Inside one nursing home I have been adamently told, "You should not force her to do anything..." about an ill patient who said she wanted to stand up but was too weak.
In the same facility on other patients and other shifts, I have heard the phrase, "You have to....."and I have heard a charge nurse say, "Nope, nope nope, she HAS to come downstairs," in response to me saying, "She needs to finsish her breathing treatment."
In school, I was taught, "You can use powers of persuasion but you can't force them," ie, "They are all afrain you might fall out of bed..."
Some nurses still insist, "She has a right to refuse," and end off the conversation. They won't lilsten to any discussion about this.
I've had residents on ONE to ONE fall! In one particualr case the staff was sitting right in front of him,he jumped up and practically shoved her backwards and dived OVER her.It happens.
Many of us in dementia care have persued certification and are educated in that area and also in dealing with family members as they go through their stages of grieving. We GET IT.
I also get that there is nothing to be gained through attempting to maintain a dialogue with a non-nurse who apparently has an axe to grind against nurses and nursing homes in general and clearly appears to be stuck in a complicated grieving process.We all GET that-it's pretty clear.And attacking nurses on a message board is not a particularly healthy outlet,IMHO. ...
.I'll continue to encourage my demented residents to accept the care they need to maintain their dignity and wellbeing by almost any means,I'll sing,I'll dance,I'll make an orifice out of myself.I'll feed then Hersehy Kisses and peppermint patties all day long.I'll also offer support to their loved ones.And when they act like complete orifices I have a DON who will hand them brochures of other LTC's in the area and offer them assistance with alternate placement.....
They give them milk shakes and watch them become obese. In reality they should only offer milk shakes if they ask for them and they should try using bananas and blueberries and other real food in them instead of ice cream. Accepting a milk shake can be a type of obsessive compulsive behavior sometimes that a good nurse should learn how to recognize and work around. They should offer things to replace bad habits. These people do not want to be fat and they should be offered a pathway out of bad health, not into bad health.[/quote']
Really you're going to take the topic there again??? Have you ever worked LTC? Many of these patients are far from obese. Some barely peck at their food and are given supplements like Ensure to keep some weight on them. If I can get one of those residents to drink a milkshake I'm all about it. The ones who are obese often came to us that way.. They didn't get obese because I didn't smack the candy from their hands.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
This thread is not about weight control of the elderly but the right of patients to refuse in long term care and dementia. Several posts have been edited for of off topic/noncontributory/divisive posts.
I think 3 years and 13 pages have covered the topic of this thread....you may start another thread.......thread closed for review.
nursenicolea
21 Posts
WOW!!! I'd LOVE to have a DON like that!!!!!