Why do I have to call lab to remind them of timed blood draws being drawn, well, on time?
Why do I have to call dietary to make sure the ordered supplements are on the tray?
Why do I have to call pharmacy to refill the Pyxis?
Why do I have to call supply to tell them that they smooshed two types of IVF together in the supply Pyxis and they need to sort it out?
A STAT imaging call to radiology is our job, but why do I have to follow up 30 minutes later?
Even if I'm busy, I have to check orders every 30 minutes because STAT orders are put in without a courtesy call to the nurse!
I wish, as an orientation exercise, every department of the healthcare team was required to shadow a nurse for a day. I think many eyes would be opened.
I used to be assigned the patients that we wanted to leave AMA. I wasn't mean to them, I just didn't mind signing the AMA forms. Some nurses saw AMA as a failure. I saw it as giving the patient what they wanted, and in most cases, needed.
Lol me too. When they say AMA I say wait one minute. I go grab some gauze, tape to remove the IV, and the AMA form. And I'm paging the doctor to let them know. I usual get a crazy look and oh I changed my mind. I say we can't force you to stay here. Your grown and here are the consequence you may face if you leave and I read the AMA form.
Lol me too. When they say AMA I say wait one minute. I go grab some gauze, tape to remove the IV, and the AMA form. And I'm paging the doctor to let them know. I usual get a crazy look and oh I changed my mind. I say we can't force you to stay here. Your grown and here are the consequence you may face if you leave and I read the AMA form.
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Same here! I can remember a resident getting all hot and bothered because someone wanted to leave, and they were irritated with me because I wouldn't "do something." They're grown, competent (at least as far as the law is concerned) and able to make decisions for themselves. It's not my job to block the door or beg them to stay.
I had a pt threaten to sign himself out if I didn't get him a private room. Considering he got the last empty bed in the hospital, this was not going to happen!
I just said "Ok" got the form and started to get ready to take out his IV. An IV that took the ER nurses 5 attempts to get in. He said " what are you doing?" All panicky. I just looked at himself innocently and said " you can't go home with an IV in." He stayed.
Money....it has to do with money that is spent on training them for hazmat spills and then they would have to pay them more.
It's all about the money.
My mother is a housekeeper and until recently made MINIMUM WAGE. I would understand her reservations to handle blood and other fluids....especially when they're told the nursing staff is supposed to do it.
You know, I remember when I was in nursing school, someone I know who had a daughter who was in and out of hospitals told me that she felt she could realize empathize with nurses because she used to be a waitress and she felt like it was very similar. At the time (I was a senior nursing student), I thought the comparison was a little insulting though I kind of understood after she explained that waitresses, like nurses, are on the front line so they get yelled at/blamed for things they cannot control. And then after working as a nurse for just under a year I FULLY understood what she meant one day... my patient who had had surgery for an arachnoid cyst had developed a CSF leak and was on-call to go the OR. He was made NPO that morning because we had no idea when the OR would be able to fit him in. His surgeon had several other surgeries that day and couldn't predict low long they would take either. If I recall correctly, one was a brainstem tumor operation... obviously a very complicated surgery. Anyway, Dad wasn't too happy that Jr had to be NPO and Jr was only 4 or 5 years old so after a few hours, he really started complaining about wanting to eat. So, who is there for Dad to yell at but the good old bedside nurse? Clearly I control the OR schedules and can make the Chief of Neurosurgery move faster when operating on another child's brainstem... All day, Dad screamed at me about how we were torturing his child by keeping him NPO and how if I couldn't give him a time for surgery right.this.second. he was going to feed the child.
I've always been told that waitresses make good nurses! They are good at prioritizing, juggling multiple tables "patients" and make sure their customers needs are being met!
Really? At my facility they do it all. Just the other night I left the code room with a stretcher leaving red tracks on the floor, there was so much blood in that room.... And housekeeping cleaned the lot of it. I have other stuff to do, and that is their job. Really, what is the point of hiring a janitor if they won't clean???
You have the cream of the crop then.
I work for the same health authority as you and our housekeeping staff refuse to deal with bodily fluids. Of any type. They won't even remove the O2 tubing from the walls.
They will come out and tell the desk that there is xyz that needs cleaning and nurses have to go and deal with it.
