Daily??? Newer nurses need "stand up" help!

[onconurseRT]

I am posting this on behalf of myself and 2 other "newer" nurses at work. We need HELP!

I received report on my patient load at 0700 and I work 8 hours. I received a report that a patients "drainage tube needs to flushed "daily"" and the night nurse reports to me that it was being done at 2000 in the evening since the patient has been on the unit for days and it is written that way on the report kardex. NOW, in between A THOUSAND "daily" medications, doctors rounding during the day, radiology/lab and pharmacy interruptions all with that important "patient AM care" that the RN's do during the day, I must have not RAN MY BUTT off enough in the 8 hours, I did not get time to do the "drain flush".

I got a tongue lashing from a PM nurse at 1500 that "daily" means only 7-3pm. She was bent out of shape :angryfire and states "well.. I am not doing it... when you are done here you can go do it yourself.. you should not leave that for me to do!" :angryfire She was rude for the rest of the report and ordered me to stay late and do the procedure:o I got up and I did it. I felt as though my 8 hours of hard work was for nothing and to be honest I felt lower than dirt. NOW, this is a trend on my unit, evidently. I spoke with another newer nurse who has had the same issue. Pm's receive the same # of patients day shift does, with a significantly less amount of meds to pass, no AM care, few doctors, and minimal procedures. Another new nurse on the unit is experiencing the same attitudes and we feel like we are just being "pushed over". I can't always give a "nice, pretty patient package with a little bow on top" in which nothing else needs to be done that day.

How can we stand up for ourselves?

Does "daily" only mean 7-3pm?

What is wrong with saying "I did these 10 things for this patient, I could not get to 1"? I rarely leave anything and will stay 1-2 hours late taking off routine orders written at 1430-1530 by late rounding MD's just so I don't have to listen to the PM shift complain. How can I (we) get out of this cycle? We feel like we are powerless because we do not have the "experience" or NERVES to tell them.... "this is a 24 hour hospital facility.. I can't do everything."

Please help us!

Thanks

:uhoh21:

[HappyNurse2005, RN]

What kind of a tube is it, out of curiosity?

Check w/ your manager to see if your facility has a policy on this. Maybe it really is only on 7-3, in which case, you should discuss changing policy.

[jillyk*rn]

i'm sure that it was an important task - of course - but like i say...that is why nursing is 24 hours.

[steelcityrn, RN]

I do not care about the drain tube procedure as I do with the rude behavior. I would talk to your N.M. and let him/her know how you were treated. Thats really ashame, your still a new nurse and need support. There is nothing wrong with showing you the floor procedure book, explaining to you that it was your responsibility, then I would have probably said that I would do it this time, as not to make you work overtime to do it. The next time you would make sure it was done. But to just treat you like crap is wrong. Just make sure you report it, they may be watching this person anyway.

[vloho]

You can talk untill you'er blue in the face. If we don't have support we just get written up, then reprimanded, mildly or not ,but cranky nurses always seem to get away with it. I wonder if that's the reason for the so called nursing shortage. Good Luck!

[vamedic4, EMT-P]

As I have worked both days and nights I can see your plight. Day nurses are (as you have stated) incredibly busy. YOu have family members, docs, procedures, labs...all of this to deal with. At night we get less...much less.

For her to treat you that way is

A. Unprofessional

B. Ignorant

C. Disrespectful

D. All of the above

The answer is obviously....D. There is really no excuse for that to happen. You have a few options -tell your manager, take her aside and explain to her that her type of attitude will not be tolerated or ...next time that happens...politely confront her in front of everyone and let her know that her attitude is unacceptable. You'd be amazed how many people just "take it"...and there's no need for it.

It's all about attitude, your attitude toward your coworkers, patients, families, et cetera. And she just needs a good swift kick in the ass.

Best of luck.

vamedic4

[Town & Country]

She was rude for the rest of the report and ordered me to stay late and do the procedure

She isn't your boss.

Don't take orders from her.

[mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP]

Daily where I work means from 0000-2359 depending on the situation. Of course where I work there is obviously a bit more teamwork than what you are working with. Nursing is open 24 hours a day......

[melanie1126]

As someone else mentioned I would check with your policy just to make sure daily doesn't mean 7-3 although *I* would think that it means sometime during the 24 period. The MD who wrote the order probably doesn't care when it's done as long as it's done once each day. If timing were important he would probably have written to flush it at a certain time. Usually on our floor we try to complete tasks like this, dressing changes etc. around the same time that it was first complete. So if it was done the first day at 2100 then night shift will try to do it the next night. However, as we all know, things happen and you sometimes just can't get to it. There are just going to be times that you have to pass things on, as will the nurse who gave you such a hard time. Many times we just can't get to everything during a shift. I will sometimes stay over to do things like this, but only if it's my choice ( and i don't have anywhere to be, am not exhausted, or if a lot of new admissions just came up and I know the next shift is going to be really busy). It's hard not to rock the boat when your new. I know I'm there also.

[lsyorke, RN]

Daily means daily!! As long as the procedure is scheduled it doesn't have to be on the 7-3 shift. This is one of my BIG pet peeves!!! I've had nurses get a patient at 7p with a daily IV antibiotic order and time it for 10am... starting the next morning!!! Daily means once a day... the time is set when the first dose, or procedure is done!!!

[zacarias, ASN, RN]

I have never ever treated a nurse that way. I know that the nurse giving me report has had a busy shift and if they mention that they didn't do something, I will plan to do it on my shift. It's THAT simple. That nurse that said that to you wears a "Proud to Eat My Young" T-shirt.

Please talk to your NM, especially if this happens to another of you. The attitude of that nurse will only hurt morale. You getting support and feeling like you are doing well is THE most important and if you state how you feel without blaming anyone, I'm sure the NM will listen.

[not now, RN]

When are your daily treatments done? At my facility all treatments are done in the morning, this includes drains. I work 3-11 so the number of treatments I do is few and far between, generally only PRN or the random "elevate legs three times a day" type order (11-7 only have to change the dressings on GT's). In fact, the AM nurse I come in after is so adament about doing treatments on "her" patients she'll change the time so she can do it.

Maybe she's so used to not doing treatments she simply doesn't want to do it.

I have found that when some nurses have been at the same facility for a while they tend to have routines and they don't like the routine disrupted. When I came on to my current facility I got tons of grief for doing things a little differently. Seven months later I have learned the routine of the truly high strung nurses (thankfully there's only two) and make sure everything is in order so I can get out of there quickly without having to hear a lecture!

If you want to stand up to them feel free. You may have a battle on your hands. Pick your battles wisely.