Name a stupid policy/idea your facility thought would fly

arallenrn11 · May 9, 2012

Hahaha! That is so stupid. My only reaction is laughing. It sounds like something from an episode of Scrubs! Ha ha. Thank you for sharing.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · May 9, 2012

this is not restricted to nursing. If you read Dilbert cartoon you will understand. Once Scott Adams, Dilbert creator, stated he got an email from someone in corporate America that was generated by Administration. They told everyone that beginning Friday (I am paraphrasing) NO ONE would be admitted to the bldg. without proper ID. The next paragraph stated that the photographer would be at the facility on the following week to create the ID. So I guess everyone got a few days off.

RkfdNurse1 · May 9, 2012

Our management had plans to fire everybody in dietary and have the nurses make all the food in little kitchens on the unit. I told my NM, "I hope everybody likes hotpockets and juice". Thankfully this was never implemented.
Bear....I LMBO @ hotpockets and juice!!! That made my day!! Thanks.

OrlyRose1992 · May 10, 2012

In an assisted living i worked at the caregivers (who had no medical license or weren't even american citizens and couldn't speak or read English) were allowed to hand out schedule 4 drugs to patients!!! (I'm surprised it's still going on . . . but i doubt it wont be going on for long) Thank goodness I left, as a CNA i was scared beyond belief that people were allowed to handle meds but weren't required to read, write, or speak English!

JisforJanet · May 10, 2012

"By the way, when I came out of school 41 years ago, we washed beds, drew blood, served trays, and any other duties as assigned. We loved nursing! Sad to see so many people today unhappy with nursing. I do understand why though"

I believe that 41 years ago you probably didnt have as many patients , along with more critcal ones and more quipment , and needing to know quite a bit more knowlege. I have been in nursing for 30 years and I can tell you its worse now than even 10 years ago. Nursing is burning out its nurses faster than they can graduate them. I just pray each day to do the best i possiblly can and to make a difference even if its just to one of many that i have that day.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · May 10, 2012

I got nothing on the cleaning crew doing lab draws, but:

The CEO just put out a memo that he wants to put hometowns on all RN badges. You'd think he just told them to all stick needles in their eyes from the reaction.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · May 10, 2012

The one LTC that I have worked in, also had this exact policy (nurses doing meal passes). Ridiculous.

I worked in one of those too. If you worked day shift, over two hours of your shift was spent slinging hash. Courtesy of Pretendtocare. (Extendicare).

Bklyn_RN · May 10, 2012

If you worked alternate weekends and you requested vacation time. You were expected to work your weekend even though you were on vacation. They made you agree to this before they approve your vacation request. If you did not agree, they would not approve your vacation request. So people have actually come in to work there weekend while on vac. If you did not come in, you would not get paid. I wish I was making this up.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · May 10, 2012

We've seen more than a couple of brilliant ideas in the last few years. When ER wait times began getting a lot of negative media attention, the solution was the "over-capacity protocol". Admitted patients who are being held in the ER for a vacant bed are now being sent up to the wards on stretchers and put wherever the stretcher will fit. The tub room, the day room, Mr Smith into a 2 patient room between Mrs Brown and Mrs Jones... never mind infection control, never mind privacy or dignity, never mind safety for the patients AND the nurse... But my unit has been doing a form of this very thing for many years. We routinely admit two patients to a single patient room that has been "redesigned" to be a double room. So for us it's just business as usual.

Our manual peritoneal dialysis set-ups were constructed at the bedside from a variety of components and the system worked pretty well. We'd gown and mask, make a big sterile field, open all of our components onto it, don our sterile gloves and build the set, which was then good for 72 hours. Someone decided that this was too great an infection risk, so she searched high and low for a prebuilt kit (which costs more) but this kit has to be taken apart so the fluid-warming tubing can be added and the collection bag is a separate piece too. And we have to change this set every 24 hours. So how have we reduced our infection risk?? And we're spending MORE money.

Don't even get me going on the blood coolers.

shygoofyone · May 10, 2012

The idea: Patients being admitted to the unit from the ER were going to be transported to the unit by the unit RN. The RN would leave the unit, go to the ER, get the patient and transport them.

We just started this in two units at my hospital, because it's cut down on patient safety events between ER and ICU transfers. The problem is that we're given 15 mins from the time the bed is assigned and ready to go get our patient. Then, you've got to spend 30-45 minutes (or longer) getting the admission stuff out of the way.

The ICU/ER staff had been doing this for awhile, and patient safety events were cut by a good number. However, ICU is right down the hall....not three floors up!

allnurses Guide · May 10, 2012

I got nothing on the cleaning crew doing lab draws, but:
The CEO just put out a memo that he wants to put hometowns on all RN badges. You'd think he just told them to all stick needles in their eyes from the reaction.

Why???

What on god's green earth could be the idea behind that?

Forget needles... get me a pencil... and make it sharp!

These stories are killing me!

wooh, BSN, RN · May 10, 2012

I think along with hometown, they should have the last 4 digits of your SSN and your mother's maiden name...