Chores

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Med/Surg.

So I am working on a floor that for 65+ patients. We have 34 beds are almost always full and have 5-7 nurses and 3-4 techs a night. We get assigned "chores" like stocking med room, kitchen, emptying trash etc. However, we are a huge hospital, and have 24 hout housekeeping staff. Our unit manager also expects us the sweep and mop the floors. Tell me this isn't the norm. How infuritating it is to me when housekeeping is up by our elevators snacking, napping, amd socializing while we are doing their job! Please enlighten me on this. This is my first nursing job so I have no comparison.

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Oh my! I can't even imagine.

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Your management has got their priorities sickeningly twisted.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

yeah, sweeping/mopping floors seems like a tad much. All of it does

really.

We have "chores" at night on my floor, but they are strictly nursing care

related... stocking the IV trays, checking the crash cart, checking the

blanket warmer... refrigerators...

No, it's not the norm.

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I can't imagine you'd be meeting any of the recommendations or guidelines the Center for Disease Control has for Environmental Infection Control in the Health Care Facility?

This sounds like something from a improverished poorly developed county!

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So I am working on a floor that for 65+ patients. We have 34 beds are almost always full and have 5-7 nurses and 3-4 techs a night. We get assigned "chores" like stocking med room, kitchen, emptying trash etc. However, we are a huge hospital, and have 24 hout housekeeping staff. Our unit manager also expects us the sweep and mop the floors. Tell me this isn't the norm. How infuritating it is to me when housekeeping is up by our elevators snacking, napping, amd socializing while we are doing their job! Please enlighten me on this. This is my first nursing job so I have no comparison.

We stock the med room, check the crash carts, etc. I would NOT mop the floors. That's ridiculous.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

If I was told to mop the floor, sweep, or empty the trash, I would call housekeeping to do so and document it in the medical record. Then I would not mop the floor, sweep, or empty the trash. If noone showed up to complete the task in an hour I would contact the supervisor of the cleaning department and document that in the medical record.I would not do any of the above tasks. When I was asked why it wasn't done, I would the show the higher up the documentation and say that I passed the message along to the appropriate staff and the supervisor of the appropriate staff and I am not sure what happened.

If this happened a couple times and it was consistent among staff members, the problem would go away.

Band together. Strength in numbers!

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

You can document it in the specific patient's chart. "Housekeeping called to empty the trash in patient's room (room 354)."

"Housekeeping supervisor aware that staff has not showed up the clean the shower in patient's room (room 327), although they were notified 1 hour ago by this writer that it needed attention."

Paper trails.

And then write ups.

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Let me make an experience-based guess: EVS is unionized and Nursing isn't.

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Specializes in Oncology.

Stocking the med room is a normal expectation for nurses. I even emptied garbages in patients' rooms on nightshift, or the aids did, but we didn't have 24/7 housekeeping. Emptying the garbage prevented patients from being disturbed by an extra person at night.

But mopping and sweeping? That's insanity. I never even had access to that equipment. OSHA says you need to be trained on the safety of any chemicals you're using. I'm guessing you haven't been trained on whatever you're mopping with. And I wouldn't want you dealing with dirty floors and then doing a dressing change on an immunocompromised patient. That's just insanity.

Stocking a med room or replacing a garbage liner takes minutes. To focus on actually doing a good job sweeping and mopping from start to finish is a solid period of time you're taken away from patient care.

You need to have a good heart to heart with your manager about thIs. If that gets you no where, go above his or her head. If that gets you no where, find a new job.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
We stock the med room, check the crash carts, etc. I would NOT mop the floors. That's ridiculous.

^^^ My sentiments exactly. :up:

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Yes that's crazy, I really want to know why your upper management thought it made sense to have the nurses mop the floors.

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