hand written signs

[RNOTODAY, BSN, RN]

:confused:I work in a large OR. The regular environmental services for the rest of the hospital is not responsible for the maintenance and stocking, etc, of the OR, lounge, locker rooms, etc... the ORA's are responsible for these areas... anyway, these ORAs routinely put handwritten "signs" up around the ladies, mens rooms, locker rooms, to the effect of" if you sprinkle while you PEE, please be considerate and wipe it up. think of the people that clean this room" or- "your mother doesnt work here, clean up after yourselves" they have even as gone as far as pinning someones scrubs to a bulletin board, when they have accidentally left them on the floor, instead of putting them in the hamper...( our scrubs have our names in them) and " if you want maid service, please leave twenty bucks, if not then pick up after yourself" and on and on with such nonsense....this is my question....

isnt this completely unprofessional, and wrong? should anybody be able to put up a sign, asking that their JOB be made easier by OTHERS ? These signs make me soooo mad when I see them..... especially when I have no toilet paper in my bathroom stall for the eighth time that week, and /or have wet hands and no paper towels in sight....

Isnt this a management call... should people be putting their own signs up like this? or am I over reacting?

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

I am conflicted over this. On one hand I am kind of on their side. I think it is disgusting if someone sprinkles on the seat and doesn't clean it up after themselves. I also hate when people leave those paper covers on the seat for the next person to have to deal with. Where is common curtesy for the next person who has to follow them? Having said that, I do think it is a little unprofessional to leave such notes, especially if they are not taking care of their own business and keeping the supplies stocked. Of course, they would probably argue that if they were not having to pick up after people all the time they would have more time to do the job they are supposed to be doing.

[PetiteOpRN]

Half of the time I have to hunt down a mop and turn my own room over, so I sympathize. Are the ORAs unionized? If so, I doubt things will improve.

[Fun2, BSN, RN]

I don't think a sign is going to stop someone from being nasty....just sayin'.

I also don't think the signs are professional.

[Argo]

I thinking peeing all over the place and throwing your scrubs on the floor instead of Where they belong is twice as unprofessional and also disgusting. Maybe you should lecture the other coworkers about not being slobs. Fix your issue and theirs.

[Jarnaes]

This is where your management needs to step in and handle the issue ASAP. Nothing good will develop from the current situation.

The clean up crew is hired to clean up messes, including pee and scrubs on the floor, they are not being asked to do anything outside of their job description. They need to stop leaving little nasty grams. So pretty much, shut up and clean up :)

On the other hand, slobs are nasty, and I'll be quick to bring it up in morning report if a pattern of peeing on seats or constantly leaving scrubs on the floor were to develop.

Like others have stated, think about the next person coming in behind you... we are in this area 8-12 hours a day. Treat it like you do you place at home and keep it clean. No slobs allowed :)

[kids]

I do agree that management needs to address the pigs who pee on the toilet seat and don't clean it up or people who don't dispose of their trash or soiled laundry appropriately.

I disagree that it's the ORA's job to clean up after pigs. I'm sure their job description is for stocking and general cleaning & disinfecting of surfaces among other, actual OR related duties. Perhaps if their time wasn't being wasted cleaning up after grown ups who don't take care of their own messes they would have time to stock paper products.

My kids knew by the age of 5 to pick up their trash and dirty clothes. They also knew not to pee on the toilet seat and to clean it up if they did. I'm appalled by adults who leave it and expect the "lowly cleaning staff" to clean up after them.

Are the signs unprofessional? Probably.

And so is the staff they are having to clean up after.

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

While I think they're being a little blunt about the whole thing, I feel like many in the OR(surgeons seem to be the worst) are pigs, plain and simple. They'll eat at one of the tables in the lounge and leave all their crap on the table when a garbage can is 3 feet away. They leave their used feminine products around in the toilet stall. They step out of their scrubs and leave them on the floor and yes, they sprinle pee all over the toilet seats. I've toyed with putting a "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat, wipe the seat" sign myself. And don't even get me started on the ones that don't flush the dang toilet...

Yes, they are housekeeping but they aren't there to be our maids either, especially for things people should be doing on their own.Just my 2 cents..

[Mr. & Mrs. RN]

I think this is a very immature way to make their point. We have a lot of issues with the RN's abusing our core person (the assistant who stays in the core all day to keep everything running smoothly. This person doesn't leave nasty signs up, he/she discusses the issue with management, they find a way to improve the situation, and discuss it at our monthly unit meetings. Most adults prefer to be spoken to like adults, imo.

[Scrubby]

Sounds like a real whinger.

We had someone do this from the waste department, they put this HUGE photo of a rubbish bag that was covered in blood and got sent down the chut. Ok, it was naughty and shouldn't have happened however they put this up in the reception area where patients could see it!

[RNOTODAY, BSN, RN]

ok, well... it *actually is* there job to "clean up after the pigs"...isnt it? its not the nurses job, its not the techs job, and it certainly isnt the secretary's or any of the doctors....its their job....and if there happens to be some urine on a toilet seat, in a public bathroom at a workplace, then, well... too bad.....I mean, its certainly not like there are dirty scrubs all over the floor, and **** everywhere except the toilet....

And management should bring up in a meeting, about urine on the toilet seat? are you serious? i guess i just see it as this: there are a couple issues. first, the ora's are required to do too much, and there arent enough of them. but I also dont think that they should be hanging signs up. period. especially about being someones "maid". they also complain about getting a stretcher for the patient, saying "well, we wouldnt want the nurses to lift a finger, now do we?"... I just think its an issue of people who dont want to do their jobs, and a system thats broken and a poor management team. but I guess thats another thread. and I have never, ever, left my dirty scrubs on the floor or left pee on the seat. nd if it were my job to clean it up, i would just suck it up, or get another job. So, ARGO, its not really my "issue", and I am not the least bit interested in telling anybody to be neater when they pee... because frankly its not my place, and its not my job to clean it. I think the hospital should actually hire people specifically to clean these areas. we dont have it there... the ora's get patients, bring frozens, go get blood, turn over the room, and once in a while the bathroom gets cleaned, and once in a while the lounge gets cleaned. there isnt even a schedule that these guys are supposed to follow...its all willy nilly...like oh "i think i will clean the mens bathroom today" etc.... its just a horrible system, I guess.....

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

ok, well... it *actually is* there job to "clean up after the pigs"...isnt it?

My question then is this: is that how they behave at home? Does someone come along after them at home, wiping off the toilet seat after they sprinkle on it? I see this as an issue of treat others the way you want to be treated. There's a difference between "normal housekeeping" tasks, and cleaning up after people who don't act responsible for themselves.