I hate when my co-workers are wasteful.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

delete.

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Specializes in orthopaedics.

those bath wipes in general are a waste. too many times they have been flushed down the toilet causing major problems with the plumbing. it's just as easy to use a basin with warm water washcloths and soap.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.
those bath wipes in general are a waste. too many times they have been flushed down the toilet causing major problems with the plumbing. it's just as easy to use a basin with warm water washcloths and soap.

sometimes if i find an unopened pack of those wipes i will use them in place of washclothes when i'm bathing a patient. i still use soap and water of course. but i don't want to use them like that if they've been opened and probably used to wipe the patient's butt.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

I hate those stupid wipes. They took our microwave out of the supply room and replaced it with a warmer for them. So now my pet peeve is that no one refills the darn warmer. I always find myself standing there stocking it with more wipes so that there are warm ones available to wipe someone up with. I refuse to use them as a bath. I perfer soap and water. In MICU they only do those wipes for a bath. Supposedly that reduced infection. I only use them if the pt needs a quick clean up after being incontinent. I still bathe with soap and water. BTW Michigan I see the same thing on our floor. I have gone through the cupboards and cannot believe the things I find.

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Specializes in Orthosurgery, Rehab, Homecare.

That is also one of my pet peeves. I've straightened up numerous rooms and found 5 or 6 of something the pt only really needs one of. I too think it really just comes down to laziness. I'm sure vast amounts of money are wasted.

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Well, when a patient is on isolation/contact precautions, it reallt is a PITA to see if they already have one. So in this case I get th waste.

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Specializes in CNA.

Does the patient have to pay for all the extra supplies? I'd be really upset if I had an even bigger hospital bill due to lazy staff. I know it's not good for the budget of the facility either.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.
Does the patient have to pay for all the extra supplies? I'd be really upset if I had an even bigger hospital bill due to lazy staff. I know it's not good for the budget of the facility either.

I have no idea. I don't they are charged to the patient, they are just in a supply room in a box. No real way to charge them to the patient.

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Yes let the manager know so she can address it. THat stuff comes out of budget sometimes and then affects raises and costs. If they don't know about it they cant do anything about it

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Specializes in ICU.

Well, as a former PCA on a very understaffed floor, I loved the bath wipes - I could actually bathe my entire assignment of pts using them. I didn't use them on every pt, every day - I alternated one day of soap & water with one day of wipes. Otherwise, I didn't have time to see that all my pts got a bath every day. :crying2:

Re: waste, I don't like waste either, but I would point out that I have often grabbed additional items (when the pt already has them) because the supplies the pt does have are scattered all over the room. Keeping stuff put away in one place where everyone can find it quickly can help alleviate some waste.

I will also confess to pulling a 2nd item for a pt when the 1st one is almost empty, esp. bottles of soap. Nothing worse than needed to do a quick clean-up on someone, only to find there is no soap! Maybe some of your co-workers are trying to plan ahead so you don't run out. :D

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

Not only do I hate wastefulness, but I also hate when there is nothing you need in the patient's room! When you're all gowned and gloved, and need to do a linen change, and there are no linens, no chux, no washcloths, no soap....GRRRRR!!!!! I always try to make sure I leave supplies for the next shift, because I know what a PITA it is to be turning a patient, only to discover that they're dirty/wet, and there is nothing available to get them cleaned up.

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SO much waste goes on... It's also annoying when there are no wipes at all and you only realize it when you're all gloved/gowned. Another pet peeve is when people leave shoes/AFOs under the bed and then you can't find them/need to go fishing under the bed when you need them. It would be so nice if coworkers would all pitch in to keep rooms organized/stocked.

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