Staying in touch with pt after discharge

[Texas Tornado]

I have a patient who has been back in the hospital for the second time in about 6 months. She is older and I got to know her and her husband a little bit the first time. When she was discharged she asked to stay in touch and I told her that I couldn't. She gave me her address, but I never contacted her.

Now she is back in the hospital and asked again. This time she gave me an e-mail address. I mentioned this to one of the more seasoned nurses I work with, that I respect, thinking she would say "oh don't do it", but she didn't. Instead she responded "oh I exchanged e-mail address with her, it is only an e-mail address". I was surprised, but started thinking I might be just a bit too uptight regarding the situation.

Does anyone out there know if the nursing code of ethics says anything regarding nurse/patient relationships? I don't really remember and I don't have a copy.

Any thoughts?

[UdonNomi]

I learned my lesson..several years ago I was working a small rural hospital, I received my patient assignment and notice a familure name ..a nurse I had worked with when I was a CNA many years before. I looked forward to to seeing my friend/now patient. Her first words on seeing me were.."My my, xxxx, the years have not been good to either of us" I finished my shift and went home..LOL:cry:

[meownsmile, BSN, RN]

Dont do it. There may be alterior motives on her part regarding her recovery or further treatment and you dont want to risk it or put yourself in that position.

I have encountered patients that i have cared for in public before too. I usually am casual, smile at them and unless they speak i keep it short and sweet. I hope you are doing well, getting along ok etc. Otherwise,, its just a hello. No need for anything more.

[RN1989]

I've literally had to hide in clothing racks to get away from people that I have taken care of. They didn't understand that I was no longer their nurse and they wanted me to do all kinds of things for them - and they weren't in the hospital anymore. I prefer to work well away from where I live and shop for this very reason.

[jnrsmommy]

I have kept in contact w/ one family that their loved one was dying and was w/ us for a while. This contact is kept to seasonal/holiday card exchanges.

The only other pt I keep in contact w/ is purely accidental. He was a soldier that got hurt in Iraq and was w/ us for a while. During the course of his stay, I found him playing a popular role-playing game on the internet, and mentioned how dh and I loved to play, and we would talk about it from time to time. About 2 months after his discharge, we were at a gamers convention, and we saw each other. Dh and he actually have a lot in common and have been friends since. This was more than a year ago, and not once has he ever asked for any advice, nor have either one of us had any problems w/ the fact that there was a nurse/pt role prior.

[tencat]

This is all good advice.....unless you live in a REALLY small town. Then it gets dicey. Currently I am caring for a patient who is the mother of a friend of mine. Sigh. I know that the daughter/friend is going to drive me NUTS the whole time, but what can I do?

Ok, enought whining about ME:crying2: in the OP's situation I think it is a good idea to just keep it where it is and not begin a friendship, etc. If you have that option, it's always better to go that route.

[ann945n, RN]

I would NEVER.

I know many nurses who have personal relationships with patients, visit them at their homes and go out with them socially. It really is a boundary line that shouldnt be crossed. The focus of that relationship should be the patient and should end once they are discharged. Blurring that line is playing with fire and legal aspects as well.

I can understand the temptation especially the ones that send you thank you cards, Id love to tell them how much that ment to me, but unless I see them in the clinical setting again I wont have that chance. Perhaps thats a bit harsher then others would like but I like to keep my life and work seperate.