Sitter to escort patient during smoke breaks.

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi all. Just curious about opinions on this topic. A patient safety attendant being assigned to sit with a patient for the sole purpose of escorting them off the unit whenever they please to smoke in the parking lot. This patient has high blood pressure and is receiving IV medication to treat it, but pressures remain very high. The sitter is to walk with the patient, make sure they smoke safely, escort them back to the unit, and sit in the hallway outside their room until the next time they would like to go smoke. Curious on what people think about a sitter being used for this purpose!

Specializes in NICU, L&D, Public Health.

I don't understand why that aide doesn't help with other duties between calls to go out for a smoke?

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Specializes in NICU, L&D, Public Health.

I would feel like such a jerk watching all my coworkers run around and not helping. Who is this person that can just sit there looking at the wall and ignore everyone else who needs their help? I mean they obviously know it isn't a 1:1 in reality. Someone needs to call the doc and correct that order- they are abusing the situation on a technicality due to the way the order was worded. Daaaaang ?

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Specializes in retired.

who's paying for thr sitter? the hospital? or family?

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4 hours ago, Hani said:

I would feel like such a jerk watching all my coworkers run around and not helping.

I try not to regularly feel like a jerk because of other people's stupid decisions. That's toxic, no way!! I wouldn't even hint/suggest that this has anything to do with the one who is sitting. Last I checked they aren't much in control of how they are assigned while at work.

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Specializes in NICU, L&D, Public Health.
19 minutes ago, JKL33 said:

I try not to regularly feel like a jerk because of other people's stupid decisions. That's toxic, no way!! I wouldn't even hint/suggest that this has anything to do with the one who is sitting. Last I checked they aren't much in control of how they are assigned while at work.

I can see that, but that's just me, I'd want to help my nurses out. That order is ridiculous.

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The doctor was contacted multiple times throughout the shift to see if the order for a PSA could be d/c but doctor insisted. And unfortunately, because the sitter was ordered, they had no choice but to follow hospital PSA protocol and keep the patient in direct view at all times. I’m glad y’all find this situation as ridiculous as i did.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
On 11/5/2019 at 2:27 PM, cna1234 said:

Literally just to make sure they didn’t have a stroke in the parking lot while they were smoking. No other reason. Patient was alert, oriented, entirely independent. Didn’t need or want a wheelchair ride down to the parking lot. The sitter sat in the hallway most of the day, staring at the wall, while the patient was sleeping, just waiting for them to wake up with the desire to go out for a smoke.

Let's be clear that a sitter has no ability to make sure the patient doesn't have a stroke. A sitter is going to watch helplessly and then I guess have to run away from the patient to go get help while the patient is stroking out in the parking lot.

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That is actually a safety risk for nursing staff. I used to have to do that years ago as a CNA and then policy changed due to the environmental risk to staff being exposed to smoke

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48 minutes ago, FolksBtrippin said:

Let's be clear that a sitter has no ability to make sure the patient doesn't have a stroke. A sitter is going to watch helplessly and then I guess have to run away from the patient to go get help while the patient is stroking out in the parking lot.

That was my thinking as well. The sitter would just have to watch it happen. Them being there is in no way going to prevent anything. And since they’re all the way out in the parking lot, the sitter would have to leave the patient alone just to run in and get help.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
7 hours ago, cna1234 said:

The doctor was contacted multiple times throughout the shift to see if the order for a PSA could be d/c but doctor insisted. And unfortunately, because the sitter was ordered, they had no choice but to follow hospital PSA protocol and keep the patient in direct view at all times. I’m glad y’all find this situation as ridiculous as i did.

If this was a resident, it should be brought to the attention of the attending. If this was an attending, it should be brought to the attention of the department chief or CMO. This is a gross waste of time and resources.

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8 minutes ago, Rnis said:

That is actually a safety risk for nursing staff. I used to have to do that years ago as a CNA and then policy changed due to the environmental risk to staff being exposed to smoke

This was something we were concerned about as well. Not that we expect things at work or in nursing in general to be fair, but requiring a staff member to be exposed to cigarette smoke seemed to be a bit much. I’m glad that your policy was changed. I am hoping we can have something similar happen at our facility.

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Specializes in retired.

one question is the sitter a CNA or just a person hired to sit with the patient while she smokes

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