:angryfire Is there anyone out there who agrees with me?
I work on a ward where we frequently provide palliative care for patients with cancer (amongst other things). I cannot stress how much it infuriates me when nurses who are smokers go into a dying cancer patient's room stinking of cigarette smoke.
In my opinion this is so morally and ethically wrong that I took my concerns to our unit manager after a patient's family made a complaint to me about another nurse. Unfortunately the NUM also smokes like a chimney and bla bla bla bla nothing was done.
Now that I have unloaded I feel more able to look at the situation objectively and decide on a course of action through appropriate channels.
I would welcome any and all opinions on smoking in the workplace.
(Please let it be known that I do not object to any person's right to smoke off the ward if they wish, only in the circumstances descibed above).
A truly addicted parent is not going to care if they expose their kids to harmful secondhand smoke, just as long as the cravings are appeased. Half of all kids in America are exposed to smoke at home. I think this is terrible.
Totally agreed. My wife doesn't smoke, I don't smoke in my house, and I never smoke in a vehicle if there is a child or non-smoker present.
My addiction is my problem; others shouldn't have to deal with the consequences, even if those consequences are merely a bad smell.
Too bad that many smokers are too selfish to realize this.
When it comes to the rising cost of group health insurance plans provided to employees, smoking at home is also the business of your employer.
Your employer pays for those benefits.
Insurance companies give discounts for non-smokers.
In that case, the smoker should have the option to "opt out" of employer-paid insurance coverage, rather than lose their job.
Slavery was outlawed in this country 150+ years ago. Allowing the employer to invade an employees life (except where occupational safety is concerned, i.e. drug use among people with public safety roles) is tantamount to reintroduction of slavery.
the hospital i work at will become a smoke-free facility in the next month or so. i am a smoker but never on the job! that is what chocolate, caffeine, and gum are for!! so i am not too upset by this new "ordinance", but you would be suprised at the amount of concerns our patients and visitors voice at this. there are signs everywhere stating when our new policy will take into affect so staff and the public are notified. i care for a lot of pt's who do smoke and go for smoke breaks in the middle of the night. problem:because of where we are a community hospital and where we are located, our floor has to go with our pt to smoke. when the policy goes into effect, we will have to literally go across the street through a large parking lot because at night (work 12night shift) only entrance/exit leads out that way. we won't be escorted by security!! how do i refuse to escort my pt for a cigarette break and keep up "patient satisfaction scores" up @the same time? c'mon people, we all know about those darn scores!! believe or not we have received some score cards back with c/o not letting them have a cigarette whenever they want it! they'd been smoking for 40+yrs and weren't gonna quit now! so how do would handle a pt's request for a smoke break @0230 at a county hospital with homeless sleeping on the bench across the street and the drunk asking you for money in the parking lot with no escort? any advice would be appreciated!!
The hospital I work at will become a smoke-free facility in the next month or so. I am a smoker BUT NEVER ON THE JOB! That is what chocolate, caffeine, and gum are for!! So I am not too upset by this new "ordinance", but you would be suprised at the amount of concerns our patients and visitors voice at this. There are signs everywhere stating when our new policy will take into affect so staff and the public are notified. I care for a lot of pt's who do smoke and go for smoke breaks in the middle of the night. Problem:Because of where we are a community hospital and where we are located, our floor has to go with our pt to smoke. When the policy goes into effect, we will have to literally go across the street through a large parking lot because at night (work 12night shift) only entrance/exit leads out that way. We won't be escorted by security!! How do I refuse to escort my pt for a cigarette break and keep up "patient satisfaction scores" up @the same time? C'mon people, we all know about those darn scores!! Believe or not we have received some score cards back with c/o not letting them have a cigarette whenever they want it! They'd been smoking for 40+yrs and weren't gonna quit now! So how do would handle a pt's request for a smoke break @0230 at a county hospital with homeless sleeping on the bench across the street and the drunk asking you for money in the parking lot with no escort? Any advice would be appreciated!!
I am not entirely sure I understand, but could you explain why someone has to accompany a pt. who wishes to smoke? Is this policy? If our pts. want to smoke, out the door they go...to the designated smoking area, and then come back in. But the nursing staff do not escort them. it seems things are a little different at your facility.
i work with rehab pt's-bilat tkr, laminectomies, craniotomies, cva,etc. for their safety and mobility, "our floor policy" is to escort them because they could not 'run and defend' themselves if the situation called for it. i know it sounds ridiculous, but that is what we are told but our floor directors. like i said, our hospital is not located in the safest of neighborhoods and 'code strongs' are twice/shift incedents! so we must escort...
The hospital I work at will become a smoke-free facility in the next month or so. I am a smoker BUT NEVER ON THE JOB! That is what chocolate, caffeine, and gum are for!! So I am not too upset by this new "ordinance", but you would be suprised at the amount of concerns our patients and visitors voice at this. There are signs everywhere stating when our new policy will take into affect so staff and the public are notified. I care for a lot of pt's who do smoke and go for smoke breaks in the middle of the night. Problem:Because of where we are a community hospital and where we are located, our floor has to go with our pt to smoke. When the policy goes into effect, we will have to literally go across the street through a large parking lot because at night (work 12night shift) only entrance/exit leads out that way. We won't be escorted by security!! How do I refuse to escort my pt for a cigarette break and keep up "patient satisfaction scores" up @the same time? C'mon people, we all know about those darn scores!! Believe or not we have received some score cards back with c/o not letting them have a cigarette whenever they want it! They'd been smoking for 40+yrs and weren't gonna quit now! So how do would handle a pt's request for a smoke break @0230 at a county hospital with homeless sleeping on the bench across the street and the drunk asking you for money in the parking lot with no escort? Any advice would be appreciated!!
