would you finish work from previoius shift?

[Ms.RN]

Hello

What would you do if a co-worker from the previous shift didnt finish their work and give it to the next shift nurse, like admissions, treatments etc... Would you do it, or would you say something about it?

[fultzymom]

I do both. I have followed nurses that always leave things and make it a habit. Then I say something like, "Well, you better get that done before you leave." Then there are times when your day just goes awful and no matter how hard they try, something gets done. Then I do not mind. And lets face it, we all have days where we run our legs off and try as hard as we can but when that next shift comes in things aren't done. But I work day shift in a LTC facility. And the night shift nurse only has one on our unit compared to me having two in the day time. So I will stay over to make sure all of the orders are done and taken care of. As for the admission work, I make sure it is completed. My cut off time for allowing the night shift work to come and take over is about 1/2 a hour before shift ends. Then my priority is getting the patient settled in and getting meds faxed to pharmacy ASAP so they will arrive that night for the next day. And I will also contact the doctor for the night nurse as needed. I will leave the RN assessment and that is all. Then the night nurse would pass her meds and then do the assessment as soon as she is completed. That works out well for us. Nursing is a 24 hour job. It does not just end with the day shift.

[cardsRN]

i have no problem finishing up within reason. it is as many other posters have stated a 24 hour job. maybe the pt was sick (hello, they're in icu) and your priority was not the dressing change or the shave. or rotating their ET tube. no problem, i'll get it. what chaps me is when gtt's run dry b/c previous shift didn't order them and now i have to scramble. grr. what really chaps me is when other nurses write people up for little things not finished. especially if i have finished stuff for you in the past and now you are writing me up for not fininshing something you could have easily done. my manager recently sent out an email outlining the division of labor by shift. not sure what she was trying to accomplish there. i think everyone knows what their responsabilities are and for most of us, if you don't get to something there is a damn good reason why not. it seems like the few ruin it for the many and it would be healthier for the unit to deal with those few personally. but nurses are notoriously passive aggressive, so there it is. ramble ramble ramble. unfinished work is a fact of life in nursing. we should all try to be considerate of each other and a little generous. people getting too hung up on "your work" and "my work" is what creates shift wars.

[cardsRN]

oops!

[TrudyRN]

Of course, put yourself in the position of being relieved by a nurse who is always a sourpuss and refuses to ever graciously accept that their could ever possibly be spillover. It doesn't matter to her that codes happened or that meds were not available to give or that OR schedules were delayed or dressing change materials were out of stock or that you had just changed the dang dressing an hour ago and then here came the surgeon and ripped it off so she could examine the wound, and then, of course, left the dirty one at the bedside and expected you to re-dress the wound and you couldn't because someone fell right then.

I'm sorry but there are times when there is going to be spillover and I think the oncoming shift needs to be understanding when that happens.

[banditrn]

Sometimes you're the statue, sometimes you're the pigeon.

:rotfl: :rotfl: Lordy, I hope I'm never thought of as a pidgeon!! Of course, I've come to realize that in LTC, working nights, no one thinks you do anything, anyhow. And I realize that, for the most part, it is more laid back.

But if they all think nights is such a sweet shift - why don't any of them want to work it?

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

This is an age old problem because everyone has plenty to do and may feel the other shift is slacking. There should be a general understanding (in writing?) what ought to be done each shift. Then when it cannot be done there should be a reason. Patternswill develop when the same people are involved time aftertime. That is what managers are for.

[shadow hawk]

In nursing we generally know the nurses from the other shifts. The nurse that always has work to pass on soon become a focus of why aren't they getting their work done. If they aren't able to keep up what can be done to help. That alway mean that people are looking at your time management abilities. If you are a nurse that always needs help from other nurses but is always too busy to lend a hand you pretty much can count that that help will stop. If you are a nurse that always wants to finish up but by finishing up you are keeping the nurse from starting their shift then that is a problem not a help. Give report and then return to what you need to finish up. Nursing is a team sport if there are players who won't help, talk to the supervisor or find a new team. The higher up will begin to wonder about the turn over and the I never give help nurse will find out life is not that great especially if the admission they did not recheck ends up costing money by a missed order. Two eyes are better than one and I always recheck a new admission and want the incoming nurse to check behind me.

[hptogram]

I do not mind doing whatever the other shift couldn't get finished. I know its crazy some nights and they are beat at the end of their shift. However, the morning shift is another story. If I work the ALF side by myself, they get upset when I don't do extra. God forbid if they can't have their 30 minute break as soon as they walk in the door or if they have to shower or get a resident dressed. Management knows and does not care. But as far as the other shift that I relieve, I'm happy to help them out. When I clock in I'm there to work and if I needed help, I know they would.

[Jo Dirt]

On the 3-11 shift I have done many dressing changes/treatments, etc. that were not finished on day shift and never said a word about it.

But there were a couple of day shifters that would seek you out to let you know if you did not get to doing something and the whole place would know about it.