The math doesn't add up

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I'm a math person, so it really bothers me when my manager asks us to do an additional task or duty without subtracting a current task or duty. The math doesn't add up.

Our current duties take up a full shift. If you add something more, something else needs to be eliminated.

For example:

When my manager says, "I'd like you to provide the patient with handwritten thank you cards. These cards will take about 2 minutes to write and distribute per patient." She should also say, "therefore, you no longer have to complete care plans for your patients, as those take about the same amount of time. From now on, I will write the care plans for you."

I don't see the big deal. How long does it take to sign a card? 5 seconds? You have five patients per day and adding 25 seconds to your daily "math" is going to break the camel's back? It is OK to refuse to sign it on principle (like, thanking them for what exactly, they should be thanking me!) but complaining because it adds to your work load seems unreasonable to me. And seriously fellow nurses, patients do have choices when choosing a hospital and while we complain about patients it is only because of them that we have a paycheck. No patients = no jobs.

:roflmao:

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I don't see the big deal. How long does it take to sign a card? 5 seconds? You have five patients per day and adding 25 seconds to your daily "math" is going to break the camel's back?

Added to task A that only takes 30 seconds per patient x5 (haha! only 5 patients!)

Plus task B from last month that only takes 15 seconds per patient x #patients

Plus task C from 3 weeks ago that only takes 10 minutes x #patients

Plus task D from 2 weeks ago that only takes 2 minutes x #patients

Plus task E from last week that only takes 3 minutes x #patients

Plus next week's task F that only takes 5 minutes x # patients

At some point the "only takes..." adds up. When EVERY week, heck, every shift, something that "only takes..." gets added, those little bits add up to a lot of time.

And as someone that used to have to sign my name to those cards... You have to find the cards. You have to let people know when you run out of them. You have to make sure everyone else has signed it before you put it in the pile to be mailed. You have to put one in the designated spot when they get admitted. Look up the address to put on the card. All things that "only take" a few seconds here and there. But not only the time, but the aggravation that gets added on to any task that gets put on the to-do list is NEVER going to be smooth each and every time. There's always going to be the sticking points to cause added annoyance. And time that could be spent on something else, like patient care.

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Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

The profession needs a "Reformation," where people realize we're not nuns, saints, or ego builders- we are here to save your butt(and wipe it sometimes:))

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Really, yeah another chore on top of the other 3 kazillion things I have to do. Truly, you are being much too kind. Oh well so much for my bathroom break. Reminds me of this funny cartoon program where the cartoon character is dividing food or money and he counts, one for me and one for you; two for me and one, two for you; three for me and one, two, three, for you; four for me and one, two, three, four for you you get the picture. Oh I see you went to the Enron School of Accounting that says it all.

;

I don't get it.

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Added to task A that only takes 30 seconds per patient x5 (haha! only 5 patients!)

Plus task B from last month that only takes 15 seconds per patient x #patients

Plus task C from 3 weeks ago that only takes 10 minutes x #patients

Plus task D from 2 weeks ago that only takes 2 minutes x #patients

Plus task E from last week that only takes 3 minutes x #patients

Plus next week's task F that only takes 5 minutes x # patients

At some point the "only takes..." adds up. When EVERY week, heck, every shift, something that "only takes..." gets added, those little bits add up to a lot of time.

And as someone that used to have to sign my name to those cards... You have to find the cards. You have to let people know when you run out of them. You have to make sure everyone else has signed it before you put it in the pile to be mailed. You have to put one in the designated spot when they get admitted. Look up the address to put on the card. All things that "only take" a few seconds here and there. But not only the time, but the aggravation that gets added on to any task that gets put on the to-do list is NEVER going to be smooth each and every time. There's always going to be the sticking points to cause added annoyance. And time that could be spent on something else, like patient care.

This thread and the above post in particular are the whiniest I have ever seen, even by the standards of allnurses . Gee, if signing cards is so overwhelming to you maybe you should just stay home. Leave nursing for those of us who can handle the work.

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Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.
This thread and the above post in particular are the whiniest I have ever seen, even by the standards of allnurses . Gee, if signing cards is so overwhelming to you maybe you should just stay home. Leave nursing for those of us who can handle the work.
I didn't go to school 4 years to write petty cards as a requirement. If you like the idea, by all means, chunk off a med administration, omit a treatment,or double checking your orders- I'll pass. Wooh is correct, especially this time of year- our census is FULL, it would mean cutting corners with all the other CRAP.

The "go home" and "whining" remark were over-the-top, but you know that if writing a card is soooooooo important to you, respect for your colleagues should be no sweat:)

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Only someone impossibly out of touch with every aspect of the real world would ever think having nurses make thank you cards for patients is a good idea. The fact that someone, somewhere is paid good money to come up with such ideas is mind boggling. Take all these waste-of-oxygen people and put them to work doing something useful. I know a lot of potholes need to be filled and a lot of freeways need to be cleaned....

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This thread and the above post in particular are the whiniest I have ever seen, even by the standards of allnurses . Gee, if signing cards is so overwhelming to you maybe you should just stay home. Leave nursing for those of us who can handle the work.

Whinier than this?

... getting no recognition whatsoever for all of that. It just seems unfair...

Spend more than four months as a nurse, then talk to me about "handling the work." You know, once you're not only doing your own work, but keeping your new grad coworkers from killing someone. AND signing stupid cards.

And after you've had some little thing added weekly for more than a few months, tell me how little time it takes all together.

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Only someone impossibly out of touch with every aspect of the real world would ever think having nurses make thank you cards for patients is a good idea. The fact that someone, somewhere is paid good money to come up with such ideas is mind boggling. Take all these waste-of-oxygen people and put them to work doing something useful. I know a lot of potholes need to be filled and a lot of freeways need to be cleaned....

What I don't get is why do the NURSES have to do the thank you cards? I'll tell you why. Because NOBODY ELSE in the hospital will willingly take on stupid stuff like this. Why not have social work do them? Or housekeeping? Perhaps the pharmacists should do them? It's only a few seconds per card, right?

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What I don't get is why do the NURSES have to do the thank you cards? I'll tell you why. Because NOBODY ELSE in the hospital will willingly take on stupid stuff like this. Why not have social work do them? Or housekeeping? Perhaps the pharmacists should do them? It's only a few seconds per card, right?

It is a personal touch. Pharmacists and housekeeping could write them but it would be meaningless to the patient since neither of them personally cared for the patient. Us, on the other hand, the patients remember, and would recognize the name on the card.

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Some of you are so funny - enjoyed most of the reaction on this thread. :)

I will say as a L&D nurse, we sent out birthday cards at 1 year to all the babies we delivered. Keeping in mind we are a rural hospital and only did about 100 deliveries a year.

Also as hospice, we sign bereavement cards each week for hospice families. But this is done at a team meeting.

But as a nurse on the floor . . .in a busy hospital . . . this is crazy.

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It is a personal touch. Pharmacists and housekeeping could write them but it would be meaningless to the patient since neither of them personally cared for the patient. Us, on the other hand, the patients remember, and would recognize the

name on the card.

If it were simply signing a card... ok, whatever, I can do that. It's still an absurd policy thought up by an absurd person, but whatever. The OP stated, though, that the nurses

have to *write* little thank you cards for each pt. Sorry, that's the line. Have the pointless people who think up such pointless jobs write a bunch of little cards. They clearly have the time. I'll sign it if I get a minute....

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