Question for nurses or hospital staff

[Suprtek]

Those are definitely matter of law.

So if I am able to safely walk and I'm not interfering with my treatment, how could it be considered medically necessary to restrict me to the ward?

 

[femurphy77]

I work in a hospital, there are several ways off of each unit without passing a nurses station. I see patients outside all the time, smoking, getting fresh air whatever. They cannot force you to stay, they cannot bind you unless you are a threat to yourself or others, you have rights as a patient and these should be spelled out in writing and available for the asking.

 

[Mog]

I agree it has to be about liability. This is gonna sound funny but don't they have the power to strap a patient to a bed if need be?

"If need be". But it requires a physician order and pretty darn good documentaion as to why it was necessary over all other alternatives.

 

[Cam]

Just playing devil's advocate here...that sounds like something that could backfire on me. If I specifically force the doctor to address the issue, he just might decide to issue an order to the contrary.

As far as my issue goes, they found some kind of obstruction in my small intestine and its been causing some severe pain occasionally. They're trying to figure out what it is and deal with it. I'm sure it'll work out eventually.

I'm not saying to force the doctor to address it, I'm saying to talk with him about your concerns and if going for a walk is agreeable, he can write an order that will remain in your chart and it wouldnt be questioned by nursing staff. Wasn't your concern the nurses not allowing this? I may have misunderstood.

So if I am able to safely walk and I'm not interfering with my treatment, how could it be considered medically necessary to restrict me to the ward?

It probably wouldn't be.

 

[Suprtek]

I'm not saying to force the doctor to address it, I'm saying to talk with him about your concerns and if going for a walk is agreeable, he can write an order that will remain in your chart and it wouldnt be questioned by nursing staff. Wasn't your concern the nurses not allowing this? I may have misunderstood.

I'm probably just being more paranoid than I need to be. My point was that the doctor may disagree and actually decide to make it more difficult to deal with the nurses.

It probably wouldn't be.

That's the way I interpret it as well. If that's true then I really don't have a problem.

 

[Cam]

I'm probably just being more paranoid than I need to be. My point was that the doctor may disagree and actually decide to make it more difficult to deal with the nurses.



That's the way I interpret it as well. If that's true then I really don't have a problem.

I can all but guarantee that they won't make it more difficult to deal with the nurses so I think you are good. Any effort on the physicians part to do this would result in more work for themselves and I promise they won't want that!

Communication is key.

 

[Suprtek]

I'd also like to clarify something else here. The tone of this thread may seem to indicate that I think badly of nurses or hospital staff. Nothing could be further from the truth. I greatly appreciate their hard work and dedication to what they do. It is a job most people couldn't even handle including myself. I simply won't allow myself to be treated in the manner that I have previously described.

 

[Suprtek]

Well it looks like if the "Patients Rights" list I found is accurate and a matter of law then I don't really have a problem. I still welcome any input from anyone with any kind of inside knowledge on the subject.

 

[Double T]

As a nurse, it's a liabilty stand on the hospitals part. If you are admitted, the hospital is responsible. Say you walk out and code in an elevator? You die, family sues and wins due to hospital not caring for you 100% of time. Basically it's to cover the hospitals ASSets.

That's not to say you can't go for a stroll with a family member giving the charge nurse notice (unless you have a "condition" requiring you to remain on the unit)...telemetry comes to mind.

Also, our Hospital is a "Tobacco Free" campus. Rent a cops asked me not to smoke after my son was born...IN MY CAR.

Talk to your nurse or the shift supervisor, they'll help you out...we are supposed to be advocates for patient rights after all.

 

[Suprtek]

As a nurse, it's a liabilty stand on the hospitals part. If you are admitted, the hospital is responsible. Say you walk out and code in an elevator? You die, family sues and wins due to hospital not caring for you 100% of time. Basically it's to cover the hospitals ASSets.

That's not to say you can't go for a stroll with a family member giving the charge nurse notice (unless you have a "condition" requiring you to remain on the unit)...telemetry comes to mind.

Also, our Hospital is a "Tobacco Free" campus. Rent a cops asked me not to smoke after my son was born...IN MY CAR.

Talk to your nurse or the shift supervisor, they'll help you out...we are supposed to be advocates for patient rights after all.

Everything you said makes perfect sense. It would be unreasonable of me to insist on walking out if I were not in a condition to safely do so. I've just been struck in the past by the attitude of some staff that seems to imply they can keep you from leaving the immediate area even when no good reason seems to exist.

Here's a twist you might have some insight on. Often an I.V. is attached but its just fluid. I know those things are on wheels but if its only there as a precaution, how much trouble can I get into for disconnecting that thing so I can take a short walk without a tether? I'm not talking about ripping it out of my arm, just turning off the machine and disconnecting the hose temporarily. I would of course allow the nurse to reconnect it when I returned.

 

[Double T]

I am not a doctor, and without knowing your situation...typically fluids are ran to keep electrolytes up, prevent dehydration, hypovolemia...etc. they usually won't disconnect/reconnect as the more times it gets unhooked the greater the risk of infection...whether localized (phlebitis/infiltrate) or systemic (sepsis)

If you don't think you need it, request that it be DC'd. IIRC, if you are having bowel issues (constipation) they probably won't budge on removing the line. Increasing fluids is like the number one thing for 99% of things.

Again, I wouldn't do anything without running it by your nurse, as different facilities have different policy...and different nurses interpret policy differently.

 

[Suprtek]

They suspect an enlarged lymph-node(s) may be causing an obstruction so its not exactly constipation but I see your point. I wouldn't ask you to condone anything that could be considered unethical. Maybe I'll just have to roll that thing along with me if its still connected.

 

[radonc73]

I work at a hospital where we had a patient go out in the fog for a smoke and ended up dying in a snowbank. It is a CYA thing so is the smoking, at least once or twice a month patients set off the firealarm smoking in the bathrooms but we are a "non smoking" facility also which means smoke breaks went from 10 to 20 minutes b/c they now just get in their car and leave the campus.