This article caught my eye.http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20120613/japan-budget-carrier-skymark-airlines-120613/ This airline posted a list that stated ''flight attendants aren't obligated to be polite or cater to the whims of those on-board'' they are there to provide safety. Can you imagine if nurses posted something like this?!?!
It got me thinking, if you could post a list what would be on it.
Mine would include:
-Staff reserve the right to discontinue call bell service at any time at the discretion of the nurse.
-I will do my best to make you comfortable and I understand you are sick. But I am a nurse, not a maid, nanny, hooker, or a five star chef.
-I understand you don't feel well. This does not give you the right to scream at me or call me all kinds of names. I will sit with you, talk with you, anything you want. But I will not be treated like crap.
-I don't care how many degrees you have, how rich you are or how much money you have donated to my facility. I will treat you with the same kindness and respect I treat everyone.
Nurses must deliver care to 7-8 pts in a timely manner.
Extra time accumulated making the nurse wait with medication, while you talk on the phone, visit with your guests, or put on your make-up, will be charged to your hospital account.
How exactly do visitors interfere with your job as a nurse?
I do agree that little children have no business running about in a hospital, but as for adult visitors, its quite different.
Well, allow me to throw some light on the subject:
--Visitors who do not abide by the posted hours, who feel free to come by before or after THEIR work shifts allow, often disrupt the patient's sleep (and frequently a roommate's, if they slip in without checking at the nurse's desk like they KNOW they are supposed to). The visitor who just HAS to see his brother-in-law Johnny after the visitor gets off work at 11pm--and arrives at the hospital at 11:45pm, after Johnny has finally settled down after having his pain managed and his sleep meds kicking in--is most certainly interfering with my job as a nurse to advocate for that patient's health.
--Visitors who stuff themselves by the dozen into a patient's room, to the point where the staff cannot move in there, are interfering with my job as a nurse.
--Visitors who do not move out of the nurse's or aide's way, even when it is obvious that they are IN the way, are interfering with my job as a nurse.
--Visitors who screw with the settings on IV pumps, play with the bed controls, yank the overhead light until the chain breaks are interfering with my job as a nurse.
--Visitors who clean out the unit pantry of jello, pudding, icepops and ginger ale so they don't have to go to the cafeteria and pay for it (thereby depriving other patients of the food that was meant for them) interferes with my job as a nurse by making me spend time begging such supplies from other floors.
--Visitors who eat from the patient's tray so that I cannot see how much (if any) the patient actually consumed for his calorie count, are interfering with my job as a nurse.
--Visitors who eat from the patient's tray when the patient is in the bathroom so does not GET to eat his own tray--and therefore must have a second one ordered--are interfering with my job as a nurse.
--Visitors who are at the nurse's station every five minutes because Mama coughed/snotted/turned to the left/can't reach her callbell/wants cartoons instead of the news--instead of helping her themselves--are interfering with my job as a nurse by constantly taking me away from someone who DOESN'T have a grown person sitting there staring at them (excuse me, "visiting").
I'm sure if I gave it more than five minutes' thought, I could come up with more....
well, allow me to throw some light on the subject:
i'm sure if i gave it more than five minutes' thought, i could come up with more....
i suppose you prefer your patients alone and quietly behaving in their beds, so they are not troublesome?
i see each of your comments as hostile, except for the ones about visitors taking food from the patient, but i can honestly say that i have never in all my years seen that happen, and i think you may be exaggerating.
if you cant wait the 2 minutes it takes to say excuse me, i need to get at that iv pump,......and wait for someone to move, then you possibly need to practice better time management. and don't tell me i don't understand how busy you are, because i've been an rn 20 years and most of that was bedside nursing. i've had my share of crazy overloaded pt assignments. but you have to keep your cool, because running like a chicken with it's head cut off, only results in mistakes, stress, anger, and resentment towards others.
a little bit of friendliness and communication goes a long way. people wont continue to come back to the nurses station every 5 minutes if you take a few minutes to explain how the remote works, where the kitchen is, etc. it's like 3 minutes of your time. "hello ms smiths visitors, just so you know, this is the call bell, in case ms smith has an urgent need. the call bell also works the tv, see? the kitchen is down the hall in case she wants any juice or ice cream...that's all we have there and it's only for the patients, so another fyi is that the hospital cafeteria is open for visitors till 7pm, so if any of you want to eat, you better hurry. i'll be around in about 30 minutes to change her iv and bring her sleep meds. thanks!"
preempt the problem....before it is a problem.
is it beneath you to do that?
i used to always pop my head into a pts room if i saw visitors come in.
visitors can be drawn into the teaching process. i'm sure you find time to teach your patients, yes? rope them into the care process and you killed two birds with one stone. you curb any miss-behaviors and you get some teaching done.
visitors are not the enemy.
patients are not the enemy.
if you think they are, and you grumble at the nurses station about how they annoy you, then you are certainly in the wrong profession.
yes, i know this thread was intended to be light, but you don't have to read between the lines to see which comments have a biting truth sentiment, that is anything but light.
i suppose you prefer your patients alone and quietly behaving in their beds, so they are not troublesome?
insulting, truly.
i see each of your comments as hostile, except for the ones about visitors taking food from the patient, but i can honestly say that i have never in all my years seen that happen, and i think you may be exaggerating.
hostile? hardly. you simply disagree, and should recognize that. as for your thinking i've exaggerated, i can absolutely 100% assure you those are truthful observances and it didn't take me 20 years to overlook them.
you cant wait the 2 minutes it takes to say excuse me, i need to get at that iv pump,......and wait for someone to move, then you possibly need to practice better time management. and don't tell me i don't understand how busy you are, because i've been an rn 20 years and most of that was bedside nursing. i've had my share of crazy overloaded pt assignments. but you have to keep your cool, because running like a chicken with it's head cut off, only results in mistakes, stress, anger, and resentment towards others.
