I work on Med Surg and take around THIRTY calls (maybe 40) per 12 hour shift.
Doctors, lab, PT, OT, MRI, family members, social work... the list goes on and on.
It's too many calls. And always when I'm in the middle of doing something. It seems like I can't even complete one sentence of a small conversation with one of my patients without being called on my phone by someone who wants to know something about some other patient of mine.
Personally, all of this calling could drive me insane
So, how bout you? How many calls do you get in a shift and what type of unit or setting do you work on?
Understood those are all important calls. Are you saying you stop what you are doing in the bathroom and interrupt what you are doing with a patient in order to give the caller first priority.
Yep, that's what we are saying. On a very good day, I get about an average of 3 calls an hour (36 calls for a 12 hours shift). On a bad day, double that, which is an average of 1 call every 10 minutes. On a really bad day, I don't even want to know the exact number.
How long has it been since you worked bedside acute care?! There is no voicemail. People expect nurses to answer their phones, so if you don't they call again about 30 seconds after the first call. It's not a matter of prioritization; it's a matter of the system not giving a crap about what is being interrupted.
If it was as easy as call prioritization, do you really think there would be a whole body of research on it? Not every problem in nursing can be answered with "The nurses have to do a better job."
Med Surg is definitely heavy on the phone calls. Most of the time it doesn't bother me but I do get irked with the pharmacy calling all day with med clarifications. Can they speak directly to the doctor and just cut out the middle man. I know they are just doing their job but some days it feels like they are doing it just a little too well 😌
200 phone calls at a liberal average of 3 minutes a piece comes out to 10 hours of phone calls. If you work a 12 hour Shift that leaves 2 hours for charting, meds, family interaction, treatments etc. That doesn't seem plausible. If you only work an 8 hour shifts you are already in the negative by 2 hours.
I get that, but really if you're toileting a pt or doing wound care, what else can you do? You can't answer the phone right that second.
I apologize for sounding snarky on a previous post. The powers that be dictate that phones shall always be answered. There are only so many tasks to delegate to a CNAs who also have phones and more patients. Handing off to coworkers has limits as well. I have been talked to many a time but it just gets old.
Regarding pharmacists, whom I absolutely admire, why can't they ask the patient about their last dose or whatever? The patients all have phones, too, right?
Yep, that's what we are saying. On a very good day, I get about an average of 3 calls an hour (36 calls for a 12 hours shift). On a bad day, double that, which is an average of 1 call every 10 minutes. On a really bad day, I don't even want to know the exact number.
How long has it been since you worked bedside acute care?! There is no voicemail. People expect nurses to answer their phones, so if you don't they call again about 30 seconds after the first call. It's not a matter of prioritization; it's a matter of the system not giving a crap about what is being interrupted.
If it was as easy as call prioritization, do you really think there would be a whole body of research on it? Not every problem in nursing can be answered with "The nurses have to do a better job."
It's been awhile. I do remember when I was first tethered to the phone. I was on the front lines when THAT was added to our nursing duties. I refused to answer when I was tied up with patient care. My patient came first, over the ringing phone.
I was never called out ( no pun intended) for not answering the phone in a timely fashion.
How can any phone request supercede your hands on care? The nurse makes the decision to answer the call.Again, this is about prioritization.
Over 100 received and called back by me when I worked the clinic. This also included calls to labs, pharmacies, other departments, L&D, DOH, DSS, CPS etc.
They got rid of the paper a year after I left. I think that cut down on lab and pharmacy calls.
I don't know how realistic this is, since I don't work as a nurse YET (I start the 14th!) but I think it would be cool and pretty convenient if the computers integrated a chat function where you could message other staff and providers on it (like on facebook or AIM) and use the phone for urgent matters only. However, I can see it getting abused by staff using it to socialize.
Some facilities have this. Mine, unfortunately, does not. As you get to know the physicians and mid-levels though, they'll usually give you their cell number and let you text them with concerns. This isn't a secure method of transferring information so it's easy to violate HIPAA so tread carefully.
Nights - maybe ten at the most. It's funny because the phone will scare the crap out of me if its a quiet night.
Days - omg it's horrible. Dozens and dozens and dozens...... It is absolutely the most frustrating thing. We actually have a texting system that the whole hospital has access to but most people don't even realize it's an option. I've texted hospitalists and shocked the crap out of them because they didn't know it was possible and they absolutely love it. If it's urgent, I'll call. I wish to god we would standardize using this texting system.
I can't even count. Calls from lab, Drs calling me back on pages, lab calling re critical values, OR/IR/RAD/US/CATHLAB calling, case mgmt, diabetes educator, dietician, cardiac rehab, and family, family, family. I have on occasion "forgot" my phone in a charting nook, but quickly get reprimanded. Just the other day, a friend's pt was coding and I was in there helping her w the code. Her phone rang 4 times in a row. 4. Back to back. Finally the pt was run out to the unit, I looked at her phone, it was the front desk trying to push a call through from family. We had a talk about appropriate times to push calls.
We had a talk about appropriate times to push calls.
dudette10, MSN, RN
3,530 Posts
Yep, that's what we are saying. On a very good day, I get about an average of 3 calls an hour (36 calls for a 12 hours shift). On a bad day, double that, which is an average of 1 call every 10 minutes. On a really bad day, I don't even want to know the exact number.
How long has it been since you worked bedside acute care?! There is no voicemail. People expect nurses to answer their phones, so if you don't they call again about 30 seconds after the first call. It's not a matter of prioritization; it's a matter of the system not giving a crap about what is being interrupted.
If it was as easy as call prioritization, do you really think there would be a whole body of research on it? Not every problem in nursing can be answered with "The nurses have to do a better job."