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!
And the downside is? If only people actually USED their call lights for chest pain. No, they suffer in silence all night and then tell the cardiologist in the morning that "the nurse didn't do anything for my chest pain." And someone who can't breathe probably isn't going to be using the call light . . . .
Or I'm delayed answering the pain and SOB call lights because I'm running around answering call lights to pour water and turn off lights and get extra blankets.
We're audited on "purposeful rounding" and our use of the phrase "Is there anything else I can do for you? I have the time." Since we've begun going around telling everyone about all this free time we have on our hands (which is such a brazen lie), our call light usage has risen exponentially. But, TPTB know best...
. You don't have a right for undivided attention, and you sure as heck don't have a right to distract me from care and risk another patient's safety .
Umm.yes, they HAVE been led to believe they have a right for undivided attention, customer service, etc. Thanks, PAY FOR PERFORMANCE medicare and this abomination you have turned our hospitals into.
Umm.yes, they HAVE been led to believe they have a right for undivided attention, customer service, etc. Thanks, PAY FOR PERFORMANCE medicare and this abomination you have turned our hospitals into.
Its probably a good program to fix social security, since satisfied patients are dead patients.
Where I work, everyone is expected to answer call lights promptly; RN, LPN, or CNA. We delegate what we can but if that was our MO we could count on creating more friction between the nurses and CNAs.
Not in the emergency department I work at [emoji18][emoji18][emoji18]
OK, everyone calm down. NOADLS's tongue is always firmly planted in his cheek.
Well 1) there are alarms and 2) I don't know the technical term for the machine but it's at all the nurse's stations in the ED and they notify us of each patient's vitals
Well 1) there are alarms and 2) I don't know the technical term for the machine but it's at all the nurse's stations in the ED and they notify us of each patient's vitals
Most posts regarding call bells are referencing a unit or floor, not the ED. And of course, there's the fact that a patient must actually be connected to a machine in order for it to register anything in the nurses' station.
Most posts regarding call bells are referencing a unit or floor, not the ED. And of course, there's the fact that a patient must actually be connected to a machine in order for it to register anything in the nurses' station.
Are patients not constantly monitored in other units as well? Was not aware otherwise.
blondy2061h, MSN, RN
1 Article; 4,094 Posts
Or I'm delayed answering the pain and SOB call lights because I'm running around answering call lights to pour water and turn off lights and get extra blankets.