Additional Duties As Assigned....

[Redhead28]

I know you've all heard this saying. "Addtional duties as assigned" is in many job descriptions. Tell me about those addtional duties. In one hospital the nurses drew all labs and carried them down to lab. In the hospital I work in now, we (nurses) are not only expected to strip the room when a patient goes home but we have to clean the equipment, IV pumps, syringe pumps, feeding pumps. I think this is a horrible use of a nurse. Housekeeping is in the room to clean, why can't they wipe down a pump? Whatever happened to CS (central sterile) and properly cleaning equipment between patients. I know what happened they all but eliminated this department, but we have two highly paid "managerial people" attending meetings all day. We have a job jar, yes this is no joke. So in addtion to seeing 6 patients a day, I have to pick a job and do that too. Sometimes it's restocking the nutrition room, med room, emptying the HIPAA bins. Don't get me wrong I don't mind helping out the unit but it irritates me to see so many administrators getting coffee while I run for 12-14 hours. Tell me your addtional duties as assigned...

[caliotter3]

I do not like the idea although it is practical, probably because I have always taken the initiative to do things that needed to be done. I would resent being told I had to do something as if I was too lazy to do it on my own.

[mammac5]

Where are the "unlicensed assistive personnel" or nurses aides or whatever they're called in your area? That would be a much more cost-effective way of getting tasks done that do not require the education/training/licensure of an RN! Seems like mgmt would be all over that.

[mamamerlee, LPN]

A JOB JAR? Good grief!

In most places, pumps of all kinds were sent back to Supply for cleaning and maintainence. I wouldn't want housekeepers to touch those.

That being said, I lost my last really good job because I spoke up at a meeting in protest of another 'additional duty as assigned'.

Sometimes the admins get rid of lower-level personnel and then get the higher paid ones to incorporate all those duties into what they were already doing. Makes no sense in the long-run.

A JOB JAR??? Oy vey, what's next?

[TDCHIM]

Oh good lord, what next? I understand trying to contain costs in a bad economy, but making your nurses serve as your cleaning crew is just plain stupid on about a dozen different levels!

If it makes you feel any better, the last place I worked as a journalist was mismanaged into the ground. The management cut the cleaning crew and tried to force the reporters to take turns cleaning the bathrooms under the "additional duties as required" clause!!! We refused and it turned into one of the grossest standoffs ever!

[juliaann]

Where are the "unlicensed assistive personnel" or nurses aides or whatever they're called in your area?

As a former CNA (well, I'm still a CNA, just not working as one right now), I had *plenty* to do without the housekeeping tasks that fell upon all of us - nurses and CNAs - due to budget cuts.

I don't think there was ever a shift when I had less than 15 patients. On a 65-bed catchall unit, I was responsible for daily baths and linen changes on half my patients (day CNAs did even numbered rooms, night shift did odd numbered rooms), q4 vitals and fsbs, feeding, toileting, transport to and from tests/dialysis/surgery/the lobby to go home, and running lab. I never sat down.

And then we all were also stripping rooms (usually the nurse would remove the pump, O2 supplies, and any SCDs or other machinery when discharging, and the CNAs would remove urinals, BSCs, linens, and trash), and we all each had an assigned "extra" task like the OP mentions - stocking nutrition, cleaning supply room, break room, nurses station, etc.

While CS sterilizes our equipment, we have to take the soiled equipment to them in the basement, and go down and get our clean BSCs and IV pumps as needed.

I'm not trying to say CNAs shouldn't do their part with these "extras" that are bestowed upon us all by budget cuts, but that they have a very busy, very hard job to do as well - just like nurses. The answer isn't making the CNAs do all the additional housekeeping work...the answer is something no one can afford/is willing to pay for right now. An adequate volume of help, period.

[mammac5]

Sorry if I came across as implying that the CNAs didn't have enough work to do; I really did not mean to say that at all. I know they're overworked. My point is that, if we are going to pay someone to strip and clean rooms, clean pumps/machines, etc., we should hire MORE of people who are unlicensed to do those things, whether we call them housekeeping, CNAs, unit clerks, or whatever...these jobs do not require degrees and licensure and it seems like a shame to pay higher salaried folks to do them.

[Bella'sMyBaby]

"Additional Duties as Assigned"...........

This is to cover the Employer so that they can add as many job duties to employees as they please.....many times this is done to force employees to quit by setting them up for failure....seen this happen many times!!

[newway]

I am not sure why so many nurses seem to be against unions but this is a perfect example of why they are needed. As one poster mentioned they were fired when they spoke up. If there had been a union this would not have been the case. The nurse could have simply told her BA and the BA would have approached the facility and said they do not feel these duties are in contract and the facility would not have known where the complaint came from. When there isn’t a union no one wants to be the one to speak up and take the heat.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

sometimes nurses have done this to one another. If a facility has a budget and the highest paid staff is also the staff you cannot do without, then eliminate the lower paid staff and let the higher paid ones pick up extra duties. Believe me, I think we all deserve good pay, but facilities look at us as expensive employees and will cut elsewhere to save $