do you make sure your pts

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2011

Someboday needs to feed him! He can't feed himself!

What, your hands are broken? There are three of you in here! You're gonna wait until all 18 trays are passed and his food is like ice before any of you lift a bloody finger?!

GAH!

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2011

And I am "siding" with my own - nurses - until proven wrong.

vashtee, RN · Dec 10, 2011

Leslie - Thanks for clarifying!

Also, I wanna work with wooh! :)

MomRN0913 · Dec 10, 2011

In the ICU, me and most of my coworkers made sure our patients were in presentable and clean. one nurse made sure her patient was always shaved. I liked to do hair, nothing is worse than matted hair where you have to cut out the knots. There was the nurse who made sure there was no gunk in the belly button. Another who made sure the women's legs were shaved and ummmm, if on the younger side, groomed down below. Not saying we had all this time on our hands. but we all found dignity and cleanliess a very important part of the healing process.

SandraCVRN · Dec 10, 2011

We had this issue at our hospital. The patients relatives complained that the staff were 'chatting' at the desk. Once this was investigated it was found that the nurses were actually liasing with the physiotherapist about patients or getting feed back from the doctor in regards to the patients plan or having a catch up handover and not idly shooting the breeze.
Appearances can be deceptive.

But...how much time is spent chatting???? A LOT!!!

We all think we are doing all we can but stop and really listen to how much time is spent just visiting and catching up on what happened over the weekend etc.....

Be completely honest....

allnurses Guide · Dec 10, 2011

I wish hospitals, nursing homes/LTC facilities, etc., would hire people like me to do things like this. This sounds a lot like what I do for my older relative that I do caregiving for. I would love to brush teeth, comb hair, wash faces, listen to their stories about what they did in the 50s/60s, etc., while your more experienced people do the specialized medical care.
But with all the staffing problems you all talk about on this site, probably won't happen.

I do so agree with you. When I returned to nursing after a kiddie-hiatus in 2004 I was so naive about the realities of LTC. On that note here's another of Suesquatch's great threads . . .

Describe Your Dream LTC

https://allnurses.com/geriatric-nurses-ltc/describe-your-dream-475541.html

I'm very linky.

ayla2004, ASN, RN · Dec 10, 2011

How much time is spent chatting?

Ok i'll say this, i like many nurses work on a ward were breaks are not a daily occurence and rn never break togeter, yes we chat amost ourselves sometimes doing joint tasks somtimes at the desk if no cares need donem I know this could be percived as constant and i worry when colleage speech about their social lives. i know someone will say we should be working etc . we talk with medics, pharmacy, and therapist ietc. it can creat a bonding execercise that creats trust etc espically with NP and medics, and this makes patient care better.#

however nurisng is like any profession some people work more than others.

I will bath patients comb hair etc, i will styq late to do my writing however even then im touching the saftey issues more than the basic of nurisng.

mindlor · Dec 10, 2011

Right on the nose Leslie. I didn't call any bedside care giver amoral. I said it was the FACILITIES that lack the morals to ensure care can be carried out effectively. FACILITIES....THE BUILDING...THE ADMINISTRATION. and before anyone comments I have been amongst the "insider group" of upper management and in my personal experience they do lack the morality to care about the patient.....it's all about the bottom line...MONEY.
I made a personal choice, stopped complaining and made sure my patients were cared for....even if it meant no break or lunch. I have been accused of being too unsocial and not a team player because I am always in my patients rooms. As a supervisor and manager I have never passed by a patients room with a light on and I roll up my sleeves with the CNA and get as many patients done as we can when I can....if that's 3 am then it's 3 am. Patients deserve descend treatment that's all.......when did patient care become only an CNA responsibility and the last priority of the day. I know patients are sick, I know it's busy....but if that was my loved one what would my expectation be for them is how I care for my patients.
I'm a relic I know.....but a proud one!!!!

I wish I could have you as my preceptor You sound AWESOME :)

Fiona59 · Dec 10, 2011

I am a union nurse.
The fact is on night shift when there are only two staff members on the unit, we are not allowed, legally, to leave the unit for a break. So we sit at the nurses station and if we are lucky finish a hot drink before it cools.
Our union contract pays us for the missed coffee breaks at straight time and for the rest break we get double time.
Break rooms? Too far from the units to be really viable in my building.

I'm feeling left out. There was no rejoinder to this post:p

caregiver1977 · Dec 10, 2011

Sometimes families don't know what they are and aren't allowed to do for their families once they are in the hospital. There are still families out there who want to respect the rules of the hospital and don't know that they are allowed to do simple care for their own family member/friend. It can be especially puzzling if the patient has a bunch of tubes and machines around.

