What would YOU have done

[my4helpers]

I have a question for you nurses or CNA's for that matter. Say a quadriplegic person whom cannot talk, (but does have a voice and can cry out) is crying out because he's uncomfortable. A nurse (I really do not even want to call her that) gets tired of his yelling out and says he is disturbing other patients, closes his door and removes his call light for the whole night. The only way this person is able to work the call light is by tapping it with his head. So if you had witnessed this, would you have gone about your work or would you have said something?

[ParvulusPuella]

I would have definitly said something. But why not just reposition the patient so that they are comfortable?

[noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP]

I would have definitely said or done something.

If he was crying out and constantly on his call light, I bet he wasn't just doing it to flirt or be a pain in the A. Someone should have figured out a way to make this man more comfortable. Yikes!

[evolvingrn, BSN, RN]

Im pretty sure that is a major violation. If i felt unsafe confronting her at that moment i would have repositioned him myself and then gone to mgt in the morning.

[ebear, BSN, RN]

repositioned, reprimanded, and reported

[nursel56]

I would have said something. I don't consider it a grey area at all. By removing his way of summoning help for her own convenience, she jeapordized his health and probably inflicted emotional abuse and frightened the person horribly.

[loriangel14, RN]

Removing apatient's call bell is completely unethical, no matter how much the patient uses the bell. Why wouldn't she just do the repsonsible thing and reposition or medicate so the patient was comfortable? That nurse acted in a very unprofessional manner.

[MurrR]

Can you say neglect?!

I probably would have re-opened the door, repositioned the resident, and DEFINITELY replaced the call light!!

If the nurse asked "Who did that?!" I would've said "I did, and if he cries out again I'll take care of it. You don't have to give it a second thought."

Edit: In addition, I would've written down the date and time of the nurse's actions and a complete description of what she did and anything she may have said. I don't know if such a thing would be considered and IR or not at your facility, but I'd definitely put it in writing and give it to my supervisor. If the RN was my supervisor, then I'd give it to THEIR supervisor!

[my4helpers]

Thanks for all of your replies! This patient (which is my uncle) had a stroke almost six months ago and it has left him in this state. He has been in a nursing home since the beginning of Nov. but was taken to a hospital last week so see if he can be weaned off his air. He should be staying at this facility for aup to 40 days. Now when he was at the LTC, he was never really repositioned, because he likes to lay on his back. However, my aunt and I give him his bed bath so of course we are keeping an eye on skin breakdown and bedsores. Being that this is a hospital, he was told that he would have to be repositioned every couple of hours and he complied. I guess Sunday night when they repositioned him, it hurt him and he cried out. So she took his call light and shut the door. This nurse is currently being investigated and is NOT allowed to go into my uncle's room again. I am just wondering whey no one spoke up to her? The family feels the whole unit should be under investigation since no one spoke up. I mean his room is only 3 doors down the nurses station so everyone had to hear him. He was so exhausted on Monday from not being able to sleep the night before. That really breaks my heart! Sure he can be a pain and be demanding! LOL!! However, the truth is, it was her job to deal with it and help him. He is only 45 and trying to adapt to this way of life.

[DedHedRN]

I would take care of the patient, replace the call light, then I would say something to the nurse first, then if she didn't respond to the patient appropriately I would then approach the charge nurse, and so on and so forth till I had had the results for the patient that were needed.

Heres a little thing I learned in conflict management it goes like this.

When you...

I feel...

because I..

I would like..

So I probably would have said this to her...

When you take the patients call light away

I feel this is a risk to his emotional and physical welfare

because I am concerned for the patient

I would like you to replace the call light or allow me to.

[my4helpers]

I will say one thing; since this has happened, my uncle has been in several different facilities and I go to visit him at least 4 times a week. With that being said, it has really opened up my eyes to the world of nursing and if you do not feel like nursing is for you, then please do not go into it and if you feel you need a break, then by all means...take a break from it! I know that one day, I will become a great nurse and I give thanks to the good nurses that have been taking care of him and the ones that are so helpful as well!

[GHGoonette, BSN, RN]

my4helpers, I am sorry to hear about your uncle; it's horrible to watch a loved one suffering.

Bad enough that he was left lying in an uncomfortable position; infinitely worse to remove from him his only means of communication. Neglect is a charitable description of what she did. Words like "criminal" and "reckless endangerment" occur to me. If this happened where I work, the nurse would almost certainly be suspended pending a disciplinary process.

It is difficult for employers to simply fire staff in South Africa, but deliberate actions which endanger the patient can lead to dismissal. Not only that, the case can be referred to the Nursing Council, which may result in the nurse's removal from the register or roll. In extreme cases, she may find herself charged in a criminal court, and at the end find herself facing a civil action brought by the patient or family.