Monitoring nurse rounds??

[TeneshaO'Neal]

A friend of mine told me of a hospital stay in Waco. She said that the nurses wore a device that was shaped like an egg and it monitored how many times the nurse went into patient rooms. Does anyone know what she is referring to? Thanks for the info.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Yup....I have seen similar devices. They monitor what your are doing how long you are in the room and how many time you go in there.

[scottaprn]

Had them at an ER I worked for prn. The first day they required them was the last shift I picked up for them.

I am a professional and if you don't trust me to do professional work then we are not a good fit.

[RN403, BSN, RN]

Yes I've seen and heard of these types of devices. Not sure how fond I'd be of them.

[macawake, MSN]

I couldn’t and definitely wouldn’t work for an employer that had that little faith in me.

I don’t care that the argument can be made that if a patient or a patient’s attorney ever alleged that you’ve skipped rounds or whatever, this gizmo could be used in your defense. It doesn’t change my opinion on this issue. I will not be under surveillance, simple as that.

I’m an adult and a professional, I take responsibility for doing my job properly.

My employer can either choose to trust that, or we go our separate ways.

Idiocy…

[MunoRN, RN]

I've used them and personally I'm all for them. I think one of the biggest problems with how nursing workloads are managed is that management has no idea how our time is used and therefore that hourly rounding may not be a reasonable expectation. I'm all for having proof that a nurse can get stuck in one room for 45 minutes, or the amount of time we spend in front of a computer screen charting.

[scottaprn]

MunoRN,

Since your facility started using the trackers how many times have they decreased your patient load? Have they changed the policy on hourly rounding?

My point being they could use the devices for the things to improve the nursing workflow but I have never heard of a hospital changing ratios or changing policy in a way that benefits the nurse.

not to mention I haven't even started my rant on how they can't give any indication of the quality of nursing care.

[NightOwl0624]

I once worked at a hospital that used them. I hated the idea, but there were two features that were pretty cool. First, as soon as you walked into a patients room, it would automatically turn the call light off. Second, a "N" would light up outside the room indicating a nurse or aide was inside the room. By looking down the hall you could easily see where your coworkers were.

i always wondered what kind of reports were generated by these trackers and how the information was used by management. No one ever got in trouble for any time mismanagement as far as I know. But the whole idea of being tracked made my stomach turn.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

We don't have them, but some of the bigger hospitals do.

There's a way to cheat the system. A nurse tried to explain it to me, but I didn't understand it.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Well, it started with drug testing, then the cameras everywhere; is anyone surprised? I can't imagine what's next, but it will be a doozy. Go ahead and put an egg on me, you will finally believe how ragged you are running us. Wait till they put audio and camera on those things (it will come).

[sissiesmama, ASN, RN]

Oh yes! Worked at a few hospitals where we had to wear them. They even kept track of of how often we went to the bathroom,

[RNNPICU, BSN, RN]

Actually a few hospitals already have cameras in rooms. Many times they are used to review critical events to use a teaching points. At first it was creepy but now you don't even think about it. I practice the same with/without cameras.