Why is it all the other depts in the healthcare facility immediately notify the nurse of things that are not their job, but really aren't the nurses job either.
For example, we had a new admit whose telephone did not work. On admission I switched out the phones, still didn't work, must be something wrong with the line so I put i a work order for the faulty phone. New admission complained about the phone to everyone who walked into the room.
Got a PT waiting at the nurses station after I had been doing a 15 minute dressing change in a room. She had also been calling my phone while I was in the room.
"Your new admit is mad his phone doesn't work. Why didn't you pick up your phone?"
Me "I was doing a sterile dressing change" She gives clueless look. "Yes I know all about the phone"
Her "Well, did you try to switch out the phone"
Me "Yes, still didn't work so I put in a work order"
Her "Did you call x at x number? He's the one you need to call"
Me "If you knew who to call I wonder why you didn't do it yourself"
Other "I'll Tell the Nurse" issues,
Patient wheeling along the hallway has lost her croc shoe. It's about seven feet behind her. However, rather than giving the patient the shoe, it seems the nurse MUST be notified so she can do it.
People who don't have batteries in their remote controls. Nurses station doesn't have batteries,(we are not to be trusted with batteries, just lives and narcotics) so the reception desk has them. However, these people know this, the nurse MUST be notified so she can go and get a battery. People would rather hang around the nurses station doing nothing waiting for me to come back so I can walk the 40 yards to get it from the receptionist.
I can see by your profile you work in critical care ICU and acute care. This is referring to long term care which is a whole other ball game. When I worked in acute care in a telemetry unit as well as Med-Surg there were not problems like this. In long term care the patients live there and are called residents as well. Designate there is no one to designate to unless you want to put more work on your already overworked CNA who have 15 or more patients .
I could go back to acute care with no problems, its stressful yes but so is long term care. These patients can go down fast and its complicated by the heavy patient load. When I worked long term care 8 hour shifts I literally was on my feet about 7 hours of the 8 and an hour left for charting. I worked harder for less pay and no respect in long term care and its all because most places are for profit businesses . I was part of the business that costed them so thats why the patient load was so heavy. It was all about $$$$, not good patient care. I am done now but its the truth.
I am 'justavolunteer' and sometimes the 'tell the nurse' routine bugs me for slightly different reasons. I will answer pt call lights & they say "I want the nurse". Me: "Is there anything I can do?" Pt: "No, I just want the nurse". The nurse comes and hears "Put my table closer", "Move the TV closer" or similar nonsense. At that point, we both would like to take a side and fling the patient out the nearest window!
Luckily, most pts. will accept my help, which is the whole point of my being there. I sure am grateful for all the nurses in this world, and thankful that I don't have to go through a lot of the nonsense that nurses have to deal with.
I am 'justavolunteer' and sometimes the 'tell the nurse' routine bugs me for slightly different reasons. I will answer pt call lights & they say "I want the nurse". Me: "Is there anything I can do?" Pt: "No, I just want the nurse". The nurse comes and hears "Put my table closer", "Move the TV closer" or similar nonsense. At that point, we both would like to take a side and fling the patient out the nearest window!
Luckily, most pts. will accept my help, which is the whole point of my being there. I sure am grateful for all the nurses in this world, and thankful that I don't have to go through a lot of the nonsense that nurses have to deal with.
Thank you for volunteering and doing what you can to help all us nurses out.
Just a little update that in the three weeks since I first posted this I have been doing battle with other members of staff on this and trying to implement my own culture change.
Just yesterday I had a member of staff come up to me to tell me there was some dog poop about 30 feet from the entrance to my unit by the elevator that goes to three different units. My response was "Good grief - you'd better call housekeeping straight away - I don't want to see it when I go home in eight hours" accompanied by a smiley face and I promptly walked into a patients room.
I think that some will start to think of me as "unhelpful" but some are realizing that dog poop from a dog I don't own in a part of the building that is common area isn't my problem any more than it is theirs. It's just that some staff however well intentioned they are, seem to be caught up in the culture that if they find any kind of problem at all they need to tell a nurse. Then there will always be those who know it isn't my problem but want to pass the buck anyway.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Just a little update that in the three weeks since I first posted this I have been doing battle with other members of staff on this and trying to implement my own culture change.
Just yesterday I had a member of staff come up to me to tell me there was some dog poop about 30 feet from the entrance to my unit by the elevator that goes to three different units. My response was "Good grief - you'd better call housekeeping straight away - I don't want to see it when I go home in eight hours" accompanied by a smiley face and I promptly walked into a patients room.
