Role of huc/unit secretary

[D.R.A.]

I have spent a great deal of time sifting through the ANA, as well as my state association and BON, looking for something that addresses the role of the HUC/UNIT SECRATARY. I am preparing to address some issues within my unit regarding the role of the HUC. Yet, I can't determine definitively that they are even addressed. They do play a vital role. Are we lumping them in with UAP?? It would appear that way.

Everything I have read ignores addressing directly the role that the HUC plays in patient care. Someone point me in the right direction?

If this needs to be moved, I apologize. I really didn't find a forum that I felt this would fit into.

[D.R.A.]

I get the impression that you're looking for some sort of regulatory requirement justification for having only Nurses make the assignments but I don't think that exists. Other than California's mandated ratios, staffing by acuity isn't a requirement of any BON. So while the UC may not be able to staff by acuity as accurately as an RN might, it really doesn't matter because there's no requirement they staff by acuity at all much less do it accurately. Whether the UC does the assignments by room number or by some quasi acuity based system makes no difference.

I get your argument about delegation, but staffing assignments aren't actually patient care. They certainly affect patient care, although I don't know of any BON that has argued that everything that affects patient care falls under Nursing delegation. In other words, when a UC does the staffing assignment it isn't a patient care delegation, it's a clerical delegation just like answering the phones and many other things a UC does.

I agree with others that you'd have more success if you can get the NTLs as a group to take over this task, but personally I hate doing staffing and don't know of many NTLs who would fight to keep doing the assignments.

I'm really not talking about staffing by acuity. That's something different all together. I'm having a really hard time accepting that staffing assignments are clerical. Perhaps I'm completely wrong. Or perhaps I'm just progressive in my thinking, but if patient care doesn't begin when the patient hits the unit, I don't know when it does. Comparing answering a phone to patient care is not really a fair comparison to me. Comparing answering phones to having a UAC assign patients to a professional nurse isn't either.

[D.R.A.]

If all the charge nurses agree that this should be standard. Why don't you all just implement it. If you all stand together that this is now the charge nurses responsibility.

They are very afraid of change, very timid, very submissive. I'm trying really hard to be positive here. =) Perhaps you can imagine where I'm coming from. Small hospital politics.

[D.R.A.]

The good news is this meeting has come and gone. I think we are on the road to bring everyone at my facility out of the dark ages.

[MunoRN, RN]

I'm really not talking about staffing by acuity. That's something different all together. I'm having a really hard time accepting that staffing assignments are clerical. Perhaps I'm completely wrong. Or perhaps I'm just progressive in my thinking, but if patient care doesn't begin when the patient hits the unit, I don't know when it does. Comparing answering a phone to patient care is not really a fair comparison to me. Comparing answering phones to having a UAC assign patients to a professional nurse isn't either.

If, lets say, the method for assigning patients is that Nurse #1 takes the first 5 rooms, Nurse #2 takes the next 5, etc, I'm not sure what difference it makes if the UC is the one making that assignment, so long as they have the ability to count then they are qualified to make the assignments.