Come Play the Build a Better Hospital Game!

[UM Review RN]

OK nurses. You're it. Name just one way you'd build a better hospital. The only rules are:

expense is not an object

and

HIPAA and JCAHO have already given us carte blanche to all of it.

I'll go first. I want to be able to monitor confused patients by looking at the screen of my PDA as I do other tasks.

[talaxandra]

Bigger bathrooms, wider doorways, and enough power points for the multitude of equipment we have now - on both sides of the bed, so you don't have to contort yourself to get at them!

We have ratios, so I'm happy with staffing here :)

[diablo]

How about lighting where it's needed!!

[blue chips]

All nurses on the floor should have no more than 4pts.

Dr. should print all their orders.

coworkers working as a team.

[dcarriv]

Cut down on the meetings for nurse managers and have anyone who is an rn have to work the floor at least 3 times per month once for each shift and not as charge nurse. make them experience reality for a change. Also all executives should be trained as nursing assistants and make them work the floor as well.

[rnmi2004]

Thinking of the student nurses and the aides, how about a dynamap in every room?

[nursbee04]

Cut down on the meetings for nurse managers and have anyone who is an rn have to work the floor at least 3 times per month once for each shift and not as charge nurse. make them experience reality for a change. Also all executives should be trained as nursing assistants and make them work the floor as well.

I experience reality EVERY night :chuckle . I am charge plus a full load of pt's. Last night I had seven pts total care, no aides, just me.

I think that the nurse manager should pull one shift per schedule on each shift. That along with paying nurses for all they are worth, decent ratios, legible handwriting and 24 hour pharmacy would be great.

[mattsmom81]

I like the 'reality check' for managers idea. How about including ALL managers in this including upper level EO's. Let them experience a walk on the wild side.

[palesarah]

in my perfect hospital, room service (dietary) would be available round the clock. The cafeteria and room service are only open 7am-7pm. I know most people aren't looking for full meals in the middle of the night but it would be nice to be able to offer a hungry new mom a real meal after doing all that work! Sometimes toast, boxed lunches, cereal or crackers and peanut butter sound good but more often they're asking for takeout menus or sending someone out for McDonalds.

Even if they just kept the grill open with deli sandwiches, burgers and fries and such- even if I had to go down to the cafeteria myself and pick up my pt's meal- it would be sso much better.

Oh, and 24 hour pharmacy.

[edeverges]

i think the work environment i work in could be improved if the administrator would come on the unit and go into the patient's rooms and see was is done for each patient, talk to the patients ( if possible) and their family ( if available), and make sure all supplies, equipment needed is working and available. an talk to staff and accept their recommendations.

[jetsetter]

I have one, If a staff member calls off less than 8 hours prior to their shift, they HAVE to find their own replacement!

[Elenaster]

Have an acuity criteria that designates those that are critically ill to have 1:1 nursing care and staff for a float RN when the unit is full.

Also, having plenty of WORKING equipment readily available.

Glucometers for every bedside in the ICU since every freakin body is now on an insulin gtt.

[talaxandra]

I really like the idea of having managers on the floor, to remind them a) what it's really like, and b) exactly how much time all that paperwork takes to complete. Time that, oh I don't know,could be spent caring for patients!

I'd also like a tagging system, like anti-shoplifting devices, that could be attached to confused patients, so you can tell when they leave the floor.