First two weeks on the floor...

[KyPinkRN]

I have just finished my second week on a busy med/surg floor. We primarily take patients with wounds and wound vacs, but also general stuff too. Mostly diabetic/obese/geriatric. It seems like everybody on our 36 bed unit has a bit of mental haze about them, not confused all the time but just enough to make caring for them a challenge. In my clinicals at school we just had one patient so I didn't really have to learn how to make a polite exit to get things done... I am finding this to be difficult. I had a lady today that would have completely filled my day up with tasks if I had let her. I wound up trying to avoid her room when possible because it seemed like every time I went in there I spent a half hour or so... you just don't really have that kind of time. I can't imagine having her and four or five other patients on my own yet. Other than that I have had an awesome time at work and my preceptor is the best! Share your first day/weeks on the job...

[shellsgogreen]

i would be honest, if there is nothing urgent that she requires, tell her you are in the middle of something right now and you will check back with her shortly, or maybe delegate some of the tasks to the aid (page her over the intercom if you see she gets stuck too:idea:)

[twarlik]

What sort of things were you doing for her? Were they things like fluffing her pillow and filling her water pitcher, or more serious tasks?

I've found that those "time consumers" often benefit from having me make strict hourly rounds. I tell them when I will be back and what I will be bringing with me when I return (pain meds, fresh coffee, etc). Once we develop trust, they stop calling so much and are no longer consuming my time. I put them on my schedule rather than the other way around.

Good luck!

Todd

[KyPinkRN]

What sort of things were you doing for her? Were they things like fluffing her pillow and filling her water pitcher, or more serious tasks?

I've found that those "time consumers" often benefit from having me make strict hourly rounds. I tell them when I will be back and what I will be bringing with me when I return (pain meds, fresh coffee, etc). Once we develop trust, they stop calling so much and are no longer consuming my time. I put them on my schedule rather than the other way around.

Good luck!

Todd

I do try to follow a schedule and see everybody at least once an hour... but this particular patient kept coming up with task after task... like fluffing her pillows, getting this and that... I wound up spending like a half hour in her room everytime I went in. It was so bad that my preceptor had to come and rescue me a couple of times... I did the same for her too.