when you're patients a slob...

I usually take the few minutes to pick up the trash (using gloves if there are bodily fluids on any of the waste) and dispose of it all accordingly. I also make it a point to try and tidy up the room, at least the nursing/medical supplies. If the patient has their bedside table arranged with their belongings I won't usually touch it, but will offer if they want me to throw anything away or store anything so that it's not as cluttered. If the person is repeatedly kicking their linens off onto the floor, or in the case of confused/demented elderly who insist on constantly disrobing (why? why???!!!!) 9, 10... 15 times overnight - not gonna lie - at about 8-9 hours into the shift I tend to get exhausted and leave them. When it comes time to change shift, I'll go in and straighten up the room one last time for when we do walking rounds, then let the oncoming RN know that they're all over the place and then go home.

I pick up after them and try to keep their room clean. It is useless to try and encourage the patients to be tidy. I keep every bit of paper, etc., off the floor. I keep their tables wiped down, toilets clean, trash emptied. I don't expect the patients to keep stuff clean. I do, however, expect the rest of our staff to be cleaner! Respiratory leaves their trash laying around, the nursing assistants will empty urinals or hats without rinsing them out. (Gross!) I eyeball the room as I'm leaving, making sure it is clean. If it is between you and the patient to keep things clean, you won't win. The patients might not remember a clean room, but they sure will remember a dirty one.

Hurry up and do what you need to do as a nurse and get the hell out of the room. If it bothers you that much, call house keeping or start organizing and cleaning yourself.

I don't want people to think I'm refusing to tidy up. It's frustrating because I've had this patient a few days (actually only the baby is a patient, parents are rooming in) and today my other patients were much more time consuming. I simply did not have the time to be the maid also. Then to get the stink eye from a visitor. I don't know, it just rubbed me wrong today.

I guess I'm just being a whiner

I used to think about sloppy patients, "What? There's no way these people live like this at home!" Then I did a homecare rotation. Some people do live like that. And much, much worse. You're not going to change them during a 48 hour post partem stay. Do the best you can to tidy a few times a shift and tolerate it the best you can.

"Please be sure that all pads, diapers, and other items that do not belong on the floor are put in THIS container--POINT, DEMONSTRATE, repeat as necessary, and all of the linen that you no longer need to use are put here--POINT, DEMONSTRATE, repeat."

Be sure that the places where this stuff goes are clearly marked, clearly seen. And that there are wipes available for cleaning out sinks and such.

Unfortunetely, it may revert to making sure housekeeping does a mid-afternoon sweep of the room--quick wipe down and such.

It's easier to get it done myself.

But also, some patient's coping mechanism is to act like that. Some patient will hoard food, others won't shower. It's a really unnerving place to be in the hospital, having everyone do things to you, so I feel that they take whatever control they can get. If that's trying to put away trash in the wrong bin, then so be it.

If the patient is messy, I start the day by taping a paper bag for her trash by the bedside. Give her call light and tell her to call me for assistance. Plus, if anything as simple as that and you're busy, ask the CNA or someone to check up on the patient.

At my last job, my CO-WORKERS were the slobs. It was amazing and gross how they kept the break room. I think people, in general, don't care how they leave other areas because it's not theirs. This isn't a new phenomenon and I don't see it changing anytime soon.

A pt like that? I'd say 'hey, this isn't the Ritz Hotel. Clean up your ****!'

It's your, not you're.