When nurses visit loved ones who are hospitalized...

[RNcDreams]

How do you feel when a patient's family member/friend/etc is a nurse, and comes to visit at the hospital?

Do you feel territorial? Are you glad? Do you feel a sense of camaraderie, or do you think "Ughh he/she is going to watch everything I do and ask unreasonable questions" ?

Is it helpful or harmful for the visitor to help (i.e., getting from chair to bed, using bathroom, etc)?

Do you feel comfortable telling that person more detailed/medically related information (with the patient's permission), or at least with medical lingo?

Share your thoughts and gut reactions! :nuke:

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

In all honesty, I might have been able to pull out my brain and tell you her recent lab values, but if you want accurate answers to the rest of those questions, I would have told that you I'd look them up - and I'm not a green ICU nurse.

IMO, there is no shame in saying, "let me look that up," or, "I don't know, but let me find out."

It is much better to acknowledge a limitation that to try to BS your way through it - which will get you into much more trouble later on.

Absolute agreement here! I work with many people in my many minutes as a nurse...and in order to get the lastest and most accurate information I am going to that chart! I would really be horrible if I sputted out something, and had to come back an say "actually I was wrong...it is this...". That would certainly make anyone feel like I wasn't capable of doing my job!

When I say that I must look, I also let my patients (and their families) know that I am going to look at the chart for the latest information since the charts are constantly being modified by MD's. Or I will also add that I wish to also see what happened last shift or what not when I wasn't there to make sure that the information I give is as accurate as possible!

[aeauooo]

I assume the questions I am asking any ICU nurse should be able to answer. Pat

I once worked in a unit with a charge nurse who told me, "Don't tell the families nothin'! If they ask you a question about labs or anything, tell them they have to ask the doctor."

Of course, our docs were never around during visiting times.

BTW, I absolutely did not heed the CN's advice. I had the families of several patients come back to me later in the course of the patient's hospitalization - or even after discharge - and tell me I was the only person who ever told them what was going on.