My floor is getting monitors!

[atomRN]

Seems like the hospital has a lil cash to throw around so our inpatient rooms are getting cardiac monitors. I have been gifted with writing the process standard for this. I do have a big question though, what do you do when you have monitored patients and you go to lunch? Who minds the phones? Also, is there any of you out there working on a tele floor without ACLS??

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

Our secretary/tele tech and the charge nurse watch the monitors. We switch off lunches, breaks so somebody is aways there. Our secretaries had to go through training and testing to qualify.

As for ACLS, some of the nurses have it and others don't. I find that strange since we have tele. Management says we don't need ACLS to be able to do compressions....True....but ACLS teaches you so much more. My ACLS expires in Feb and I'm on the fence about renewing for now., It's so expensive.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

We have monitor techs/secretaries. If they need to step out, an RN will stay at the desk to watch the monitors - someone has to be there at all times. Ultimately it is the RN's responsibility for watching the monitors for their patients, but the MTs act as our second pair of eyes, which really helps. Some of the MT's get into the habit of letting a CNA sit at the desk. They can answer phones, but they really shouldn't be watching those monitors.

Pretty much everyone on my floor is certified (along with NRP and PALS for those nurses taking pediatric patients) but it isn't necessarily a requirement. Anytime we call a code we begin the BLS component and get them hooked up to the monitors...once that happens, the on-call physician or ER physician are usually already in the room running the code.

[CrazyCatLadyRN, BSN, RN]

I work surg tele. We have a monitor tech that watches all 12 hours and an RN sits for them on their breaks. We have to be acls and basic arrhythmia certified. There was a 60 hour class we had to take for the b.a. Cert. strips have to be signed off by the RN by 10 that shift and we document the rhythm every 4 hours just like our assessment and vital signs. I know the medical floors w/o tele on do vitals bid. I love monitors and I hate floating to medical floors. I feel so in the dark with vitals only bid and no tele.