Nurse Lojack System

[it'sallbueno]

Our facility is implementing a new call light system. Nurses will be required to carry pagers, beepers, and cell phones to answer call lights.

Rumor has it they (the powers that be) plan to log our response time, how long we are at each bedside, how long we are at the nurses' station, how long we are in the break room, bathroom, etc...

Now, I am a good nurse, and logistically, I am not worried. But I guess theoretically I am opposed to all of this (too "Big Brother").

Anyone else out there use this system? I am trying to keep an open mind... your thoughts/input appreciated.

"Don't double the salt" -- My Mom

[Sleepyeyes]

Hmmmm... let me think about this....

they trust us with narcotics, needles, the devices to track us, expensive medications, medical equipment, honest documentation, ethical behavior, and patients' lives....

but not really, because we hafta be tracked q second....

doncha think this corporate mysogyny is just a tad over the top?

Reminds me of when I worked convenient stores. The cameras were not there for the protection of the cashier, as I naively imagined upon taking the job. They're pointed squarely at the cash register to monitor employee theft.

BTW, our facility uses cellphones--judiciously--because the monitor person can answer call lights, but can't leave the monitors. So if someone's bed alarm goes off, or if someone develops a dangerous rhythm change, we can be notified stat. It's used properly and it's very effective.

[twells]

Our hospital uses a similar system and it has really helped. We page DR from our phones and keep working until they call us back. No more standing around the phones waiting. since we can answer our call bells with the phones, it's a lot quieter and the bells don't get on my nerves anymore. i also don't have to run back and forth as much. I also do most of my charting in patient rooms. If I were paranoid, I guess that would make me look good to admin.