It just never ends. For the last year or more, management has been harping about hourly rounds. They have gone as far as to go in to rooms with us and watch us do our hourly rounds, making sure we have hit each key behavior. Also, they will go to each pt daily and ask about our hourly rounds. NOW... they have come up with the idea of call-lights needing to be answered within 2 minutes (it will soon go down to 1 min) and if it is not, at the end of the shift, we have to "sign off" on it. They have also now put up a poster board in the middle of the hall with each nurse's name. We get stars next to our names if none of our call-lights were >2min. It is crap like this that makes me want to leave the bedside. I do not have to be "shamed" to answer my pt's call-lights. I would not mind if it were in the breakroom, locker room, med room, but I have a huge issue with it being in the hallway. Some nurses only work 2 days a week, others 5. If I were a pt or family member and I were to look at that board and my nurse did not have many stars, I think I would assume that generally she/he was not good at answering their pt's call-lights. Also, it is a team effort. There are times we are all "stuck" in a room for a good amount of time. How am I supposed to be both in the hall at all times watching for call-lights and in my pts room doing my job?? Not possible. I also would not have a problem if the poster board was separated in shifts with no names and stars given to each shift for call-lights >2 minutes. I spoke with my director about it and she sounded annoyed with me and said this a positive thing and is supposed to be a fun game. I told her my concerns and why I disagree with it (mostly being where she has displayed it) and I told her not one person I have spoken to is happy about it. She completely did not hear or understand my concerns. I went as far as asking her if she were still on the floor how she would feel, to which I did not get a decent reply.
I am curious how others would feel about this. Am I being ridiculous because that this is really annoying me??
We have the phones and the boards too. I do write my name down, but not my number. However, the charge nurse will write my number on the board when she makes rounds. Patients rarely use it however. Our unit has a monitor tech who answers the call light, so at least they get answered. I like this because she can kind of act like a gate keeper. If it is for pain meds, she tells me, if its for a bedpan, she tells the aide.
Sometimes the phones are good. For example, PT always checks with us before they work with a patient. Calling me on my phone then is a good thing, since it saves me a trip back to the desk.
Sometimes it rings so much it drives me crazy. But "Mappers your light! Mappers your light!" every five minutes of the intercom is worse than the phone!
I need to clarify: the cell phone we get is issued at the beginning of our shift and then turned back into the desk at the end of our shift, and the phone is reassigned to the next shift nurse. we don't take them home or anything. they only work in/around the hospital. sometimes we don't get calls, sometimes we get calls from patients because they are in pain (in which case, i don't mind getting the call). doctors and what not are transferred directly to you no matter where you are, so that's a good thing - we don't have to rush to the desk to answer the phone. MOST of the time the phone is used for petty reasons, though. ex, "can you please bring me some jello?"
when i first starting working at this hospital i though to myself what a great idea the phones were. but having your phone ringing off the hook when you're trying to do a dressing change or whatever can be very, very, very annoying.
Our phones are like that too. If I'm up to my elbows in poop or doing a sterile dressing change and my phone rings. I'll have the pt (if they can) hit the call light and ask if someone is trying to call me. Usually it's the monitor tech or someone at the desk, so I can answer the question or at least tell them I'll be there when I'm done.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
doctors and what not are transferred directly to you no matter where you are, so that's a good thing - we don't have to rush to the desk to answer the phone.
*** You are not saying that you rush to the desk just becuase a doctor is calling are you? If I have time to take a docs call I will, otherwise he/she can just call back later.
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
We have to do hourly rounds. On our patient satisfaction scores we got comments like "they were in my room too much", "they bothered me too much". It was so funny. This is why I work 3-11. I don't have to deal with management after 5 pm.
We have to do hourly rounds. On our patient satisfaction scores we got comments like "they were in my room too much", "they bothered me too much". It was so funny. This is why I work 3-11. I don't have to deal with management after 5 pm.
That's hilarious. Don't you just love waking someone at 4am to do their v.s.?
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
The patients HATE that. I am probably going to be switching to the 7pm-7am shift soon and I am going to get myself a little flashlight because I am not going to wake people up at 3am just to "do rounds".
Pointy-haired bosses, ROTFL! Have definitely seen a few among the pumps and pearls set.
It's really a shame that the bad bosses all stand out and strike a nerve with so many people here. If only bad managers were the exception and the excellent ones the norm.
I wonder how many of these clueless folks have ever heard of The Peter Principle.
BTW, to WANT2BEANURSESOON and other pre-nursing or nursing students who might be reading this thread---yes, this is an extreme example of how bad it CAN get. It doesn't mean that all managers are awful or clueless or that you will be faced with stupidity of this enormity on a daily basis in your careers. Yes, stupid happens and we all end up suffering. But don't give up; the students of today are the nurses of tomorrow and you CAN make positive changes when you are in practice--if anything, to know what NOT to do and how NOT to behave.
Some of the best lessons I have learned in my nursing education are examples of how not to teach. Painful to go through but lessons well learned nonetheless.
LOL at Moogie! This could be the bumper sticker to replace s-h-*-t happens! I'd totally buy it.
What ever happened to quality over quantity?.."My patient died because I had to answer a call light...but I answered all my call lights in under two minuets; gold star!!":uhoh3: If management wants to pull this kind of crap I would tell them to go work for McDonald's; they required their drive through window times to be under five minuets...I am tired of our counties drive thru, microwave, DVR-fastforward mentality; maybe in E.R. and triage, but health care in general does not need this thought process.
And with fast food restaurants shooting for 5 mins or less, mistakes have sky rocketed. Hmmmm....could the same thing could happen in the hospitals?? Ya think?
Ensure you take that phone with you everywhere! ..... and drop it in the potty. OOPS!
When I worked at a hospital which used those Spectra-Link phones, I did accidentally drop mine in the toilet- because every time you try to take a pee break, some one calls you. I was told by mgmt that if the phone did not work after it dried out, that I would be billed $200. for the phone- which would be deducted from my pay check.
Also, these phones are loud as heck- if you enter a sleeping pt's room, the phone is sure to go off and wake them.
One of the many reasons I left- I just didn't "have the time" for their brand of BS.
Shhhhhhhh - don't tell my managers. It sounds exactly like something they'd do!!
Ours have managed to destroy our unit's esprit de corps in less than one month w/ their silly "dedicated charge nurse" idea. They've managed to alienate at least half the staff and now many folks are putting their resumes in elsewhere.
It also sounds very much like a "customer service-think" type idea. An idea that has nothing to do with true patient care, but more something they can point to and "quantify."
Anything but actually coming to help out on the floor themselves.
I was told by mgmt that if the phone did not work after it dried out, that I would be billed $200. for the phone- which would be deducted from my pay check.
Hmmmm -- now I might just pay $200 to throw one of these babies against the wall, and/or drop it in the toilet and FLUSH IT DOWN!!
This could be the bumper sticker to replace s-h-*-t happens! I'd totally buy it.
Ya think?
mappers
437 Posts
We have the phones and the boards too. I do write my name down, but not my number. However, the charge nurse will write my number on the board when she makes rounds. Patients rarely use it however. Our unit has a monitor tech who answers the call light, so at least they get answered. I like this because she can kind of act like a gate keeper. If it is for pain meds, she tells me, if its for a bedpan, she tells the aide.
Sometimes the phones are good. For example, PT always checks with us before they work with a patient. Calling me on my phone then is a good thing, since it saves me a trip back to the desk.
Sometimes it rings so much it drives me crazy. But "Mappers your light! Mappers your light!" every five minutes of the intercom is worse than the phone!