Questions from a Neuro Med/Surg volunteer

[moosicle]

I am a volunteer at a hospital that is notorious for being a bad/unsafe place to begin a nursing career. However, I am just an aspiring nurse, so I gave it a try.

Normally, when I volunteer I just do little odd jobs for the techs and nurses, help visitors find rooms and get things for patients (blankets, food etc). Today, however, they made me the floor secretary (I asked to never do this when I signed up). My training was to say "4 South". I didn't know how to use any of the phone functions or the call bell thingie but was expected to do it as well as handle all the front desk activities. I assumed it would be easy since no training was required; I was wrong. I hung up on so many people and made so many people upset.

One problem I ran into was that we had 4 RNs on duty and 2 techs (RN:Patient 1:4-5). A patient's IV was leaking among other problems and the nurse was on break (#2 or 3) with another nurse from the floor. So, the tech seemed to be getting upset because I couldn't find her an RN that would do it. The patient's RN was not responding to pages and when I walked up to her and asked her to do it she said "ok". She never came.

I believe that every person should get an uninterrupted break and when I managed in retail, I stuck to that rule. But, I have worked at places where no person could break with another employee and no person could break during normal lunch hours (1130-1p) just to improve customer service. But, when a patient's health is on the line, we can all break whenever we want even it it makes the ratios dangerously skewed?!?

My real questions:

1. Are most nurses allowed to take breaks like I described above?

If not, do some do this anyway?

2. Does your floor PAY someone to be a secretary AND spend at least some time training them?

3. Are these common situations you have to deal with often?

[moosicle]

I know I am replying to my own post.

But I have to say that many of the employees I have managed in retail work so much harder, more attentive to customers and make only $8/hr. I would have fired someone who made a pattern of this sort of behavior. I am really upset with the lack of accountability some nurses enjoy and amazed with the amount of responsability other nurses take on to cover the slack.

[Ayvah, RN]

Well I'm not a full-fledged nurse yet, but I have a little bit of hospital experience.

1.) a lot of times I see nurses who do not take breaks or even time for a meal. Many nurses that I see are having their first glass of water at 2pm on a 7a-7p shift. Things like what you experienced mainly depend on the individual nurse, and their supervisor. There will be bad apples in every profession. That was not a wise choice for that nurse to make (to take so many breaks with other nurses and not answer her pager).

2.) Yes, floors will hire, pay, and train a unit secretary. Usually the secretary will get a week's worth of doubling up with another unit secretary before they go on their own. Most days there should be a unit secretary there during the day and evening shift. The night shift and weekends may not have any unit secretaries (especially for smaller floors).

3.) Med surge always seems like a place that is very busy. I have never heard of taking a volunteer and throwing them in a unit secretary position on a nursing floor (though I was thrown into a secretary position with no training while being a volunteer too, but was on the ultrasound unit not a nursing floor) Unit secretaries do things like stock charts with additional flow sheets, order labs, order additional stock/floor items, print rounds, answer phones, answer call lights, direct family/doctors to staff and much more.

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

Well I'm not a full-fledged nurse yet, but I have a little bit of hospital experience.

1.) a lot of times I see nurses who do not take breaks or even time for a meal. Many nurses that I see are having their first glass of water at 2pm on a 7a-7p shift. Things like what you experienced mainly depend on the individual nurse, and their supervisor. There will be bad apples in every profession. That was not a wise choice for that nurse to make (to take so many breaks with other nurses and not answer her pager).

2.) Yes, floors will hire, pay, and train a unit secretary. Usually the secretary will get a week's worth of doubling up with another unit secretary before they go on their own. Most days there should be a unit secretary there during the day and evening shift. The night shift and weekends may not have any unit secretaries (especially for smaller floors).

3.) Med surge always seems like a place that is very busy. I have never heard of taking a volunteer and throwing them in a unit secretary position on a nursing floor (though I was thrown into a secretary position with no training while being a volunteer too, but was on the ultrasound unit not a nursing floor) Unit secretaries do things like stock charts with additional flow sheets, order labs, order additional stock/floor items, print rounds, answer phones, answer call lights, direct family/doctors to staff and much more.

Ditto.

Lunch...you mean I can have a lunch!!!!

Just kidding, but often do without it.

Too much to do.