How to create change instead of just complaining?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi there! I'm curious, if you see a problem on your floor what can really be done about it? example: I know that the aides on the floor that I work when taking vitals take the machine from room to room, usually using the same BP cuff on multiple patients. I can't imagine that this is a good thing for infection control.

I have emailed management about this and have heard...nothing.

It made me think of something: where does a person go from there? Other than complaining to my friend on the phone, how does a person go about creating change?

Well, what is your solution?

Meaning, what would you like to see happen? Any suggestions? (If you knew the solution, you wouldn't have posted, duh=me.)

I think every patient should get their own BP cuff. When vitals are being taken, the machine can be brought into the room and connected to each individual patient's BP cuff and removed before moving on to the next room.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

This is something where evidence based practice will be your friend. If your department uses non-disposable cuffs, bring up literature showing that using disposable patient dedicated cuffs reduces hospital-acquired infections. If your facility already uses disposable cuffs, why not suggest that a supply of a couple of each size are kept in a container secured to the vitals machine? That way, if someone's goes missing (they went for a test with it but it didn't come back with them, for example), a replacement is readily available. Suggest keeping them in a similar location in each room- we secure ours to the footboard of the patient's bed or around the rail of the stretcher.

I assume every hospital must have someone assigned to monitor infection control. Find out who this person is in your hospital. Do some research, there are many up to date articles about blood pressure cuffs harboring germs. Bring your research, facts, problem solving ideas with you when you met this person. Approach them with a lets find solutions....not with accusations.

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