RNs entering all their own orders - no unit clerks?

[Town & Country]

Hi,

I got floated to a different unit and the RNs there entered their own orders.

After "X o'clock", there was no unit clerk - but they still took admissions.

Is this at all common?

Or did I get sent to the Twilight Zone?

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Where I worked, if you DIDN'T put the orders in yourself, they didn't get done for hours. Our poor unit secretary would get bombarded with fifteen or 20 charts all at once---new admissions, post-ops and discharges, and there was no way on earth she could do all of that, PLUS deal with a constantly ringing phone, answer peoples' questions, get coffee for guests, stuff charts, do rounds on other units, find paperwork for the MDs, page nurses and other staff, arrange transportation..........

So whenever I got a fresh post-op or new admit, I'd just quietly sit there and do the order entry myself, unless I was running at full speed with my hair on fire........the US always appreciated it, and I felt better not only knowing I'd helped her out but also that the orders were done in a timely fashion. Too bad nobody else appreciated it........as a result of assisting other employees with their work, I was labeled as lacking organizational skills and given several verbal 'counselings' during my tenure.:angryfire

I know it sounds awful, but I'm telling you, if I ever were to work in a hospital again, I would come in, do my own freaking job, and go home on time EVERY NIGHT. I've learned my lesson about being 'helpful'.

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

US from 7a-7p Mon-Fri and 7a-7p on the weekends. Our 3-11 US is worthless. When I'm in charge I'd rather do it all from 3p-7p.

[unknown99, BSN, RN]

On the unit I work on at the hospital where I work, we have a unit clerk for 6 hours a day, mon-Fri only. We still get admissions anytime also.

[StNeotser, ASN, RN]

I work night shift. Night shift = Do the orders yourself.

[Nurse Valium]

Night shift!?!??? The hospital I work for DOES NOT EMPLOY unit clerks. 58 bed cardiac specialty hospital. They also do not employ phlebotomists, either. And working in the ER, this means we put our own orders in, call xray & other departments, do our own EKGs (I understand at some facilities this is the RT dept responsibility), call/fax/follow-up requests for medical records from other facilities, draw our own labs, enter our own charges/print them, discharge our patients from the computer, break down our charts, and, oh yeah, complete a PI tracking program which is an additional 20 questions on every single patient we see.

Convenient money saving strategy, eh?

Lucky for me though, this is the only hospital that I have ever worked so don't really know any other way.

[PamRNC]

I love computer physician order entry. Orders go in whether they are picked up or not.

That said I've worked in other hospitals where we had to pick up our own orders or had unit clerks to pick up the orders. Relying solely on the unit clerks (except for the truly organized and exceptional ones) was just not always a smart thing to do. When I worked nights as a manager I basically spent a good portion of busy nights being the unit clerk, everything from picking up face sheets from admitting, putting together and stuffing charts, to re-writing MARs, and picking up new orders as well as 12/24hr chart checks.

DIY order pick-up is the only way to be sure nothing gets missed, mis-spelled, and picked up correctly and completely. Besides even if the clerk picks it up, I still had to look at the chart before signing the MAR/Careplan.

[AngelsRN]

Where I worked, if you DIDN'T put the orders in yourself, they didn't get done for hours. Our poor unit secretary would get bombarded with fifteen or 20 charts all at once---new admissions, post-ops and discharges, and there was no way on earth she could do all of that, PLUS deal with a constantly ringing phone, answer peoples' questions, get coffee for guests, stuff charts, do rounds on other units, find paperwork for the MDs, page nurses and other staff, arrange transportation..........

So whenever I got a fresh post-op or new admit, I'd just quietly sit there and do the order entry myself, unless I was running at full speed with my hair on fire........the US always appreciated it, and I felt better not only knowing I'd helped her out but also that the orders were done in a timely fashion. Too bad nobody else appreciated it........as a result of assisting other employees with their work, I was labeled as lacking organizational skills and given several verbal 'counselings' during my tenure.:angryfire

I know it sounds awful, but I'm telling you, if I ever were to work in a hospital again, I would come in, do my own freaking job, and go home on time EVERY NIGHT. I've learned my lesson about being 'helpful'.

As a former Unit Secretary I would like to thank you for helping that girl. I am a nurse now, and know what things I can do that will make her job easier. Many nurses do not appreciate their secretary, and most doctors and support dept definately do not. Unfortunately, it is hard to find a good unit secretary --- I have definately seen those who do not care, complete sloppy incorrect work etc. But thanks for recognizing the work the US does.