Tech allowed to just sit at desk most of day doing nothing

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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I cannot understand how someone that works in a hospital setting as a tech and is allowed to sit at a desk without offering the nurses any help. This tech does her sets of vital three times a shift and sits back down. Some of the nurses complain, but don't confront her. This tech Floated to our unit today from another unit so she could help me as I'm the only tech on my shift, well I did what the nurses weren't willing to do, I went and told the tech she needs to stop sitting around and help me with the other duties, she became very offended and told me her duties were done. I told her she was not done and it wasn't time to be sitting and that she was sent to our unit to help me and I gave her a one item list of another thing we were supposed to be doing after doing vitals that we were required to do. She got up worked for 10 minutes and sit back down at the back nurses station pod where she stays out of sight of others for the shift unless she's doing vitals. She must of just sat around 9 hours of the 12 hour shift. Well excuse me lady, you were sent to help me and if you don't think I'm not gonna complain and report how you just sat there then you floated to wrong unit. I work hard in that unit and to see a freeloader take advantage of the company time and money and my workload,, do they really think I'm gonna just keep my mouth shut because I ain't got the nerve to say anything, well she finally met me, and if I'm busting my butt and your not, I have no problem telling you so. My question is why do hospitals allow this type of behavior? I worked at another hospital years ago in another state as a tech and I never saw this type of employee behavior, yet it seems acceptable in the current unit I work on.

Somehow these golden people make it from paycheck to paycheck. I once worked with a nurse that did this, in direct sight of the house supervisor. One time, having reached my limit of doing my work and a lot of her's too, because her assigned CNA's would come to me to get their patients cared for, I asked the house supervisor about it. She literally did not even respond to my question. And when it was time for layoffs, do you think that nurse went out the front door? Noooooo. Be careful complaining though. Management will identify you as the problem.

Somehow these golden people make it from paycheck to paycheck. I once worked with a nurse that did this, in direct sight of the house supervisor. One time, having reached my limit of doing my work and a lot of her's too, because her assigned CNA's would come to me to get their patients cared for, I asked the house supervisor about it. She literally did not even respond to my question. And when it was time for layoffs, do you think that nurse went out the front door? Noooooo. Be careful complaining though. Management will identify you as the problem.

Oh I totally agree with that last sentence of yours, that's why I have only complained to a couple of my nurse friends about it. I see a whole lot of favoritism in my unit and is always directed to the ones that act just like the tech that floated to our unit to help with work load. Seems the hard workers get less respect, and I think it's because we don't bring our boss coffee in the morning or try to be her best friend at work, we just come to work to work hard, respect our supervisors but maintain only a working relationship without trying to be her pet.

Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.

Pull up a chair and sit down beside her. Tell her, if you're not going to do anything, I'm not either. See what she does. ;)

Specializes in Dialysis.
Pull up a chair and sit down beside her. Tell her, if you're not going to do anything, I'm not either. See what she does. ;)

Probably will still not do anything. People like that just don't get it...

I am a tech and I know plenty of people like that! Heck I even know nurses who do the bare minimum. There's this one nurse who comes into work and does not even go into the patients room until it is time for night time meds! All she does is administer meds, that's it. She does not ever change patients, take out their trays, or get them water. I, obviously, usually do these tasks, but days that I am extremely busy patients are stuck waiting without any water, or waiting to go to the bathroom because it's not "in her job description". So annoying.

well, first off..you arent the nurse or her supervisor...i float, since i am with an agency, and i have my set number of patients..i do my job, and then i like to sit down and hang out..now if someone comes to me and asks for help, i will fall over myself to do just that, but if another aide handed me a list and chided me on what i need to do/not do, i would do nothing. there is nothing worse than the aide who thinks she is the supervisor!! :yeah:

in fact, there WAS an aide who tried that with me..she griped me out over wearing a cardigan sweater, and for charting on the computers in the room, which you are actually supposed to do, and after that? i refused to have a thing to do with her. as long as my work and charting is done, and the nurses are happy, thats what count. i am there to help the nurses, not be another aides subordinate.

