what the.... pt abandonment?

[diddywah]

Dont know if this is the correct forum for this posting, but am gonna give it a shot.

What in your opinion constitutes pt abandonment? How does your unit deal with shift report?

Ya see, my sister works at a small hospital, and it seems that there is no set time to clock in and recieve report. The nurses just wander in and sometimes it is 0830 before they get out of report.

During this report they have to answer call lights and deliver pt care to ppl who may or may not be a part of their assignment.

The previous shift clocks out at 0708 so there is no one assuming

pt care. No one has really accepted their assignment because report has not even begun yet !!!!!!! I feel this is abandonment by the previous shift, but her administration just poo-poo's her complaints regarding contnuity of care...

The breakfast trays have arrived and they are just getting out of report. They pass trays and try to work in a few assessments but there are pts to be fed. The CNA's have creative scheduling and come to work at 0830, but when sis asks them to help feed pts they tell her that THEY have to eat their breakfast first.

She is frequently floated to another unit in the hospital where report is recieved at the desk. This is an acute care area...visitors and others are walking around the desk area, and some family members have been known to lurk around corners to listen to report.:stone The phone rings constantly, the call lights are going off and unless certain night nurses are working,the responsibility for these pts falls on those who have not completed report yet. There is total lack of support from management and she is frustrated and angry that no one feels this is an abandonment issue...

Doctors complain that none of the nurses know what is going on because they are so late getting out of report.

I have told her to look for another place of employment. She is looking seriously but until she is hired elsewhere,she is still gonna be frustrated with this situation. She has followed the chain of command with her concerns and they have reacted in a very hositile manner...even suggested counseling for anger management. I hope she finds another job soon...I find this situation unaceptable and very unprofessional...

I shall await your opinions...looking for other's opinions and input...does this sort of thing take place where you work???

Yall take care,ya hear????

Oh yeah...forgot to add that my sis always reports to work at 0640,the appropriate time to clock in and is ready for report at 0645...we have had this obsession with being on time all of our professional lives..ingrained by " old school " training. There just seems to be a total lack of respect at that little hole in the wall.

OK...will really go now !!!!

[Stargazer]

What Connie said. I don't know how these people can come in late and stuff their faces as patients starve and still live with themselves. And in what alternate reality is this acceptable employee behavior OR adequate patient care?

God, some people suck.

[deespoohbear]

What a mess!! We used to have a problem with the 2nd shift coming out of the report room until 4pm somedays. The aides would get up and answer call lights but then they would go right back to visiting in the report room. One day, me and one of my fellow nurses on days had enough. "Jane" and walked in to the report room and the next shift was sitting there, talking about non-work stuff. We told them we were leaving, and the floor was now their responsibility. I figure once report is given to the oncoming nurse, it is HER or HIS responsibilty to get to the floor in a timely manner, not mine.

Your sister needs to contact JCAHO (I think it can be done through their website) and contact the state board of health. Your sister should live up to her troublemaker repuatation now and rattle a few cages before she moves on. Let us know what happens.....

[Burnt Out, ASN, RN]

At the hospital I am at, we start report around 6:45 am and pm when the night shift folks come on-which of course we all have bad days, but I can't believe they just let "nurses wander in" whenever!!!

They definately need to be reported to JCAHO! But the sad thing will be that probably when the suits and upper management catch wind that JCAHO is coming, they will "do as they are SUPPOSED to" and then things will be back to normal!

That about the aides eating before the patients are fed, if that was my mom or dad, someone would have to hold my purse!!!

(I love this line :chuckle )We are able to eat a bite of breakfast as long as the PATIENTS are taken care of first!!!!!

[sunnygirl272]

originally posted by rnconnief

this nuts!! any nurse knows that 0700-1530 means that you arrive at 0645 to get report in order to be able to be nursing at 0700. for the same reason 1500-2330 means 1445 and 2300-0730 means 2245. as for aids having to eat before they being the work day, home sounds like a good place for breakfast. mcdonald's will do in a pinch if you eat in the car on the way in. staffing is way out of compliance, i would file a complaint with jacho on behalf of all the patients who go uncared for while staff has breakfast and gives report.

she is frequently floated to another unit in the hospital where report is recieved at the desk. this is an acute care area...visitors and others are walking around the desk area, and some family members have been known to lurk around corners to listen to report.

yeah...what the he)) are they thinking??? eat at home...or in the car....or suck it up and wait til your break...or lunch..

and...everyone says state, jcahco..(sp?)...butno one has yet said the other magic word....hippa

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

Originally posted by deespoohbear

Your sister needs to contact JCAHO (I think it can be done through their website)

Yes, you can contact them to report things such as this via their website @ http://www.jcaho.org/

[Agnus]

It sounds like your sister has done all the right things in her attempt to address these issues.

The fact that the anger management was mentioned makes me wonder how she has been presenting this issue. As an asside I fully understand her reacting in anger acting damn mad. IT is VERY understandable. It might not make one iota of difference in this situation but maybe an asertiveness class might be useful to her in dealing with people. This hospital is just using that as an EXCUSE in refusing to address her concerns, but sometime where there is smoke there is fire. Learning to control this using assertive techniques is an advantage when dealing with an idiot adversary like these folks.

Personally I'd walk and I just might not waite until I was hire elsewhere. I know everyone' s financial situation is different. But I tend to consider my mental health first. If I go completly nuts my income wont matter anyway because I wont have one and I'll be nuts and probably fired so getting another job will be even harder

Tell her to go . If she has to she can flip burgers or clean toilets or sell flower at the state fair until she can find somthing else.

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

There is a nursing shortage everywhere....your sister could walk down the street and find a nursing job these days.

[defib queen]

how, exactly, do they plan to explain this to a judge? I really do not think he/she will see it through the eyes of these managers/nurses/aides. Tell your sister to get out now if she values her license, not to mention patient care.