Nurses as secretaries

[SoundofMusic]

This is an idea that I feel is very unsound in nursing, and that is to place a nurse in the role of secretary for the day. Because our hospital has frozen hiring now, and because we can't keep a secretary to save our lives, now we as nurses are starting to be assigned as secretaries for the shift.

I feel this is just outright stupidity and a human resource management issue. You take a degreed person w/ nursing skills and make them work in an administrative role? Why? I mean -- you're basically paying a person almost $30 per hour to enter orders.

In this job market, there would be plenty of folks who would be willing to do the job temporarily, or as part of a pool, perhaps w/o benefits, or part time, or whatever. I don't get it. Isn't this a waste of money/human resources?

And then we have nurses on the flloor who can do it, and are very good at it -- and management loves them. Meanwhile, I can't do the job, because I feel it's sort of complicated. I mean -- you've got to know what your'e doing, especially on day shift -- so now I feel inadquate that I can't do the job! If I ask for a training day, they look at me like I'm nuts -- oh, you just jump in and do it -- and get trained on the way.

But I still feel it's an improper use of clinical personnel.

[JBudd, MSN]

Penny wise and pound foolish, to do it consistently.

On the other hand, I think I should be able to do anything I ask any of the team to do (that I am supposedly in charge over). Every time we have new computers or programs, all of us get trained; some "get it" better than others. When we were desperately short of secretaries I picked up shifts at time and a half; much easier on the feet! Years ago, we didn't have secretaries on the night shift at all, the charge nurse had to put together all the admit charts and put in the orders. Guess its what you "grew up" with

But it isn't what I went into nursing for...I much prefer patient care!

[DoGoodThenGo]

Hate to break this to you, but it wasn't *that* long ago that nurses did work in various secretarial roles within a hospital.

Everything from admitting, staffing front (reception) desks, and doing much of what ward clearks do today, once was handled by nurses.

Would say the practice gradually faded out by starting by the 1960's or so, as the profession began changing and nurses were seen as better used in direct patient care.

Being as this may, can very well remember going to several DON offices that were staffed totally or mostly by starched whites, and cap wearing nurses.

As you say, there are (were) nurses who are(were) good at such things, and if they suffer pr suffered no loss in pay and or benefits, am willing to bet quite a few nurses then and perhaps today would jump at a chance to sit at desk. Methinks in the old days it was also a way to keep a nurse who either wasn't safe to let loose on the floors, or for whom direct patient care just wasn't her thing, employed.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I have no problem with nurses serving as secretaries - who better to transcribe the orders?! Particularly in these times, if it's a choice between being called off and working, I'll take the work anyday.

"You take a degreed person w/ nursing skills and make them work in an administrative role?"

I don't think of it in any way as demeaning. It's just using my skills in a different way.

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

There are many place that have Total Care:for them that means transcribing all of your orders, completing all ADLs plus assessments, meds. etc.

This is something we did on nights for years and years. When I transitioned to days the day secretaries were stunned that I could pretty much take care of things myself if needed.

[RNperdiem, RN]

At least your workplace was thoughtful enough to staff the secretarial role rather than make the nurses with patient loads answer phones and transcribe their own orders.

When we work without a secretary for our busy unit, I appreciate the work they do.

If there are enough nurses who are recovering from injuries or have high-risk pregnancies, there will be enough people to staff the secretarial role.

[Phlavyah]

I understand you don't want to work on something you didn't train for, but be careful not to downplay the role of a secretary (as many Drs. downplay the role of nurses...). There are many, many very smart executive assistants out there with masters degrees who have very demanding jobs. Secretaries are not mindless data input robots. Also, be careful not to come across as "not a team player"... just my 2 cents...

[SharonH, RN]

I agree with you completely. I am not a secretary, I'm a nurse and I prefer to work as one. Using skilled nurses as secretaries is inefficient and a waste of clinical resources.

[kenyohunt1]

To the OP why is it that you cant keep a secretary to save your lives?

[llg, PhD, RN]

To the OP why is it that you cant keep a secretary to save your lives?

Good question. Maybe now that the nurses are getting a taste of what it is like to be a secretary, they nurses will become advocates for their clerical staff and imporve their working conditions. Then expert secretaries will WANT to work there.

It's just like with nurses. When working conditions are bad, nurses leave. The same is true of secretaries. If they "can't keep a secretary to save their lives" in these economic times, something is probably wrong with how the secretaries are treated. It's good that the nurses are discovering that.

[Zookeeper3]

I wish I could say I feel your pain but I just don't. But I do support your statement that it's a poor utilization of skilled personale (my paraphrasing).

Our 10 bed ICU spent over two years staffed short with only 4 RN's and no secretary and we all had to jump in and do each others admits. In the old CCU, we would turn over 3-5 a night... yep half the unit.

So while I'm accustomed to jumping into the roll, I can tell you that I'm a computer expert at order entry and that bad experience gave me skills to make my job easier on the odd days that we now are short a secretary which fortunately is rare.

I promise it's not all bad, although it seems a huge waste of money, at least your facility is willing to pay the extra cash to ensure the empty slot is filled and your co-workers benefit! I've never been that lucky.

[Birdbr]

phlavyah, i don't think he/she meant to downgrade secretaries. she is basically saying she did not go to school to be an administrative assistant. she went to school to be a nurse... they should hire someone to do that or the some of the medical administrators take on that roll.