Using words like honey, sweety a no-no?

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I was wondering if this is a rule for my company or just a rule across the board. We are not allowed to use the words "honey" or "sweety" when we are talking to our residents. Does anyone know why this is? Is it just a dignity issue or what exactly? Our residents have a range of issues such as; dementia and manic depression. It is a long-term care unit..we do have a short-term care unit as well and the same rules apply for those residents. It is only my second week of clinicals and I still have to catch myself using those words. We were warned that if we get caught using those we are fired on the spot. It is going to be a hard habit to break that is for sure. Does anyone have any suggestions?? Thanks for all your help!!:bow:

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Im glad org are making it a policy but i think that its a dignity issue. having dementia doesn't make it appropriate imho.

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It is the same to the facility that i have been working for. "Honey" or "sweety" is not allowed. I guess it is not right to use those words.

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Mr. X always ok..

First name with permission ok...

Its a matter of maintaining professional boundaries...

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Specializes in Cardiac, Hospice, Float pool, Med/Peds.

I am guilty of this at times... I work on a pediatric floor though...;)

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That is where I eventually want to end up..

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I do this all the time and really need to work on breaking the habit. However, I have never had anyone complain about it and I have had a lot of families say that they thought it was nice. One woman actually asked if we were trained to talk that way to our patients. I do live in the South so maybe this is more of a regional issue, however I do know that my hospital does not like us to use these terms.

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Even I don't like it when people call me that..lol.

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I'm still a student, and we are told not to do it. I think most people mean well, but it can come off as demeaning. Furthermore, I am in my 40s and don't care to be called by those terms either, outside my family, especially by someone younger than I am. I try not to be uptight but that seems really patronizing and rubs me the wrong way.

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I really really try not to call my patients "honey" or "sweetie" but I'm sure I slip from time to time. A nursing instructor of mine called her female patients "ma'am" or "miss" and call the men "sir" - I think that sounds less demeaning - so I try to do that. I work stand-by on a surgical unit so our patients are in and out pretty quick and when we get a bunch of older patients, you might have a handful of Helen's and George's. Kinda hard to keep them all straight. :wink2:

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As on older Nurse, I resent it when people address me as honey, sweetie, etc. this was done while I was a patient in a hospital. These Nurses were 1/2 my age, and I think it was demeaning and disrespectful. But that is just my opinion. But I was taught to be respectful, and words like that are not that.

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
I do this all the time and really need to work on breaking the habit. However, I have never had anyone complain about it and I have had a lot of families say that they thought it was nice. One woman actually asked if we were trained to talk that way to our patients. I do live in the South so maybe this is more of a regional issue, however I do know that my hospital does not like us to use these terms.

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I have an aversion to the use of familiar terms where there is no familiarity. It just sounds phony - and we wouldn't want to sound like that, would we? Remember the jokes about nurses saying, "shall we have our bath now?" That absolutely infantilizes the patient, who has been known to say, "I don't think we'll both fit in that basin".

I guess in LTC facilities, if you've been working with the same patient for months on end, you might say, "You're so sweet. May I call you 'sweetie'"? There's also the orientation of the patrient to consider, as they might wonder why they're in this strange place being called "honey" by someone they hardly know.

I'm glad to hear that nurses are being asked not to do that. :nurse:

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