I'm a nurse. Not a housekeeper!

Specialties Private Duty

Published

Ok, let me start by saying that I do not feel that I am above cleaning someone elses house. Since I have started with this last client I have already cleaned their bathrooms, washed the walls (because all the other nurses got gtube feed all over it), swept the floors.... so on and so on. Let me give you a little background on the situation. I care for a little boy. He has 3 adults living in the house with him and a teenager. Two of the adults do not work. The consumers mother and I had a conversation because she made the statement that a nurse she interviewed said that she is not an overpaid nanny/housekeeper. I explained to her that she may not have worded it the best but I think she was trying to tell her that she is a nurse and it is her job to do healthcare for her child and not clean because I have heard horror stories about families expecting their nurse to do laundry and dust and stuff. She looked at me like I was speaking chinese or something. Next thing I know I get an update on the all service plan from my case manager and laundry and light housework was added to the plan! ***!? Like I said, I am not above helping around the house when I am bored. I actually like to clean. The point is that I am a nurse not a housekeeper and their is no reason why I need to do these things. If I were caring for an adult that could not do these things on their own I would understand but a child with 3 adults living there. It is not my job to do these things. Does anyone else feel the way I do about this? I think it is outragious. :angryfire

Thanks for letting me vent.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Arwen and Caliotter- thanks for the support! I think this person has finally pushed it too far and the decision is no longer up to the patient. I imagine there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth once reality sets in. I oriented a lovely new nurse on Thursday. :rckn:

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Peds, Pediatraic Home Care, Infusion.

I would have a long chat with that case manager and find out what background and experience she has.

No house cleaning, laundry, dusting, etc. should ever be expected of you. Your case manager is way off.

This is an example of the beginning of big problems with this family who have no respect for their nurses. My advice is to get off this case and stay far away.

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Specializes in Hospital, PDN, rehab, corrections.

I look at it like this:

At my private-duty case, I'm getting paid more to take care of ONE patient on a vent than I ever made taking care of multiple patients on a vent unit and running around like a headless chicken. The LEAST I can do is fold a little laundry, even without the pay increase. Let's be REAL for a minute. As a PDN, there will be days where you will earn the majority of your wages reading or watching TV. In most other nursing specialties, there are days where you never SIT, much less relax. Come on. You guys are SERIOUSLY complaining about doing a little housework? :vlin: Beats sitting in a chair all day. This guy is my bread and butter- you better BELIEVE I'm going to take VERY good care of him. Be foolish not to. Of course I do laundry and clean his apt... when we're not playing X-Box. :rckn:

If you're complaining about your case- LEAVE THE CASE. It's not a good fit for you and you're not going to be giving the highest quality of care. Find the right fit.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

The point is not that we want to sit on our butts and not do anything. It's about parents manipulating the agency and nurses using such activities as a bargaining chip that can at times can bleed into insurance fraud as the families dispense "favors" in return such as charging for eight hours when the nurse only works for four.

Those dynamics aren't healthy for anyone. In fact a good nurse can be harmed by the dysfunctional synergy. (is that even possible? :)) Glad you have such a nice case, though! PDN is great when things just click. I was actually terrifed I'd be bored to death after hospital and clinic jobs my entire previous career.

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Specializes in acute care then Home health.

I used to do my patients laundry because he would soil several outfits a day with his short bowel sydrome. Sometimes I would clean the area that I was sitting in just for peace of mind because the house was so disgusting and I was getting sick alot. I would sanitze counter tops, railings, and door knobs for my own benefit, never the clients. Other than that type of cleaning, I would say NO. Dont DO It!

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I used to do my patients laundry because he would soil several outfits a day with his short bowel sydrome. Sometimes I would clean the area that I was sitting in just for peace of mind because the house was so disgusting and I was getting sick alot. I would sanitze counter tops, railings, and door knobs for my own benefit, never the clients.

I find myself cleaning and sanitizing the areas that I work in often, just from my own habits. This is so that I can work in a clean, safe, and sanitized environment to care for the client. I would hope this keeps my client and myself from getting sick.

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Specializes in acute care then Home health.
I find myself cleaning and sanitizing the areas that I work in often, just from my own habits. This is so that I can work in a clean, safe, and sanitized environment to care for the client. I would hope this keeps my client and myself from getting sick.

Of course I dont want my patient to get sick. I meant I'm not doing the cleaning to benefit the parents. Surprisingly, no one in the house was really getting sick except for me. I think their just immune to whatever germs they have been living in for so long.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

I got sick a lot when I started, just like I did as a new grad at CHLA. Once your body adjusts (in my case anyway) I was fine. My patient rarely got sick even though some of the caregivers small children would climb all over with their hands not washed.

However she would get royally ****** off if we shooed them away. She loved having the little kids near by. To me this is just an example of the difference and the sensitivities you need to have in private duty.

Me -- I draw the line at cockroaches! I loathe those things. I'm still skeeved out by a nurse who wrote a post about how the roaches at one place would actually drop from the ceiling into her hair. :barf01: :barf01: :barf01: I'd rather have bees. Or ants.

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Specializes in med surg home care PEDS.

Ok how about this, patient has an older sibling under 5, mom thougt she was slick, would go out for milk and disappear for 2 hours, once for the whole day, that was it, I am not a nanny, and honestly if medicaid did an impromptu visit, I would get in trouble, this is not what I am getting paid for, I am paid to give skilled nursing care. Period

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Specializes in Peds(PICU, NICU float), PDN, ICU.

We provide hospital level care in the home. When was the last time you did laundry while working in a hospital? Or dishes? Yeah, thought so.

We are there to be nurses. If they want a maid or a babysitter, they can hire one. Just like the rest of the world has to do. We aren't gardeners either (had a patient that wanted the nurses to take care of her garden).

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Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.
I look at it like this:

At my private-duty case, I'm getting paid more to take care of ONE patient on a vent than I ever made taking care of multiple patients on a vent unit and running around like a headless chicken.

This situation is uncommon at least in the city I live in. PDN in general pays the least out of all the options out there for LVN's. The job is usually done by new grads because experienced nurses seldom can afford to take the pay cut.

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Specializes in med-surg, teaching, cardiac, priv. duty.
This situation is uncommon at least in the city I live in. PDN in general pays the least out of all the options out there for LVN's. The job is usually done by new grads because experienced nurses seldom can afford to take the pay cut.

Yeah! Private duty (through agency) is low pay nursing around here too. I'm a RN. I took a 40% pay cut from the hospital when I made the switch. And, at the hospital I was at, you always got a yearly raise. In the 4 yrs of private duty, I never got a raise. So the pay difference only got worse with time!! I was willing to take the pay cut for less stress. But after several yrs, private duty got to me to - family drama, nurse's lacking professional boundaries causing all kinds of trouble, etc.

I also agree with another response (nurse156) that pay is not the point here, nor is it about "sitting around" when you could be helping the family clean. It is about being a professional nurse. I found out that if you gave an inch, the families tended to take a mile! I would keep the PATIENT'S area clean, and do cleaning RELATED to the patient's equipment and such. But nothing for the family at all. It is too easy to get sucked in...and soon you are doing all kinds of things for the FAMILY, and the patient is being neglected. Or you have lost objectivity and do not even realize it. I saw things spiral out of control very quickly in private duty. Focus on the nursing care!

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