Cant believe the nurse did.....

Nurses General Nursing

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A few threads latley have had tittles that got me all excited to read the juicy "gossip", only to be very disappointed or think the OP was a little on the the nutty side. So I thought we could share our juicy "I can't believe the nurse did...."? I can think of one time responding to a code white in mental health, where the pts nurse was egging him on "oh, your going to kill me, well I'd like you to try. Come on, let's have it. You wanted a problem, well now you have one" and other very unhelpful things. I can see why the pt got so angry. Someone had to make leave. Can't believe she works in mental health.

" Just go in the BED!!!":confused: Are you serious??? Been a nurse 35 years, never heard that excuse from a nurse before. Sad. Just stop what you're doing help the poor person, remember your day will come. The most basic need is the most important sometimes. So do you stop if they want a PAIN pill?:nurse:

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Okay...

Nurse suspected of giving insulin without accucheck to save time

Nurse marking off she gave pills and an aide reported she saw her stuffing the pill strips from pharmacy into her purse (it was LTC)

Nurse taking home MD orders that she was responsible for transferring to the MARs and TARs so that she didn't have to do them that day

Nurse seen taking phone into a closet to make a personal call for 30 minutes +

Nurse not punching in and out, filling out missed punch sheet for time clock, and taking 1.5-2 hour lunch breaks and reporting she only took 30 minutes

This is all the same nurse and was all reported the DON who did nothing. Found out later she is the daughter of the DONs best friend. I only witnessed the closet phone conversation and insulin without accuchecks, but had only suspicion of that nothing I could really report to BON. I encouraged the others that saw the other stuff to report to BON, don't know if anyone did. I no longer work for that employer.

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" Just go in the BED!!!":confused: Are you serious??? Been a nurse 35 years, never heard that excuse from a nurse before. Sad. Just stop what you're doing help the poor person, remember your day will come. The most basic need is the most important sometimes. So do you stop if they want a PAIN pill?:nurse:
The residents in question refused a bed pan, it's always offered. I'm guessing you don't work in LTC. There's just no time for 2 staff to get a total care Hoyer lift up on the toilet every time. I have 49 residents with 3 CNAs. Should we neglect the rest of the floor to spend 20 minutes getting someone lifted onto the toilet? You do the best you can with what you have, that's a reality of long term care nursing.
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Specializes in None - yet ;).

When I was working at a LTC facility, a new employee, an RN, was hired on for nights - she had been an RN for 20+ years and it was obvious she was burnt out. Very negative about orders, saying things like, "Why the hell did they order THAT? That's stupid" and constantly questioning anything and everything.

Anyway, one night, we had gotten a new order for a resident with some mouth sores - magic mouthwash. Pharmacy forgot to send it so we'd have to wait until tomorrow. This nurse said, "When I worked in the hospital, we used to mix that stuff up all the time. I'll just grab some liquid benedryl and make it myself!"

Of course, I advised her not to. After I left, I called the DON and let her know. The nurse never did get written up. She also wouldn't do 90% of the treatments because they were "stupid and unnecessary" and she didn't get written up for that either.

This is a funny one.

A nurse I worked with a year ago (she's since quit) had the worst gas problems I've ever seen...or smelled. She would fart at the nurse's station constantly - and they were the SBD type so no one knew when they were coming. One day, the doc (who was very young, very good-looking, and who she had a crush on) came in to do rounds and she didn't know he was there. She let one loose and almost screamed when he said, "What is that awful smell?" She didn't say anything and let him believe one of the residents (who liked to sit around the nurse's station) had been incontinent.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
That coorifice language was inexcusable. But, I have to admit, I've told residents to just go in the bed when we don't have time to get them up. If youre a stand by assist, okay sure. If you're a 20 minute mechanical lift operation, nope, dont always have time. Sorry, when I'm busy with a med pass and my aide is busy with a shower, no one is going to get you up in the Hoyer and put you on the toilet. It's not that outrageous to tell a pt this
Wow. Just wow.
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There just isn't time in LTC to get every hoyer lift resident up every time. If anyone has a suggestion, I'm all ears....

