Bathroom Door Question/ Best Practice

[frances81]

Hi everyone -

Can you please let me know exactly how crazy/ obsessive/ petty I'm being - if at all. LOL.

I've recently started working in a small public health clinic and my office as well as our clinic room (mostly for well child clinics) is directly across the hall from the staff bathroom.

I guess it's always been that the bathroom door was left wide open after and between uses by other (non-health care) staff. I've recently asked that we please keep it closed or semi-closed for both sanitary and professional reasons (who wants to walk past an open bathroom when taking their newborn in for immunizations and assessments?!). Also, tbh, I'm very scent sensitive and just am grossed out with my office so close.

I didn't think this would at all be an issue but I'm getting push back from the couple non-health care staff who've been there for 10-20 years. Not only do they leave it wide open still, but after I close it they open it again minutes later.

I'm considering emailing Infection Prevention & Control for best practice recommendations/ back-up

Am I over reacting? Should I let this go in the interest of office peace?

[Sour Lemon]

Semi closed seems like a good compromise. I'm not sure this is a health issue? Could ventilation be improved in or around the area?

[morte, LPN, LVN]

see if you can get an automatic closer installed.

[beekee]

Could you get something on the door installed so it automatically closes?

[frances81]

I'd love too! Unfortunately we can't even afford tea and coffee for our public health flu clinics so I seriously doubt that would be approved! But I was joking about that today with a co-worker.

[NurseCard, ADN]

Can the door not stay halfway closed? That way it isn't "wide open", but

also it's not completely closed, so that people know that there isn't anyone

using it. Or will the door not stay halfway closed?

[HermioneG, BSN, RN]

I can see how this can be irritating, but you're new and said yourself you're receiveing push back from people who have been there for years (nonclinical or not). If people who have been there for years are truly giving you push back on it, I personally would ease up for a bit. Being new is hard, and being the new person who comes in trying to change old habits right away might set you up for a rocky ride. Ask yourself, is this truly a patient safety issue? If yes then by all means go for it. If not, maybe you should take a step back. It's like living with new roommates. They do annoying stuff but you need to carefully pick your battles because you have to "live" (work) with them.

With that being said, what you're saying does make sense. That's annoying. If it's really bothering you that much maybe you can go up the chain of command and casually bring it up to your superior. Not as a big deal, but just as something small that you noticed that could help make the patient's experience more pleasant while at the clinic. I wouldn't do that, but I would probably do that before I contacted outside people to back you up and whatnot. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've always felt like once you start bringing in outside people to back you up you're running a high risk of just escalating the situation more than you mean to.

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

Honestly, there are bigger hills to die on. Sometimes you just gotta take a deep breath and move on.

[T-Bird78]

Anonymously tape a sign to both sides of the door that simply reads "Please close door when finished" and see how that works.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Why on Earth someone would spend time and money doing exhaustive research and writing policies so that so-called "best evidence-based practices" could be established about exact optimal position of bathroom doors in outpatient setting? An avid pursuant of Ig Noble Prize?

Yes, that may be annoying and irritating, but so are 100500 other things in our lives. The staff was living with that door for 10 to 20 years, and it did not bother anyone before. The patients came in clinic for the same 10 to 20 years, it did not bother them either. So, IMH(umble)O you shouldn't rock the boat.

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

Meh, this is not a hill to die on. I definitely would not recommend going the anonymous sign on door route; I think it would be interpreted as passive- aggressive, and people would have their suspicions about who did it anyway. The next time anyone mentions it or opens the door after you've closed it, you could always go the self-deprecating route: "I must drive everyone crazy with this habit! I'm just so used to closing the door for [your reason here]."

TBH, I'm one of those pesky people who leaves the door open. í ½í¸„ To air it out a little! If scent is a big problem, maybe donate a can of air freshener to the cause. That would probably rock the boat a bit less than some more direct or extreme approaches.

[frances81]

I think you're spot on. I was just super irritated yesterday but I've decided to let it go. Personally I think it's pretty disrespectful as I'm the only one in the back beside the washroom and unprofessional, but you're right - it's not worth the stress. I think it's hard because it's not just this but I'm getting questioned from the older non-nursing/ admin assistant staff on every little thing, for example: the type of pens I choose to use, to how I arrange my chairs during clinic, to not wanting more crayons in the clinic when we have so many already, etc...Just so tired of being questioned/ challenged on every little thing because it's not the way it was done 10-20 years ago. Sighhh. Thanks for the perspective!! :)