Are COWs causing injury?

emnicams · Jun 11, 2009

We only use our COWs ("affectionately" labeled Annabelle and Bessie, hehe) when admitting a new patient. I can't imagine having to lug them around to administer meds. The handheld Caremobiles are enough to deal with. (Oh, to be back in the days of paper MARs!)

Aneroo, LPN · Jun 11, 2009

Yes. I covered this in a paper I did last semester in my informatics class. :lol2:

It's worse in areas that have carpet, since the COW's can be more difficult to push there (sometimes taking more than 50 pounds of force to push it along). Going over bumps in the floor (such as in doorways or cords) can also increase user/pusher strain. Back, chest and arm injuries are increasing b/c of COW use.

truern · Jun 11, 2009

i am sorry to hear about your illness. hope you are doing well. no, since we got these COWs and give meds with it(you can't give meds without it), lug our supplies around in it, we barely let go of the thing all day. It goes with me wherever i go. Originally we had COWs that the battery didn't stay charged as many posters have said, but these new ones stay charged for a whole 12 hr shift. Probably the batteries are bigger and heavier...Maybe big enough for a tractor!

Yeah, one would assume that's what the lovely little drawers are for, but OH, NO...we get dinged if we're caught with so much as an alcohol wipe in ours

My personal mission is to see how far away my WOW can be and still scan the patient's ID band

truern · Jun 11, 2009

Yes. I covered this in a paper I did last semester in my informatics class.
It's worse in areas that have carpet, since the COW's can be more difficult to push there (sometimes taking more than 50 pounds of force to push it along). Going over bumps in the floor (such as in doorways or cords) can also increase user/pusher strain. Back, chest and arm injuries are increasing b/c of COW use.

Yeah, those doorways are the death of me...or my chest, I should say. Thank goodness we don't have carpet!!

RNKPCE · Jun 11, 2009

They are a pain. We have to use them to do our two patient identifiers and then check the med order and chart the med as we give them. Frequently they are "down" and our IT dept has to come reboot them. I don't think any of us do our assessment charting at the bedside, the darn things are too slow. Also it is so hard pushing then in a two bed room with 2 beds, IV poles, vital sign machines, extra chairs, bedside table. Some time I just want to scream!!!

RheatherN, ASN, RN, EMT-P · Jun 11, 2009

i do my assessment and then go into hall and use mine. the only time i really truly use it- is to pull my meds at the same time, or if i am hanging blood or if i have TPC, then i will drag it with me. we have 2 diff types though, so makes it easier for us. i sit when i can!! heck yeah! there is no WAY i am standing for that long to chart unless i have to. When we have students- it gets hard, cuz they dont want to, or they are just not enuf computers to sit down and do this. and if i have to stand for that long, i have a bad back as it is, OMG- death to me!!

-H-RN

AOx1 · Jun 11, 2009

I think COWs fall under the category of many things in nursing. They were probably an administrator or exec's idea of how to increase time spent at the bedside with the patient. A nice idea in theory, but how about actually providing adequate staffing? I don't think most nurses really want to be away from their patients (most of the time, anyway!) and would love to have the time in the day to give more personalized care. But pushing, pulling, and dragging a COW over every doorway, into an already crowded room, is not easy. If you want to make it really useful, try putting a mini laptop in every room except isolation rooms. But they won't do that in most facilities as it is "too expensive"- just like more staffing :)

I have yet to experience actual injury from the COW, but after I have had one die repeatedly from batteries that won't seem to fully charge and from everyone needing to use one at roughly the same times, I have been tempted to kick one, which I imagine would result in injury.

I wonder if COW tipping will become a new passtime for nurses? A good friend grew up in the country and he said they used to try to tip real cows, without success, at least until the time he drunkenly tried to tip a bull. The ill-fated idea pretty much died out after that, from what he recalls.

nurse grace RN, BSN · Jun 11, 2009

They are heavy and cumbersome. I hate lugging them from room to room. I think they make the med pass twice as long as it used to be. I wish they would hire enough staff.... the COW can't give the meds for you.... you still have to drag the stupid thing from room to room. We do not take them in to isolation rooms--we stand at the doorway. They are mandatory and a good portion of the time-- 1 or more of them are down.... low battery? or whatever.

I just don't care for them and I do believe they are a potential injury source.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 11, 2009

i understand "cow". what's a "wow"?

cows are a pita -- battery always dying and wheels never locking when you want them to, but inadvertently locking when you don't. our hallways aren't level, and if you don't lock the wheels, the cow can go skittering down the hall . . . always good for a scare in the middle of the night.

wooh, BSN, RN · Jun 11, 2009

I wonder if COW tipping will become a new passtime for nurses?

I can just imagine if we HAD to use ours more than we do. (Thankfully we haven't gotten stuck with scanning for MARs yet at our facility.) It's so frustrating trying to find one that works without a total reboot AND will keep it's charge! I can soooooo see my ragtag group of coworkers trying to knock them over!!

Higgs · Jun 11, 2009

Cow's causing injury...?

I'd imagine it's be the same kind of damage as a bull in a china shop might cause...

Aneroo, LPN · Jun 11, 2009

WOW= Work station on wheels