Bossy Unit Clerks

[NancyRN]

Does anyone else here have a problem with bossy Unit Clerks?

The unit clerks at my telemetry unit seem to add to the already unbearable stress levels. I don't know how to deal with them because they do have a job to do but they don't seem to understand that I have priorities.

Yesterday when I came on duty I was told that a patient would be transferring to another hospital. I assessed her, talked to her about the surgery and her fears, then began assessing my other FIVE patients. It seemed I was running into some big problems because I had a lady with chest pain and one with dyspnea, and one with BS of over 500. Every time I passed the nurses station this unit clerk would crab at me about getting the first patient transferred. I was on the phone with a doctor and she SLAMMED the papers down in front of me and said "they're downstairs waiting!"

Figuring the ambulance was downstairs waiting, I went ahead and filled out the 15 pages of paperwork and handed it to her. She them said "Good, now I can call for an ambulance!" I said "What do you mean? I thought they were downstairs waiting?"

"I meant ER had another patient waiting for the room" was her reply.

I'm generally meek but I have gotten courage from this forum! I asked, "Is there ANY reason that patient in ER who is stable could not have waited until I assess all my patients this morning?" Another nurse then piped up, "Your patients are all FINE! I had them YESTERDAY!" So as you can see I had no support here and the unit clerks continue to harrass the nurses.

How do the rest of you handle this kind of thing?

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Howdy Yall

from deep in the heart of texas

Hell, a doctors handwriting can drive nurse crazy also. Plus a nurses handwriting can be just as bad, me included.. Just ask Laverne

[NurseLKY]

I too worked as a clerk. They have doctors asking them questions, nurses telling them to do stuff, aides asking for things, plus they have to deal with family members that either come to the desk or call on the phone. Plus they have to answer call lights and if something doesn't get done the patient yells at them. It is a very stressful job. Everybody should have to work as a clerk a few days to understand.

[mattsmom81]

Yes, it is a hard job. I know because it's my job to train my ward clerks as a charge nurse. So....I can and DO do your job when I work nights where there is no secretary... plus many night nurses don't get a secretary , so they do their own secretarial duties in critical care.

A secretary has a tough job....but it's tough everywhere in healthcare, isn't it? We have to all work together.

[mamabear]

First, let me preface this by saying that the majority of ward clerks are indispensable, and I've worked with some great ones:)

At my current job, however, the two clerks we have (one for days, one for evenings) are not only bossy, they are grade-A snitches for the boss and of marginal intelligence:confused:

The day shift clerk spends most of her time either sucking up to the boss or carrying charts for the doctors (like they can't take a few charts from the station to the consultation room?)

The evening clerk spends most of his time hacking into medical records or going out to pick up pizzas, Chinese, etc., once the boss is gone for the day:( By hacking into medical records I mean checking out psych evals on any current or former employees who have been patients on one of our behavioral health units: apparently he thinks this is riotously funny:eek:

[NancyRN]

I'll say it again: just because your job is hard ( mine isn't?) there's no reason to be rude. The Unit Clerk I was describing was out of order. I can't understand the defensive attitudes of some Unit Clerks here. Rude and/or obnoxious behavior is never justifiable. Ever.

[prmenrs, RN]

Being a Unit Secretary can make a one-armed paper hanger's job easy by comparison. Once the clerk has snapped and gets rude, it's even harder. Do anything you can to lighten the load, but don't let them eat YOU for breakfast!

[ktwlpn, LPN]

Originally posted by mamabear

First, let me preface this by saying that the majority of ward clerks are indispensable, and I've worked with some great ones:)

At my current job, however, the two clerks we have (one for days, one for evenings) are not only bossy, they are grade-A snitches for the boss and of marginal intelligence:confused:

The day shift clerk spends most of her time either sucking up to the boss or carrying charts for the doctors (like they can't take a few charts from the station to the consultation room?)

The evening clerk spends most of his time hacking into medical records or going out to pick up pizzas, Chinese, etc., once the boss is gone for the day:( By hacking into medical records I mean checking out psych evals on any current or former employees who have been patients on one of our behavioral health units: apparently he thinks this is riotously funny:eek:

>>>>Hacking into the medical records of current employees? Grounds for immediate dismissal-I worked with a unit clerk whom was dismissed for breaking confidentiality-She mentioned to someone in a restaurant that someone else was a patient at the hospital at the time....The patient did not want her family and friends to know what was going on with her ---the clerk immediately got the boot.......It only takes a complaint to the proper authority and he should be out of there.....

[nursedawn67, LPN]

Ours isn't bossy so much as she can be lazy...such as forgetting to stock for us (which is her job)...so you try to do some thing such as hang a tube feed and there is no formula for that person...because she forgot. Nothing like starving someone!

[nursedawn67, LPN]

Originally posted by mamabear

First, let me preface this by saying that the majority of ward clerks are indispensable, and I've worked with some great ones:)

I feel the same way...there are some good ones out there that are indispensable!

[futureccrn]

Originally posted by mamabear

The evening shift clerk spends most of his time hacking into medical records or going out to pick up pizzas, Chinese, etc., once the boss is gone for the day:( By hacking into medical records I mean checking out psych evals on any current or former employees who have been patients on one of our behavioral health units: apparently he thinks this is riotously funny:eek:

Hmmm.........mamabear, what your evening shift unit clerk is doing(by reading medical records) is illegal! He is breaching patient confidentiality by looking at things that are none of his business!

I have worked with excellent unit clerks for the most part. And I have worked with crappy ones! One UC had worked at the hospital longer than I had been alive! She knew everything, or so it seemed. On her days off, the unit was a mess as the other UC who was primarily an NA just couldn't keep up with all of the order entries.

One UC where I work now, spends a lot of time on the phone with personal calls. This irks me. Hey you aren't getting paid to talk to your honey on the phone! There are things that can be done. Sure when I'm not busy, I sit and chat with the other RN's but how often does that happen? Not very!

[superstar]

its great to hear a charge nurse doing a clerks job on an evening. Nothing would have been done for me on my ward as a clerk for me. Now i am a student nurse and have seen other areas and i cant believe how much i did compared to other ward clerks. Some nurses are really clued up. Thats good but what are the ward clerks doing when nurses are booking ambulances and bed statements! If i thought i was leaving my duties and taking a nurse off the ward to do them i would have felt totally guilty.

[mamabear]

Thanks, everyone, for your input regarding our evening secretary and his gaining illegal and unethical access to employee records.:) This has been on my mind for the past few days. The thing is, this guy is so tight with the boss and can cause so much grief for the RNs (and psych techs) everybody more or less leaves him along. He didn't hesitate to snitch on an RN who accessed her personal email at work, because that was the only way she could stay in touch with her son, who is teaching in Japan:confused: This guy can be so passive-aggressive when he wants to: one of the night shift RNs got on his bad side and, all of a sudden, supplies weren't being ordered, messages were "misplaced", the fax machine acted up and he "forgot" to call somebody to fix it; you get the picture. Maybe I'm a coward, maybe I just want to keep the uproar down; I don't know. Since we're a very small satellite facility there's no way the boss could find out about this anonymously. If this guy was a crackerjack secretary or really helpful during crises (we're a locked psych unit) maybe people would cut him a little slack. The guy is a complete slob, his "work" is illegable, and he spends a lot of time either running personal errands or doing things, e.g., picking up take-out food while still on the clock, doing little favors for the few staff who are his favorites.

I don't know if I need extra advise (what he is doing is illegal, unethical and childish) or just an objective forum to vent my frustrations. Anyway, thanks for the space.:)