med carts/control freaks

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I know this is going to sound ridiculous but I could use a little feed back from you all.....I'm a full time day shift float in LTC-prior to starting the med pass I load up the med cart they way I want it with my pudding,assorted juices,water pitcher,steth,sphyg and thermometer etc...-when I'm through at the end of the day I clean it off,wipe it down,empty the trash and stock it....The problem is that some nurses on a particular unit are having a FIT because it is not arranged exactly like it was in the morning...We have 2 bins on the side that can be removed and we also have some plastic trays to hold cups.I really don't see the problem-sometimes I'll even push it back against the far wall in the med room instead of up against the wall to the left and that REALLY pushed the evening nurse's buttons( I did not bother to move it over after housekeeping cleaned the floor- what's the big deal?)'ll take the plastic trays and sit them on the counter because with 21 residents I don't see the need for 80 cups on top of the cart-especially since I usually knock alot of them off...God forbid I leave those trays on the counter at the end of the day! And the meds! Ours are dispensed in boxes-most units have the boxes arranged in the order that the med appears on the MAR which makes perfect sense to me-I'll put them in that order as I pour to help me check and double check as I go.....Apparently if I open a new box and we have another I have put it to the side of the drawer-this also pushes someone's buttons....I know how childish this sounds-believe me....I'm usually eating my lunch in the med room so I can get the heck out of there on time....As long as the cart,med room and nurse's station are clean what's the big darn deal? Can someone tell me? There is no MAP to the area-I really am not aware of any policy or protocol that tells me where to put the straws...You are all reasonable people-do you get into medcart wars at your facility? I feel that I am too busy WORKING to worry about stacking the cups to suit the evening nurse-and I'm feeling particularly passive aggressive....Like tomorrow maybe I'll just turn the freaking med cart UPSIDE DOWN.....I've worked acute care and had to share a med cart with 4 or 5 other nurses....Maybe I am a little more tolerant then some of these freaking miserable people I work with in LTC..argh..........So-what would you do? so what's the big deal? Who has lost their marbles?

like all the other comments so far....i also like to stock the cart to my liking. i work 12 hour shifts....so for those 12 hours the cart is mine....as long as i stock it, and empty the trash for the oncoming nurse....i really do not see why i should arrange the cart to the oncoming nurses liking. some people really do need to get a grip. :madface:

there is one nurse at our facility who will never restock the cart after use. crushed medicine "crumbs" all over the cart.......:uhoh3: drips of dilantin/lactulose,,,,,igh. imho, it is common courtesy. there are 2 nurses on 3-11. one of me on 11-7. :p

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[color=#483d8b]suebird

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Well, if the evening shift nurse owns the med cart, maybe she should claim ownership to both shifts, too.

That's ridiculous and childish. She isn't the only one who uses that cart.

If you empty your trash, clean up any spills, and reasonably restock the supplies, replace any meds that need replacing, there is nothing else you can do.

The cart has to come out of the med room to go on rounds, so what the heck difference does it make if it's not "parked" in her designated parking space???

She needs to grow up and get a life.

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

Guess who I gave report to this afternoon-the med cart nazi...It got very ugly,very fast.She stood with her hands on her hips and told me I had to "put the med cart back the way it was" or "I'm not taking report and accepting the unit" What an orifice... I went down the hall straight to the supervisor-the DON happened to be in her office at the time....I told the supe that the evening nurse was no going to take report from me because she did not like the way I had left the cart-(clean as a whistle-just like the counters and the desk-all freshly wiped down with alcohol) The DON said "She WILL take report-tell her I said to get over herself" I'm telling you-the woman is freaking crazy-I shut us in the med room while she performed-the cna's were cracking up at her...I think she just wants to b*tch....In the "old days" this facility was full of nuts just like her but through attrition we are cleaning house and the new staff is flexible,competent and professional ....What an orifice....I'm not going to let her bother me----can you believe her?

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Guess who I gave report to this afternoon-the med cart nazi...It got very ugly,very fast.She stood with her hands on her hips and told me I had to "put the med cart back the way it was" or "I'm not taking report and accepting the unit" What an orifice... I went down the hall straight to the supervisor-the DON happened to be in her office at the time....I told the supe that the evening nurse was no going to take report from me because she did not like the way I had left the cart-(clean as a whistle-just like the counters and the desk-all freshly wiped down with alcohol) The DON said "She WILL take report-tell her I said to get over herself" I'm telling you-the woman is freaking crazy-I shut us in the med room while she performed-the cna's were cracking up at her...I think she just wants to b*tch....In the "old days" this facility was full of nuts just like her but through attrition we are cleaning house and the new staff is flexible,competent and professional ....What an orifice....I'm not going to let her bother me----can you believe her?

