Giga

I've read all the replies from people telling me that I need to reexamine my own priorities and that "there's no wonder they won't help me". Them helping me isn't really the issue, it's them making me do task for them because they're pussyfooting around on the computer. Also let me make it clear that they are NOT spending additional time with patients, they're spending their time sitting behind the nurses station slowly drinking coffee while slowly punching keys one at a time at the computer.

I know my initial statement were age discrimination, but a lot of people are being just as discrimnatory by holding older nurses to a different set of standards. "Oh she's older, she doesn't have to work at the same rate as the rest of us". There's no reason they can't learn to chart faster and then do it. They're capable, quit making excuses for them.

I can tell you this much for sure and for true, it was me. I'm getting tired of the whiners and "task stretchers". I guess it wouldn't be so bad if they didn't constantly talk about how busy they were and at the end of the shift they're all like "Oh I'm so glad it's over it's been a killer". NO it hasn't. You're just wrong. It's been a routine day with routine task.

I have thought of a solution. A timed computer competency test. So if somebody passes it but then still takes a long time charting then you know they COULD go faster but they simply choose not to. Think of all the advantages of going slow, mainly that you look busy when you're not and then you can con people into doing some of your job for you.

Put a whole in an older night gown? Maybe buy one from the thrift shop, cut holes in it, and maybe reinforce the holes.

Well for one thing they could simply work faster, freeing up their time so they won't need me to "help" them every other round. So I'm suppose to do my own charting, meds, dressing changes, and task but they do not? They get a "free pass" because they take longer than normal to chart. I'm being polite when I say "normal" it would be almost proper to say they take "longer than reasonable".

I don't see how I'm suppose to "help" somebody chart faster. It's something they do every time they come into work. You'd think they'd have gotten the hang of it by now. I could probably do it with my eyes closed.

They're random in the sense that there's no specific rhyme or reason as to why one chart is chosen over the other, but we're actively encouraged to pull charts that we think something might be wrong or funny about. Since, at the time I pulled said charts, I didn't have any suspicious that'd superseded the reasons I pulled the charts I pulled. Side note I think I got a small incentive bonus because of the number of charts I audited that month .

To the ones saying they're making extra notes or doing a more detailed version, all I can say is that is not the case in my situation. I know because I've been curious about this for a while so when I'm doing my montly random chart audits I've made a point to pull certain pts that have had X or Y nurse for several days and I've combed through EVERYTHING paper and computer. They most certainly are not taking a longer time because they're doing a more detailed job. I know I'm venting and it is NOT fair to generalized. I was just wondering if anybody else had the same frustrations as me. Maybe I'm just stuck with some LAZY nurses that are stuck in their ways.

I've been working on the surgical floor for 9 months now and I'm starting to feel like I'm getting the hang of things on my unit. I've learned a lot of tips and tricks and my time management has really improved. One thing I'm getting really frustrated with is that some of the older nurses take FOREVER to computer chart. And from my observation a lot of it comes from them not "knowing how to use a computer" the same way younger people do. To do a routine assessment on a total knee for example probably takes me 5-7 minutes, and that's not me rushing or anything and only talking about routine stuff. The same assessment would take some of these nurses anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. It's a little frustrating at times when they need help with other things because they used all their time "charting". Or when I need help but they can't help me because "If I leave this screen I might lose it and I've spent too much time on this!". And truth be told I think maybe sometimes they're doing it on purpose because it gives the illusion of working, but that would be MEAN and I TRY to give everybody the benefit of the doubt.

Hello, Long time stalker, first time writer here. Ok to cut to the chase I've tested positive for a PPD twice and now I have a choice between taking 9 months of INH or doing nothing. The pros of taking the treatment are that the medicine is free and it's suppose to significantly decrease one's chances of getting an active TB infection. The cons are that the treatment takes a long time, it has the potential to mess up your liver enzymes. I'm not as worried about that though because the health department told me that they take a baseline of your liver enzymes and then recheck it through the treatment. I've heard from people that have taken the treatment that the main side effect is malaise. That doesn't sound awful but the idea of being sickly and fatigued for 9 months doesn't thrill me. So I'm looking for input from people that have tested positive on a PPD and what you ultimately decided to do about it. I'm considering paying for an inteferon gamma release assays out of pocket, but if I'm reading this information from the CDC correctly even that test isn't full-proof.