Re: friendliness with patients

[Guest guest]

Absolutely correct Matt!! Doug

friendliness with patients

I have a tech that recently mentioned that she went to a current

patient's house to visit and they sat around and had food, chatted, had a

beer,

etc. Now, this is not a dating situation, (it was two females and they are

both

heterosexuals) but it just struck me as wrong. One person can say the wrong

thing, etc.

An earlier incident was another tech going to a patient's house to buy

furniture from the current patient. Again, this just seems to have a lot of

pitfalls; one person feels ripped off on the transaction, the potential buyer

may decide not to purchase and the seller becomes offended, etc.

Now, please remember that this is not licensed professional staff but

are techs; however, for the aforementioned reasons I am uneasy about these

" relationships " . Am I overreacting? I have no problem with doing

things

after the patient is discharged. After all, this is a small town and the

people like the Southern small town flavor and it's great to make new friends.

Also, it's almost impossible to do business without running across a former

patient. However, it seems to me it's one thing to buy a used car off a

current

patient, quite another to buy one off of a discharged patient.

I know a like topic has been bandied about before on this list but

that seemed to focus on employees dating patients as opposed to buying

property

or " just hanging out " .

Thanks for your feedback.

Matt Capo, PT

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

[Guest guest]

I have to agree with Steve on this. There definitely is a limit, although I,

myself, have been invited to patient's homes for dining, beer, etc. (after work

hours, of course). I was instructed when I was in school that having a romantic

relationship was " out of the question " and have seen colleagues do this and have

difficulties because of it, therefore, this is wrong. Friendly relationships

are great as long as we do not benefit financially from them. We are in the

" people " business, and I do value the personal relationships I develop with

patients. I attend funerals regularly for patients (hopefully not dying on my

account), and the families comment on how glad they are to see me there. My

wife is a home health nurse who has developed some wonderful relationships as

well. That is why we love doing what we do. Just my two cents.

Matt Dvorak, PT

________________________________

From: Steve Passmore

Sent: Tue 9/7/2004 7:47 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Re: friendliness with patients

I have to believe you are too sensative. Of course we should avoid

discussing private medical info.

Comparing to a town physician who might treat hundreds of patients from

" womb to tomb " , are they not supposed to have personal friends or business

dealings in the community. I realize therapy is different with its

typically short term professional relationships; but, I dont think we should

limit a person's personal life. I would see a need for professional

disconnection with a dating relationship... but you are speaking of a

budding friendship or business relationship.

As long as you do not use you professional relationship to gain advantage

then you are ok. Just my opinion, certainly not backed up by facts other

than my own delusions.

Steve Passmore PT

Healthy Recruiting Tools

spass@...

friendliness with patients

>

> I have a tech that recently mentioned that she went to a current

> patient's house to visit and they sat around and had food, chatted, had a

beer,

> etc. Now, this is not a dating situation, (it was two females and they

are both

> heterosexuals) but it just struck me as wrong. One person can say the

wrong

> thing, etc.

> An earlier incident was another tech going to a patient's house to

buy

> furniture from the current patient. Again, this just seems to have a lot

of

> pitfalls; one person feels ripped off on the transaction, the potential

buyer

> may decide not to purchase and the seller becomes offended, etc.

> Now, please remember that this is not licensed professional staff

but

> are techs; however, for the aforementioned reasons I am uneasy about these

> " relationships " . Am I overreacting? I have no problem with doing

things

> after the patient is discharged. After all, this is a small town and the

> people like the Southern small town flavor and it's great to make new

friends.

> Also, it's almost impossible to do business without running across a

former

> patient. However, it seems to me it's one thing to buy a used car off a

current

> patient, quite another to buy one off of a discharged patient.

> I know a like topic has been bandied about before on this list but

> that seemed to focus on employees dating patients as opposed to buying

property

> or " just hanging out " .

> Thanks for your feedback.

> Matt Capo, PT

> Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

It seems like you are way too uptight. So a PT aid

can't be freinds with a patient?? Come on, give me a

break. If that is what things have come to it is ridiculous.

=====

Heimark, MSPT

Advanced Rehabilitation

576 South Broadway

Denver, CO 80209

advancedrehabilitation.net

[Guest guest]

Hi Matt,

I would just like to weigh in on this subject from a home health

perspective. I really do feel that the relationships I develop in homecare

are different than those in the outpatient setting. Because I am first and

foremost a guest in my patient's homes, and I am seeing them in their own

" space " , as well as the fact that they are homebound and may not have much

social interaction, I think the boundaries can become blurred more easily. I

try really hard to keep everything as professional as possible, yet there

are patients where I become almost a part of the family. I try to politely

decline invitations to sit down for a meal, although I have joined in

birthday cake celebrations! I do try to attend funerals when possible, and

if I am traveling I will quite often send postcards to some of my " special "

patients. They really do appreciate these small gestures. I would not sit

and watch television or consume alcohol with patients.

I did have one experience that I would like to share with the group - I'm

interested to hear what others have to say about it. I was treating a 93

year old gentleman, and he needed something to elevate his legs. He told me

to look in his garage and find a footstool. His garage was packed with

antique furniture. I asked him what he was planning to do with all of it,

and he wanted to sell it to me. He actually had several pieces that were

exactly what I had been looking for, and I was interested. I checked with

our agency policies, called his family and discussed it with them (made sure

I wasn't taking anyone's inheritance), and actually had to keep asking him

to raise his price. I could really have taken advantage of him - I ended up

paying him 4 times what he wanted. Anyway, his family was grateful to have

his garage emptied out, he was relieved that he had sold this furniture to

someone who would appreciate it, and he was able to use the money to make

some much needed improvements on his home. I have to admit though, I really

struggled with the ethics of the situation and I tried to make sure I

covered all bases and made it as fair as possible. I also did not actually

purchase the furniture until he was discharged from our services. He died

last month, and I am reminded of him every day, which I think is kind of

nice.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I am interested in what others think about

all of this.

-Wong, PT, DPT

Director of Rehabilitation

Option Care of the Quad Cities

friendliness with patients

>

>

> >

> > I have a tech that recently mentioned that she went to a current

> > patient's house to visit and they sat around and had food, chatted, had

a

> beer,

> > etc. Now, this is not a dating situation, (it was two females and they

> are both

> > heterosexuals) but it just struck me as wrong. One person can say the

> wrong

> > thing, etc.

> > An earlier incident was another tech going to a patient's house

to

> buy

> > furniture from the current patient. Again, this just seems to have a

lot

> of

> > pitfalls; one person feels ripped off on the transaction, the potential

> buyer

> > may decide not to purchase and the seller becomes offended, etc.

> > Now, please remember that this is not licensed professional staff

> but

> > are techs; however, for the aforementioned reasons I am uneasy about

these

> > " relationships " . Am I overreacting? I have no problem with

doing

> things

> > after the patient is discharged. After all, this is a small town and

the

> > people like the Southern small town flavor and it's great to make new

> friends.

> > Also, it's almost impossible to do business without running across a

> former

> > patient. However, it seems to me it's one thing to buy a used car off a

> current

> > patient, quite another to buy one off of a discharged patient.

> > I know a like topic has been bandied about before on this list

but

> > that seemed to focus on employees dating patients as opposed to buying

> property

> > or " just hanging out " .

> > Thanks for your feedback.

> > Matt Capo, PT

> > Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

> >

> >

> >