(almost) new grad has question about device used at potential hospital..

While there I noticed a round plastic device by their name badge and inquired what it was. Apparently it is for monitoring the nurse's location (every floor-not just ortho) so that if the patient claims that a nurse was never in their rooom for care, the nurse manager or whoever could print out the stats on where they had been all night and how long they had in fact been in their rooms..

I have worked at a facility that used the tracking buttons. The ward secretary could locate you then use the intercom to deliver a message to you in the room you were in, instead of paging the entire floor page so that you did not disturb patients that were resting. It saved sending someone to "find you" if you had put in a page to a physician etc.There was no "record" kept. It was a timesaver if I needed to find a particular nurse. No need to holler or go searching all the rooms assigned to a particular nurse. The device also lit the outside call light so people knew someone was in the room. They were really neat.
Another facility uses the mini cell phones & boy do they save time communicating with physicians, other departments, and other nurses. No need to search or yell out for each other. Physicians return calls to your phone. NO more dashing down the hall only to find the doc hung up!!!!!
You can not get away from technology. Properly used it will allow more time for what we should be doing, Taking care of patients.