If I hear this/see this one more time, I'm gonna scream!

[dudette10]

An RT was in my patient's room. I heard the DD ask the RT for her mom to be moved up in bed. It was right next to the nurse's station where I was standing, so I started to go in there to help the RT with the boost. I walked into the room, past the RT, and went to the bed. I turned around, expecting the RT to be standing there waiting for me to get into position. He was walking out the door. I had to walk back out and get another nurse to help.

I was in the middle of doing paperwork when the monitor tech called to say that some of the leads were off on a patient. I asked the only PCT in sight--who was leaning against the station doing nothing to go in there to adjust it. "That's not my patient" was the answer. "Yes, I know, but the leads need checking. Please do it." Huff-n-Puff.

Do you ever feel as if you work with a bunch of children on some days who can't look past their own narrow world? I don't think I'll ever get used to this attitude. Ever.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

I'll generally let family help if they're the normal caregivers. After all, at home they're usually lifting the patient without help. So I can generally trust them to do their "share" of the lift. :) Non-caregivers though? Depends on the situation.

Dietary generally won't help due to contamination issues, which I get, I don't want the people handling food digging around in beds where special goodies may be found.

RT, PT, etc though? There's NO reason that they can't help.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

I've had family offer to help me, but I've politely turned them down.

This has been an interesting discussion with a lot of good points about safety, worker's comp, and communication with co-workers.

I can't always drop what I'm doing at that exact moment. As I mentioned in a previous post, it takes me longer to get back on track with something that must be done perfectly, such as med rec or pulling/admining meds. Unless it's an emergency, I can't comfortably stop in the middle of doing certain tasks.

I like sistasoul's explanation to aides when she's caught up with something else. I do that, too. If they are willing to wait a few minutes, I'm willing to help.