Call bells! I am beginning to think call bells are the worst invention in the world.
Ring, ring ,ring.
Today, the call bells were crazy. Our secretary kept track. We had 97 call bells in 2 1/2 hours from 26 pts. Several retreat offenders. You know the ones. They ring, you tell them you will be there shorty, 30 secs later, they ring again, and again and again. Look lady, my kegs are short, I simply cannot get from the nursing station to you in 30 secs.
One pt keeps ringing because he's lonely. One just puts her finger and the button and holds it until her nurse gets there.
One pt rang to have her table cleaned off.
Good thing I wasn't playing the drinking game, one drink for every call bell. I wouldn't sober up until Xmas!
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
The thread is not about these valid reasons to put on one's call bell. It is about those who ring incessantly when their physical needs have been met. i say physical needs because I do believe that patients who are on the light non-stop do have unmet psychological needs which nurses fail to address. It is not rocket science. Get a psych consult. Can't be that hard to do but it seems like it is for many nurses. And nurses do not have time to sit and chat with patients. Thanks to wacko managers who have cut staff to bare bones levels, that is all patients get is bare bones care. I think maybe the managers who hide out in their offices all day might like to go to the patient rooms and chat with them. But that would never do. They might get their suits dirty. What if a patient vomited on them? I recall being a patient and I could not reach the emesis basin. By the time the nurse came, I could not hold back anymore and I vomited on her shoes. Not intentionally. I actually felt really bad, but you would think a nurse would know to leave an emesis basin within reach of a postop patient, but apparently the nurses on the ward didn't know that basic bit of patient care.
A nurse cannot just order a psych consult. That has to come from the provider. And the providers really don't get it -- a psych consult because he's annoying the nurses? No way! Not unless he sufficiently annoys his physician.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
wow-
all anyone said was that call lights have been abused. we all know it happens.
no one said we should never answer call lights or that some people should not have them at all, or have their needs attended to.
The whole thing comes down to we. as nurses, are not allowed to set boundaries for those patients who are using the call light 60 times in a shift, etc. It is those patients who ABUSE the light 8 times an hour, or with you standing right there in the room with them, or having unreasonable requests "scratch my testicles" ( true story, and they didnt use the proper word either) who cry wolF ,for the honest people who really need help ( not "get my family some sandwiches and drinks")
So I guess this discussion is a moot point.
This discussion started out as a nurse venting about the inappropriate use of call lights. Then we had all sorts of "uber compassionate" non-nurses telling nurses what their job was and how they were in the wrong to vent about such a thing. Then some actual nurses piled on, and apparently they are much more compassionate than the OP and those of us who agreed with her.
I think the word "compassion" is used like a bludgeon these days.
Well, probably at home with their feet up on the couch watching TV;)
No, seriously. They are only on the floor during the day shift, and they are probably only visible for about 20 minutes. Charge lately now has a patient assignment or is off the floor with another pt that needed monitoring for a test. They usually don't get involved in that stuff unless a physical threat has been made, and then we can try to call security, who usually tells us that they are busy with some other physical altercation in ED or something
Ugh.
Exactly. What exactly do the managers do? It is certainly not taking responsibility for their ward. It is certainly not sticking up for their staff. It is certainly not helping patients and families. Can someone out there please tell me what they do? It is clear what they don't do.
A nurse cannot just order a psych consult. That has to come from the provider. And the providers really don't get it -- a psych consult because he's annoying the nurses? No way! Not unless he sufficiently annoys his physician.
I guess I have been very fortunate to work with doctors who take nurses' suggestions seriously and who work as a team with the nurses.
I have no doubt. I also have no doubt that you know yours forward and backwards and will spout them upon request. I'm telling you, that in certain circumstances I CAN'T tell you the names of nurses, in other cases, I would choose not to give you that information. You can find it out elsewhere.
You'll have to go above me, because I would not provide them to you. Hell, I don't even KNOW the last names of some of my coworkers and I would not ask on your behalf. Your posts here make me say that unequivocally QUOTE
Your State Board of Registered Nursing web site has information about the legal responsibilities of licensed nurses, and about the role of the State Board of Registered Nursing in protecting the public.
I have no doubt. I also have no doubt that you know yours forward and backwards and will spout them upon request. I'm telling you, that in certain circumstances I CAN'T tell you the names of nurses, in other cases, I would choose not to give you that information. You can find it out elsewhere.QUOTE
BuckyBadgerRN, I am well aware that there are obviously certain legal circumstances that may come into play; but I was not addressing those types of situations. Yes, I understand that various laws apply under certain circumstances.
We are not asking nurses to sit and chat... hospital aren't geared for social interaction... all we ask is that they stand still when talking to patients and not disappear while in full flow.
You haven't a lot of empathy for the patients obviously...... perhaps you should go back to school and maybe they can reveal my last sentence to you.
You aren't even a nurse, and your advising me to go back to school? I just left it less than 2 years ago!
You want me to stop multitasking? Tell all my patients who fully believe they are my only patient to stop using their call lights like a thumb exerciser. Maybe when people stop expecting to be waited on hand and foot, nurses will be able to actually nurse.
We are not asking nurses to sit and chat... hospital aren't geared for social interaction... all we ask is that they stand still when talking to patients and not disappear while in full flow.
90 % of the time that I am doing that is because I have one ear on the current situation and one ear on my:
high falls patient who wont stay put
my chest pain patient
my confused pt who might decide to walk out the front door.
wondering what that thump was
wondering if the phone ringing is the doc FINALLY calling me back.
wondering if pharmacy has brought up my cardizem gtt.
You get the point I hope.
I am not here for social reasons.
Ugh. this makes me very angry.
WE DONT HAVE TIME ANYMORE TO TALK TO PATIENTS!!!!!!!
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
A nurse cannot just order a psych consult. That has to come from the provider. And the providers really don't get it -- a psych consult because he's annoying the nurses? No way! Not unless he sufficiently annoys his physician.