In your "perfect nursing world" what would you have?

[General E. Speaking, RN, RN]

I would like to see patients micro-chipped with all their medical history. You know, like when the pacemaker's are interrogated and they wave that magical little wand over the device and POOF! all the data comes up nicely on a screen?

No more, "Mamma! Mamma! What was that little blue pill you take at night? Or, "Yes, I had a severe allergy to a medicine. It made my throat close up. What? The name...uh, I dunno".

No more, "Oh, honey, just call my doctor. He knows all my medicines."

I would like to see the nurses station roped off like the movie theater lines. Only so many doctors allowed in the nurses station at one time. We could serve popcorn for those waiting...

I would like to see a limit to how long they (docs) can stay in the nurses station. BUZZ! "Times up, doc! Oh, you are not finished? That's okay, kindly step back to the end of the line. When it is your turn again, you can finish up, k? Buh bye."

I WOULD like a crystal ball that tells me when you are rounding. This will help me immensely in planning my day, especially if you are coming in to do a bedside procedure since I have had the consent done and room set up, patient prepped for hours upon hours and still you do not show your lovely face... until shift change.

I would like a nurse satisfaction survey for management. I want to send out daily annoying color-coded emails about "getting your scores up". I want to see how you feel to be treated like a kindergartner that is changing colors for bad behavior.

In the managers/administration bathrooms, I want to put annoying Stop Sign stickers above their sinks that say, "Safe Staffing Saves Lives!"

I want to interrupt administrations lunch every 5 minutes for the duration of every single lunch they have.

I'm sure I will have more. Sorry for the rant!

[OldNurseEducator]

Great post! Kudos to you!

[Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

AMEN General!

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

Call lights would give an unpleasant but not harmful electrical jolt if used again within 15 mins of the last use.

I would be able to hand pick the people I work with.

I'd have someone who followed me around and did my charting for me in real-time.

All equipment would be unbreakable, always work like it's supposed to, and never lose it's charge.

All the beds would automatically turn the pts for us, and have some sort of device that sensed when the pts were slipping down in the bed and automatically pull them up.

Isolation gowns would come in an assortment of colors. I'm so sick of that awful yellow...did they pick a color that looks bad on everyone for a reason?

Pt gowns would come in a variety of sizes, instead of the current two...too big and too small.

I'd have all the linen I could ever need right there on the floor at all times.

We got to do Press Ganey surveys on the docs. (Honestly, I wish there was a way to let the docs I love know it and tell the ones I can't stand to go suck it.)

I'll have to come back if I think of more...

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Need a little chip implated under the skin back of their necks, so when they ingress/egress a unit, you will get an alert on your itouch. It also should launch exact local ex: nurses station, room 214... closet, etc. LOL. a little floorplan pops up and you can see where they are a little red blip, kinda scary like in Alien the movie, remember the original one?

[General E. Speaking, RN, RN]

Call lights would give an unpleasant but not harmful electrical jolt if used again within 15 mins of the last use.

All the beds would automatically turn the pts for us, and have some sort of device that sensed when the pts were slipping down in the bed and automatically pull them up.

Loved all of them but these were awesome!

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

Oh, I got another one...

Gloves that tape will not stick to. I keep swearing that I'm going to invent them some day and make millions.

[OldNurseEducator]

I wish there were something that would keep IV's from infiltrating...and keep PICC lines running.

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

All providers put in their own orders, always legible and a signature you can actually read.. Sorry, we are a very large hospital and that line thing you just signed does not tell me who you are..

[General E. Speaking, RN, RN]

Tube shoot in every patient's room (for labs/meds).

Better yet, a STOCKED med cart in every patient room that is inventoried and filled on a REGULAR basis. No more calling pharmacy for the antibiotic that your patient is scheduled to have (and has been on for 4 days...)

[Tina, RN]

All I would ask for in my perfect nursing world would be excellent, safe nurse:patient:CNA ratios! Maybe a computer program which takes the info on all patients on a unit, and separates them into appropriate, safe assignments? You'd punch in the staffing that you do have, and the computer would figure out what would work. For example, if there were no CNA on the floor, the nurse:patient ratio would need to be better to make up for it. Then, if you need an extra nurse on the floor to make things "safe as per the computer", staffing would be obligated to provide one...

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

Call lights would give an unpleasant but not harmful electrical jolt if used again within 15 mins of the last use.

Hey! You took my idea!! lol

as an ADN i'd like:

More nurses

More NA's

realistic staffing grids

a bigger float pool

Doctors that call to schedule an emergency weekend OR and understand that the on call team means on call and they must travel in from home. - Note: i do not keep an or team in the trunk of my car - i did for a short time but it got too messy.