do you make sure your pts

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello fellow nurses;-)

my DH and I went to visit his mother in the hosp today...this was her 2nd day, dx dehydration. she is pleasant late 80s with pretty severe dementia. Very nice hospital, quiet,,,no one rushing around...(not like the hospital I use to work at;-) staff at desk talking amongst each other.. anyway, MIL with crust all around her lips, mouth very dry, hence the crust(no swabs around) eyes crusty, hair not brushed and has matted(she has never looked like that.EVER.)it was a somewhat of a shock for my DH to see her like that.. her heels right on the bed(not propped on a pillow)so the heels do not break down....this was at about 5pm. My husband was so angry..he said if they all have time to stand around and talk why hasn't someone cleaned her up?

Anyway..I do not want to bash any other HCP, but i do see his point..we were both just so exhausted, when her nurse strolled over to the room from the front desk we didnt even ask why she wasnt cleaned up..I just did it and was happy to do it for my dear MIL. I know when i was tons busy, running my butt off I still made sure either myself or the aide did the care...hair brushed, face washed off, mouth care(esp. with dementia pt who didnt drink much, would go in and swab their mouths...constant rounds on the floor, esp. when things were quiet..time to catch up and whoever needed some things..got them.

So fellow nurses, my question..do you make sure your aides(if you have them)or you, yourself, make sure your pts are getting at least some minimal grooming done? Thanks.

I think that it is feasible to expect a patient to be as clean as possible. I think what the OP was expecting was not over-the-top. She just expected her MIL to look clean, not like she was competing for "America's Top Model."

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:)Mindlor you are absolutely right I do not know you personally I only know you through your postings. And your postings usually point the finger at staff nurses as lazy and inefficient, if not uncaring and cruel. :)

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:)Mindlor you are absolutely right I do not know you personally I only know you through your postings. And your postings usually point the finger at staff nurses as lazy and inefficient, if not uncaring and cruel. :)

I can only form my opinion based on my five and often 6 senses.

Sadly from my brief experience and brief observations, many are lazy, inefficient, uncaring and cruel and in my opinion of no business being nurses.

Not ALL!, But certainly many

When I was a patient my nurses were for the most part...PATHETIC.....

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Mindlor you are definitely management material...:idea:D

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Mindlor you are definitely management material...:idea:D

Well funny you mention that. That is certainly my goal once I get a few years exp under my belt.

And guess what, there will be far fewer lazy, inefficient, uncaring, cruel nurses that have jobs ;)

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Specializes in family practice.

On several occasions i have found myself combing pt's hair (even braiding grandma's hair, giving back rubs, putting vaseline on their lips and swabbing their mouths.

When do i have time to do this, when i do my Q2 turns (you guessed right, these are my total care pt's or our really elderly). It takes me nothing to grab a brush and run it through their hair, while the aide is fluffing the pillow, i rub my hands around their back (30sec isn't too much). After the turn i wet the swab and run it through their mouth. Open the lip gloss and smack it over their lips. Its not too hard to ask for these stuff

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Caring for the sick should be a collaborative effort between staff and family members.

oh, i sooo agree here.

when my mom was dying (in icu), i did all her personal care, and only asked nurse for assist when i needed it.

it was a very loving, bonding, intimate experience.

that said, i do believe there are nurses who are too darned busy to provide basic hygiene 101...wash face, hands, comb hair.

and that to me, is seriously pathetiuc.

then there are the nurses who just don't find it priority, and let it slide...even more unthinkable.

for me, i just couldn't look at my messy looking pt, and claim it as mine.

i'm better than that.

arrogant? perhaps. but i stand by it.

And guess what, there will be far fewer lazy, inefficient, uncaring, cruel nurses that have jobs ;)

whoa bub...your aforementioned assessments better be on the mark...

and that you KNOW that any negligence isn't r/t horrible staffing and unrealistic expectations.

from my experience, there are far more overworked nurses, than there are lazy , cruel, and uncaring.

proceed very carefully.:twocents:

leslie

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I am sure they exist, but as you said, I dont know ***** lol

You got that right.

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Specializes in Pediatrics and geriatrics.

I work in a facility where usually the cnas have anywhere from 6 to 8 total care patients (depends on staffing and the unit). These kids get bathed (tub baths) every day and bad baths as well. Nail care is also supposed to be done as needed as well. Everyday I notice that nails arent trimmed down. I just grab a nail clipper and clip them myself. I also noticed that a child who is a mouth breather had dried toothpaste on her lips and teeth. She also has a very high arch in her palate. So I grabbed a handful to toothettes, wet them, and proceeded to clean off the toothpaste. When I got to cleaning the arch in her palate, I pulled out the largest goob of phelgmy goo I have ever seen. Long story short, the whole thing only took me about 5 minutes to do proper oral care for her, and her smiling at me when I was done was priceless.

I know that we as nurses are busy, but it only takes a few minutes to make someone feel better.

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Bah the best thing I can do is finish up nursing school with my 4.0......become an awsome nurse and then become a manager, then who knows maybe someday we shall meet on the unit :)

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Bah the best thing I can do is finish up nursing school with my 4.0......become an awsome nurse and then become a manager, then who knows maybe someday we shall meet on the unit :)

...or a dark alley?;)

leslie

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...or a dark alley?;)

leslie

No way!! I dont go to dark allies!!! Too scary!!!! Too indefensible LOL

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