Did I miss the memo???? (rant)

Nurses General Nursing

Published

sorry everyone this is a rant.. i just got out of work. i work 3-11 @ an ltc.

on our unit we have 3 orderlies, me and 2 new nurses. me and 2 of my orderlies (i've worked with these 2 since i started and they are awsome) are there every night until 11:30 at the least working and trying to get stuff done. everyone else leaves promptly @ 11!! it's really getting on my nerves!!!

our unit is set up so we have 2 med nurses. each one gets a hall that has 20 residents. i take the harder hall because she refuses to take it, because the one night she did take it she screwed things up very badly. so i get the harder side.

so anyways.. tonight we had a pcn that does all the paper charting, treatments and tube feedings. all i had to do was my med pass and computer charting!!!!! i finished my med pass a little after 9pm and one of my orderlies asked me if i could give a resident a shower because she doesn't want men giving her a shower. me being my usual self said sure, i grabbed all the stuff and mrs. x and gave her a shower. after i'm done with her shower i get her a snack, help her into bed and then clean the shower room. not a big deal to me, it was fun!!!!

when i get back out to the nurses station the other med nurses screams at me "why are you giving showers that's an aides job you're a *bleep* nurse" :angryfire

i will do anything to help out the orderlies/aides i work with. whether it be helping with a 2 person lift, mechanical lift, taking someone to the bathroom, taking a person off a bed pan if i'm in the room, or even getting the residents into bed.

and then today was secretary's day. well i stopped at the store and got our unit secretary some fun stupid stuff: a survival bath kit, a stress ball, and glittery pen with feathers and sparkly things on it. just fun stuff and i signed the card saying to a fabulous unit secretary from your fabulous 3-11 shift! she got a kick out of it and so did everyone else, and yet the other med nurse was madder than heck.

and then to make matters worse: one of my residents turned 99 today, and she was all bummed out because she has no family. so i got her a birthday crown that said "birthday queen", and beaded necklace that had a shot glass on it saying "1 more birthday shot" and she thought it was hysterical, she loved it and she perked right up, her poa came in and he thought is was funny too.. and then for our other residents i brought in beaded necklaces and flower necklaces and it perked everyone up... the residents loved it, the men were telling people they went to hawii and got "leid" everyone has seemed so depressed and down lately on our unit and i had to do something, even if outsiders think it's stupid i know it means something to our residents... things just seemed better after all this, i don't know why but they were..!!! but of course the other med nurse was mad.. "you're a nurse you don't need to do this crap" :devil:

i take offense to this big time...

i'm here for my residents!!!! if they need something i will do my best to get it for them.... i already give them their pills and take care of them, so why not give them something to smile about and have fun with????

so did i miss a memo somewhere out there that said you can't have fun or make people happy and smile... or am i going about my job all wrong???

:uhoh3:

Specializes in tried almost everything/LTC.

so, who do you think you are - "nurse sunshine" or something?

;)

seriously, it sounds like your coworker has issues that really have nothing to do with you. no one has ever been too kind. maybe she needs some psyc meds. scarry to think people like her work with our loved ones, and i do see some of that where i work. you sure made me check myself. hum, who do i want to grow up to be like? ?

Specializes in Government.

I know I risk being flamed for saying this but I do think it is possible to be a kindly competent nurse and not spend your own money on patients. Not saying that's the case here. I've seen too many situations In LTC and pediatrics where the line gets crossed. Not every nurse has the money to buy things for patients out of their own pocket.

However, kindness and cheerfulness are free!

Specializes in Rehab, Med Surg, Home Care.

Nope. You don't HAVE to do any of the stuff you mentioned.

But these are the things that make the difference between just doing your job vs. shining at what you do.

Sounds like doing these things brightens up your own day as well as those of your residents. So don't let Nurse Scrooge ruin it for you and all the residents you bring a smile to, OK?

Chaya

You mentioned in your post that you were working with 2 new nurses - are these the ones who are acting this way? Shame on them!

Those are the kind of things I like to do once in awhile - buy some inexpensive things to brighten up their day - I do it as much for me as the residents.

Another thing you can do to brighten up some of their days is to bring in good used clothing. Some of them have no family or outside resources. Recently someone brought in a lot of nice used things, and the girls on nights sorted thru it all and picked out some new outfits and sweaters for one of the residents on our unit. They said she cried when they took them in - and she came out the next morning all dolled up - she was so proud of her 'new look'! :)

When I get back out to the nurses station the other med nurses screams at me "Why are you giving showers that's an aides job you're a *bleep* nurse" :angryfire

Wow...sounds like you work with a real team player.:uhoh3: You sound like a dream co-worker to work with, keep up the great work, your efforts are surely appreciated and will be noted by managment. :)

Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

Last time I checked, "caring" doesn't have a clearly defined border in a nurse's job description....As a former activity director in LTC setting, let me tell you, I would have killed to have a nurse like you around. The ones who let me know what the residents were doing at night when we weren't there, the ones who would always come with a resident to ask me if we could have "bike night", dvd games, more this/that, I'd be more than happy to listen to!