This sounds like a copout if ever I heard one! You want us to truly believe that when you step out with your patient to have a smoke you are doing this in the interest of patient satisfaction? Please, be true to yourself and admit the true motivation to taking that walk across the street with that stranger who has the same addiction as you do (forget your safety)... it's to satisfy and gratify your addiction. Why should security be exposed to your second hand smoke? Meanwhile who is protecting the other 90% + of patients who don't smoke? It's abhorent to be a nurse that smokes, it's putting patients at risk etc... I work in the ICU and it saddens me to see nurses who provide care to MI patients doing D/C instructions while they reek of smoke... don't smoke blah blah blah! Oh please, spray on febreeze or whatever you want, wash your hands etc.... It still stinks on you! I loath nurses that smoke because they dump on others to gratify their addiction. Mostly on nightshift. They go out every two hours for 20min and get that fix. Oh men, if I could convince my congress man to introduce that bill I would.
I am a smoker have smoked for 35 years, I quit once when I was pregnant and nursing. I always felt that at anytime I could fall off the wagon during that time. However, somehow I was able to abstain for the duration of that time. I did start to smoke again when my child was close to a year old.
I am also a private duty pediatric nurse and I work in the childs home, the children I care for all have respiratory problems, on trachs and vents.
I do not smoke while at work, I do not smoke after I take my shower to get ready for work or in the car on the way to work. This can affect the child that I care for. Also my son and husband have asthma so consequently...I don't smoke at home either. In fact, I am down to about 4-5 cigs a day down at the end of my driveway.
I have also been made sick as a patient from nurses who have just come in from their cigerette break. I have been made sick by nurses who wear perfume...or sented products , not because they wore "too much" but just because they had it on. I have also been made sick by deodorizers used in facilities to cover the natural sent that people have.
I do believe that we should have more sense and sensitivity, as nurses, and do the best things for our patients.
But I have a very large problem with anyone telling me what I can do in or on my property. If smoking is such a detriment to health care costs, and believe me I agree it is, then overeating, stressfull lifestyles, and drinking alcohol among other things would have to be outlawed in the home also.
And LisaRN21, please tell me that your first statement was untrue and that you do not hate all nurses who smoke and that you only hate the fact that they smoke and not who they are. I would hate that you could reduce a human being to being a smoker and that nothing else about them is redeeming.
sorry I didn't read your post before I responded, but maybe better that I didn't. At least I got some sense out before you blindsided me.
"Smoking nurses suck."...Keep this in mind, there are programs to help people with addictions, there is hope for us. I don't know of any programs that help people with narrow vision, who don't understand human weakness and dump on people to satisify their EGO...so maybe there is no hope for you at this point. You assign shame to others, look in the mirror.
When it comes to the rising cost of group health insurance plans provided to employees, smoking at home is also the business of your employer.
Your employer pays for those benefits.
Insurance companies give discounts for non-smokers.
Point taken but where will it stop?
Maybe they will then take a look at the rising health costs associated with overweight employees. They may insist that one be within the guidelines of healthy weight for one's size and if you don't lose that extra 10, 20 pounds of flesh in an "x" amount of time, you are fired. I work in a rehab unit - mark my words - all those knee replacements aren't done on thin folks!
Maybe they will search your driving record and if you get speeding tickets, you are fired. You might have an accident.
Maybe you are a social drinker and they consider that you might have a little too much one time and have an accident or whatever so no drinking anywhere, anytime or you are fired.
When the country gets all of us smokers under their thumb, mark my words obesity will be next. Then just being overweight.
Here in the state I live in, now the schools send home weight warnings with report cards to parents. The children get weighed at school and when overweight, parents are notified. Might sound innocent now but where will that end? Does the school call child protective services if the kid doesn't lose weight? Will that be considered child abuse if the kids are overweight?
I'm old enough to have seen slippery slopes in action both well intentioned and bad.
So don't be TOO terribly surprised hospitals will follow suit in the future. It's about insurance costs and all that......
Their plan is pretty radical, help them any way they can to stop smoking and they built a muli-million dollar fitness center for the employees to work out in---but it means no smoking, even off the job! I can see this catching in other companies, including hospitals if it has not already.
Is this fair? You decide....
I don't think "fair" is the correct question. This proposal, if carried out, is illegal in the United States. The EEOC would have a field day. Scott's better have a substantial legal budget saved up because they will need it.
clee1
832 Posts
Totally agreed. My wife doesn't smoke, I don't smoke in my house, and I never smoke in a vehicle if there is a child or non-smoker present.
My addiction is my problem; others shouldn't have to deal with the consequences, even if those consequences are merely a bad smell.
Too bad that many smokers are too selfish to realize this.