How to Be Good to my Nurses?

[TellYourGFThanks]

Hi all, I'm an EMT that will begin working in-house as a tech in the next few weeks. I consider this job patient-foused, and then nurse-focused by definition. With that, I think it's really important that I can read my nurses and understand what they would like to get out of me.

I'll be working peds ED and then adult float pool. For peds, I'll be starting IVs as well.

I'm asking for pointers on how to be a good nurse's assistant. What would you want me to know if I was going to be assisting with your patients. Are there any ways that techs consistently lets you down? How could your techs make your job easier? Anything that comes to mind when you think of your techs is helpful. I'm not looking for anything in particular, it could be something as simple as "I like techs who carry flushes with them" or "don't take vitals without asking first," etc.

Thanks for any feedback!

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

The one thing that used to frustrate me was refusing to help.

I worked inpatient oncology at a major cancer center. We gave lots of blood products, lots of chemo, lots of meds. It used to infuriate me when I would ask the med tech to please check on patient in room X because their call light was going off, or to please get another patient some water while I hang chemo in another room, or please take vitals of the other patient in room X because I have to go give pain meds in another room. Yes, I'm capable of doing that, but not while I'm doing something else that the tech can't do, and there's no need for the other patient to wait if they don't have to. I'm not asking for dirty work. I'm asking for (1) help, and (2) for that person to do their job.

I'm not saying when you're en route to somewhere else or Nurse Y has asked you to do something else (or you need to pee!). But the best techs either helped, or said "I'm on my way to do this, but I'll pass it on" to another tech or "I'll do that as soon as I take care of this" - or sometimes the right answer is, "I can't right this second", which is different from a full on "no".

I always take our jobs as not being about us - it's always about the patient when it comes to care and needing help like that. I never understood why some didn't see it that way!

That was one of the things that drove me back on active duty.

Oh, and it's not out of your lane to offer to help if you think an RN is drowning ("let me do X"). We are a team, after all - and I have helped techs many a time myself.

[cleback]

Be mindful of turning schedules. To know that if I get caught up in an admission or with a deteriorating patient, that my patients at risk for sores are still being moved is such a load off. I have worked with aids who will only turn patients if the nurse helps/asks them to. Such a drag.