Would you use a cell phone at work? Do you need a cell phone at work?

[2BSure]

Hey all,

I work somewhere where cell phones are forbidden and I am OK with that. We have pagers if necessary, a phone in every room and if you are on nights or have a large area to cover you are given a wireless handset that clips to your belt.

Recently my mum went into hospital via ER for a cardiac emergency and was admitted. On a number of occasions nurses or techs cell phones would ring while they were in my mum's room. Sometimes they answered and had a brief "I'll call you back I am with a patient" moment. Sometimes they did not answer. Sometimes they answered and it sounded work related.

I suppose I did not really care about all of this until one nurse, when about to insert a new IV into my mother, answered her phone, had what sounded like a work conversation and then went back to my mum. I can't say I was overly impressed. She didn't reglove or anything. Frankly, I was so taken aback I didn't say anything at the time.

So if you guys use cell phones at work (I mean working in a LTCF, hospital or similar) why are they necessary? Do you use personal cell phones at work? What are your facility's reasoning against them?

I am just interested.

[litbitblack, ASN, RN]

I carry mine and its on vibrate. Sorry the "call the business phone" would work if people would give you the message. I ghave had emergency calls missed because people wouldnt relay the message

[Cherybaby]

I carry my cell with me and keep it on vibrate. Never answer it in a patients room. Want to know what really gets under my skin? When I am with a patient and THEY are on their cellphones the entire time. Hello? I have questions to ask them, meds to give them, lung and bowel sounds to listen to! A little difficult to do when Mrs. Smith is talking to Mrs. Jones about what is going on with their favorite soap opera! Argh!

[Aneroo, LPN]

I wouldn't carry one at work. It's unprofessional.

At the facility I worked at most recently, the staff we assigned a cordless phone for the day (bigger than a cell phone). I worked in the ER, and by the time I left, there were two phones- the charge and a tech phone. The rest had been dropped, the battery part wouldn't stay attached, or they'd been dropped in the toilet.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

I wouldn't carry one at work. It's unprofessional.

What if it's a smartphone and has all of your drug guides, lab reference books, and other nursing resources on it?

[Aneroo, LPN]

What if it's a smartphone and has all of your drug guides, lab reference books, and other nursing resources on it?

To use it while at a nursing station to research materials- not as unprofessional as using it in a patients room or even making a personal call at the nurses station.

I can look up any drug I have a question about from Micromedex, in the pyxis, or I can call the pharmacy.

If you made an error due to something you read in your pda, would it stand up in court?

[AOx1]

The hospital I also work at had the cell phones when I would float to the floor. I hated them and was not alone. I refused to answer mine if I was with a patient; they are the priority. It's disruptive. They would just put a call through repeatedly if you didn't answer right away. After it rang 4 times during a code (I had chucked it aside) I had had enough and refused to carry it anymore. Shortly after, the unit stopped using them altogether.

They were a royal nuisance. 99 times out of 100, I would get a phone call for non-emergent reasons, ie "Mrs Jones in 111 needs ice!" Well, I just saw her 15 minutes ago, and it wasn't an emergency then, and it still isn't now! We tried to provide education to the secretary about what was and wasn't an emergency, what phone calls should be referred to the nurse and which to the tech, etc but it did not work. I would have a patient asking on hourly rounds why I didn't bring the pain meds they called about, yet I hadn't received the message because they called the tech, and yet would sent me the calls to tuck in a pt, rearrange them, get them a snack, etc. Not that I won't do those things; I will, but on the next round or if I'm not busy. I kept track of how often I was interrupted on an average day for a non-urgent need, and it was often 15+ on a busy day. Ridiculous.

[pink2blue1]

I do keep my cell on me on vibrate while I am working. I never ever answer in a patients room, and if it's one of my kids calling, I leave the floor to call back. I have 3 kids, 5, 10 and 12. My daughters have hashi's and are on meds, one of my daugters has horrid migraines and my son has had heath issues the past year. Thankfully I have never had to leave work because of them, but I do feel more connected. I don't want to give them the station number because our secretary would put the call through to our portable phones .

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

To use it while at a nursing station to research materials- not as unprofessional as using it in a patients room or even making a personal call at the nurses station.

I can look up any drug I have a question about from Micromedex, in the pyxis, or I can call the pharmacy.

If you made an error due to something you read in your pda, would it stand up in court?

Our meds are kept in the patients' rooms, and we draw up meds in patients' rooms as well. My drug guides are Davis and Gahart. Same as the books in the med room. Why would I make an error looking up a med on my PDA when the references on my PDA are the exact same references I'd be using in the med room (plus mine are updated regularly, unlike the books in the med room)?

[fromthedyt]

I keep my personal phone on me on silence. I never answer it or look at it when in a patient room or in a common patient area. I go to a private area if I have time to look at what the caller needed.

At the LTC I work at we have phones for all the nurses and techs. It comes in handy due to one tech being on each wing of the three wings. Instead of hunting room to room and disturbing residence we can simply call them for assistance if needed. The phones are optional and are not required to be carried though.

[kcochrane]

My phone is with me all the time on vibrate. We are supposed to have our family call the nursing office if they need us. Well that is fine if 1. Someone is in the nursing office at the time and 2. They remember where we might have floated to. I have a husband with medical problems and young children. I work nights, so if someone calls, its important.

The only reason they banned cell phones at my work is because a CNA was talking on one while their resident was hanging in a hoyer. Can't cure stupid by making a rule for everyone else.