Would you ever ask another nurse to give your pt a suppository?

Nurses Relations

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  1. Would you ever ask another nurse to insert a suppository into your pt?

    • 51
      No. I would feel guilty and would delegate another nursing responsibility to them instead.
    • 7
      Yes, I dont want to do it either!
    • 4
      Yes, but I would feel guilty/bad about it.
    • 112
      Yes, to help teammate since turning patient on side for skin assessment.

174 members have participated

I am a skin and wound resource nurse for my unit and I have to do PU prevalence for my unit every wednesday. I have to turn 30 pts and assess their skin for PUs and clean BMs with the nurse if we find them, I even change dsgs for them of it is a PU underneath. I was taken aback when I was asked by 2 nurses yesterday "while im on that side can you place this suppository?" These are the only 2 favors I was asked to do all day also. I felt put on the spot and taken advanage of - I have never thought of asking another nurse to do this for me, I tend to think that people would prefer to do this as minimally as possible and you are expected to do the dirty work for you own pts. What do you think? Was I being a poor sport about it or were they taking advantage of me?

Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice.

It wouldn't bother me a bit. I wouldn't be in wound care if I was averse to "dirty" work though.

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The question was would I ask a nurse to place a suppository for me because she was in the position you were in . . right? I think folks have the question backwards.

I would not ask someone to do it but if I were asked to do it, I would gladly help out since I'm in the right place.

But yeah, asking someone to do my job would be hard for me. I might just walk around the bed and say "May I place this while you have the patient on his side?".

I couldn't answer the poll because my answer was not one of the options.

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

This is one of the few times we've all been in agreement. So I thought I'd pile on.

I wouldn't have thought twice about another nurse asking me to administer a suppository if I were in the best place. I might even have felt bad for not offering, before they had to ask.

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Poll: Would you ever ask another nurse to insert a suppository into your pt?

Here's the question. ^

No, I would never ask another nurse to place a suppository for me. But if asked, I would do it for her/him.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

Sorry but I don't get what the big deal is here. You were already there, the resident was already positioned on their side and it takes maybe a few seconds to pop in a supp. Why would you have a problem with this??

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What do you think? Was I being a poor sport about it or were they taking advantage of me?

I know what the title of this thread is.. however this was the question she asked in her post.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.

I have to agree with everyone else. If someone was going to be turning and examining my pt and they needed a suppository I would hate to, but would prob ask them to pop it in since they'd be right there. I have no idea why you are so up in arms over this op. To me, and apparently everyone else, it's a very reasonable request.

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Specializes in Medical Oncology, Alzheimer/dementia.

It's all about teamwork. I would not be offended, and I would ask the nurse to insert the suppository if they were better positioned than I was. If it was that serious, I'd tell them to come around to my side and hold the patient over so I could do it myself.

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Specializes in ER.
I know what the title of this thread is.. however this was the question she asked in her post.

And her poll questions were as follows

  • No. I would feel guilty and would delegate another nursing responsibility to them instead.
  • Yes, I dont want to do it either!
  • Yes, but I would feel guilty/bad about it.

The only options in this poorly phrased poll were 'yes' I would ask because I don't want to do it, or 'yes' I would ask but I'd fell guilty about it. Or 'no' I would feel guilty, but I'd make them do something else instead.

How about an option 'Yes' I would because we are part of a team and work together for the good of the pt.?

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Just a patient-- As others have said its whoever is back there, whenever I got sick and more than one nurse was helping clean me up, whoever was behind me at the time would give it. I saw a nurse behind me hold out her hand as my nurse entered the room and sometimes they would just hand it to them and they gave it. I guess they were too focused on making me feel better than who was assigned to me.

It's nice to know it's no big deal for a nurse to give them, I was always embarrassed when I had to get one, I felt bad for the nurse when she had to do it, I even asked once if I could give it myself, her reply "Nah this is why they pay me the big bucks" I always thought they were they just saying that to make me feel better, now I know they were not. Sometimes a patient forgets nurses do stuff like this so often it's no big deal to them.

As a nurse once told me "It's not what's best or easiest for the nurse, but what is best the patient" She told me this because I would always say whatever is easiest for you--I never want to be a difficult patient. I learned a little secret that day, a "difficult" patient to a nurse is usually one who is nasty to them.

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And her poll questions were as follows

The only options in this poorly phrased poll were 'yes' I would ask because I don't want to do it, or 'yes' I would ask but I'd fell guilty about it. Or 'no' I would feel guilty, but I'd make them do something else instead.

How about an option 'Yes' I would because we are part of a team and work together for the good of the pt.?

I agree with you which is why I didn't even participate in the poll. This response of mine was in response to the following.

The question was would I ask a nurse to place a suppository for me because she was in the position you were in . . right? I think folks have the question backwards.
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Thank you all for your input. I was a teamplayer and did what they asked me, I am not a difficult person to work with I have earned merit raises based on my teamwork. I work in an ICU and turning 30 pts from 8-3, documenting, and doing multiple dsg changes is sometimes impossible to do in that time span and I would not give a nurse a hard time because the pts are unstable. I just wanted to gain a better attitude about it because I do get asked to do things that I simply dont have time to do, and certain nurses will take advantage more than others. Sometimes they will ask me to do their simple wet to dry dsgs for them... Had I been the nurse, I would have offered to do it myself while the pt was on their side. I did not realize that it didnt bother as many people as I thought it did.

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