What do you do in the nursing station in your down time?

diane227, LPN, RN · Nov 7, 2009

I work med surg. When I have down time, I do my required on line education. I also update the Kardex and document a quick note about the pts history on the kardex. I make rounds on the patients, clean up around the area, check all the lab and x-ray results, read the H&P's, pull up current lab results, check the crash cart, check to see which rooms are dirty and need to be cleaned, etc. It just goes on and on.

kiwipsychnurse · Nov 7, 2009

I work med surg. When I have down time, I do my required on line education. I also update the Kardex and document a quick note about the pts history on the kardex. I make rounds on the patients, clean up around the area, check all the lab and x-ray results, read the H&P's, pull up current lab results, check the crash cart, check to see which rooms are dirty and need to be cleaned, etc. It just goes on and on.

I am aware med/surg is a job that is very busy compared to some mental health jobs. As a student when doing a placement on the med and surg run I realised that these are extremely busy area's of nursing.

And as a result I decided to take my career down the mental health pathway. (there were other reasons too)

Maybe this raises another question? Do posts like this sway people to view psych nurses as lazy?

Whispera, MSN, RN · Nov 7, 2009

I don't know where you (previous posters) work, but I seldom had any down time when I was working psych, at least not on days and evenings. If I got meds, treatments, admits, discharges, groups, way too much paperwork done, I went out with the patients and talked with them as a group or individually. Eating a meal was a luxury.

allnurses Guide · Nov 7, 2009

I'm sure your employer would be thrilled to read this!

And yes, if someone actually says they chose a certain field because it seems less busy I would assume they are lazy. Not "psych nurses" as a whole, just the ones who stated that.

God knows there's no way on earth I could do psych, the thought of it creeps me out. Whatever reason people have, I'm glad they do it and not me!

kiwipsychnurse · Nov 7, 2009

I'm sure your employer would be thrilled to read this!
And yes, if someone actually says they chose a certain field because it seems less busy I would assume they are lazy. Not "psych nurses" as a whole, just the ones who stated that.
God knows there's no way on earth I could do psych, the thought of it creeps me out. Whatever reason people have, I'm glad they do it and not me!

I'm sure they wouldn't be thrilled reading this but on a forum I remain unnamed along with my place of work. So if they do read this they will never be able to connect the dots.

Well so far looks like I'm the only one that has down time.

I try and use the analogy of the fireservice. They too have down time and you can only clean the firetruck so many times. Once its nice and shiny then kick back and wait for a fire.

When the alarms go in psych its all systems go, maybe that's' when we earn our our money.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Nov 7, 2009

If you work psych maybe some recreational activity like knitting or puzzles would actually benefit your patients, as long as you go out to a public area to do it. If you're available in an informal setting you'll be modelling great coping/social skills and maybe be able to draw out the less verbal folk.

pandora44 · Nov 8, 2009

This thread makes me kinda laugh. I'm not sure everyone here is being completely honest, although I mean no disrespect or insult.

As a psych nurse, I do have down time. There are some nights when I don' t, but most nights I do. I like to surf the net, read a book, chat with my fellow nurses, or spend extra time with my patients. On my unit, these are all perfectly acceptable uses of down time.

I used to work med-surg, and one of the reasons I left that to go into psych was because I knew it wasn't as busy. If anyone wants to consider me lazy for that, go ahead. I don't mind. After a year of working med-surg, I realized that my own good mental health was more important to me than the need to prove that I could handle a med-surg floor.

carolineaji · Nov 8, 2009

I would like someone to come to my aid please. I am a Psychiatric Nurse currently practicing in UK but planning to move to Alberta due to husband's job. i want to know if there are any job prospects for mental nurses in Alberta and what are the necessary steps to take. The nursing websites I have checked are not quite explicit on getting jobs. Tnx

kiwipsychnurse · Nov 8, 2009

I would like someone to come to my aid please. I am a Psychiatric Nurse currently practicing in UK but planning to move to Alberta due to husband's job. i want to know if there are any job prospects for mental nurses in Alberta and what are the necessary steps to take. The nursing websites I have checked are not quite explicit on getting jobs. Tnx

WOOOOOOOOO HOLD UP. Are you hijacking this thread?

The information you require will only be made available when you disclose what you do in the nursing station when things get quiet on the ward.

southern rn · Nov 8, 2009

allnurses, of course! :smokin: Plus for some unknown to me reason, my favorite disney websites are blocked!lol

stephva1008 · Nov 9, 2009

Do my CEU's online. Prepare inservices for staff. Write research proposals (we are magnet hospital).