Some one mentioned earlier that they have encouraged family to rub lotion on their family member and other simple things, but get looks of disgust for suggesting so. That is just sad and triffling.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2011

And generally I try to as well. But if one patient doesn't get a bath or any of their personal care, it's not for lack of trying, it's generally because I've got other patients that are cramping.
And you know what? I realize there are lazy nurses out there, just like there are lazy anything else. But I'm going to give a nurse the benefit of the doubt until I know better. And none of these posters that come in "I didn't get this, I didn't get that..." have any proof other than, "I heard something, saw something, I was miserable" that can be explained pretty easily. Unless you WANT to call the staff at the time lazy. And I refuse to sit among my colleagues here and bad mouth them when I have no proof with which to bad mouth them.
I used to complain about this nurse that I had post-op one time, before I was in nursing. And obviously I had plenty of knowledge to judge her with, as I was working in a business that was similar to carpentry;) and was in management. And well, on top of that, I had a lot of fast food experience. Then a few years later, after I became a nurse, I realized that I was completely wrong in my post-anesthesia haze, as she was trying to make sure I didn't quit breathing.
So I take everyone's "patient experiences" and definitely take everyone's "student experiences" with a grain of salt.
Especially since after my surgery, the last thing I would do is go to a site full of nurses to bad mouth one of them. But we apparently WELCOME that here. It's uncaring to not listen to every woe is me story and agree, "THAT NURSE WAS HORRIBLE AND STUPID."
Bull.
THIS is why nursing won't get anywhere. It has nothing to do with being mostly women or level of education. It's because we're stupid enough to fall for every hard luck story in the name of compassion and throw our colleagues under the bus at the whim of a patient that says, "My hair wasn't brushed." And if we dare say, "I'm sorry, I didn't have time," our time management skills are called into question. And we get things like, "It only takes a few minutes." Yup, lots of things only take a few minutes. Those few minutes x number of patients x number of things that only take a few minutes + all the stupid stuff we have to do on top of patient care = around 15 hours for most of us. Yet we only work a 12 hour shift that's supposed to also give us time for a lunch and a couple breaks.
So you know what? YES. I'm proud to assume the best about my colleagues until I know better. And yes, I'm going to side with a PRACTICING NURSE over a student (I don't care how many years of management experience they have, because honestly, my fast food experience was better preparation for nursing than my management experience). And yes, I'm going to side with a nurse over a patient. Because I've been on both sides. I was a patient quite a few times. And I know the stupid assumptions that I made back then because as the nurse, I know what's going on across the floor. As a patient, I didn't know anything except what was happening to me. I didn't know the nurse that was "just sitting there" was waiting for a call back. I didn't know the nurse in front of a computer screen was charting, not playing Angry Birds, or if they're playing Angry Birds, it's during their break that they can't take off the floor because there's only two staff members on the floor at the time.
And even as a student, I had no idea. Until you have a full load, that you are 100% responsible for, no matter what happens. Yes, I'm going to make sure all of my patients are breathing before I spend any time doing oral care or brushing hair. If I get the chance, sure, I'm there. But if I don't, oh well. There's only so many minutes in a shift. And if there weren't enough to do everything that "takes just a few minutes" then I'm going home knowing I got the most important ones in. And I think there are a LOT more nurses like me than one would assume the way everyone is so quick to judge on the "That's just unacceptable!!!" bandwagon.

Hey wooh......I respect what you say and I respect the kind of nurse you are by your posts. I know there are days that by the end of the day I'm glad we haven't lost anyone or killed anyone. I have had many patient care delayed because of a code....but they can be bathed on evenings, or nights. My comment was directed more at the statement that the patients comfort comes after making sure everyone else is (including the maintenance and housekeeping) are doing their jobs.. If more time was spend worrying about what needed to be done for the patient more than whether the other guy was doing their work or had a lighter load...more work would get done. (no reference to you).

I have noticed the newer graduated that are not willing or prepared for the hard work of a bedside nurse and repeating the phrase..that's not my job that I find REALLY frustrating. I have told them if they moved their hands as much as they moved their mouths they'd get more done. I don't expect hair braiding but I do expect the crud removed from the mouths and lips.....a quick P&P (pit and private) freshening can go a long way towards care. My dads care was deplorable and believe you me they knew......and those who were important to be in the know also knew. I was told to "back off and be a daughter" well I did...unitl I walked in amd blew a fuse. I did the care from then on.

I respect all sides and when I get a complaint I hear all sides equally and then decide. Usually though I already know whether a complaint is valid just by hearing the name.....but as I have been told. I make my job way to difficult by caring about every little thing and I need to drop the bedside stuff because "I was a supervisor and that's not what they do" (when I worked that is). I guess I've never been a very good listener....

Peace.... :redpinkhe

Florence NightinFAIL, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2011

Hey wooh......I respect what you say and I respect the kind of nurse you are by your posts. I know there are days that by the end of the day I'm glad we haven't lost anyone or killed anyone. I have had many patient care delayed because of a code....but they can be bathed on evenings, or nights. My comment was directed more at the statement that the patients comfort comes after making sure everyone else is (including the maintenance and housekeeping) are doing their jobs.. If more time was spend worrying about what needed to be done for the patient more than whether the other guy was doing their work or had a lighter load...more work would get done. (no reference to you).
Peace.... :redpinkhe

I see where you are coming from now because you have taken my frustrated comment wrong. Very, very wrong. I don't give a rat's patootie about other people's jobs unless it relates to mine. I meant that I seemed to be picking up the slack and having to call all departments - most of the time our unit clerk is swaped with orders. Of course I should be contacting maintenance if the suction or oxygen ports are not working - I consider that more important than bathing. Safety comes first. I'm using that as an example because I don't think you see how important is that others are doing their jobs for the overall safety & comfort of the pts.

How many times have pharmacy claimed not to have recieved a fax? How many times do I have to call and then physically go down and pick up the meds because it's easier than waiting for them to stroll in? Etc. Etc. Etc.

Peace to you too.