What do I do about nurses who think my job is worthless?

[onlyj]

I work part-time as a patient safety attendant. We sit with patients who are suicidal, confused, depressed, fall risk, etc. I know we literally "sit" at times, but it is still a job and I took this job to help me during nursing school. I work at different floors all the time. One shift, I overheard the nurse say that all she does is watch the tv. I was with a patient who was a fall risk at a cancer floor. He had the news channel on even from the night before and when I asked him if he wanted me to turn it off, he said no, he likes that channel. He slept most of the time while I was there, so since the tv was in front of me, I saw it at times. At another shift, the nursing assistant told the nurses in behind the counter where they sit in front of the computers that she was going to relieve me for lunch, and they said,"go relieve her from her chair and giggled." I just went on my break, but I was very offended. I know we can't do much, but it is still a job, and if the nurses think it's so worthless, why call the sitters to sit with the patients?

[miss81, BSN, RN]

I had a pt yesterday that fell out of bed! Rails were up and call bell was in reach... we were evening toileting him regularly! We don't have sitters as such, our LPN's sit with pt's! There was not enough staff to have a "sitter" with the patient and look what happened! Nurses appreciate you... just seems like those nurses don't appreciate much! Do your job and go the best you can!

[kimmie4476, ASN, RN]

PLEASE come to work at my hospital! We don't have sitters and on night shift we don't even have a CNA, so all those pt's that normally require a sitter are the responsibility of myself and one other nurse. Let's see one of THOSE nurses handle that! They'd certainly be changing their tune.....maybe even bring you flowers the next time you showed up for work lol

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

Our sitters are all CNA's who do the pt's vital signs, ambulate them, take them to the bathroom and often do at least dome of their personal care. I am always relieved if there is a sitter available for one of my "jumpers". I've had to relieve sitters for lunch breaks, etc and I find the enforced inactivity really difficult, especially if you are just sitting there gowned in a contact precaution room. Some of us do appreciate the difficulties in doing this job well!

Addendum: The thing that makes a sitter not being able to take a break different from the nurse/ CNA not getting a break is that the sitter is accountable to be physically present for every minute of the shift unless specifically relieved by a designated person who is bound to remain with the patient untill the sitter returns. The nurse or CNA is usually free to run to the bathroom if time allows/ patients are stable and there is (theoretically) more flexibility in fitting that in....

[JSlovex2]

jslovex2

"i'll tell you what did drive me nuts as a cna who was running my butt off is when people who were getting paid to sit down and watch tv, eat snacks, read books, be on the internet, etc. would call out and ask when they could take their break when i hadn't even taken mine! if you're known to ask for breaks you should expect that kind of response. if you don't ask for breaks and only take the one you're supposed to get then there's no reason for them to be that way. just imagine being on your feet for 8 hours, starving, and literally you haven't had a chance to sit at all (not even for a few seconds). you haven't peed. you haven't had anything to drink. then, a patient safety tech calls out and wants to know (while sitting in their chair with a coca cola and a laptop) when you can "relieve" them. i don't know that this is you, but i'm just sayin - it does happen."

as a sitter i am not paid to watch tv, read, or play on the internet, i am paid to make sure i provide patient safety. my supervisor doesn't allow computer use or eating in patients rooms. we are encouraged to bring our school work and study if it helps us stay awake and all sitters are allowed two 10 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch break. i always ask at the start of my shift what time is good for the floor for me to take my break and i don't bother the pca or nurse unless it is something out of my job description; if the patients brief needs changing i will change it, if it's time for their bath i will do it, if they need to use the bed pan i get, ect. i am in nursing school anywhere from 4-6 hours during the day and then sit for an 8 hour night shift so there is a need to be relieved. it doesn't seem outrageous to me to relieve a person while they sit for 8 hours, sometimes 12, without food or being able to use the restroom with a person who is combative, suicidal, pulling on every tube/line, and trying to ambulate (by the way they have fallen no less than twice while at the facility), all while trying to stay awake. maybe the sitter just needs some time to lay her/his head down,eat, pee or take a breather from the patient.

you took one part of my comment - the part that said "but if this is you" then this might be why they get upset and applied it to yourself.

as i said, i have been a sitter and it was always 12 hour shifts. sitters at my facility aren't "allowed" to eat or have computers either, but they do. i don't blame them. i don't even care about that. if you would re-read my post, i said what is annoying is when sitters call out and ask for breaks when people who are actually doing physical labor on their feet haven't taken one.

[PeachPie]

Sitters can definitely be an asset, and you sound like you care about your job. Good for you. Ignore the haters.

I will tell you about some of the negative experiences I have had with sitters though. I'm not sure what your job description is. Some sitters are staff CNAs who should be doing all the vitals, ADLs, bathing, etc. Others are only supposed to make sure that they don't fall. I admit, I have gotten frustrated when a sitting CNA didn't help out by taking care of that one patient, or if a non-CNA sitter refused to do anything. I was once assessing a patient and was going to be there for a few minutes, and asked the sitter to please get some water. She refused, stating that she was there as a sitter. She also talked on her cell phone most of the shift. True, she wasn't a CNA and was there to sit, but she still could have fetched things for the patient within the room.

