It is time for a change folks....

[mindlor]

So I have been at this for two years now.....

And still.....

For the most part the nurse managers seem to adhere to the nurse ratchet mindset. In addition, they seem to favor staff who are also little nurse ratchets.....

Then when the surveys come back, they are stunned and huddle us up, dumbfounded as to why their results are so horrible....

It is time for nurse ratchet to go to pasture.

Today is the day of providing great customer service while providing great nursing care...

Deal with it....

[cinlou, BSN, MSN, RN]

It is important to work in a facility that holds and follows the same values that you hold, otherwise you will be very unhappy. We don't always have that choice and we can try to

change it but there comes a time when you have to stop beating your head against the brick wall.

[tokebi]

Regarding bed alarms...

Although I am not a fan of them either, it's not an infringement on patient autonomy or dignity. It's about patient safety. I have patients with platelet count in single digits, so many IVs running that their pole looks like a Christmas tree with two rows of Alaris modules. And for any reason they cannot wait for help or refuse to call before getting up, I want their alarms on and you bet I will be running when I hear them.

Our hospital had a fatal fall not too long ago where the patient died of internal hemorrhage. We cannot afford to have such preventable death happen again.

The problem is not the bed alarm itself, but improper utilization. If it is used in proper situation with proper patient population, a nurse would not have trouble articulating the need and convincing the patient. It's also not helpful just parroting the line, "it's the hospital policy." It would only make indignant patient even more irate.

[nynursey_]

On the issues of bed alarms: they don't prevent falls. They just let you know when someone is already on the floor.

[VANurse2010]

On the issues of bed alarms: they don't prevent falls. They just let you know when someone is already on the floor.

I believe that bed alarms are overused. However, the statement quoted above is completely false in my experience. It depends on the type of bed alarm used, the sensitivity of it, the layout of the unit, and the attention of staff to it. Given that restraints are severely frowned upon (rightfully so in many cases), sometimes that is one of the few interventions one has.