What is your take on multiple family members in room when they have roommate?

[hollyberry678]

My patient had a roommate who had multiple family members in the room, on the other side of the curtain. And actually a group of them came in around 1 a.m. The families' loved one (pt) had gone through a procedure that evening, true, but not major surgery.

I asked that pt's nurse about it, and she said 'oh they will go around 2", that she didnt want to say anything because that can spark antagonism (or something to that effect), and that since they were from another culture we needed to be sensitive to that.

I said, well I am trying to be sensitive to my pt...She got an attitude to me after that.

Later she told me "it looks like they are both sleeping, the family members are being quiet" i said true, but they are still in and out (to the bathroom,ect). she said I was free to say something as I "worked in that space too"

I am all for family centered care, but where do you draw the line?

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

Oh, I'm a bad, bad nurse....

Lady in "b" bed (by the window) was pretty sick -- CHF/COPD/ESRF, in for COPD exacerbation, but we didn't think she was going to die that day by any means. Bed A is same day post op for an open chole, with significant MI history, and EF of about 30%. She's got her daughter and her hubby trying to stay with her in our postage stamp room and they've been nasty, demanding, and verbally abusive to everyone; B bed's alone. A bed actually told her nurse, "I want a private room, I don't want to share my room with a stinky old person."

Guess what happened in the middle of the night. Yup, I'm walking back from a 3 am protonix IV push, and meet 2 other nurses going "32, 32, go in 32 now!" Sure enough, B bed, who was thankfully a DNR, was passing. I'm listening for her heart beat, and trying to quietly tell the other nurses I'm not getting anything, and the unit secretary comes on the speaker and softly says, "asystole." We're all pretty sad, since B bed was a frequent flier (but a nice one) and we'd all taken care of her at some point. We're figure out how we're going to get the cadaver transporter into the room, since A bed, for all her witchiness, can't really be moved to a wheelchair and rolled into the hall, who's going to call the doc, who's going to prep the body, etc. Hubby pops around the curtain, demanding that we keep it down, since the "noise" the other patient has been making was keeping beloved wife awake. Oh, I'm a bad nurse....

I just said, "Well, sir, she won't be bothering your wife anymore, she just died."

[santhony44, MSN, RN, NP]

I just said, "Well, sir, she won't be bothering your wife anymore, she just died."

I'd have loved to have seen the looks on their faces.

[Kthale81]

I got floated to another floor last night... at shift change up comes postop patient.... 30 year old. The nurse and I get the patient settled and I'm starting to do the admission vitals when I hear "I am the mother and I WILL be staying tonight and tomorrow night, so you'd better find something for me to sleep on".

My first thought was, Lady, your "Kid" is 30 years old. I think they are old enough to be in the hospital without having Mommy hovering.

Just love when family members demand for things before the nurse can even assess the patient. I cannot stand that at all. When I would get a post-op pt, after the patient arrived to the room I would close the door. No family would be in the room, I would assess and do everything I needed to do. I would let the family in only after I was finished doing what I needed, I didn't care how long it took.

The best part is, all 30 members want coffee or pepsi. I have not worked in over a month and I still get irritated thinking about all the annoying family members.

[Kthale81]

Oh, I'm a bad, bad nurse....

Lady in "b" bed (by the window) was pretty sick -- CHF/COPD/ESRF, in for COPD exacerbation, but we didn't think she was going to die that day by any means. Bed A is same day post op for an open chole, with significant MI history, and EF of about 30%. She's got her daughter and her hubby trying to stay with her in our postage stamp room and they've been nasty, demanding, and verbally abusive to everyone; B bed's alone. A bed actually told her nurse, "I want a private room, I don't want to share my room with a stinky old person."

Guess what happened in the middle of the night. Yup, I'm walking back from a 3 am protonix IV push, and meet 2 other nurses going "32, 32, go in 32 now!" Sure enough, B bed, who was thankfully a DNR, was passing. I'm listening for her heart beat, and trying to quietly tell the other nurses I'm not getting anything, and the unit secretary comes on the speaker and softly says, "asystole." We're all pretty sad, since B bed was a frequent flier (but a nice one) and we'd all taken care of her at some point. We're figure out how we're going to get the cadaver transporter into the room, since A bed, for all her witchiness, can't really be moved to a wheelchair and rolled into the hall, who's going to call the doc, who's going to prep the body, etc. Hubby pops around the curtain, demanding that we keep it down, since the "noise" the other patient has been making was keeping beloved wife awake. Oh, I'm a bad nurse....

I just said, "Well, sir, she won't be bothering your wife anymore, she just died."

I bet he felt like an uncaring fool...but then again some people don't care nor are compassionate for others

[psalm, RN]

AND NO matter how often we tell visitors not to use the bathroom, to use the visitor's bathroom down the hall, they will. Gross!!

[Kthale81]

AND NO matter how often we tell visitors not to use the bathroom, to use the visitor's bathroom down the hall, they will. Gross!!

yes, that is so nasty....I don't understand what is wrong with some people

[squeakykitty]

I've been in that other bed with another pt's family member loudly talking, laughing, etc like it was social hour. They were loud enough I couldn't speak to my nurse without talking over them. I had just had major surgery and pain meds, so all I wanted to do at 2am was SLEEP! I think it is incredibly rude and insensitive to others.

I think if that happened to me things would not be pretty. I would tell them a thing or two. And if I ever caught my roomates family member helping themself to my lunch tray................

