I was doing a clinical on the Medical ICU unit and the RN that I was working with was CONSTANTLY text messaging instead of caring for her pt. She didn't start doing anything for him until about 10:30 and she came on at 7:00.
What (if anything) should I do? file a complaint with the hospital? Leave it alone as a possible isolated case? The pt was fine and she did what he needed, but it seemed as though she did the absolute bare minimum...
I've been thinking about it since then and would hate to know that my loved one was in ICU and his/her nurse was texting.
Specializes in Leaning towards Trauma and Lifeflight.
Should be simple...no one gets paid to text friends, if it is not directly work related you should not be doing it(emergencies excepted of course, but some peoples standard of "emergency" is a little broad).
Do your job when you are on the job.
Constant abuse will soon lead to "leave your phone at home" for all, future contacts must be routed through the switchboard...as they were before cellphones.
I like the motto of focus on the issue, not the individual. A lot of these posts seems to attack individual opinions. I think students deserve respect and they should do a fair amount of observing before taking action on something like this. I am so glad the OP went to the CI and came here to ask us about it (despite all the flustering).
Does your hospital have an actual policy on texting? If not, they soon may since we have many more tech toys and capabilities. My hospital has a policy (no cell phones in use in pt care areas incld front desk). People still text all the time though. As an aside, a coworker told me about a study done on cells phones in pt care areas harboring alot of bacteria, MRSA, etc. Scary!
There's a good chance that what you see someone do is what they generally do although yes, the person could be having an emergency at home. I say this without having been there. People's habits seem to stay constant. I like the post that started out with how we will see lots of behaviors that are disappointing. I hate to see us throw each other under the bus AND I hate to see bad/unsafe/unprofessional behavior tolerated too. It's tricky. At least we can come to this board to think about things togther and hopefully not attack each other all the time.
I like Brilliant Dreams posts and I am so, so sorry about the loss of your father.
Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.
while I agree with most posters, I had a thought.. If she was texting for 3 1/2 hours, who was taking care of her pts? I can't imagine being on a floor for 3 1/2 hours and NOT seeing my patients! even a quick assessment before being pulled in 30 different directions is better than no assessment at all. What a horrible example!! I think I would have said something to her, perhaps "innocently" such as, "Wow, I didnt' know we could text half our shift, get paid for it and Not get into trouble!" But then, I am older, have more experience in other fields and don't tolerate stuff like this well. If she indeed, had problems at home, then she needed to let others be aware. I am MUCH more understanding if this is communicated to me, as I am sure others are also. Don't mean to be a grump....
I saw this so many times during my two years of clinical experiences and every time I brought it up to one of my instructors they took up for the nurse and made excuses for her. I was always wrong. I have even talked to other nurses outside of clinicals and they don't seem to want to hear about how many bad nurses there are out there. I actually had one that was so large and had such bad arthritis in her knees that she used a rolling office chair to get up and down the halls. I wouldn't want to have an emergency while she was my nurse!
I have even suggested that hospitals need "secret shoppers" to tell which nurses are really not doing their jobs. Students would be the perfect answer to this. I understand we aren't out there yet and there will be times when we aren't the "perfect" nurse but there's got to be a certain line that you just can't cross without getting caught.
I had one nurse that put her hand up to the alcohol foam going and coming into or out of a patient's room - every time - but she never got any and never washed her hands either. She was just doing it for show. I mentioned that to my instructor who said I must be wrong. Nurses stick up for nurses I guess. I'm not sure I will but you do have to work with these people every day and some can be very catty.
harleyridingirl after hearing your examples of nursing mentors I am thinking mine are pretty great. I have to comment though about the nurse that pretended to wash her hands and never used soap and water... YUCK!!! That is just so disgusting. I am constantly washing and using the foam. Not just for my patient's but for ME.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
question to all the licensed nurses that work at teaching facilities, do you have the choice to take a student, or are you required? just curious.
it varies -- sometimes we're asked if we wish to take a student and we have the right to say no. other times it is just thrust upon us, no matter how we feel about it.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i saw this so many times during my two years of clinical experiences and every time i brought it up to one of my instructors they took up for the nurse and made excuses for her. i was always wrong. i have even talked to other nurses outside of clinicals and they don't seem to want to hear about how many bad nurses there are out there. i actually had one that was so large and had such bad arthritis in her knees that she used a rolling office chair to get up and down the halls. i wouldn't want to have an emergency while she was my nurse!
i have even suggested that hospitals need "secret shoppers" to tell which nurses are really not doing their jobs. students would be the perfect answer to this. i understand we aren't out there yet and there will be times when we aren't the "perfect" nurse but there's got to be a certain line that you just can't cross without getting caught.
i had one nurse that put her hand up to the alcohol foam going and coming into or out of a patient's room - every time - but she never got any and never washed her hands either. she was just doing it for show. i mentioned that to my instructor who said i must be wrong. nurses stick up for nurses i guess. i'm not sure i will but you do have to work with these people every day and some can be very catty.
here you are, busting on all the horrible nurses out there, and you're accusing others of being catty?
when you are a student, you probably aren't in any real position to tell who is doing a good job and who isn't. if your instructors are taking up for the nurse, it's probably because they've figured that she's right and you are not. regardless, you're there to learn not to judge.
