Our Med/Surg unit went through a Mock Survey last week in preparation for JCAHO's visit in the Fall. I wasn't at work when this happened, but apparently we didn't do too well. Some areas cited included having IV antibiotics (piggybacks) lying on the med carts (*GASP*), and having vials of saline (for IV flushes) sitting out on the med carts(*HORRORS*), and other petty (to ~ME~ anyway) demerits, or whatever they call them. Have you ever heard of the two things I mentioned being a problem? Why not keep making the jobs even MORE difficult and inconvenient for the nurses.
There were some problems that I can understand like leaving unmarked syringes (saline or heparin flushes) on the top of med carts, but again, much is done for our convenience to keep up with the demands of our unit. JCAHO wants everything locked up tight (again, I can understand the rationale), but it's starting to feel more and more like the straws are beginning to break the camel's back on our units. We just received our manager's resignation email yesterday, our ratios were recently raised and PCT's cut back, the hospital's facing financial troubles, yada yada yada... but that's another story and thread. (Is there a smilie tearing its hair out?)
