Bed Rail Consent: Fill & Download for Free

The day before surgery was spent in the car traveling; we got to our hotel around six, went to dinner at six thirty, and then went back to our room to relax before bed.I don’t usually sleep well in hotels, and that night was no different; I woke up at six in the morning (when we didn’t have to be at the surgery center until noon) and spent most of the morning on my laptop, watching a video of the procedure over and over and chatting with friends online while I tried to ignore how hungry I was. I wasn’t supposed to eat or drink past midnight, so by the time we left for the surgery center, my stomach was growling.My boyfriend didn’t help by eating a bunch of juicy strawberries in front of me and making loud “MMMM!” noises.Jerk.Since the hotel was only about twenty minutes away, and we wanted to make sure we got there in time, we left at eleven thirty and drove through the pouring rain to the surgery center. I had to bring a photo ID with me, which I gave to the secretary at the desk. They had me sign some consent forms and gave me my ID back, along with a sticky note with a five-digit code to give to my mom and boyfriend.There was a screen on the wall with a bunch of other numbers, and their surgical status listed beside them: “Pre-op”, “In surgery”, “Recovery room”, et cetera. I thought that was a nice way of keeping the family informed while protecting patient privacy.At twelve o’clock on the dot, I was called back to the prep room. I got weighed and had to give a urine sample, and the nurse got very excited about wishing me a belated happy birthday. She took me to one of the beds, which had a dressing gown, hair net, socks, and a bag for my clothes. She pulled the curtains around my bed and left me to get undressed. I had decided to take my jewelry out before we left the hotel since I didn’t want to risk losing it; the rest of my clothes went into the bag, which the nurse set under my bed.I got my blood pressure taken while the nurse asked me a bunch of questions. Did I smoke? Drink? Street drugs? Any allergies? Any chance of pregnancy? What medications? Was I on testosterone? Had I eaten after midnight? Was I allergic to latex? Had any bad reactions to anesthesia in the past? And so on. She got my IV hooked up to my hand and explained the sorts of drugs that would be put into my system later.She was very friendly and professional, and I could tell she’d done this a million times before; it was reassuring to know I would be in good hands.Around twelve thirty, she finished her questions and left to alert the anesthesiologist and bring my mom and boyfriend in to keep me company. They sat by my bed, and my boyfriend held my hand while we chatted.Twelve forty-five saw the anesthesiologist come in, and he asked a bunch of the same questions the nurse did before explaining in greater detail what putting me under would be like. After he finished, he said he’d get Doctor Medalie, and then it would be just a few minutes until my operation.Medalie came in at one, and my mom and boyfriend left while Medalie pulled my dressing gown down to draw on my chest. He marked where he’d do liposuction to help prevent dog ears, and measured my chest to make sure he’d have my nipple placement right, though he also added that depending on what my chest looked like when he was finished with the mastectomy portion, he might have to redraw and the marks he’d placed were general guidelines for now. He pulled my robe back on and I lay down on the bed to wait again.My mom and boyfriend came back in to wait, but five minutes later, two of the OR nurses were in, one of them going over another round of questions. Satisfied that everything was ready, they pulled up the railings on my bed, I said goodbye to my family, and then they wheeled me out to the operating room.I scooted from the bed to the operating table, which was T-shaped to hold my arms out to the sides during surgery. They stuck sensors on my back to monitor my vitals and explained that I would get a tube put in the back of my throat to help me breathe while I was asleep.As I lay down, I asked, “Do you guys get a lot of crucifixion jokes?” which got a few chuckles. Someone remarked that I must have a morbid sense of humor, and then a nurse was placing a mask over my mouth and nose and the IV in my hand began to burn from the start of the anesthesia.And then I woke up, feeling very fuzzy and lightheaded. Apparently I’d been drifting in and out of consciousness for a few minutes before waking up properly and kept repeating myself; according to my boyfriend, I was very eager to make sure he and Mom hadn’t been bored while waiting for me, I was very proud of my crucifixion comment, I was very hungry and wanted food, and I also asked the nurse about fifty times if she could say thank you to Medalie and his team for me.I was given some water to sip on and my mom helped me sit up, and then she helped me get dressed and I was wheeled to the car to go back to the hotel. She’d already been given my post-op care instructions in writing while I was still asleep, so it was time for me to get food and relax.

