I wish we had carts like the nurses!

yousoldtheworld · Feb 22, 2009

I've had the same thought!

ayla2004, ASN, RN · Feb 22, 2009

don't your have cart(i called them trolleys uk) with 2 shelves yu can stack befre ding morning rounds s that things are to hand. oh not for a drink thugh but lined wipes/pads etc

NM nurse to be · Feb 23, 2009

I use my trash/laundry barrels in sort of that way. I haul them with me in the hall from room to room during rounds or answering lights. Makes many less trips up and down the hall. I stack at least 3 clean bed pads and gowns on the laundry side (less frequently opened), my drink bottle and a box of gloves. I work mainly nights, so I can have my poop wagon out all shift. Days have to put it up during certain hours and bag and carry out any used briefs they collect.

I had the same water dilema on evening shifts. I learned a trick from the other girls, to stash my bottle in a central room on their section. There's usually one resident who has an obliging piece of furniture inside the door and who won't be disturbed if you stick your head in frequently to grab a drink. When I started, I would go home with terrible dehydration headaches every day. Another night shift guy carries his bottle clipped to his gait belt. May as well use that piece of the uniform for something!

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Feb 23, 2009

No, we have to carry everything by hand. We have one 2-bay laundry cart for each hall (so the laundry person has to do frequent pick-ups because they get filled quickly), and one linen cart for both halls. No linen closet. And 2 supply rooms with different stuff in each, in different areas. I've used the laundry cart to haul boxes of gloves around when I restock the rooms at the end of the night but that's it. I mostly work in the old part of the place.

Whenever I work in the new section I'm amazed by the big trashcans in the dirty room, the abundance of laundry carts (so you can steal one for yourself to drag from room to room without anyone else going "where the f is the laundry cart?"), TWO linen carts on one hall, a giant linen closet and a supply room that makes sense. Plus all the rooms are so much bigger so you don't have to be a contortionist to get someone dressed. And they each have their own bathroom.

azcna · Feb 23, 2009

A cart! That would be awesome. Some nurses let us put things (like our drinks) on their carts. Not many do that though.

OzarksgalCNA · Feb 23, 2009

I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones. I have my own linen cart, about 5' long and 7' high with 3 shelves. Enough room for gowns, washrags, towels, bath blankets, sheets, blankets, bedspreads, and anything else I might want to put on there. There is a cover on it, so I stash my bottle of tea on there, along with my stethoscope.

naide88 · Feb 23, 2009

I have learned that...anything with wheels qualifies as a cart.

I borrow the kitchen's cart when its time to pass snack or for the residents who eat meals in their rooms.

And there are TONS of carts (or thingies with wheels) downstairs in the laundry room (we only have one laundry room which stores all the linen) which I can use for the linen and laundry.

Since we don't have a linen cart or linen room upstairs, we usually take as much linen as we need and put it in a resident's closet.

I learned a trick from the other girls, to stash my bottle in a central room on their section. There's usually one resident who has an obliging piece of furniture inside the door and who won't be disturbed if you stick your head in frequently to grab a drink.

Yep, I do this with my drink too.

As for trash though, I get a big trash bag and put all my little bags of trash in there. Its not allowed to put any trash on a "thingie with wheels"