I work for the same health authority as you and our housekeeping staff refuse to deal with bodily fluids. Of any type. They won't even remove the O2 tubing from the walls.
They will come out and tell the desk that there is xyz that needs cleaning and nurses have to go and deal with it.
I should correct myself. They do not remove suction, full urinals/bedpans/commodes, or pelvic/suture trays. If it is on the floor, however, that's their job, and they do it. Blood, urine, feces and sputum.
Nope not up here in the capital region. Body fluids on the floor belong to the nurses.[/quote']
Hmmm, I am having a hard time recalling any incidences of clean up time during my time in Edmonton... I believe you, but stand by my opinion that this is a waste of a nurse's time. Glad our housekeeping is good about it. Oh, and also vomit: "housekeeping to main waiting room STAT" 'cause we sure aren't going to hold up triage to wipe it up.
There is a particular discipline where I work that likes to talk about how nursing is lazy and not compassionate. One of two grand dames of that discipline combed out and put my patients hair in a pony tail today. It was nice for the patient, and I thanked her. She gave me a look that could kill. In her mind, she was the bestest, most compassionate-est person in the entire hospital. 'Cause look what SHE did that NURSING didn't. That's not compassion; that's self-aggrandizement with a healthy dose of RN envy.
Was it PT? Because I have been told "oh we do stuff like that so we can charge for it." No idea what that means, but just saying.
I had a pt threaten to sign himself out if I didn't get him a private room. Considering he got the last empty bed in the hospital, this was not going to happen!
I just said "Ok" got the form and started to get ready to take out his IV. An IV that took the ER nurses 5 attempts to get in. He said " what are you doing?" All panicky. I just looked at himself innocently and said " you can't go home with an IV in." He stayed.
Yep, when I'm charge and any nurse comes up to me saying one of their patients is threatening to leave AMA my response is "hold on, I'll print out the form." We ain't playing that game. Feel free to sign out and go back to our ER and start over again, I'll make sure you're not admitted back to my floor. Or go annoy some other hospital, I really don't care.
Not only is everything the nurses' responsibility...EVERYTHING is our fault.
one time I discharged a patient who was being sent home with a PRN tramadol order. Although not a narcotic, it is treated as such in most pharmacies. Anyway, the MD sent the patient's home going medications via fax to a pharmacy. One of them was tramadol. Patient went to pick them up and pharmacy refused to give them to the patient because it needed a doctors signature for it.
who gets in trouble for this???...you guessed it, ME!!!
Apparently...I, THE NURSE should have been the one to know this. I, the nurse should have been the one to verify that tramadol could be sent via fax to this pharmacy. And on top of it, this MD didn't have a license to prescribe narcotics. So I get reprimanded for that too. How was I supposed to know this MD (a resident by the way) didn't have the ability to sign for narcotics??? Since when is it my job to know that? I shouldn't have to check on the patients pharmacies policies. If we send it via fax, I would expect that you would CALL to tell us to send a written/signed form rather than wait for the patient to get there.
EVERYTHING is the nurse's fault.
The Lab people make me the most upset (sorry for those who work in lab). but I'm getting really sick of them calling me 50 times a day. "Do you really want this PTT drawn at 5:30? he has a Potassium at 3:30 so can we just use that 3:30 blood?" NO!!! THEY ARE BOTH TIMED!! Do your job and draw it when I put in the order. You don't need to know why, just do it.
Or when lab calls and tells me that I didn't screw the cap on tight enough and the urine spilled. Really...? Because it has a LOCK on it so it doesn't spill. Why don't you just admit that you spilt the urine instead of attempting to put the blame on me?? I'm not an idiot.
I cannot stand getting a call from Lab. They probably despise calling me.
They will ask us like "Do you really want a creatinine? One was drawn a few hours ago"....do you think i'm the only one taking care of this patient??? If you REALLY want that question answered, try calling the doctor who ordered it. I didn't order the Cr. so YOU call them if your dying to know the answer to that..
Ok, that is my rant. Thank you for allowing me to do that :)
DoeRN
941 Posts
Lol me too. When they say AMA I say wait one minute. I go grab some gauze, tape to remove the IV, and the AMA form. And I'm paging the doctor to let them know. I usual get a crazy look and oh I changed my mind. I say we can't force you to stay here. Your grown and here are the consequence you may face if you leave and I read the AMA form.
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