What would you have done?

[NJNursing, ASN, RN]

Ok we had this patient the past 2 weeks. He's a professional athlete who had a of things go wrong during his admission. As charge nurse (and for the first week or so I knew nothing about him other than some people relayed to him as a PITA) I felt compelled to help smooth things over. So last week I went in to introduce myself and try to make his stay better. Everyone (administration included) were bending over backwards for this guy, so needless to say I payed extra attention to him to make sure his needs (physical, emotional, etc) need were met and he's really a nice guy and I enjoyed talking to him. He's very far from home and it's the holidays. He had a lot of people's cell phone numbers (mine included in case any issues arose when I was off - i'm the only 'official' night charge). On saturday he called me up (my day off) and asked if I could pick him up and take him to his hotel as his kids (early 20's) had gone to get airline tickets and he wasn't anticipating on the discharge. I was already out shopping and in the area and the hotel was about 1.5 miles away. I said yes. I picked him up, asked him how the last few days had gone and if he had felt better. He said he was and was glad to be going home.

Cut to Christmas Eve. My director calls me at home saying she wants to have an extensive meeting tomorrow morning. Do you guys think I was over the line? I felt like I was helping both my unit and the patient and avoiding issues all the way around. It was my day off, so it's not like I was on the clock. I'm so worried now about getting my tail chewed off that I haven't slept since Christmas eve and I'm having terrible GI distress.

[Kymmi]

I am not in management and I do not profess to know all the "rules" however as I see it I could see where some will say professional boundaries were crossed. Just him having your cell phone to call you directly could be considered crossing boundaries unless all of your patients have the ability to get ahold of you when they need to regardless of whether you are working or not.

You also didnt mention if he gave you any $$ or anything in exchange for you driving him to his hotel. If so then I see a conflict of interest there that might arise.

[Ahhphoey]

Are you sure that is what the meeting is about? Honestly, I see no problem with what you did as he was discharged and it was your day off. I've heard of nurses I've worked with doing this before with no adverse problems. Then again, I'm not in management either, so I'm not looking at this from the risk management point of view, but rather the being-a-nice person point of view.

[MadisonsMomRN, BSN, RN]

Honestly, I do think some boundaries were crossed. First, he has your cell phone #, and second, you took him to the hotel. I do also see it from your perspective too. You were being kind... it was a nice gesture.

[NJNursing, ASN, RN]

Well he also had my director's cell phone numbers and the phone numbers for administration (their personal office numbers, not the main desk there). And no, I received nothing from him (no gifts, no money, just a 'thanks').

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I wouldn't stress over it. It was a nice thing to do and kept the patient from having to take a cab or other public transportation.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

I love my patients and love to do things for them, within limits. I understand you were a charge, but your number was needed with the unit, not the patient, I am wholly surprised that the administrators gave out thier numbers.

Do you think they would have done that for a homeless man with no insurance? A school teacher in with that situation?

Now let me sit and think about my favorite patients, would I have given her my phone number to call and voice additional greivences...can't say I would, would I come over and give her a ride? I just don't see myself getting into that situation.However I will say that the scenario built in my head is very much negative since I am not a fan AT ALL of specialized treatment for persons of social standing.

I would assume there will be some discussion of the treatment, but I would assume everyone will be talked to because a lot of extra people went out of the way for this particular "celebrity" type.

Tait

[NJNursing, ASN, RN]

Thanks everyone. It's mixed advice and I've got mixed emotions. Y'all are right, I didn't do much more than anyone else here didn't do either. In my mind, I was doing the 'above and beyond' but perhaps a little too above and beyond. It's a lesson learned all right.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Obviously you meant well, but I agree boundaries were crossed.

[juicyjake]

You did nothingwrong, in my opinion, that is going above and beyond "the call" and your manager should thank you for it.

[EmmaG, RN]

He had a lot of people's cell phone numbers (mine included in case any issues arose when I was off - i'm the only 'official' night charge). On saturday he called me up (my day off) and asked if I could pick him up and take him to his hotel as his kids (early 20's) had gone to get airline tickets and he wasn't anticipating on the discharge.

It was inappropriate to give him your personal cell number and permission to call you on your days off. Unless you are on call for issues that arise while you're off, there would be no need for a patient to call you--- and even if you were supposed to function in that capacity, the proper procedure is for the hospital to call you, NOT a patient directly. And it was inappropriate for him to ask you to transport him upon discharge, and for you to agree to do so.

I agree with the above; I have a personal pet peeve with "VIP" treatment. In any case, there are major boundary issues here.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

The person could be in a hypercoagulable state for a lot of different reasons. I know of a world class athlete here that has heart problems. He or she's probably one of the fittest people on the planet, but due to a positive family history of heart disease, no amount of fitness has allowed her or him to avoid it.