DO NOT pass on the poop

[durantetodalanoche]

Hi gang! I've been an RN for almost 3 years now. My first two years was spent in a medical clinic and now a brand new ER nurse. My training has been going well and I've been confident with my progress in the ER until I made the huge mistake of leaving poop cleaning for the next nurse on shift. Call me an idiot but I had no idea that doing so was a NO, NO! I'm certain that it was the headline of the day. In the clinic, I was often delegated to deal with enemas and manual disimpactions so it didn't seem like a big deal to me to inform the next nurse 5 minutes before my shift was over that changing was needed. Following that incident, I was told that passing on the poop is not proper nursing etiquette. Call it a case of common sense not so common. I'm thoroughly embarressed and now that I think about it, I can understand that it was not cool for me to do that. I did speak with that nurse and apologized and cleared the air. But still...if I was delegated that task by a nurse whose 12 hour shift was just about over, I would gladly do so with no complaint. I would appreciate any thoughts anyone might have about this and any other common nursing etiquette no-no's that would help me survive my new position in the ER. Thanks in advance!

[mind_body_soul RN]

I just got to work and was in the middle of receiving report. A resident sitting up at the nurses station so obviously had just had diarrhea and she was confused, it was all up her back, all on her hands, she was smearing it everywhere. The nurse leaving hastily wrapped up report, stood to leave, said "well, have a good night." Nuh-uh, no, you don't. We cleaned up that poor sweet lady together. I make it clear to my coworkers that I don't tolerate having their responsibilities dumped onto me (literally or figuratively), especially as it pertains to resident comfort or safety.

[duskyjewel]

"Irregardless" is not a word.

[mind_body_soul RN]

Other no-no's of nursing etiquette that I have encountered at work and in clinicals: leaving empty fluid bags hanging, not medicating for pain before end-of-shift when possible, leaving a draining wound open to soil the bed because you didn't have time to put a dressing on after the resident's shower, telling me about a change in status in report then telling me that "you might wanna notify the doctor about that", not tidying up the nurses station/med room after a tornado presumably swept through it on your shift, not stocking meds in the med cart that were used up on your shift, telling me in report that a resident is doing fine when they were discharged yesterday(!) I could go on forever

[DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN]

I just got to work and was in the middle of receiving report. A resident sitting up at the nurses station so obviously had just had diarrhea and she was confused, it was all up her back, all on her hands, she was smearing it everywhere. The nurse leaving hastily wrapped up report, stood to leave, said "well, have a good night." Nuh-uh, no, you don't. We cleaned up that poor sweet lady together. I make it clear to my coworkers that I don't tolerate having their responsibilities dumped onto me (literally or figuratively), especially as it pertains to resident comfort or safety.

This happened to me about a week ago. I work NOC at an assisted living, and I had done my 5am checks on all of the residents (including checking briefs on those who wore them). At 5:58 (we are off at 6), a resident came to the common room and had diarrhea standing there (she was clean at 5:15 when I checked on her).

My facility has a ZERO tolerance policy on staying late. We are required to clock out no later than 5 minutes after the end of our shift. I help the on coming staff get this resident back to their room, help set up for the shower and then I had to leave. I do not like "dumping" (no pun intended) work onto the next shift and I felt bad about it, but I can't risk my job. What other options do we have? And trust me when I tell you explaining the situation to management won't fly, too many have abused the system and the residents are the ones who suffer.

[Guest234]

NEVER pass the poop! Would make me wonder what else you are neglecting... Lesson learned- apologize and move on, and never pass the poop, puke or **** again

[SilverOwl]

Other no-no's of nursing etiquette that I have encountered at work and in clinicals: leaving empty fluid bags hanging, not medicating for pain before end-of-shift when possible, leaving a draining wound open to soil the bed because you didn't have time to put a dressing on after the resident's shower, telling me about a change in status in report then telling me that "you might wanna notify the doctor about that", not tidying up the nurses station/med room after a tornado presumably swept through it on your shift, not stocking meds in the med cart that were used up on your shift, telling me in report that a resident is doing fine when they were discharged yesterday(!) I could go on forever

wow, that last one's a doozy... thanks for this, it's a good list of what NOT to do for us newbs!!

[mind_body_soul RN]

SilverOwl I am a newbie myself but I feel so frustrated when coworkers leave stuff to me that they should have done. If it was due to the occasional chaotic shift I could understand, to an extent. But when I walk in the door and the previous nurse is sitting browsing Facebook, and then tries to bail on hot mess, I get mad. Some of them dilly-dally around gossiping after change-of-shift, racking up OT, but won't stay a few minutes to clean up after themselves. I just wish people were more considerate and professional.

[MassED, BSN, RN]

"Irregardless" is not a word.

Irregardless - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

[MassED, BSN, RN]

ok, people! I think OP has gotten the point!

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Irregardless - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

It's a sorry, redundant excuse for a word, and I shan't be caught using it, irregardless of the circumstances.

PS: the spell checker just flagged "irregardless" as not being a word and is trying to correct it to "regardless".

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

If the patient realizes that they are about to have a BM, then perhaps putting the patient on the bedpan may have been a better option. Again, if a patient is "not quite done" they know that they need to urinate or have a bm, so I would have attempted a bedpan, or to get the patient to the commode if the patient could get up and transfer.

The bottom line is that this has little to do with nursing etiquette, and has everything to do with patient care and practice.

And dignity for the patient. Nobody wants to smell like poop.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

And dignity for the patient. Nobody wants to smell like poop.

This...I've laid in poop before...I was the pt.