RNs Performing Housekeeping Duties!

laughingfairy · Feb 11, 2004

maybe I just live in a different area of the country, with different ideas, but in both LTC and hospital settings I have been told housekeeping duties are my own. For instance, if housekeeping is in the building they take out the trash and linen, but if they are early doing their rounds I am still responsible to make sure the bins are empty for the next shift. In LTC the CNAs get nailed with this more often, but in the hospital it is totally on the nurse.

This also includes wiping down overbed trays, IV poles between patients, beds etc. It was explained to me that this is part of my duties because it relates to infection control as well as common courtesy. Personally it usually is at the bottom of my list of priorities.

TinyNurse, RN · Feb 11, 2004

do rns perform housekeeping duties where you work?
i got the shock of my life this week during clinicals. i escorted a female patient to the shower. after i helped the patient with the shower and returned her to her room, i proceeded to my next assigned patient.
my supervising co-nurse stopped me, and told me that i needed to clean the shower. she then walked me down the hall to the housekeeping closet and pointed out the correct bottle of disinfectant i needed to use. she then informed me of the written procedures for cleaning the shower [spray disinfectant on the walls, floors, etc. any surface that the patient may have come in contact with; wait a certain amount of time; then return and rinse the entire shower area down].
i am not a prima donna by any stretch of the imagination , but i naively thought that housekeeping did facility cleaning in the hospital.
well, i remained calm, and sprayed the shower down, but luckily by the time i returned to finish, housekeeping had already finished cleaning the shower.
so, my question to you is this:
are you required to do housekeeping tasks in your workplace?
was this just a power play by the co-nurse to humble the newbie?
am i just over-reacting?
all comments and opinions welcome! thanks! :kiss

yes in my nursing clinicals, after we "showered" a patient we also cleaned the shower, because another patient may use it, or this patient may use it again, this is not unexpected. i work er now as an rn, so i have not dealt with a shower yet. xo jen

ilovetheelderly · Feb 11, 2004

Its one thing to do this occassionally cuz of short staffing, etc..but the general "concensus" to have to do it is unreasonable. Its a give and take. Nurses have GOT to stop working every aspect of the hospital, otherwise all management will do is stack more and more work on us for no extra money. Pretty soon we'll have to cook meals, clean all the bathrooms and toilets, AND do patient care. Not to mention, who wants a nurse to clean the bathroom AND do bedside care?

You hit it right on the nose, preach it sister!! This is the source of our many problems, we want to not know where does it end?? Great thread!!

Agnus · Feb 11, 2004

In a commuial shower that is where several patients use the same shower nursing cleans it before the next patient. If it is in a private room with one person using it housekeeping cleans it. This may not be everywhere but it has been everwhere I have worked.

FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I · Feb 11, 2004

Bold Italic

In a commuial shower that is where several patients use the same shower nursing cleans it before the next patient. If it is in a private room with one person using it housekeeping cleans it. This may not be everywhere but it has been everwhere I have worked.

The quality of nursing has definitely DEGENERATED

Give me back the good old days when nurses enjoyed patient care, and less documentation, less stress, and things were oh so much better in many ways. :)

:) Ooooh yeah, give us back the good old days. :balloons:

emily_rn_03 · Feb 11, 2004

The hospital I work at is all very specialized. We have housekeepers assigned to every unit, so all day from 7am to 11pm we have one housekeeper for just us. On the night shift we can call for one if needed, otherwise there is a PCA for the "light" duties.

Regarding emptying trash, sharps, etc.. I have yet to empty trash. If I see a sharps container that is full, I will definitely change the bin. If it's full then someone has to walk around with a contaminated needle trying to find another one.. kind of a safety hazard!

kcrnsue · Feb 11, 2004

In the small rural hospital where I used to work, we had to clean the shower, the iv poles, and the commodes. We also had to clean the delivery room, including the jetted bathtub after deliveries! :eek:

FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I · Feb 11, 2004

The hospital I work at is all very specialized. We have housekeepers assigned to every unit, so all day from 7am to 11pm we have one housekeeper for just us. On the night shift we can call for one if needed, otherwise there is a PCA for the "light" duties.
Regarding emptying trash, sharps, etc.. I have yet to empty trash. If I see a sharps container that is full, I will definitely change the bin. If it's full then someone has to walk around with a contaminated needle trying to find another one.. kind of a safety hazard!

Emily,

You definitely have a drreeeeeaaaaamm job! Where did you say that was located? :coollook: Hang onto it gal as long as you can, because facilities like that are sooo faaaarrr and FEW between. You have been blessed my friend. :balloons: Good for you.

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2004

What good is housekeeping if they are never around. I work in a small LTC facility and I rarely see a housekeeper on duty..(I work 2:30- 11) It is amazing... if one calls off they aren't replaced.. What does their supervisor do..Today I was told that they were doing a "treatment" in one of the semi private rooms to disinfect and deoderize one of the toilets (solution applied to the base of the toilet and it was wrapped with towels for 24hrs)... if they made it in to do this... what about the dried feces on the wall and seat of the toilet??? I've seen outhouses better than some of our bathrooms! If I had the extra time and staff we would clean them..but who has time working short staffed to clean up after the previous shift. (I know...prevention is the key and the old "If you sprinkle while you tinkle..wipe the seat..but really!)

Sorry had to vent... the morning or should I say all day sickness and pregnancy hormones.....

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 16, 2004

One problem when i was a housekeeper was half the **** mess was staff-created that was preventable.

If housekeeping is that slacking in any facility, take it to the administrator or the corporate office. Using the words like "Health inspection, State inspection, and Ombudsman" are usually good attention-grabbers in conversations about cleanliness.

SnowymtnRN · Feb 17, 2004

One problem when i was a housekeeper was half the **** mess was staff-created that was preventable.
If housekeeping is that slacking in any facility, take it to the administrator or the corporate office. Using the words like "Health inspection, State inspection, and Ombudsman" are usually good attention-grabbers in conversations about cleanliness.

Messes may be preventable, but sometimes there's no time. Patient care first! BUT i see what you mean too, people are plain lazy it seems these days.