I'm curious do you experience this too?

Nurses General Nursing

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The more nurses I speak to about this the more I hear about how long it takes to find stuff. Stuff like equipment, items from the store/stock room, finding information, keys, codes and the list goes on.

On one shift it took 35 minutes to find the bladder scanner because another ward didn't tell anyone that they took it to use on their ward. Drove me nuts! :no:

Is this happening to you too? Would you spend 10 minutes everyday or a shift just trying finding stuff?

Not any more. I work in a PACU where most of the staff, myself included, are obsessive neat freaks. Every bay is stocked with all the correct equipment and I could work blind-folded and still find every item. The supply storage is "just in time" and works really well. It is pure bliss :woot: The only thing we seem for some unknown reason to run out of every once in a while are medium-size disposable gloves.

I used to work on a med-surg floor that almost drove me nuts :madface: I swear, I spent half my shifts trying to locate either a thermometer or a pulse-oximeter thingie. I know that they aren't equipped with legs but it sure seemed like it..

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Specializes in Orthopedic, LTC, STR, Med-Surg, Tele.

My personal experience is that we end up with a collection of tagged items that sit. And sit. And sit. So broken items do get tagged but do not get fixed right away. Thus we have a collection of bedside pulse oximeters, BP cuffs, IV and PCA pumps, etc, at the nurse's station.

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This is my biggest complaint about both jobs I have held as an RN. It was really irritating as a med-surg RN. It is unforgivable as an ICU RN. I have had to search for working cables to hook up ECG, ART, CVP's etc, IV pumps, working suction regulators, suction tubing, IV tubing, Oxygen trees, nasal cannulas, transducer holders etc.!?!?!?!?! I have had to go to another floor to find supplies.

Just tonight I had to hunt down a working bed to admit a new pt. into. FIVE rooms later I found one that actually worked and had a scale. Then it was a hunt to find a transducer holder and working suction regulator. This is all and well if its a pt. coming from ER and I know they are intubated, have lines etc and can prepare for their arrival. It is a different story when it is a crumping patient, I really cannot leave their side to go off and hunt for equipment.

My gosh that must have felt like hours of time spent just looking for stuff how frustrating!

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The best is never having anything on ur floor bc the floor above AND the floor below come to urs to take what they need...on top of that, the supervisor looks at ur floor as if we r disorganized and losing things!!

Yes exactly and it does make you look like you haven't got it together. In one hospital they got around that by putting in codes on each store room on each floor but then the poor medical staff didn't know what each code was and one night a junior kicked a door open because he was so frustrated. Oops!

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My personal experience is that we end up with a collection of tagged items that sit. And sit. And sit. So broken items do get tagged but do not get fixed right away. Thus we have a collection of bedside pulse oximeters, BP cuffs, IV and PCA pumps, etc, at the nurse's station.

That also happens a lot too. What's the point of writing that something is broken if you aren't going to do something about it. Grrrr....

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.

Oh, let's see... um, this happens just about 50% of the time!

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YES !!!!! it's exasperating!!!!!!!

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Oh let's see... um, this happens just about 50% of the time![/quote']

Wow! That's depressing.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

Yes I have everywhere I have worked. The most exasperating thing is when the code cart wasn't stocked properly and items are missing. I am talking important ones like Ambu bags. Yes we were at a code and the ambu bag was not in or on the code cart, none on the floor and we had to go up one floor to get one. So frustrating and annoying.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

Sounds like where I work! I waste more time trying to find stuff....just a couple days ago I had to go to three different med carts before I found a band aid. REALLY??? A health care facility that doesn't keep simple bandages accessible, ridiculous! And good luck finding a working O2 concentrator or suction machine. Somebody could die in the time wasted looking for the equipment.

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... I had to go to three different med carts before I found a band aid. REALLY??? ....

Know exactly what you mean.

Last year, one of our nurses had to call a doc at 9:45p to get a different order because we didn't have a Fleet's in the house! This was a LTC facility!

Hello, what's wrong with this picture!!!

(Place was very poorly run. The supply person wasn't doing her job. But, due to being a close friend of the DON, nothing was ever done about it.)

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Yes I have everywhere I have worked. The most exasperating thing is when the code cart wasn't stocked properly and items are missing. I am talking important ones like Ambu bags. Yes we were at a code and the ambu bag was not in or on the code cart, none on the floor and we had to go up one floor to get one. So frustrating and annoying.

That's not great at all!

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