This morning I had the assignment of performing a task on a lady in our psychiatric hospital. Based on her name, I am pretty sure she was Muslim (although you never know, of course). However, when I was working with her, I noticed she was not wearing a hijab, or the head covering many Muslim wear. Now, I'm pretty sure not all female Muslims wear the covering, nor am I confident that this particular patient was, in fact, Muslim. However, it got me thinking...do they allow these patients to wear their head coverings while in the psychiatric hospital? It seems like a silly question, but if the patient is in their for suicidal ideation, it seems like they might not want them to have it since they could possibly use it to hang themselves or strangle themselves. Our psychiatric hospital is very strict and anything that could possibly be used to attempt suicide is banned. At the same time, if you do not allow these patients to wear them, you are not respecting their religious beliefs. My thought is that their safety is more important than their religious beliefs, but, obviously, they might not agree. What are your thoughts?
Wow in psych facility 1:1 means within arm's reach at all times including while patient is in the shower and on the toilet. With the charge nurse checking in with the 1:1 staff every 15 minutes.
Every psych facility is different. We also still have the 15 minute checker check the 1:1 staff (and the 5 minute staff/patient); however, that's our policy. The patient is also never alone in the bathroom.
pixierose, BSN, RN
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