The patient's family members

[Foxfour]

My brother was a nurse a few years before I had started nursing school. He told me numerous times that he wanted to leave the floors because of the family members. I didn't fully understand the gravity of his words until I started working the floors. A few days ago, one of many incidents, a daughter walked out of her elderly father's room ranting and raving about why her father had been laying in bed with a soiled diaper. I explained to the daughter that I was in that room approx 15 mins ago, and he did not have a soiled diaper at that time. I had just finished a bladder scan. Which resulted in the need to do a in/out cath. I changed his diaper at that point. He was aphasic due to a CVA, so he couldn't add to the conversation. If he could have, I'm sure he would have told his daughter what good care he was receiving from me. I'm not trying to say I'm wonderful, but I know that I'm not lazy. "Oh well, let him lay in his own feces. I don't care." That's ridiculious. I would never williingly allow that. I'm sick of those family members who assume the worst. The statistics for me are approx one "ranting and raving" incident/shift. Calgon, take me away!!!

[NurseCherlove]

Absolutely excellent idea!!! And not just for the family member thing, but this could also help nurses working with aides keep up with I&Os even better on really busy floors (unfortunately, I don't think that is accounted for too well sometimes). It would be so easy...just flip up the pt's gown if you're in a hurry and voila!

One solution I have is to start writing the time and date on the diaper when it was changed. We do it on dressings of wounds...why not the diaper?

Then when a family member wants to come in and start some yelling, they won't be able to.....because there it would be....the time and date of 15 minutes ago where he had been changed and cleaned.