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!
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!!!!!!!
what world do you live in?????
sincerely ,fried nurse
That is why the lonely patients need psych consults. I don't think psychologically healthy people ring call bells when the nurse is standing in front of them. We don't have time to be all things to all patients, to meet all their unmet needs. That is why there is a health care team. I wish we did a better job at educating the public about our role. Where I live there are Tv ads from the nurses union in which they depict nurses saying what they don't do, not what they do. No wonder the public is confused. I was confused watching the ads and I am a 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.
You are clearly clueless about what it is to actually work in the acute care envoronment. Work as a nurse, then give us your input.
In my world, it's pretty great if your only need is needing someone to sit and chat with you because you're anxious and lonely. You're the least sick person in my assignment, probably getting good discharged tomorrow, and unfortunately the bottom of my priority list.
Hopefully this goes without saying that my reply is a reply to all 3 of your misinformed judgemental comments. Get a clue.
I dont know about the rest of you guys , but if someone is asking me for my first and last name, and that of my coworkers, I would have to wonder why- is there a problem?I wont give out the last names of my coworkers either. They can either get it directly from that coworker, or get it thru records. Our records request is an application and takes around 1-2 weeks to get.
I am just wondering if the individuals who are saying they would demand first and last names actually provide that information up front to their patients and families.
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.
Just wondering what your occupation is since you are not a nurse as I seem to have missed that in the posts. Just curious as to how you came to this site being a non-nurse. Do you work in another health care occupation?
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!!!!!!!
what world do you live in?????
sincerely ,fried nurse
I agree with you. I wish we had the time. You know where they do have time. On the Psych ward. Nurses are paid to talk to patients there. That is a crucial part of their role. The talking therapy. That is why I suggest these needy patients need some kind of psych intervention. Maybe the docs won't listen and do the referral, but at least we can suggest it.
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!!!!!!!
what world do you live in?????
sincerely ,fried nurse
Another suggestion I have is for facilities to hire psych liaison nurses to help meet the psych needs of these patients. One hospital where I used to work did that because the psych patients were so time-consuming in the ER and the staff just didn't have the time to deal with their needs. It really helped a lot. If they can have these nurses in ER, why not on the wards. I know everyone is going to say it costs money and management will never buy into it. Which is probably true and really too bad. To me it is a win-win situation. The patients win. The staff win. But, yeah, the management will not see the value of it.
Actually, I have had pts and their family say " oh, you seem to be running around alot, don't they have anymore help?", and we've been told to never tell them we are short staffed, or someone called out, etc. And we still have to tell them "we have the time"
So I'd say even when families complain to TPTB, it doesn't help.
How ironic.
I tell them that it's true that we are short staffed and to mention that on their questionnaire that they could receive in a few weeks as management doesn't listen to us but they will listen to you.
I tell them that it's true that we are short staffed and to mention that on their questionnaire that they could receive in a few weeks as management doesn't listen to us but they will listen to you.
I like that. Unfortunately, I think many patients don't bother with the questionnaires. They are just so happy the illness experience is over they can't be bothered with it.
That is why the lonely patients need psych consults.
.
I wish we had that kind of support. we end up boarding psych pts for days awaiting inpatient because they have no beds ( they are full) this includes suicide attempts. we do get sitters for them tho.
And there is an example as stated above ( not gonna quote myself haha) of where my time WILL be spent in that patients room- for as long as it takes to get them stable. Usually involves giving a bolus, VSQ5 mins initially , then the gtt, then titrating it , along with vs q15 if stable.
I am not able to go to the other pts rooms to see if the aides are helping them. I am not able to find out that my LOL fell until someone comes and tells me. I will try my darndest to explain/answerquestions re: your procedure tomorrow, but I cant do it now
And there is an example as stated above ( not gonna quote myself haha) of where my time WILL be spent in that patients room- for as long as it takes to get them stable. Usually involves giving a bolus, VSQ5 mins initially , then the gtt, then titrating it , along with vs q15 if stable.
I am not able to go to the other pts rooms to see if the aides are helping them. I am not able to find out that my LOL fell until someone comes and tells me. I will try my darndest to explain/answerquestions re: your procedure tomorrow, but I cant do it now
And were expected to apologize for doing our job.
sheesh
Yes we are really stretched too thin. I work nights and sometimes run off my feet, yet the day nurse comes in and attacks me saying "you need to know what your HCAs are doing." Meanwhile I have clocked miles running up and down the hallways, answering call bells, giving meds, spending over an hour on the phone trying to replace sick staff, having to call 2 numbers per staff person, or they will say you never called and get the union on your case. Meanwhile they all have answering machines with 10 rings, so you sit there waiting and waiting and it finally picks up. Who answers their phone at 530 in the morning anyway? Yes so very frustrating.
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
We don't have call bells in Psych, but I can empathize with you all. My Wife Belinda is a Med-Surg Nurses and has her perspective on things.
Once in a while, our call system goes down. It's so ....sad? :Emoticon-Devil:
Several years ago, I worked MNs in a LTC Facility and the call bell junction box was in a panel in the NS. I opened it once, and found that just by disconnecting one wire, the bells stopped, but the light above the door continued flashing.
Of course I immediately reconnected the wire for the bells and went about my business as usual.
ActualNurse
382 Posts
That is why the lonely patients need psych consults. I don't think psychologically healthy people ring call bells when the nurse is standing in front of them. We don't have time to be all things to all patients, to meet all their unmet needs. That is why there is a health care team. I wish we did a better job at educating the public about our role. Where I live there are Tv ads from the nurses union in which they depict nurses saying what they don't do, not what they do. No wonder the public is confused. I was confused watching the ads and I am a nurse.