I wouldn't consider ANY of our rooms to be VIP suitable. Our unit needs a face-lift SO bad and we truely, truely do not cater to VIPs.

However, this is not to say that we haven't had many many VIP types in the past. From hospital administrators to politicians, to famous athletes to rock stars to movie stars.

The really funny thing is that we have one room that is usually reserved for the storage of extra equipment. It's totally capable of being a patient room and we do use it as such when the unit is full. I took care of a well-known movie star about 8 months ago in for an ao aneurysm repair. I don't think that there is anyone who wouldn't know this guy. His filmography includes about 100 movies since the 1970's and he produced and directed dozens more.

We put him in the windowless supply room where behind a curtain sat extra bedside tables, fans, bedside commodes, IV poles, bedside dressers, and a bunch of other extra stuff!!!! :chuckle He knew it too cause I told him. It was all good and he had a great sense of humor about it! His body guard actually liked it because it was so obscure!

We are a pretty well-known hospital in the Bay Area and our unit is very specialized and well-known for what we do. Our so-called VIP's are just mixed in with the regular patient population. I really can't think of anything "special" that we do for people who have some public notoriety. Honestly. The only thing I can think of that's "special" is that sometimes our NM or charge nurse will ask us if we want to take care of a suppossed VIP before we are actually assigned to this patient.

Another funny thing about this is that the Resident that was on call that night avoided this patient like the plague during rounds. I'm not sure why except that this particular Resident was a bit shy. Another weird thing was ME having to give this gentleman a suppossitory! Something I will certainly never forget!! When I see him on tv or a movie, I just don't see him as the same person as I did before! :rotfl:

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 15, 2005

Funny that i read this today, considering our facility's vice president had a major kind of general surgery today (cannot specify w/o giving away too much info).
Let's Compare, shall we?
Regular Patient
1 surgeon
1 anesthesiologist
1-3 scrubs, could be techs, could be nurses
1 circulator, possibly another one that's in training.
Hospital Vice President
2 surgeons, with a 3rd as a consult
1 anesthesiologists, with the AA assigned to that room
4 scrubs, RNs or LPNs, no STs
5 (YES FIVE) circulators.
I was ticked. This wasn't fair to treat this guy better than the other pts., and it was to the point of ridiculous.

FIVE CIRULATORS???? I am sorry but how the HELL do 5 circulators NOT knock each other down??? this is obscene, you are right. The whole thing is obscene. What a waste of resources and money.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 15, 2005

(In case no one knows what the heck I am talking about, Jacko was rushed to the hospital today with a "severe case of the flu".)

This trial will never end before my retirement.