Floating to be sitters, CNAS secretaries et ..

ktwlpn, LPN · Jul 31, 2015

I would hope you are using proper PE and universal precautions,maybe changing to fresh shrubs if you get called back to your unit if you are crawling with microbes..And what percentage of pts requiring sitters are actually in isolation?....I know the special snowflake staff just HATE to be pulled but can't you buck up and be a team player?Reminds me of an episode of ER,they started pulling old nurses to the ER to get rid of them....It truly is a waste of expensive resources for nurses to be sitters....better then being sent home.

sadiemae1123 · Jul 31, 2015

Maybe the reason the "special snowflake" staff don't like floating is because it is almost never reciprocated. Staff from other units use the excuse that they aren't trained in L & D and aren't made to float. It's not really a "team" if the sacrifice and extra work are always coming from the same side.

I've also been pulled to units where staff "forgot" to put up isolation signs and carts. Since they use bedside reporting and we were there to help with things like call lights and vital signs, we had no idea the patient was in isolation until well into the shift.

You wouldn't assign an immunocompromised patient to the same nurse with the isolation patient, even with proper use of PPE. If PPE was 100% effective we wouldn't need clean units (which L&D is).

It's a patient safety issue, not a special snowflake temper tantrum.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Aug 2, 2015

When I float, we are specifically prohibited from taking care of anyone on precautions, and are supposed to shower and change scrubs when we come back (which, tbh, usually doesn't happen because usually we are sitting in a chair in the hallway at the ED, doing one-on-one obs and we don't even so much as touch a patient or piece of equipment).

I would rather be floated than called off for my shift, that's for sure. I HAAAATE being a patient sitter and much prefer being floated as "helping hands," but meh. It's a job. The only thing I object to is being floated to psych as a constant attendant for a high risk patient- I don't feel like I know enough about psych or about the unit protocols to do this safely.

And while it is true that most other RNs are not able to float to L&D because they haven't been cross trained, we are NEVER lacking for help when the s*it hits the fan over here. People are always happy to come down and help out in ways that don't involve direct patient care- passing trays, answering call bells, keeping an eye on any babies we are tending while their mom is sleeping, etc. We've had ED techs come once or twice to do vitals etc when we were super super swamped. We've had to recover some c/s moms in PACU when our unit is over census, and I've never heard any whining from the PACU nurses. I am always happy to go help out on the other floors (even if I would muuuch rather stay on L&D), because we are a small hospital and we all pitch in together.

ktwlpn, LPN · Aug 2, 2015

Maybe the reason the "special snowflake" staff don't like floating is because it is almost never reciprocated. Staff from other units use the excuse that they aren't trained in L & D and aren't made to float. It's not really a "team" if the sacrifice and extra work are always coming from the same side.
I've also been pulled to units where staff "forgot" to put up isolation signs and carts. Since they use bedside reporting and we were there to help with things like call lights and vital signs, we had no idea the patient was in isolation until well into the shift.
You wouldn't assign an immunocompromised patient to the same nurse with the isolation patient, even with proper use of PPE. If PPE was 100% effective we wouldn't need clean units (which L&D is).
It's a patient safety issue, not a special snowflake temper tantrum.

"Nurses are livid and tired of it" sounds temper tantrumish to me,sorry....Obviously special circumstances need to be considered ,all staff need to work together to make sure a protocol is written,not just refuse to do it......And if I'm pulled to any unit I am getting some basic info on the patients before I come into contact with any of them..for my safety and the safety of the rest...As for reciprocation as I said every one needs to pull together and look at the trends,the issues and come of with a plan.In the end it's about what's best for the facility....