Published
Does your nurses station ever get cleaned?
In the hospital I currently work and the previous one, I have never seen housekeeping come into the nurses station to clean. Well, maybe a couple of times to mop (twice in 3 years at only one of the hospitals). But that's it. At both places, you would not believe the dust that accumulates behind the computers and racks where papers and such are kept! Being allergic to dust, each week I have to clean the area where I do my charting. Let me tell you, it gets nasty!
Also, night shift is responsible for cleaning the messes made in the break room, cleaning out the refrigerators, etc.
Plumbing problems...
The other night, one of my patient's commodes was not flushing. I asked the CCT to call Environmental Services. They told her to call the Supervisor. The Supervisor said to call Environmental Services. Finally, I made that last phone call myself. Environmental Services told me to find a plunger and they didn't have one. WHAT?? I told them, "look, I am not a plumber and don't have time to be one right now either. I have a patient who has been given medication to clean him out for a procedure in the morning and will be needing his commode all night so someone needs to get up here ASAP and fix it." I also informed them that the Supervisor had said to call them. Come to find out from another nurse, it's pretty much the norm for us to have to use a plunger when commodes back up. I told her I had a plumber come out to my house a week ago to replace some stems in a bathtub faucet that cost $300-something that only took an hour to do. The cost for labor was $225. So, if they're expecting me to add plumbing to my list of duties, I'll gladly accept the same pay as a plumber!!:icon_mrgreen:
Is there anything else you can add to the list of things you never thought would be a part of a nursing job?
CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN
3,734 Posts
I won't even go into what some of us do in my small LTC facility (50 beds small). LOL. I will tell you that I know how to restart the generator and boiler....the things you learn on an 11-7 shift.