The other night, we had a patient come in with GI bleed suspect. NG tube and gastric lavage ordered. I work in an inner city hospital, so we see a lot of, uh, uneducated people.
So, we ask the family to step out of the room so we can do the NG tube and lavage. Some left, some didn't. Our patient rooms are private, so the remaining family stepped over to the family side of the room. I pulled the curtain closed for patient privacy, they pulled it open. I closed it again. We went about putting in the NG tube. I must say that we did everything by the book (there were three of us nurses in there). Next thing we know, the daughter of this patient is standing at the foot of the bed taking pictures with her cell phone.
We were totally confident in the care we gave, so we don't feel as though we have anything to hide. However, it was a bit unnerving. As good as you would like to believe that everyone has good intentions, there are people out there who will sue to make money rather than go out and get a real job. We didn't call the daughter on it, but we did call the nursing supervisor, and the patient's doctor. The nurse jurist was also called. We were told that taking pictures of your family in a hospital is something that is still being debated in Congress, so we are still not certain if any legalities have been crossed. However, we were told that if the daughter (which really has nothing to do with her mother outside the hospital) persues legal action of any sort, we can file a countersuit because she took our picture (the nurses) without our
consent and knowledge (we didn't know she was snapping pictures until we were done).
So, has anyone ever had anything like this happen to them? What did you do when it happened? What came out of the whole situation??
I hate it that lawyers and suit-happy idiots hold us all hostage.
They aren't the only ones taking advantage of the "hostage modality". Even our management staff tends to hold us hostage at times. Everybody wants a piece of the nurse, but nobody wants to give to the nurses who give of their blood, sweat, and tears day in and day out anymore. What is happening to society, folks? Have we all gone mad, or what? :stone
Our hospital policy is no cameras allowed in patient areas. Privacy issues, HIPAA, and all that.
It would seem this would be the best approach to use. HIPPA is a PITA, but can be used to our favor too!! Besides, it would seem to me that the staff has an expected level of privacy also....thus, without signing a release before any multimedia is made, the photos are actually against the law (I would think......I am not a lawyer, and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night ).
Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.
Sort of sounds like a case of "oh boy, lets all go to the hospital and have a good time!" Even as a nurse, I know that I have to get out of the way, be respectful of rules and let other nurses do their jobs. That family was out of line in a big way. Easy for me to say, but I would have insisted the family leave the room unless the patient specifically asked for someone to stay. Unfortunately you don't have to work in an inner city hospital to see people take advantage of situations. Nobody seems to care about mom until she's in the hospital, then they come out of the woodwork. I know I sound callous, but I always remind myself that my PRIMARY responsibility is to the PATIENT. Not family members who seem to think of someone's illness as an excuse to get out of the house and be where the action is.:angryfire
Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.
Originally Posted by LPN4Life
Is it possible that it was just a big family, concerned for their family member, and maybe a family member couldn't be there and they were just sending pics through the phone? I have a big family, and when one of us are sick, we all swarm in, and as I nurse I know how aggravating this can be, but as a family member, I'm gonna watch everything that doctor and nurse does to make sure they are providing good quality care. I'm sure your confident in your skills, but that family member at that particular time is more worried about their loved ones.
I work in LTC, don't have to deal w/ too many family members all at once
But being on the other side and worrying about a family member, I hate being told to step out of the room And just because they want to stay in the room doesn't make them uneducated, it makes them concerned.
I disagree. Think about the things we do to patients. Try to remember how ingnorant you were of medical procedures before your training. What we might see as a routine procedure (pt squirming, crying) a non-medical person may see a torture, mistreatment or abuse!!
You stop the procedure and have the family removed, by security or the police if necessary. This practice is in violation of not only the rediculas HIPPA laws but right to privacy rules. You as a practitioner did not give the family permission to photograph you. YOU have a suit also. All three nurses in that room could wind up with major legal problems for allowing the pictures to be taken in the first place.
Yep, those NGT insertions and gastric lavages sure make nice photos for the family album. :uhoh21: That's incredible. :angryfire
That is what was running through my mind too -- who would WANT those pictures -- unless they were considering holding someone accountable for something ----
I had a parent take pictures as people walked in the door. SNAP! Before you knew what hit you. I told her she was not the only one with "rights" and if she used the photo in ANY way I would sue her personally. Then I called security and the House Supervisor. I don't know what they told her, but she backed off. The thing was, we were taking excellent care of her child and she had never offered any complaints, so I don't know what her problem was. But it is intimidating and, in a way, threatens the patient as staff gets nervous in that environment. It creates a hostile environment, in my opinion.
I had a parent take pictures as people walked in the door. SNAP! Before you knew what hit you. I told her she was not the only one with "rights" and if she used the photo in ANY way I would sue her personally. Then I called security and the House Supervisor. I don't know what they told her, but she backed off. The thing was, we were taking excellent care of her child and she had never offered any complaints, so I don't know what her problem was. But it is intimidating and, in a way, threatens the patient as staff gets nervous in that environment. It creates a hostile environment, in my opinion.
Why would people want to make the nursing staff nervous, or on edge when taking care of their family members? Do they think they will get better care by intimidating the staff? :uhoh21:
If my family member is in the hospital and receiving an NG tube or even an IV for that matter the last thing I would want to do is stress out the person putting it in. Makes that person more prone to error IMHO. Some family members are just power tripping with no concern for the person being treated.
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live4today, RN
5,099 Posts
They aren't the only ones taking advantage of the "hostage modality". Even our management staff tends to hold us hostage at times. Everybody wants a piece of the nurse, but nobody wants to give to the nurses who give of their blood, sweat, and tears day in and day out anymore. What is happening to society, folks? Have we all gone mad, or what? :stone