Unbelievable.

Sounds like she doesn't value her job all that much,

if she wants to b***h over how the medcart is placed in the drug room.

Totally asinine.

Good for your supervisor speaking up.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.
& while you're at it, why not decorate it for each holiday?? ;) I'm sure it would cheer up the patients!

At one facility I was the med nurse for 30 subacute patients. We did whatever we could to have a little fun at work. I am a lover of every holiday, so my cart would get a pumpkin sticker or a Christmas stocking or whatever . The state surveys came in one year right after the 4th of July. Yep....my cart had a beautiful American Flag affixed to one corner. The surveyor told me I should take it off because it wasn't "appropriate". I said "Not appropriate to be patriotic?" She told me if I could come up with a "valid" reason for the flag, she wouldn't cite me (I was too new a nurse to ask which reg. I was breaking) so I told her we had 60 patients on the floor and we had 2 med carts. This way MY patients knew at a glance which nurse was theirs and where to go to get their meds. She smiled at me and I didn't get cited.

PS. I always cleaned my cart for the next nurse and was happy when they cleaned it for me. The rest of the stuff didn't matter. I arranged it my way for my pass and they felt free to change it to suit theirs.

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Specializes in Psych, M/S, Ortho, Float..

Rats, I just wrote a big, long, fatigue induced rant, and decided that it was probably not a good idea to post it. Just to say that there are some really wierd coping mechanisms out there and they take their toll on everyone who works with them. Minimum work and maximum pay do not for a happy work place make.

Way too much stress.

Hang in there while you have too. Bail out before you start the passive aggressive stuff.

I just did a double, so I'm going horizontal...

TTFN

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geez! just when i heard it all. if my shift gets ugly at the end......i 'fess up. i at least try to do up vital sign sheets, put out some of the stock meds for the 2 carts (i use only one at my med pass.) so....i try to compensate. :p

have a good one!

sue

guess who i gave report to this afternoon-the med cart nazi...it got very ugly,very fast.she stood with her hands on her hips and told me i had to "put the med cart back the way it was" or "i'm not taking report and accepting the unit" what an orifice... i went down the hall straight to the supervisor-the don happened to be in her office at the time....i told the supe that the evening nurse was no going to take report from me because she did not like the way i had left the cart-(clean as a whistle-just like the counters and the desk-all freshly wiped down with alcohol) the don said "she will take report-tell her i said to get over herself" i'm telling you-the woman is freaking crazy-i shut us in the med room while she performed-the cna's were cracking up at her...i think she just wants to b*tch....in the "old days" this facility was full of nuts just like her but through attrition we are cleaning house and the new staff is flexible,competent and professional ....what an orifice....i'm not going to let her bother me----can you believe her?
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Some more of my thoughts on med carts.....

I work in a facility for the mentally and physically challenged.

We have 8 homes to visit to give out our meds to around 110 people.

We have a small med cart in each home. Certain nurses are assigned a cart for restocking, etc, but with that many carts do you think they are ever all stocked with EVERYthing they need?? {NOT!}

I heard one dayshift nurse complaining the other day about no spoons being on one of the carts the other day, said it "p****d" him off that the last nurse didn't take any spoons down. Well, I knew he had to be referring to the evening shift because an evening nurse would have been the last one to use a spoon. How ridiculous. We don't have any rules that says the last spoon must be used before more are taken down, so the nurse who was assigned to that cart could have taken some down a long time before that. If the cart has an assigned nurse to do the restocking then that should be her/his job to see to it that supplies are taken down, IMHO. That's the way the DON made the assignments.

So you can see how anal some people can get.

I just ignored him, because I know what kind of person he is. A chronic compainer.

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Specializes in Psych, M/S, Ortho, Float..

Just as I was cleaning up this morning, I set up the cart for days and locked up the cart. I then realized that ALL the keys were in the cart:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: !!!

So I called the supervisor and explained what I had done. Turns out, the master key doesn't work on our cart!

Day staff was thrilled!!!:imbar

I just felt like such an idiot! It was clean and ready to go, except that it couldn't be opened...

Worse comes to worse they could have broken the drawer (as it is one of those plastic ones), but pharmacy frowns on such measures.

I'll find out what happened on Monday.

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I may or may not have done that. :uhoh21:

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happened here. plus, i have walked off with the keys...only overnight, and for one cart. :p

suebird

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Okay! Okay! I yell and scream every time people move my stuff around!! It's not a neat freak thing though! Really it's not. I have had to clean up behind many different nurses and godbless them med aides. Honestly it is a territorital thing. I don't care what you do on your shift - take cups off, put applesauce where ever, change the color - just put the medicines back in the same place and don't change where the OTCs are located. I can handle the rest!

:rotfl:

Mysticwater

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