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Good for you for not tolerating her laziness. Never be like her.

Momof8CNA, the charge nurse called me aside and asked me if this float tech was doing the other job we were assigned, I told her no, her reply, I thought so. So the charge nurse ordered me to go discuss her expected duties in our unit because as a tech we had a assignments together that needs completed by end of shift by both techs, to be done after each set of vitals were completed. Since I was the tech on duty it was me who was to show the tech what duties were expected.We are a extremely busy unit and that's why we ordered a float for the day. ( something we rarely do) The other nurses on unit didn't say anything to the float because they knew the charge nurse would make sure not to bring her back to our unit. So sorry to disappoint you but I was following orders. Techs with those attitudes don't get invited back to our unit. If you think that the techs lack of energy wasn't noticed, your wrong, she was reported to our unit manager by the charge nurse who told me, she can sit if she wants but it will be the last time she works here. Its actually kinda funny because the charge nurse actually had given her a few assignments earlier in the day, and the charge said she got a attitude from the tech, but my charge nurse had a huge smile because she knew she was talking to management about it later. So sit if you want, as long as you want, but eventually your going to pick the wrong unit to do it and possibly get a write up. As I stated in the original post, her duties were not done so she could sit, she was only done with what she wanted to do, but that's not how our unit runs, you only sit when ALL jobs that are important are completed. And if my charge nurse tells me to tell you what is expected in our unit, I'm gonna listen to my charge, sorry if that would offend you.

Specializes in LTC, Rural, OB.
Oh I totally agree with that last sentence of yours, that's why I have only complained to a couple of my nurse friends about it. I see a whole lot of favoritism in my unit and is always directed to the ones that act just like the tech that floated to our unit to help with work load. Seems the hard workers get less respect, and I think it's because we don't bring our boss coffee in the morning or try to be her best friend at work, we just come to work to work hard, respect our supervisors but maintain only a working relationship without trying to be her pet.

The bolded part is something I encountered before I went to nursing school when I was working in a clinic as a scheduler. One coworker was a brown noser and on top of it tattler (and by tattler I mean going to the manager with every petty little thing everyone else did whether real or imaginary), yet managed to not get her work done most days. She continually called out on FMLA, for multiple different reasons and seriously never got in trouble. She even got promoted to lead. The other lead, who actually did her work, was pleasant, but not a brown noser, got fired. Many other people, including myself got let go and none of us were kissing the manager's butt. If she didn't like us she found a way to get rid of us. That place made my anxiety go from bad to worst case scenario. Anyways, it drives me nuts that butt kissers can get away with doing little to no work and constantly get praised, whereas the hard workers who don't kiss butt tend to get in trouble.

is this a core staff member? maybe its a different situation..where i work, i have a very specific list of patients, and things im required to do. i am always required to do what the nurse asks, of course. everyone sits at the desk and talks, etc, and its no issue at all, as long as everything is done and charted. i still think its the nurses job to reprimand the aide, since she is the one in charge.

Momof8CNA, yes the charge nurse in charge that day is one who is high ranking on our unit. In fact I'm surprised she even had me go talk to the tech about sitting down when the charge wanted other duties performed other then just vitals. I think the charge was also looking to see how tech responded because earlier the float tech gave the charge a attitude also. I wasn't giving the tech my personal orders to get up and work, just relaying the message, but once I told float tech that we were to be doing other stuff she got a bad attitude and said her vitals were all done, that is when I myself got a attitude and said no we are not done yet. Yes, I was irritated with the tech after that, that's why I originally posted this lol. Afterwards I didn't give a crap if she sat there because I knew that the charge was waiting to see if she continued to sit, so in hindsight I'm sure that's the reason the charge had me talk to her, so she could see if tech continued to sit without helping. Anyhow I do agree with you on the subject about another aide ordering us what to do if the order didn't come from a nurse/supervisor.

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