Taking away chairs from nursing station

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

I work at a nursing home and is my night off and I just got word that administrator has taking away our chairs from the nurses station to get us to work harder. There has been lack of documentation in all units. People think he did this because a power trip. The administrator is only 24 and he is new and he's ****** a few people off. I think it gonna cause a lot of conflict but if people accept this change, it could be a positive change. I have charted standing and it's taken less time to chart. Less time charting means more time supervising and more time at patients bedside which overall will improve patient care. I totally get it but I will take some time adjusting.

Well I give up, just trying to show positive side of change but everyone is focused on the negative.

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Some changes can be good. I don't see how making nurses stand for hours is going to help anything. I don't see anything positive coming from such a change. What I do see coming from it is more call-ins due to aching/swollen knees or back pain. Perhaps even call-ins just because they would rather work a PRN shift where they are treated a little better.

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I would also tell management that they need to lead by examlple! What is good for the goose is good for the gander!!

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

Can't OSHA be notified? If the make you stand, don't they have to supply all the right equipment, mats and such to make it comfortable?.

Pinkessence: Nurses wouldn't complain about standing to quickly chart, IF they took all the breaks they were entitled to. In my state, I'm allowed TWO thirty minute breaks and THREE 10 min breaks. In reality, I get ONE 30 minute (interrupted) break a shift. So, if I can sit down to chart, I want to sit down to chart!

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.
Before I got in nursing, the few jobs I worked prior required standing. I don't view it as cruel. Lots of jobs require standing. The cna stand on there feet all the time, so why can't we.

Really? They are on their feet for 8 straight hours? Not the CNA's I work with. They work their buns off, but they find time to sit and do their charting, make their plans for the night and yes, gasp, even chat with each other for a few minutes.

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I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist who is going back to school to get my BSN, I feel for you nurses. In the lab I work at they use the lean process to the extreme. We work 12 hr shifts and stand almost the whole time. The only time we sit down is to do a urine microscopic or manual differential all of which takes very little time at all.

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Why do doctors and case managers need to sit? Shouldn't they too, be doing their charting, dictating, and other patient related activities at the patient's bedside so the patient feels included?

This is just another example of the BS nurses are expected to put up with and keep on smilin' all the way. No one else would put up with this kind of crap.

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After I've stressed my back and body out doing various tasks, I need to sit for a little while, even if its to do my charting. We are not meant to stand for 8 to 12 hours, we have feet, not hooves!

Nothing positive about this, and i'm not drinking the koolaid.

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I was a waitress and a salesperson in a clothing store before I was a nurse so I understand that.

I don't think I can adequately explain why this is different from those jobs or if a CNA was discovered relaxing in a recliner so I'd just suggest reading replies from other people.

Yeah, but those jobs aren't 12 hour shifts either.

I worked in an office where they removed the chair from the injection area after the clinical director stopped by and saw the float nurse sitting on her butt doing nothing. The other offices didn't lose their chairs, just that one location, but it was very annoying while I was there. Another office I worked in had one chair at the nurse's station and our pregnant nurse would sit down while checking phone messages. The doc saw her sitting down on the phone and said that we were not allowed to sit down because it looks unprofessional to the pts. Our poor pregnant nurse had to stand up all day when he was there!

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This seems to be a trend. I worked at a hospital in NY and they are doing the same. They are taking chairs away, telling the staff that they are no longer allowed to be present in the nurses station, stating that the nurse's station is for physicians and care management! They are to be documenting at the patient's bedside. Ridiculous! These are horrible working conditions that need to be reported to Department of Labor

Wow. I can't believe I found this thread! I had no idea other hospitals in various states are doing this. Just assumed it was only mine.

Last year, in an effort to keep us out of the nurses station where we would sit and use the computers to chart, they suddenly made a new rule that they were for doctor's only. They sent us all out in the hall with computers on wheels. A few months later, someone from the CNO's office came and took away all of the chairs in the halls. No notice, no discussion, just took them away. One nurse was actually sitting on one in front of her computer and got up for less than a minute to get something and when she came back, her chair was gone. Of course, there were many times when it was necessary to use the computers in the nurses station, like if you were on the phone taking report and needed to look up details about the new pt or something like that, and lots of us did, esp when it was quiet and there were no doctors around. So, 3 months ago, they fixed it so that the computers there can only be accessed by swiping a hospital badge and only doctors have the type that will work. So, now we can't use them.....ever.

Oh, and they changed the name of the nurses station, too. It is now called "clinical station". Someone came around to each unit, removed the old signs and replaced them with the new ones.

We are a Magnet hospital and this is the way we are treated. We are due for re-certification soon. Lots of us wonder what the Magnet surveyors would say if they knew......Would be pretty funny if somehow they found out......hmm.

p.s. we all work 12 hr shifts

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Specializes in ICU, Geriatrics, Float Pool.

This is a stupid idea made up and supported by stupid people. Not letting professionals who work for 12 hours sit down to document on a computer. Yeah, sounds so rational.

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One last thing, standing and moving around are two different things. If I was standing yes I would want to sit. But you are constantly moving not so bad.I'm just have more better things to think about than ***** about a chair to sit in while charting.

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