I found myself in hot water the other day because of the call bell. One of my peers received two ambulance patients at the same time, and since I wasn't too busy, I figured I'd run in and give a hand. I got the patient settled in, did my assessment, inserted a luer and drew some blood, did an ECG... all the usual. Then as is my usual practice, I explained what the process would be and that there might be a wait. I then grabbed the call bell and let her know to press the bell if she needed anything.
After a while, the patient pressed the call bell to ask for something or other. Immediately my colleague asked "who the heck gave her the bell?" I of course said I had, and she immediately launched into a long discourse on why she never ever gives the patient the bell and why it's a bad bad idea, and how she would not be able to get any work done with the bell going.
So I have my own thoughts on this, and I will share them in due course, but I want to get your thoughts - nurses and clients alike, and anyone else... what are your thoughts on the call bell? For nurses specifically, do you give your patients the bell? Do you encourage them to use it? Do you make responding to call bells a priority?
Eagerly looking forward to your responses :)
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The best intentions don't always work out
Your heart is in the right place. Compassion is a key part of being a nurse of any sort. The patient should have a way of asking for help if need be and that's why the bell is so important, particularly if the patient can't speak or has a small voice or whatever reason. However, I can imagine a lot of patients being abusive with the bell and wanting immediate relief hence your colleague's reaction.
Always provide a call bell.
Everyone has a different way of dealing this. This is just one viewpoint:
Responding to call bells is not the very top priority, for obvious reasons; you can't just drop everything and go to them. If you know you're going to be very busy, explain this to the patient. But don't ask them not to use it, as this can lead to dehydrated patients "being polite" and failing to ask for water, for instance.
They are a high priority for many reasons. Patient satisfaction is very important, both in and of itself and in terms of repeat business. Even if you work for government health services, satisfied patients help guarantee continued funding and aid.
Your heart is definitely in
Your heart is definitely in the right place. I think you would need to assess this on a case by case basis and over time you'll learn mostly who will and who won't abuse the call bell in the hospital.
I have always given my
I have always given my patient's their call light. Not only is this required in our ER, but it's comforting to the patient. They need to feel that their nurse is accessible. Who wants to sit on a stretcher for hours with so many possibilities running through their head? I have discovered that if you spend at least 5 minutes explaining procedures and the expected wait time with the patient (assuming they are cognitively intact) upon their arrival that they will be less likely to abuse the call light. However, not all patient's are as patient and will find frivilous reasons to take advantage of the call light.
RBeavRN
Yes to the call bell
Yes, give the patient a call bell. BUT if you round on your patients regularly, most patients won't have a need to ring it because you will have already met their needs.
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