[squeakykitty]

Oh, I'm a bad, bad nurse....

Lady in "b" bed (by the window) was pretty sick -- CHF/COPD/ESRF, in for COPD exacerbation, but we didn't think she was going to die that day by any means. Bed A is same day post op for an open chole, with significant MI history, and EF of about 30%. She's got her daughter and her hubby trying to stay with her in our postage stamp room and they've been nasty, demanding, and verbally abusive to everyone; B bed's alone. A bed actually told her nurse, "I want a private room, I don't want to share my room with a stinky old person."

Guess what happened in the middle of the night. Yup, I'm walking back from a 3 am protonix IV push, and meet 2 other nurses going "32, 32, go in 32 now!" Sure enough, B bed, who was thankfully a DNR, was passing. I'm listening for her heart beat, and trying to quietly tell the other nurses I'm not getting anything, and the unit secretary comes on the speaker and softly says, "asystole." We're all pretty sad, since B bed was a frequent flier (but a nice one) and we'd all taken care of her at some point. We're figure out how we're going to get the cadaver transporter into the room, since A bed, for all her witchiness, can't really be moved to a wheelchair and rolled into the hall, who's going to call the doc, who's going to prep the body, etc. Hubby pops around the curtain, demanding that we keep it down, since the "noise" the other patient has been making was keeping beloved wife awake. Oh, I'm a bad nurse....

I just said, "Well, sir, she won't be bothering your wife anymore, she just died."

:up:

I wonder what the guy said to that? I would have loved to seen the look on his face.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

He retreated to his side of the room and he, the wife, and the daughter didn't say anything for a long, long time....in fact, I don't remember them hitting the call bell for the rest of the shift.

[Batman24]

He retreated to his side of the room and he, the wife, and the daughter didn't say anything for a long, long time....in fact, I don't remember them hitting the call bell for the rest of the shift.

Maybe they realized the world didn't really revolve around them and some people had it much worse than they did.

[shelly304]

I had a nightmare of a hosp. stay a fews years ago. After coming back from surg. I was told a private room wasn't ready yet. I was in bed b. I was not feeling well at all and just wanted peace and quiet. The woman in bed A had invited relatives and friends to come spend the day. They were loud, obnoxious, and RUDE. They had so many people in the room they were sitting up against my bed with curtain draping across me from leaning back in their chairs. Someone had brought a pizza and the smell made me vomit. They all started laughing and loudly said how I was affecting their appetites!!! The nurses were wonderful to me. They did keep asking people to leave but they would return within 30 mins. This hosp. was known for it's chef prepared menus-like a 5 star resturantl .They ordered everything under the sun for their "little party".

I finally felt like I could use the bathroom and the nurse helped me, closed the door and was standing right out in the hall waiting for me. One the male "guests" actually knocked on the door, told me to hurry up because he had to take a whiz! (his words!) Nurse called security, and the fight began! I finally got moved to a private room and i could hear the commotion from down the hall. What a nightmare hospital stay that was.

[elthia]

To revive an old thread....I was reading the how to stop visitors from using an empty bed thread found here

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/how-stop-visitors-638241.html

and this incident came to mind. Rather than starting a new thread... I revived an old goody.

I had a really crappy near code one time. It was a comedy of errors.

I was floated to a floor, where the powers that be, decided to allow the family members of patient stay in the room. 2 cots, and a blow up air mattress in a small private room. You couldn't get in the room to assess the pt. The charge nurse on that floor didn't care, even though the hospital policy states 1 visitor overnight depending on the nurses discretion, and there 3 people on 2 cots and a mattress.

Well they didn't like it when I turned on the lights to hang the IV abx, because it woke up Aunt Sally sleeping in the corner.I was yelled at for accidentally hitting someone in the leg, then bumping someone else with the VS machine when I went in to do VS on the 70 year old, CHF pt in with exacerbation. I almost stepped on the wife's head, because her air mattress was between the bathroom door and the bed. Later, at 0200 when I was hanging another set of IV abx, I tripped over Uncle Jo sleeping on the cot at the foot of the bed. I was then fired from the room.

At change of shift, the charge nurse was hanging another IV abx, and hits the staff assist button. CHF multifamily had dropped his sats. We call the ERT. SO....then if the room is too tightly crowded for one nurse, how is the ERT going to fit in.

We run in, and pull wife off the blowup mattress, so we can put it in the bathroom, but she's unsteady, so someone has to run and get a chair. Uncle Jo, is yelling at us that if we ruin the mattress we are going to buy a new one. His cot and him went into the hallway, Aunt Sally's cot got folded and pushed against the wall,( not with her on it) SHE went to the foot of the bed rubbing her hands anxiously and refusing to leave.

Apparently, the family refused the Q4 VS,because the previous nurse (yours truly) kept them all up so much, and sleep really is so much more important for all of them. A drop in O2 sats was never noticed, with coming daylight the pt's circumoral cyanosis and grey skin became apparent:rolleyes:. An adjustment in O2, then some bipap, and problem solved, but not completely. CHF multifamily ended up going to the ICU where the ICU staff promptly kicked all the family out, even though the room there are 3 times bigger, could it be all the equipment they need, and not the family?

I reported to the nursing supervisor that I was asked to not be the pt's nurse anymore after 0100, and that I had already given report off to the charge nurse regarding the amount of visitors and cots in the room. I don't know what happened after that.

oops, maybe I posted this in the wrong thread....still a great thread!