How many nurses do their own vitals???

Nursekatydid · Mar 12, 2004

I am a float tech and have been for a couple of years. I am a very hardworking tech and I can pretty much pen point a lazy nurse from a real go getter when I first get on the floor. Nurses should get their own first vitals (and I will as a nurse). Whats the big deal for 7-8 pts while your doing your assessment anyways? If you think about it, would the pt rather have a couple people come in and bug them back to back or just one person.

When I first get on the floor and a nurse walks up to me and asks me to vital the whole floor(30 pts.) and lets me know the bld sugars and bld draws it is too much :angryfire Why would you give one person the whole floor to vital anyways? It takes me a good 45 mins-1 hour to complete this along with the blood sugars, and call lights-we won't even go there. If I don't get them NO ONE does.

One time I was teching down in our High risk antepartum floor and then of course asked me to get all of their vitals b/c they were "so busy" as they always are (yeah right) and so I did and i come by the nurses station and they are sitting on their lazy butts watching the Bachelor!!!!!!! Mind you, these vitals were for their MN set and they wanted me to do them at 10:30, before I left and even gave me a piece of paper to write them down so "I wouldn't have to chart every single set." No thank you, I chart ALL vitals I do and yes I put them in the chart with the exact time. Oh well for them, they had to get another set at MN and I did go to the director. Lets just say I am not the antepartum nurses most favorite tech., but hey I did nothing wrong!!!!!

So here is a public announcement, DON't HAVE YOUR TECH DO ALL OF THE VS and BLOOD SUGARS and then be inconsiderate enough NOT to answer any call lights, ITS NOT FAIR, we are there to help you, but you need to help us out as well.

flyRN150 · Mar 12, 2004

Getting your own vitals isn't a big deal. I agree it's part of your assessments. I do most of my own stuff on my pt's anyway. That way I know it was done, and done correctly. You can do it with good organization and time management.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2004

I've always done my own vitals...I see them as another component of my assessment. I see some of the vitals that get charted by CNA's & am embarrassed some of those numbers even make into the chart.

I agree. I prefer to do my own vitals.

kyti · Mar 12, 2004

I get all my own vs but I work pacu, all rn's one lpn so it's not the same. When I worked ICU sometimes I got my own vs and sometimes I didn't. When I worked med/surg. the cna always got the routine vs. I rechecked any abnormals or if pts had c/o that needed vs. I tried not to abuse my cna's because I used to be one and worked with a lot of lazy nurses that would spend 1/2 hr looking for me(while I was doing vs or turns) to tell me to put someone on the bedpan! :angryfire I vowed I would never be like that. I hope I'm not :)

phyrenrain · Mar 13, 2004

I work in a rehab unit, we do our own vitals. On nights, if there is an aid working, the PP floor or med/surg floor will pull that aid to do vitals or I/O's even when they are very well-staffed and sitting on their rumps....Pretty pathetic, huh??????????

phyrenrain · Mar 13, 2004

Good for you NURSEKATYDID!! I'm an LVN and I can't stand to see nurses abuse the CNA's and techs! Glad to see you stand up for yourself. It's a different story if nurses are actually busy doing pt. care, but.....

phyrenrain · Mar 13, 2004

Sadie, had a dangerous experience a long time ago when I gave a BP med to someone who was already hypotensive and I didn't know it:imbar . Since then I ALWAYS check pressures before giving BP meds.

On my unit we usually do our own vitals, blood sugars, baths, linen changes, etc. We do "team nursing" with LPNs or CNAs. I like knowing what my temps and BPs are esp. when you're giving BP meds, it's easier than looking for the CNA to ask what the BP was.

2muchfun · Mar 13, 2004

A group of "residents"' were examining my pt for admission. (i work ER). She was pleasently confused, sitting up, alert affect and mostly appropriate in response. Suddenly, there was a big hoo-ha in the room, the residents franticly trying to find who was her nurse, her BP has dropped to a SBP of 40, OMG we need a fluid bolus stat. So I walk in, look at the pt, whoever put her back on the monitor after XR put a huge cuff on her skinny arm that had loosened all the more. Calmly, I reached in a drawer, got a smaller cuff, tightened it on her arm and cycled the BP again...aha SBP in the 1-teens. I just look at the baby doctors and say, "there you go" and walked out. As a rule, i vital my own pts.

Baby Catcher · Mar 13, 2004

. I just look at the baby doctors and say, "there you go" and walked out. As a rule, i vital my own pts.

I love it! I bet you walked out with a spring in your step.

bellehill, RN · Mar 13, 2004

It is so much help if the techs get the first set of vitals and on my floor they do all the vitals. I work neurosurgery and these patients need q1h vital signs for 4 hours. If the tech is busy I have no problem getting them, but if I had to do them it would literally take me hours to accomplish this one thing (can't walk in the room without being given a list of patient requests). I don't consider myself a lazy nurse and I do all I can to help but it is their job. They can't pass my meds when I am 2 hours behind passing them myself. Thankfully our techs are awesome and very easy to work with!

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Mar 13, 2004

I plan on doing my own vitals, and only asking a tech or CNA to do it if i'm in a real crunch. It'll be part of my shift assessment.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 13, 2004

What actually works out well is that vitals are on 6A-10A-2P-6P etc rotation.

Nights does their set at 6A and it gets posted. When I would help out in tele or PCU, it was quite nice to see those already done, including the mroning blood sugars and when I was doing my assessment at 8A I could recheck anything that looked peculiar while I was with the patient. Most of the time I would always do my own vital signs later throughout the day. Good time to get an evaluation in of your patient during the time the cuff is going up, etc.

For a morning with 4-5 patients, remember monitored beds, report form 7 to 7:30, grab linens for each bed and check in on each patient, are IVs okay and how are their respirations. Go back and get them all up to get washed, if able, get assessment done during that time, perfect when legs are dangling and they are sitting up. Up to chaif for breakfast, and bed made during that time. Everyone is happy, and you are ready for any emergencies that may happen later on during the day. This way, my assts were there to help patients when they actually needed something and not being left to just run from here to there. Works much smoother that way.

:balloons: :)