not been around much lately (disheartened:() anyway, theres been a bit of a discussion about bed bathing patients and doing their obs in the morning.. we start the work at 5am, which is pretty early, but if we dont start work at 5 the work doesnt get done and we get moaned at by the morning staff (morale is a bit low at the moment!)
we are expected to do 5-6 bedbaths on a ward of 18 patients, there are three staff on for the night, we dont do morning drugs, unless they are peg meds or NG, we do all the early IVs
a HCA from the nursing bank worked with me the other day, he refused point blank to wake anyone up that early saying it was cruel, and that people need their sleep I AGREE i said but if we dont, we end up in trouble (week before we only managed two washes as the morning didnt go to plan and the E grade shouted at me-another story which i wont bore you with!)
so the question is, is there anything you know of in print that would support his arguement, i have looked myself but am having no luck
Funny isn't there a law about nursing home residents that they are not to be woken and bathed early in the morning for the conveince of staffing ratios. i know wards are different and with everything else an early shift can be hard going and its great when a few are bathed, however 1/3 seems a lot.
Specializes in Stroke Rehab, Elderly, Rehab. Ortho.
Funny isn't there a law about nursing home residents that they are not to be woken and bathed early in the morning for the conveince of staffing ratios. i know wards are different and with everything else an early shift can be hard going and its great when a few are bathed, however 1/3 seems a lot.
Dont know about a law for nursing homes unless it has come out within the last 2 years but I know when we had inspections it was frowned on...so we used to do the ones that were in bed all day and had to be turned.......
i dont think I would like to be woken at 5am.....
Where I work (now in the USA) the lab ladies come round about 5am so we go into the ones they have woken up!!!!!!! So we dont get the grief!!!! But I work on Ortho and we are excpected to do dressings before we leave and some patients have to go on CPM machines at 5am for their TK replacements so what I usually do is warn them that at 4:30am I will be waking them to do there dressing so they can go on their machine for 2 hours......
It is hard especailly when you dont have many staff 3 staff for 18 is awful ratio.....i am not trying to get you to suck eggs or anything but could you warn them or ask them at thebeginning of the shift if they would like to be woken early for a bed bath - that way you are giving them a choice and IF they all refused then tough for the day shift- if a Pt refuses what can they do?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Specializes in renal,peritoneal dialysis, medicine.
you have all made some really valid points, i think when i made the original post i was really angry that despite my best efforts i was still getting told off for something beyond my control
i did speak to my manager about it who agreed that two bed baths wasnt enough, but said i certainly shouldnt have been shouted at like that, i explained that i had done all the other work and that i could physically do no more, she suggested that maybe i found it hard to ask people to work harder, i said to her that the only thing i could have done was physically drag the other two staff around the ward or shout, which to me is not on...
needless to say the bank staff member who refused is not being booked again!!!!
theres not rights or wrongs, all i know is the flaming place is doing my nut in!!!
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
sounds like your manager is not being very supportive. At the end of the day hospitals are 24/7 and as long as you have done what you can the other shift picks it up. The amount of time I picked stuff up from previous shift and we all just got on with it
Specializes in Stroke Rehab, Elderly, Rehab. Ortho.
sounds like your manager is not being very supportive. At the end of the day hospitals are 24/7 and as long as you have done what you can the other shift picks it up. The amount of time I picked stuff up from previous shift and we all just got on with it
I agree...it is 24/7 - I have to pick up a lot of stuff from the late shift and most times dont bat an eye lid.....as regards to bed baths our 2 Nursing auxillaries (CNA's) are expected to do 3 baths each. (when we are full we are at 23), the day shift are "supposed" to do as many as possible and the evening shift do whats left...we find it strange that the night shift are the only ones that are told we have a certain amount to do but the other shifts just do as many as they can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i dont blame you for being unhappy with it all it would p*** me off too!
Specializes in renal,peritoneal dialysis, medicine.
well all i know is that i always do my best and if im the nurse in charge i try my best to make sure all the work they expect is done, i dont know what else they expect really, after all if someone wont move any faster in the morning and get on with the work then what am i to do??
im posting this about an hour and a half before my nightshift and i know it will be a battle in the morning as im working with an excellent hca, but the staff nurse, well, least said really.......
I've heard some nurses tell patients with a little humor - you're not in the hospital to get rest - you're there to be closely monitored, to have tests run, etc -
ayla2004, ASN, RN
782 Posts
Funny isn't there a law about nursing home residents that they are not to be woken and bathed early in the morning for the conveince of staffing ratios. i know wards are different and with everything else an early shift can be hard going and its great when a few are bathed, however 1/3 seems a lot.