again, insulting. the observation wasn't about poor time management, but rather the congestion in the room not being conducive to good (and yes, timely) care. i certainly never addressed "not keeping your cool"; where did i ever suggest i was "running like a chicken with its head cut off"? you read much more into what was said than what was there...and did so incorrectly. perhaps creating some "mistakes, stress, anger and resentment" toward yourself in this instance.
a little bit of friendliness and communication goes a long way. people wont continue to come back to the nurses station every 5 minutes if you take a few minutes to explain how the remote works, where the kitchen is, etc. it's like 3 minutes of your time. "hello ms smiths visitors, just so you know, this is the call bell, in case ms smith has an urgent need. the call bell also works the tv, see? the kitchen is down the hall in case she wants any juice or ice cream...that's all we have there and it's only for the patients, so another fyi is that the hospital cafeteria is open for visitors till 7pm, so if any of you want to eat, you better hurry. i'll be around in about 30 minutes to change her iv and bring her sleep meds. thanks!"
preempt the problem....before it is a problem.
is it beneath you to do that?
my, you do seem to have some anger issues to work through, don't you? perhaps trying that "little bit of friendliness and communication" on message boards might help with that? and once again, insulting....do you really think i have never once had that very conversation with people? and do you think they always cheerfully agree to skip off to the cafeteria to fork over cash...or just perhaps they wait until i'm not looking so they can clean out the fridge before anyone sees? how about those visitors that find eating out of our patient pantries to be better than using up their welfare money?
no, you couldn't possibly be more off-base if you tried.
i used to always pop my head into a pts room if i saw visitors come in.
............
deleted the rest as it was continuing on in the insulting, off-base trend. you have no clue about my experiences, my role when a floor nurse, when a charge nurse, and when a nurse manager. you simply are shooting off, making wild assumptions that have no merit and no credibility. if i thought it would make a difference, i'd expect an apology once you reconsidered your lecture.
yes, i know this thread was intended to be light, ......
well! i see we have exactly one thing in common: you recognized you totally brought down a lighthearted thread for the odd purpose of chastising someone. way to go.
How exactly do visitors interfere with your job as a nurse.
Oh, my. Here we go...
Just last week, we had a charming visitor who was sexually harassing several of the nurses on our unit, which made his patient-relative upset... And then a couple of weeks ago, we had these two visitors seeing separate patients (in separate rooms) get into a physical brawl in the middle of our hallway, and they both had to get arrested... and last year, there was that visitor who wouldn't leave after visiting hours were over, and he became physically and verbally aggressive, making threats until he was eventually arrested and taken to jail...
Not all of our visitors are like this (thank God, could you imagine? I'd never go to work again)! In fact, a lot of our visitors are nice and grateful... a few are even helpful when patients start to go down the tubes. But I've been a nurse for not even two years yet, and I have plenty of examples where visitors have directly affected my ability to tend to my patients, as seen above.
How exactly do visitors interfere with your job as a nurse?
20 years and you have never had visitors interfere with your job as a nurse? You really need descriptions of this phenomena?
Visitors are a crapshoot. Sometimes, they are as you describe in your fairy tale description. Other times, they are a horrible, damaging, disease-bearing presence, sometimes the very reason the patient is in the hospital in the first dang place.
No, not insulting. I call it as I see it, and more often than not, people are unable to see the hostility in their disregard for pts, families, etc. You have a right to your feelings ofc, but let's not misname the sentiment, which is obviously hostility.
The other thing I often see on these boards, and blogs in general, is people "venting", followed by posts supportive of the vent, forgetting that they are only hearing one side of the story. This gives a false encouragement to what can sometimes be a crappy situation....(a recent post about dangerously leaning an O2 tank, comes to mind) but nevertheless, dozens will agree because they want to be supportive. It's all looked upon as some sort of sisterhood, inside circle of nursing understanding, that it is us against them (patients), and I have always found that attitude as intolerable as racism.
YMMV, but to me, the hostility was quite apparent.
No, not insulting, I call it as I see it, ......dozens will agree because they want to be supportive. It's all looked upon as some sort of sisterhood, inside circle of nursing understanding, that it is us against them (patients), and I have always found that attitude as intolerable as racism.
YMMV, but to me, the hostility was quite apparent.
"Calling it as you see it" is still, in this case, insulting. Standing behind a claim of being honest in your opinion does not make it less so.
Never in my post, not once, did I suggest an "us against the patient" mentality. Actually, my problem with the visitors you've never met (the non-angels), is that they PREVENTED me from giving the best possible care...you missed that, I see, even though I thought THAT "quite apparent" in my writing. I was speaking of patients whose best interest is NOT served by their 'visitors' presence.
I have no idea what you're talking about concerning an O2 tank; none was in any of my posts. Perhaps you're confusing multiple people's thoughts on various subjects; lumping them all together as one complaint doesn't serve anyone.
I have no idea what YMMV is, as English is my sole language.
Beyond that, I think until you read ONLY what is written and respond ONLY to what someone actually SAYS (rather than guessing what they might be thinking?), our communication is now done.
AshleyO77
43 Posts
-I will do my best to make you comfortable and I understand you are sick. But I am a nurse, not a maid, nanny, hooker, or a five star chef.
-I understand you don't feel well. This does not give you the right to scream at me or call me all kinds of names. I will sit with you, talk with you, anything you want. But I will not be treated like crap.
-I don't care how many degrees you have, how rich you are or how much money you have donated to my facility. I will treat you with the same kindness and respect I treat everyone.