I'm renowned in my facility for being the nurse who helps out the most in hands on care. But, yes, medicating my 48 other residents sometimes has to take priority over toileting ONE resident. And my poor CNAs are sometimes simply unavailable. They're toileting half a dozen other residents. So if the resident can't wait for the CNA to get there..... I politely tell the resident "your aide will be with you as soon as possible. If you can't hold it, go ahead and go and she'll

clean you up" I don't think this makes me Hitler or anything.

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.
There just isn't time in LTC to get every hoyer lift resident up every time. If anyone has a suggestion, I'm all ears....

I'm renowned in my facility for being the nurse who helps out the most in hands on care. But, yes, medicating my 48 other residents sometimes has to take priority over toileting ONE resident. And my poor CNAs are sometimes simply unavailable. They're toileting half a dozen other residents. So if the resident can't wait for the CNA to get there..... I politely tell the resident "your aide will be with you as soon as possible. If you can't hold it, go ahead and go and she'll

clean you up" I don't think this makes me Hitler or anything.

I find this completely horrendous. Why not a bed pan? Telling someone to soil themselves in my opinion is abuse. There will always be times you just can't get there in time and the patient has an accident but to go in the room, inform the patient you don't have time and go on and use your brief!?? There has to be a better way.

"No day but today"

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.
That coorifice language was inexcusable. But I have to admit, I've told residents to just go in the bed when we don't have time to get them up. If youre a stand by assist, okay sure. If you're a 20 minute mechanical lift operation, nope, dont always have time. Sorry, when I'm busy with a med pass and my aide is busy with a shower, no one is going to get you up in the Hoyer and put you on the toilet. It's not that outrageous to tell a pt this[/quote']

Oh and 20 minutes for a hoyer? Is it like 20 years outdated!? It takes me 10 tops.....

"No day but today"

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.
The residents in question refused a bed pan it's always offered. I'm guessing you don't work in LTC. There's just no time for 2 staff to get a total care Hoyer lift up on the toilet every time. I have 49 residents with 3 CNAs. Should we neglect the rest of the floor to spend 20 minutes getting someone lifted onto the toilet? You do the best you can with what you have, that's a reality of long term care nursing.[/quote']

Ok didnt see the bed pan refusal statement but really? Why would someone choose to soil themselves over go in a bedpan. I have worked LTC and know how hard the nurses work. Not saying you don't do the best you can but MAN I can not imagine this. :(

"No day but today"

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.
There just isn't time in LTC to get every hoyer lift resident up every time. If anyone has a suggestion, I'm all ears....

I'm renowned in my facility for being the nurse who helps out the most in hands on care. But, yes, medicating my 48 other residents sometimes has to take priority over toileting ONE resident. And my poor CNAs are sometimes simply unavailable. They're toileting half a dozen other residents. So if the resident can't wait for the CNA to get there..... I politely tell the resident "your aide will be with you as soon as possible. If you can't hold it, go ahead and go and she'll

clean you up" I don't think this makes me Hitler or anything.

Sorry Brandon - I've been in LTC since 1984 and have never one time told a resident to just go ahead and go in the bed. It is just unacceptable. Refuse the bedpan?....Guess, I'm not "offering" the bedpan but approach it more as "Sorry, the aide is held up helping someone else right now. Let me just put you on the bedpan so you don't have an accident in the bed". I'm not approaching this rudely or harshly but it does make it difficult to refuse the assist. Purposefully allowing someone to just go in the bed leads to skin problems, odor problems and a very basic lack of respect and dignity towards a resident.

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So should I pull the aide out of another room and another resident to come help me with the hoyer?? I'm not operating a hoyer w/o another staff. I tell the resident we'll help them as soon as we can, but if they can't hold it we will clean him up afterwards. I have other responsibilities. Weighing responsibilities is part of being a nurse. I see a lot of people judging, but not one person has offered an alternative....

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I guess my residents are just different.... Some of them just flat out refuse a bedpan. Some of them have "no bedpan" right in their care plan.

I've never said "just go in the bed" in so many words. Thats gross and rude. I should have been more clear. I say if you can't hold it, we will clean you up ASAP. We all work as hard as anyone else, but sometimes I can't get people up when they ask. That's all I was saying.

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