Basically, do what you can do to help out. Use the 1:1 time to help out the staff in any little way that helps, although you're already helping by preventing falls.

[sleepRN, ADN, BSN, RN]

Before I became a nurse I was a safety companion. Nurses totally appreciate you. You are stuck with a difficult patient for 8 hours! You don't get a break. It takes endurance and patience. As a nurse I frequently touch base with my sitters. Just because a staff member is there does not mean the patient can be ignored, in fact, the nurse needs to see that patient more!

[JDZ344]

Most times when I have been assigned to "sit" for a confused person... I don't sit. I wind up walking with that person for 12 hours straight, turning them around at the end of the corridor, walking back up, repeat, repeat, repeat. I would rather have an assignment of more patients then spend all day trying to re-orientate one, constantly.

[LaterAlligator]

I hate getting assigned to do 1:1's. It's usually because someone is impulsive/combative/confused and if you're lucky they conk out for a short while before waking up again and trying to climb out of bed, smear poop everywhere, rip out their lines, and punch you. The only time I've ever cried at work was when I was a sitter for a severely demented woman who managed to scratch me badly enough to break my skin with her dirty fingernails AND then rip out her IV as she did it. I was so, so frustrated at being trapped in that room with her for hours on end.

So yeah, I would ignore any comments other staff make about taking a break from your assignment. They probably just haven't experienced it to know how sucky it can be.

[woahmelly]

I'll echo the comments in here who say ignore those who belittle your position. If you're doing what you're suppossed to do then you are competent and that's all that's required.

I'm a CNA/Sitter and, man, I can't tell you the amount of times I've been almost and really punched, kicked, scratched and had to stand for hours on end hovering over the bed b/c my LOL (or my 3 LOLs for the night) decided tonight was 'roid rage crawl out of bed and fall on their face night. Give me a floor full of 20 pts and 5 totals over some of the sitting cases I've had.

[LynnLRN]

I say, quit worrying about what they think. They wont know how lucky they are to have you until they no longer have you.

[allthesmallthings]

It sounds like they were being catty, or maybe just goofing off. Like some previous posters have said, sitters can be good as gold in their warmth and care of the Pt, or they can take the "sit" part of the job seriously.

My advice for you, to gain respect, is to prove that you're one of the good sitters: 1) do what you can to help out - turning the Pt, diapers, moving his possessions where he can get them, adjusting blankets, etc; 2) point out to the nurse what you've done (e.g., "I checked his diaper ten minutes ago, and it's clean, and I'll be checking it every two hours and turning him"); 3) show your interest in the Pt and the reasons for his therapy as it applies to you (e.g., if he needs to be sat up for aspiration precautions when he takes food or meds, or floating his feet if he's got swelling to the feet or bed sores on the heels); 4) introduce yourself and state your role that clarifies things and establishes respect - "Hi, I'm Gina, I'll be here til 7, and xyz is what I can do, according to my job, and abc is what I am not allowed to do (that is, if you're not allowed to change a diaper or whatever, let the nurse know, so she won't think you're just lazy, but let her know you're happy to help with whatever you're allowed to do)." It's hard to disrespect a person who engages herself in her work and is friendly and helpful.

Chatting with the nurse, and Pt, also establishes you as a person, rather than a bump on a log. Just my thoughts.

[rn/writer, RN]

What do you do about someone who thinks your job is worthless?

First, you decide what you think about the job you're doing. There will always be someone who thinks ill of you or your job or your house or your car or whatever for whatever reason they can think of. The only way they can truly hurt your feelings is if you give them a vote. Make it a practice to keep your self-worth off the chopping block and you will save yourself a lot of stress and emotional turmoil. In other words, not only do you ignore them, you put them out of your mind.

Second, I've been an RN sitter many times. The job looks easy to anyone who hasn't had to do it. On crazy nights, you end up playing "catch me if you can" with someone who thinks you're an enemy combatant and wants to pull out their tubes or escape from the bed. On slow nights, the clock moves at a glacial pace and even a page-turner book becomes hypnotic. When you know you can't get to a bathroom, your bladder suddenly becomes very pesky and annoying. Overall, it's a good job most of the time, but that doesn't mean you're not working.

Third, you've been given good advice about how to be a good sitter and make whatever contribution you can. Talk with the nurses if they're open to it. Ask about the patient, not to be nosy, but to learn about the disease process and what the nurses are assessing. Some may snub you, but many nurses like to teach. Answering the questions of someone who is truly interested can give extra meaning to what they're doing.

Finally, consider this job as a clinical in developing maturity and self-assuredness on the job. It's good to be sensitive and open to constructive criticism, but the more you can divest yourself of a "people pleasing" mindset, the stronger and wiser you'll be.

Take heart from this thread and the reality that many (if not most) nurses realize the important of sitters and are grateful when they have their help with difficult patients.