How are your Covid patients treated in your Covid/ICU unit?

[NewRN'16, ADN, RN]

I feel as my patients are being neglected. The PCT stand by staring at the floor, not donning PPE and responding to call lights.

I feel overwhelmed. I am off today, but here we go again tomorrow.

I don't understand why anyone is a nurse or PCT if you run away like that? It could be you in that bed! Or your loved ones!!

Don't ignore patients, please. Whatever you do.

[A Hit With The Ladies, BSN, RN]

The trick in patient care is to set strong boundaries. Common sense dictates that emergencies will take priority over routine medical needs, which in turn takes priority over ADLs. No matter how time-efficient or hardworking you are, you are still just one human being and can't be at two places at once. The cold hard truth is sometimes we just can't do everything for everyone in a timely manner, if at all. If you are busy with something urgent and some other patient's call light is going off, you just have to ignore that call light and hope that someone else is available to attend to it. If not, then that's too bad.

If you are feeling overwhelmed (in any area of life, not just nursing) that means you need to prioritize and mentally accept that you cannot do everything and should not be sorry about it. And if management gets upset about it, be assertive and say that you were doing X, Y, and Z at that time. Nursing attrition is high already. They shouldn't get to squeeze the life out of you and discard you when they can get a new body to replace you.

[askater112]

My heart goes out to you. We went through an upswing of covid patients in March/April. Our numbers are way down now.

Maybe the PCT is fearful. It took some staff a while to learn they were going to be OK. Maybe she/he is unsure of steps to apply and remove PPE???

I do worry about health care. Even with care in non hospital settings.

[beekee]

Maybe the PCT is just a bad PCT. But I’m guessing that s/he is just afraid. I work on a COVID unit that’s seen several staff members get ill, some severe enough to be hospitalized and even one death. And then their families get it, with some pretty devastating consequences there too. So, we can’t tell someone “it’s going to be OK” or “it’s fine, you are protected” because that’s what we told their now dead coworker.

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

RN's and aides must gown up and go into the room. MD's usually don't and talk with the pt via telephone, which is fine if they are stable but if they are not then they too need to put on the PPE and go see the pt. When this first started we had no PT or OT on the floor. Then finally PT was allowed on the floor but to my knowledge OT still does not go. Case managers and social workers call the pt on the phone.

The RNs usually ask the pt beforehand if they need anything. We tell them that we cannot go in and out of the room like we normally would.

[Chazzie_Made_It, ADN]

Where I am at the docs write specific orders to “bundle care” and “limit time in pt’s room”. We are allowed to answer call lights at the nurses station. We are allowed to call the pts room to check in on them. We are allowed to stand by the door to answer the call light and determine if we need to enter. When a patient is admitted we explain to them that this is what to will expect. I have PCTs or tech who are just plain lazy and others who are not. The ones who are not still go in and bathe pts and change linens. Others I have to ask to help the pt shower. But if we are in the room we can get the blood sugar, the vitals, and help shower. Especially if it can limit others going in and out.

That all being said use common sense. If a pt is crumping you’re going to be in there despite those orders to “bundle care” or “limit time”.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

On 7/15/2020 at 12:31 AM, A Hit With The Ladies said:

The trick in patient care is to set strong boundaries. Common sense dictates that emergencies will take priority over routine medical needs, which in turn takes priority over ADLs. No matter how time-efficient or hardworking you are, you are still just one human being and can't be at two places at once. The cold hard truth is sometimes we just can't do everything for everyone in a timely manner, if at all. If you are busy with something urgent and some other patient's call light is going off, you just have to ignore that call light and hope that someone else is available to attend to it. If not, then that's too bad.

If you are feeling overwhelmed (in any area of life, not just nursing) that means you need to prioritize and mentally accept that you cannot do everything and should not be sorry about it. And if management gets upset about it, be assertive and say that you were doing X, Y, and Z at that time. Nursing attrition is high already. They shouldn't get to squeeze the life out of you and discard you when they can get a new body to replace you.

Her beef is not with Management. It is with aides who ignore call lights.

Please re-read what she wrote.

For OP - you must set some rules for your semi-worthless "helpers". If you let them get away with stuff, they will keep doing that. Speak to them. "I saw you _____ instead of doing ____. From now on, you need to do _____because it could be you or your loved one in that bed, helpless and in need". Poor or no results? Try again to get through to them. poor or no results? Go to your boss with very specific examples. Dates, names. Good luck.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

On 7/15/2020 at 2:15 AM, beekee said:

Maybe the PCT is just a bad PCT. But I’m guessing that s/he is just afraid. I work on a COVID unit that’s seen several staff members get ill, some severe enough to be hospitalized and even one death. And then their families get it, with some pretty devastating consequences there too. So, we can’t tell someone “it’s going to be OK” or “it’s fine, you are protected” because that’s what we told their now dead coworker.

Then they are in the wrong job and need to work somewhere else. The patients still need to be cared for.