Should nurses be the ones to help patients stop smoking?
Not being a nurse, I’ve never really thought about what happens when patients are admitted to the hospital and they are smokers. However, this is something that nurses and healthcare providers have to deal with all the time, and a recent survey says that many are not offering patients any help with quitting.
The survey, published in the July issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research, finds that nurses and healthcare professionals often do not provide information to help patients kick the habit because they feel they lack of training in smoking cessation interventions and that it is not part of their professional responsibilities, among other things.
One of the research teams at The University of California, Davis, found that nearly 99% of the survey participants asked patients whether they smoked. Although some urged patients to quit, few actually assisted patients with getting additional help with the process.
Even though the Joint Commission requires nurses to help patients stop smoking, do you think nurses and healthcare professionals should be required to help patients quit smoking? What other ways can nurses offer help to patients? Is it possible to reprimand those nurses who do not offer help to patients who are smokers?
About the Author: Sarah is an Editorial Assistant in the patient safety group at HCPro, Inc. She contributes to two monthly newsletters; Briefings on the Joint Commission and Briefings on Patient Safety, and manages four e-zines; Accreditation Connection, AHAP Staff Challenge, Nurse Manager Weekly, and Healthcare Training Weekly. She also helps research new products for the patient safety and nursing market. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2008 where she earned her bachelor's degree in English.
Helen P. Murphy | Jul 26, 2010 | Reply
One of the reasons the nurses do not feel they can talk to the patients about smoking as they are smokers themselves. Many nurses smoke!!!
Joanne Thompson, RN, BSN | Jul 26, 2010 | Reply
When I learn from my (or another nurse) admission data base that my patient has or is a smoker I do delve deeper into the question “do you smoke?”. I spend less that two minutes finding out if they need help to quit or to remain smoke free. If they are in need of and want a nicoderm patch I immediately call their doctor for the order. I educate my patients to speak with their doctor for a long-term plan for smoking cessation AND I make a referral to our Social Worker/Case Manager for community support. I do not smoke and even the nurses who do smoke know that it is an unhealthy vice and perhaps their continued involvement with educating their patients will help them quit also.
Maggie Joosten,RN, BSN | Jul 27, 2010 | Reply
At our hospital, we offer smoking cessation and hand the patient a handout as well regarding the risks of smoking and options of smoking cessation. If the patient is interested in the smoking cessation program, then we put in a referral right away and they are seen in the hospital.
Besides the above mentioned issue of nurses are smokers themselves, there are also the following issues:
1. Patients are not in the hospitals very long, so it can be challenging to meet all of their education needs–especially if an issue is not directly related to their admitting diagnosis.
2. Being admitted to the hospital is often a stressor for people and smoking tends to be one of their coping mechanisms. Patients are often unwilling or unable to discuss smoking cessation at that time. So, hospitalization may not be the best time to discuss smoking cessation.
3. In answer to the questions posed in the article: I think we should assist patients in smoking cessation and it should be offered in the hospitals. I think clinic settings with the physicians may be the more appropriate setting and their should be more emphasis in this area. Responsibility also needs to be put on the patients. After all, the negative health risks of smoking have been well published for years. The patient chooses to smoke and they need to be actively seeking help to stop smoking if they so choose. No, I don’t think nurses should be reprimanded for not offering a patient smoking cessation assistance.