I think that some will start to think of me as "unhelpful" but some are realizing that dog poop from a dog I don't own in a part of the building that is common area isn't my problem any more than it is theirs. It's just that some staff however well intentioned they are, seem to be caught up in the culture that if they find any kind of problem at all they need to tell a nurse. Then there will always be those who know it isn't my problem but want to pass the buck anyway.
One of the charge nurses on my floor had a surgeon call our floor (the post-surgical floor) from the OR telling her that his pager battery had died. The nurse told him that we don't have batteries for his pager on our floor. He started yelling at her on the phone and slammed the phone down. Ten minutes later there was some yelling coming from down the hall and she looked up to see the surgeon trotting down the hall having a temper tantrum and yelling that she needs to get him a new battery. Bear in mind that the OR is on the second floor and we are on the opposite end of the hospital on the 6th floor. She just sat there watching him yell and when he finally saw that he wasn't getting anywhere with her (or even a response) he just turned around and left.
I am getting tired of this too. It seems EVERYTHING is the RN's problem. PT/OT constantly coming out of rooms...she needs a blanket/water/slippers. Why can't they get them? Speech therapy coming to do a swallow eval and wants me to get the pudding. GET IT YOURSELF! I was having real trouble getting my meds out on time and my charting done because of things like this. Now I just point them in the right direction of where they need to go. "Oh room 123 needs a blanket? They are on the third door on the left.Thanks!" and off I go. Sometimes it doesn't work though.
I was a home health nurse. The agency I worked for went thru a myriad of cost-cutting measures, and let go some of the clerical staff. Every few weeks, they realized that something had not been reassigned, and instead of realigning the remaining clerical staff, they asked the nurses to pick up the slack. After three or four of the extras, we were all getting frustrated. I was so angry that I stood up at a staff meeting and asked "When do I have to start mopping the floor?" Needless to say, I was fired a few weeks later.... So it comes from ALL directions.
How about being mandated to stay an extra eight hour shift due to a snow storm. Been in since 2pm one day and are finally on your way out the door 9 am the next morning after the day shift as managed to brave the storm and your car is completely under snow. Plowed in by the maintenance men. But wait--your 20 hour shift gets better.. both maintenance and housekeeping "Don't have time" to shovel out your car and its "really not their job anyway", but wait--it gets better yet--they don't even have a shovel for you to borrow so you could dig your own car out after 20 hours.
Six nurses outside shoveling their own cars out with ice scrapers--that about sums it up.
What burns me up is when Pharmacy doesn't have the med that doc ordered. Or they have a question about the dosage ordered. Why do I have to stop what I am doing to call the doctor? YOU can call too! I will even give you the number if it is too much trouble for you to find it. I have been in this situation before and sure enough if you call the doctor he is going to ask if such n such med is in stock or other things that I don't know but Pharmacy does. It is a complete back and forth triangle that I do not need to be involved in. Call the doc. Get the order for the substitute med. Come write the order yourself.
Same goes for Radiology testing. Such n such test cannot be done for whatever reason. Fine. Call the doctor and let him know. This will prevent me from getting drilled by the doctor about why the machine is broken and exactly when the repair will be coming, etc... Call him. Y'all decide what the plan is and then call me back and update me.
I am tired of being the in between of go ask your mother, go ask your father circle.
How about being mandated to stay an extra eight hour shift due to a snow storm. Been in since 2pm one day and are finally on your way out the door 9 am the next morning after the day shift as managed to brave the storm and your car is completely under snow. Plowed in by the maintenance men. But wait--your 20 hour shift gets better.. both maintenance and housekeeping "Don't have time" to shovel out your car and its "really not their job anyway", but wait--it gets better yet--they don't even have a shovel for you to borrow so you could dig your own car out after 20 hours.
Six nurses outside shoveling their own cars out with ice scrapers--that about sums it up.
Never mind, come nurses week they'll give you a wilted rose and a lunch bag with their logo on it to show just how much they respect and love their nurses Seriously, I'm so sorry this happened to you.
Seriously, I'm so sorry this happened to you.
Psychtrish39, BSN, RN
290 Posts
SSing,
I can see by your profile you work in critical care ICU and acute care. This is referring to long term care which is a whole other ball game. When I worked in acute care in a telemetry unit as well as Med-Surg there were not problems like this. In long term care the patients live there and are called residents as well. Designate there is no one to designate to unless you want to put more work on your already overworked CNA who have 15 or more patients .
I could go back to acute care with no problems, its stressful yes but so is long term care. These patients can go down fast and its complicated by the heavy patient load. When I worked long term care 8 hour shifts I literally was on my feet about 7 hours of the 8 and an hour left for charting. I worked harder for less pay and no respect in long term care and its all because most places are for profit businesses . I was part of the business that costed them so thats why the patient load was so heavy. It was all about $$$$, not good patient care. I am done now but its the truth.