what do you say to patients...

[ceccia]

...to alleviate their embarrassment after a 'code brown'? most people that have accidents are mortified about it; I reassure them that this happens all the time and i don't mind cleaning it up at all. but most people are still upset/embarrassed. Any ideas for what else i could say or do to maybe help them feel a bit less so?

[NOADLS]

Assisting your patient with this as you await the arrival of the CNA would be beneath you? You really have no time to spend with a helpless patient who just soiled themselves?

I can catch up on my own work (or play some candycrush) while the CNA does something they're allowed to do.

Lighten up, it was a joke. It was funny.

Yes... a joke...

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

You might want to read a few more posts from NOADLS before coming to their defense; this is a dominant theme in his/her post history. (Also, take note of their name)

Exactly. AND....you'd have to BELIEVE her/him to BE a nurse, rather than a bored web surfer. Many of us do not. Too many odd references that give him/her away as a fake. Just sayin'.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

If they communicate embarrassment about it I might say something like "it happens, we'll take care of it." Otherwise, I will clean it up, not make a big deal of it, and be certain I don't express anything negative in my nonverbals.

[mommycruz3]

When I become a nurse, and I was in that scenario, I would say "don't worry, when I was in the hospital many years ago, this happened to me too. It's not a big deal. It happens all the time". Sometimes relating to the patient will make them feel better :)

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I say " It's not the first time, and it won't be the last. It's not even the worst thing that's happened in the last hour...so don't even think about it." If I give a med that will cause diarrhea I warn them, and make sure they understand that any accidents can be blamed on me, not them.