Too many staff members often just want to do, be and go....the ones who last are the ones who care....I personally made it a point to go up and down halls every night before I went home just to say "good night" to residents before I left for the day...I usually got out an hour late, but I didn't care. Many times I either got to talk to someone I usually didn't see in the hustle/bustle of the day, or I was able to stop something going on that really shouldn't have been.

I personally like the getting "leid" comments...and if some elderly gentleman asks if I can shower him instead of a woman, I have no problem doing that when I have the time.....just know when you can't and mention that. Doesn't your facility have an activity staff? Where are they in all this?

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
sorry everyone this is a rant.. i just got out of work. i work 3-11 @ an ltc.

on our unit we have 3 orderlies, me and 2 new nurses. me and 2 of my orderlies (i've worked with these 2 since i started and they are awsome) are there every night until 11:30 at the least working and trying to get stuff done. everyone else leaves promptly @ 11!! it's really getting on my nerves!!!

our unit is set up so we have 2 med nurses. each one gets a hall that has 20 residents. i take the harder hall because she refuses to take it, because the one night she did take it she screwed things up very badly. so i get the harder side.

so anyways.. tonight we had a pcn that does all the paper charting, treatments and tube feedings. all i had to do was my med pass and computer charting!!!!! i finished my med pass a little after 9pm and one of my orderlies asked me if i could give a resident a shower because she doesn't want men giving her a shower. me being my usual self said sure, i grabbed all the stuff and mrs. x and gave her a shower. after i'm done with her shower i get her a snack, help her into bed and then clean the shower room. not a big deal to me, it was fun!!!!

when i get back out to the nurses station the other med nurses screams at me "why are you giving showers that's an aides job you're a *bleep* nurse" :angryfire

i will do anything to help out the orderlies/aides i work with. whether it be helping with a 2 person lift, mechanical lift, taking someone to the bathroom, taking a person off a bed pan if i'm in the room, or even getting the residents into bed.

and then today was secretary's day. well i stopped at the store and got our unit secretary some fun stupid stuff: a survival bath kit, a stress ball, and glittery pen with feathers and sparkly things on it. just fun stuff and i signed the card saying to a fabulous unit secretary from your fabulous 3-11 shift! she got a kick out of it and so did everyone else, and yet the other med nurse was madder than heck.

and then to make matters worse: one of my residents turned 99 today, and she was all bummed out because she has no family. so i got her a birthday crown that said "birthday queen", and beaded necklace that had a shot glass on it saying "1 more birthday shot" and she thought it was hysterical, she loved it and she perked right up, her poa came in and he thought is was funny too.. and then for our other residents i brought in beaded necklaces and flower necklaces and it perked everyone up... the residents loved it, the men were telling people they went to hawii and got "leid" everyone has seemed so depressed and down lately on our unit and i had to do something, even if outsiders think it's stupid i know it means something to our residents... things just seemed better after all this, i don't know why but they were..!!! but of course the other med nurse was mad.. "you're a nurse you don't need to do this crap" :devil:

i take offense to this big time...

i'm here for my residents!!!! if they need something i will do my best to get it for them.... i already give them their pills and take care of them, so why not give them something to smile about and have fun with????

so did i miss a memo somewhere out there that said you can't have fun or make people happy and smile... or am i going about my job all wrong???

:uhoh3:

why tell us, tell her. she is the one who needs to hear it. and dont pull any passsion. give it all to her

Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.

Tell the other med nurse to take a flying freak at a rolling donut with a briggs and stratton powered pogo stick.

Specializes in LTC.

You guys are awesome!!!!!! Thanks so much for your support!!!!!!! ANd our activites depart is only allowed to do 6 night activities a month (I think it's 6) But they try hard too!!!!!

Ignore that coworker. She sounds like a really lousy excuse for a human being, let alone a nurse.

Specializes in Geriatrics.

WOW! When I am a nurse, I want to be like you. You did an absolutely fabulous thing, making your patients feel special and cared for, isnt that a nursing basic?? Please dont let the other nurse get you down, obviously she has been forgetting to use her fiber, perhaps an enema is in order.

Love your style and hope to work with nurses like you!!

Specializes in Lie detection.
I know I risk being flamed for saying this but I do think it is possible to be a kindly competent nurse and not spend your own money on patients. Not saying that's the case here. I've seen too many situations In LTC and pediatrics where the line gets crossed. Not every nurse has the money to buy things for patients out of their own pocket.

However, kindness and cheerfulness are free!

Of course it is but sometimes situations come up and you just WANT to. Case in point, I had a 55 yr old F dying at home who had no friends and only 1 family member who was close. So basically, me and her aide were her only companionship BUT she did have 5 beautiful birds that she loved dearly.

Now this poor woman had end stage CA and it got pretty bad, she definitely wanted to stay home no matter what. She barely ate and I would bring her my own home cooked food (I made a little extra at dinner the night before), I did anything I could to try and comfort her, I just loved her to pieces. SO, she would worry about the birds because she was feeling so poorly that she really couldn't spend the time that she wanted to with them.

One day I decided to surprise her. I went to Petco and bought a bunch of bird goodies. Well, you should have seen the look on her face, it was priceless. She was so thrilled she started crying, I'm tearing up just thinking about it. So yes I spent my own money and yes I would do it again in a minute. It's not something I do all the time but for a special moment, oh yes.

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