Waste of Time

Nurses General Nursing

Published

As Nurses we are pulled in multiple directions simultaneously. We have so much to do and little time to get it done. I don't mind hard work, but when my time is wasted it makes me mad.

I resent having to spend 20 minutes looking for an IV pole so I can start an infusion. I resent when a Doctor order 1 mg of Dilaudid every hr, when the vials hold 2 mgs. The patient is asking for the medication hourly, I don't mind giving it, but every hr I have to spend 10 minutes looking for someone to waste with me and wasting the drug.

I see things like this a tremendous waste of our valuable time. Time that could be better utilized in patient care. I miss breaks and meals because I get behind, primarily because so much of my time is wasted looking for equipment, trying to decipher Doctors handwriting, being ask by Doctors to find charts, the list of thing that waste my time is endless.

Question, What do you do at your job that you feel is a waste of your time ?;)

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Searching for supplies,missing meds and following through with things other staff on other shifts started and did not finish or did incorrectly that have to be corrected because at my facility day shift seems to be the last line of defense.Our DON can't seem to communicate effectively with any other shift and most of them claim to be unfamiliar with policy and procedure.

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, ED, Nurse Instructor,.

I understand you frustration. The accudoses at the facility I work has Dilaudid 1mg IV. On certain meds, I have called the Pharmacy to see can they supply with certain dosages of meds. I tell them the circumstances about what is going with the patient. I work in a small hospital, when there are certain equipment need we are able to call the nursing office assitant to get things and bring them to us. Those ten minutes not wasted can be used to provide patient care.

After 2300, our pharmacy is closed. So we have to call the nursing supervisor for meds. Sometimes I dont bother I just go to the ER to use their accudose. The nursing supervisor has to a certain accudose to look for meds and sometimes she is busy. And pretty much similiar what you going through. Its always something holding us from giving patient care.

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Specializes in ER.
as nurses we are pulled in multiple directions simultaneously. we have so much to do and little time to get it done. i don't mind hard work, but when my time is wasted it makes me mad.

i resent having to spend 20 minutes looking for an iv pole so i can start an infusion. i resent when a doctor order 1 mg of dilaudid every hr, when the vials hold 2 mgs. the patient is asking for the medication hourly, i don't mind giving it, but every hr i have to spend 10 minutes looking for someone to waste with me and wasting the drug.

i see things like this a tremendous waste of our valuable time. time that could be better utilized in patient care. i miss breaks and meals because i get behind, primarily because so much of my time is wasted looking for equipment, trying to decipher doctors handwriting, being ask by doctors to find charts, the list of thing that waste my time is endless.

question, what do you do at your job that you feel is a waste of your time ?;)

everything that you just wrote.

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Welcome to nursing!! Unfortunately, I would guess that at least 25% of my time is spent looking for meds that are not where they're supposed to be, looking for supplies that are not where they're supposed to be, calling central supply to re-stock something . . . looking, looking, looking . . . it's to the point that when I need to do a particular task, I don't bother looking in my supply cart because the supplies won't be there . . . I just go to the supply room and get everything I need, less frustrating, unless, the supply room is out of stock, too!!

It's not the fault of our Nurse Aide either because she's so busy that if she gets around to re-stocking, it's in the last 15 minutes of her shift!!

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.

Being asked by other departments to call the doctor, when they could certainly call themselves. Examples:

Imaging, "Can we do that test tomorrow, because if I do it tonight, it will be overtime."

Pharmacy: "That is an unusual dose, or no route, can you call and clarify?"

PT, RT, don't agree with an order, but feel it is a nursing task to point this out to the MD and get it changed.

Other time sucker-uppers: finding chairs, cots, vases for visitors; tracking down lost belongings after pt has been in for 5 days and been in ED, cath lab, ICU, and just now they noticed their tighty whiteys are missing; fixing TVs; calling for cabs; pulling all the cr@p clipped to the front of the chart, hole-punching it, and putting it inside the chart.

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I manage my time effectively all day, only to be told by the oncoming RN that he is spending fifteen minutes at the computer before he takes report, in the interests of effective time management. So by the time I get to give report, my shift should've ended but because he's "time managing" I am 30 minutes overtime, when I worked really hard and efficiently all day to finish on time.:rolleyes:

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The extra time and effort spent doing extra charting to cover myself when the client requests that I do not follow the plan of care signed by the doctor. The conversation that sometimes ensues when the client is busy making it very clear that I am going to do what they tell me to do and I better not open my mouth to say anything that remotely sounds like nursing judgement instead of their "reasoning" for doing what they want to do. Sometimes this can not be helped and it contributes to the unpleasant physical symptoms I feel in my gastric area.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

Oh how you are singin' my song! I spend a ridiculous amount of time searching for equipment. So much in fact, that I have taken to recording what a typical day is like for me in the OR. What makes me angry is when I see our ORAs (who are supposed to be providing said equipment) talking in the halls, sitting on stretchers and going into the stairwells to have private phone conversations ON THE HOSPITAL CELL PHONE! I will continue to document the epic waste of time that goes on trying to find equipment/supplies/staff for another couple of months. I will then put this info into a spreadsheet so that my MBA boss can see how much money we are wasting because this inefficiency is making the turnover times inflate. So far my data has reflected that I spend an average of 3 hours a day looking for things. That is a lot of time wasted. What was that saying...time is money? No wonder we didn't get raises the past few years. But what can we do? What is the solution? How do you enforce accountability in such a large hospital who cares more about walking on eggshells with employees who are clearly not doing their jobs?

If only the staff that are assigned to do the specific job that is clearly outlined in their job description actually follow through with the tasks, the place would be efficient. Not so where I work. I am incredibly frustrated by this. Burned out maybe? Accountability is king in my world.

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Question, What do you do at your job that you feel is a waste of your time ?;)

Honestly?,... showing up for work.

But, that annuity has to mature first and that pesky lotto keeps eluding me.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, Emergency, SAFE.

Begging pharmacy for a new cardizem gtt, or my now dose of abx that was due 2 hours before I got here.

(And they say their system tells them when meds need refilled.....:rolleyes:)

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

I'm an ADON in LTC. My biggest time waster is the weekly (or more frequent) calls to the insurance companies to ensure continued stay for the residents. Each call takes at least 20-30 minutes to prepare all the info, another 20-30 minutes to get thru to the correct agent & often another 20-30 minutes to follow up with the resident (and or family member) to discuss the insurance companies current discharge plan for them.

Sometimes we have 8-10 residents that require weekly calls. That's an awful lot of time spent each week on non-care issues.

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