You don't necessarily need a lawyer to pursue this. I found an article online that may help you, and copied out a portion of it below. Item 6 and 7 may just help your ex see that her behaviour is in violation of a court order, and one that can have serious ramifications.The court forms may cost you some money, but it’s a far cry from what a lawyer will charge. Also, find out if your State has a one party consent law, and if it does, record all your conversations with her. If she gets irate, raises her voice, or threatens you, then consider videoing it. Nothing says you can’t hang a cell phone on a cord around your neck, and then hit the record button before knocking on her door, or waiting in your car for your children.What to Do. What to Do When Your Ex Denies Your Child Visitation RightsDocument your concerns. Keep a log of what's happening each time you are denied visitation. Even if the issue gets resolved before your next court date, it's important to keep up-to-date documentation to support your child custody or visitation case.Speak with your ex. Find out why he or she is denying visitation and what you can do about it. It's best to schedule an appointment where the two of you can speak freely without being overheard by your kids. For example, meet for 30 minutes at a coffee shop to find out what's behind the visitation issues you're experiencing.Address anything fixable. If your ex's concerns are specific and 'fixable,' do what you can to remedy the issue. For example, adding a bed railing for a four-year-old is a reasonable request. If your ex is concerned that your kids don't have their own bedrooms or that they're sleeping on air mattresses, talk through any plans you have to move into a larger place or what you're doing to make 'camping' on the floor temporarily fun and safe.Clarify boundaries with new partners. If your ex is upset that you're dating someone new who is also spending time with the kids, talk through any expectations to decide what's reasonable and what's not. While you may not want to slow down the relationship, developing a clear, incremental plan for how much time your children will spend with your new partner—and where—can help to ease displaced anxieties and rebuild trust with your ex.Consider legal action. If you don't have an official child custody and visitation order on file with the courts, then it may be time to formally file for visitation rights. If you've been granted visitation already by the court, and your ex is overtly denying your visitation rights, then it's time to escalate matters and call the police.Call the police. In most situations, the police will not take sides. Instead, they will take notes, which the courts will have the opportunity to review. It's important to understand this before you make the call so that you're not frustrated and angry when police officers arrive and tell you that there's not much they can do beyond filing a report. (The last thing you need is a report that claims you were irate and enraged—no matter how valid those feelings may be.) A word of caution: be prepared to show the officers a copy of your court order. Without it, they may not even file a report.File a motion. If being denied visitation is becoming a pattern, you should also file a motion with the court. Here you have two options: file a motion of contempt, which is basically saying that your ex is in contempt of court for violating the order that was issued previously. Or, you can file a motion asking the court to modify the order, enforce the order, or issue sanctions against your ex in order to prevent this trend from continuing. Even if the judge does not rule in your favor, your concerns will be formally documented. In general, though, it's best to consult with an experienced, qualified child custody lawyer before taking this step.

I walked up to the bedside of a patient in the pre-operative area. I had his chart, his labs, his medical and surgical history, I even had his past two anesthetic records. The surgeon had already seen the patient, marked the surgical site… as I approached the bed he startled me while pointing, “Your the Anesthesiologist?!?”Oh crap. What could I have possibly done now… “Yes, sir.” and I gave him my name.“Don’t tell me anything about nothing. Give me that paper to sign and give me drugs so I don’t remember any of this.” He demanded.What would you have done… is the guy ‘informed’ or is he not… do I go through my speech about the risks of general anesthesia or better yet do I let the resident or medical student or CRNA give the speech?“Here’s the consent form, sir. Can you hand me your IV there?” His IV was on the opposite side of the bed… he handed over the IV line, I attached my pre-op cocktail and waited… “You got to sign it first,” I smiled and as he signed I medicated him. The man never even remembered meeting me.Ah yes, what if something had gone wrong… well, statistically speaking, based on his medical history, the surgery and surgeon, the hospital and myself… he was most at risk to his life from driving to and from the hospital that day.Did someone consent his before he got in the vehicle?Another case… on a Saturday morning… prisoner case. The man was handcuffed - one leg to one side of the bed, the other leg to the other side, his right arm (in a cast) handcuffed to the rail and to the restraint on the bed… his left arm (visibly broken) was free.The nurse, clearly has been crying, approached me and said, “he won’t cooperate, he swings his broken arm at everyone who gets near him.”Informed consent? Really.I drew up Ketamine. I grabbed his shackled foot and injected his calve muscle and walked away. Consent done. About 15 minutes later we easily got his IV started and took his soundly-sleeping body back to an OR.The guard gave me ahead nod on the way to the OR… “Gonna request you more often, son.”Great.Another case… 40–50 year old female, with mild intelligence deficits wanting to know when she can eat?A frighten 16-year-old who has been brought to a teaching hospital instead of the Children’s hospital by the parent’s request.15-year old girl at Children’s for surgery, with a positive pregnancy screen in pre-op.A totally normal 30-year old frightened about having surgery who is having a panic attack in pre-op.Informed Consent used to be… “You want anesthesia, right?” They said ‘Yes’ or ‘No’… but they mostly said ‘Yes.’Our legal system, and rightfully so, has pressed to make our healthcare system as safe as possible and as transparent as possible by adding consent upon consent and an avalanche of information about potential bad outcomes.The human mind can only take so much new information before it tunes out to the remainder of what is being said.I would love to see the entire Informed Consent process altered to fit 21 century human reality. This is where I think online modules could be effectively used before the patient comes to the hospital… basically, after seeing the surgeon in the office, deciding to have surgery… when it is scheduled, the patient goes online to complete their consent module for their specific surgery and anesthetic possibilities.Too much information is NOT informed consent.I’m not sure I have the answer but I know there is a better way than what we do to inform people realistically of what is at risk during their medical treatments.~Chris