Hello, Melinda:
We don't have a specific policy; however, each call should be treated as if it was the first time the patient called. You never know when you'll find the zebra!
Non-nursing issues should be transferred to non-clinical staff to handle. You can try to summarize the last few times that the patient called and asked for advice but chose not to use it, and now that they are calling about the same thing, your advice would be the same (after the assessment). When everyone does this and the patient sees there is consistency and standardization (in what you tell the patient and in transferring to non-clinical staff for non-clinical needs), they may understand that what one nurse says/does, all nurses say/do.
Hoping that you have "The Art and Science of Telephone Triage" (my Bible), see pages 214-220, 293-296. These pages deal specifically with "The Frequent Caller" and "When the Patient Won't Comply with Your Recommendations." Nurses can always "tell" or advise the patient what they need to or should do; however, we must accompany the patient on their own health journey, even if that means they choose not to follow our recommendations.
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Michaelene Wolff, BSN, RN, OCN, AMB-BC
Coordinator, Clinical Programs
Chair, Ambulatory Telephone Protocol Committee
University of Colorado Hospital
Aurora CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-01-2023 11:57
From: Melinda Savage
Subject: Question
Good morning!
Are there local chapters of AAACN? I would really like to meet with other AAACN nurses. While I am here, does anyone have a policy for dealing with "frequent fliers" that are calling your nurse triage line where they are calling about non-nursing issues or they are nursing issues but they call with the same question over and over so you are clearly not helping them because they are not following the advice you've given? Recognizing that we never want deny anyone services, we also want to be available for callers that we can help.
Thank you,
Melinda R. Savage, BSN, RN
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