As a follow up, I did tell my CI and she said she felt it was unacceptable behavior on the part of the nurse. She did say the nurse quite possibly had some personal issues she was dealing with but should have dealt with it in a different manner.
My CI said that she if she were a patient or a patient's family member she would more than likely lodge a complaint. However, she said in this case to leave it alone because she does not want to lose the clinical site for the school because they are difficult to secure. Politics....
And just to clarify, the RN was definitely text messaging (we have the same phone, so it's easy for me to recognize). And when the nurse would take a break or go to the restroom, she would ask another nurse to look out for her patients. Obviously, she didn't ask for coverage when she went to text message in the supply room......
I understand everyone's point of view. I guess more than anything it was disappointing behavior to see-especially in an ICU. A few texts here and there would probably be acceptable, but in my eyes, to stop in the middle of starting meds, or just as you are about to check a cath for leakage to answer text messages isn't acceptable. I am only a student and am not out there as a working nurse with a full patient load. But when that time comes, I really aspire to treat all of my pts the way I would want my mother and/or father to be treated. If there comes a point that I get burned out, I hope I can recognize it and move into a different area of nursing that is not bedside- in order to continue to do my best.
A few semesters ago at another clinical site, one of the nurses would ask patients to rate their pain, but she would not document what they said, she would document what she perceived was their pain level. So disappointing. Brought that issue to my CI and I got the same response that this CI gave me. "That is completely unacceptable, but don't rock the boat because we need the clinical site."
.... thanks for your replies.
Congratulations to you. You absolutely did the right thing. You advocated for your patient. Don't ever say "I am just a student". You are a part of the care team. The argument that nothing bad happened, well the nurse just got lucky. I have children and they do get sick but I think it is always inappropriate to have a cell phone at work. They have my work number and call that if they need me and if they are very sick, then I stay home. If it is a boyfriend problem, etc. then keep that crap out of work.
Remember to trust your gut instinct. If it feels wrong, it probably is. And even as "just a student" you can already lead by good example so always remain professional and caring towards your patients.
I did learn a LOT from the not so great nurses......... what not to do and what kind of nurse I DO NOT want to be.
I learned much more from the GOOD/GREAT nurses I was lucky enough to work with and that's what kind of nurse I DO WANT TO BE.
Student nurses may not know much but we are being taught DAILY what's right and what's wrong. It's drilled into us from the minute we start the program so that's why the wrong stands out like NEON signs. We are made to walk a fine line from the first day and that's good, it's for our patient's safety so don't get upset when we complain that nurses aren't doing things the way we've been taught.
This isn't my first rodeo. I'm 52 and this is my second career. I ran a plumbing company for the last 15 years. I know that no one is going to do it right all of the time but when it comes to nurses, I think we are held to a higher standard than most. There are too many nurses in it for the wrong reason or too tired to do it right and some just don't care any more. I can say from a patient's point of view (I've had 8 surgeries over the years) that some nurses should just go home and I thank God for some that took care of me because they were awesome!
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
It isn't a student's job to root out incompetent nurses or decide if the nurse is making the best use of her time, just as, in most cases, it isn't the staff nurse's job to decide if the student is making the best use of her time.
They are separate tracks, and each has it's own structure built into it for these issues. Age, life experience, and prior career experience by a student don't make their opinion any more valid than a student without those experiences.
As to "advocating for her patient", the OP said that in her opinion the care she provided was not unsafe or negligent, she was concerned about the plight of the nurse's future patients.
Specializes in Orthopedic, Pain Management, Psych, Family.
What ever happened to the contract a Nurse signs when she is hired stating she will not have her cell phone on her unless it is lunch or a break. I agree that emergencies do happen however I find too many people texting during their work. When did work get laxed to the point of our phones being our number one priority instead of our job and pt care? Too many people text about clothes, or their hair, or weekend plans instead of items of importance. just my:twocents:
tjstrong
22 Posts
Should be simple...no one gets paid to text friends, if it is not directly work related you should not be doing it(emergencies excepted of course, but some peoples standard of "emergency" is a little broad).
Do your job when you are on the job.
Constant abuse will soon lead to "leave your phone at home" for all, future contacts must be routed through the switchboard...as they were before cellphones.
It is an issue in ALL fields, not just nursing.