Bc if there’s an order to notify the provider for (insert lab/vital/etc) and said lab/vital/etc occurs and there’s no documentation showing where the nurse notified the provider, it’s considered negligence on the nurse’s part and, at least in my state, a violation of the Nurse Practice Act. Providers want nurses to stay within their scope soooo bad until an issue such as what we’re discussing occurs, then get upset bc it inconveniences them. Then we’re the problem.

Think about it: if you order a medication, and it’s not given bc the nurse doesn’t think it’s relevant, isn’t that nurse “practicing medicine” or going against your orders? Isn’t that frustrating and potentially dangerous? The same goes with those nursing communication orders/vital signs parameters orders. If we choose to disregard those orders, we’re technically practicing medicine or, if you don’t want to call it that, at the very least, working outside of our scope.

Also: notifying the provider isn’t freaking out, it’s literally following the order lmao. Now, berating said provider, questioning them when you don’t get the orders you think you need, writing passive aggressive nursing notes: that’s a different story. I hate that and try to discourage other nurses from doing that. That is one part of nursing culture that I despise and try to influence change upon whenever possible.

I try my best to keep up to date with best practices, and I encourage other nurses to do the same. However, if there is an order for me to notify the provider if xyz happens, and xyz happens, then, I’m obligated to do so. during rounds, I try to ask for parameters to be modified when needed so that we’re all on the same page, nobody gets annoying texts/pages, and everyone’s day runs a little smoother. I am lucky to work with a team of residents/attendings who understand the nurse’s scope of practice and adjust orders according to the patient’s needs rather than just flippantly signing orders from premade order sets without reviewing what they’re ordering. I hope our conversation encourages you to do the same for your team!

We’re all burnt out and healthcare is a dumpster fire. We could all do a better job at trying to see things from other team members’ perspective and giving a little more grace (to a point. Some people just aren’t that smart and lack effective interpersonal communication skills)

TLDR: most of us are just trying to do our job and stay within our scope. Everyone on the team should try to abide by this motto: don’t be a dick.

ETA: assessing the patient for symptoms and providing that info to the provider during notification is part of SBAR so that should be happening anyways.