rude nurse

duskyjewel · Apr 30, 2014

I'm not dumb enough to claim that aides who complain about lazy nurses are never wrong or misinformed. However I can tell you that in my own case everything I have claimed is completely authentic. It was a hospital telemetry unit and the reason I knew about the shopping and facebooking is because when I would finally run to the station to try to input vitals (after a JCAHO visit we weren't allowed to use the fold out hallway workstations anymore) I would see the cruise company/resort sites on their desktops. I would see phones in hand with the telltale blue banner across the top. I didn't spend time looking for these things, but I saw them. I used to watch nurses sit in the station, personal cellphone in hand, completely ignoring call lights while we aides were trying to give and receive report. Our shifts were staggered by an hour on the theory that when one group was in report, the other would be available for lights. Ha ha. I'd be in a room hearing a call light for multiple minutes, finally get out into the hall, and see nurses sitting and not answering it. The reason they got away with it? Crappy leadership and awful corporate culture. That place was toxic and quitting was the best thing I ever did for myself. Because I tried to be part of the solution and not just a complainer. I tried to address the problems constructively with at least two levels of leadership and it was made very clear to me that my feedback was unwanted. If you want I can PM you the name of the hospital.

duskyjewel · Apr 30, 2014

Healthcare is a second career for me after 15 years as a SAHM. I absolutely loathed nurses after that job. I am so grateful that I decided to find another job and not leave the field entirely, because much of my respect for the nursing profession has been restored by working with my current coworkers. There was one really good caring nurse in that tele unit, and he had been an aide forever before becoming an RN in his 40s. He stood out to me as an exception, and I gladly worked my butt off for him.

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · May 1, 2014

You mean that one other aide on my unit that I would almost never see during my shift because our unit was constantly run short? The one other aide who also has 13 telemetry patients she's responsible for, half of whom are in contact rooms? The one other aide who also has to try and figure out how to get Q4 vitals, two rounds of blood sugars, bathing, toileting, turning, and whatever other needs crop up done on 13 people, AND also find time to get it all punched into the computer on time for med passes? Mmmmmkay.

No, I mean one of three other aides who each have 9 patients- most of whom are walkie talkies- who spend their time hiding in patient bathrooms texting. I mean one of three other aides who refuse to do Q4 VS, who only deign to do one set of VS on each patient per shift, who are not responsible for CBGs because Lab does them, and who insist that the RNs also help pass out meal trays even though the RNs have insulin and other meds to give at meal times. I mean one of the three other aides who go on coffee break without informing the RNs they're working with, and who always get their lunch breaks and get off shift on time every single night while the RNs miss breaks, skip meals, have to fight just to take a bathroom break, and stay late to finish charting almost every single night. I mean one of three other aides who will sit at the computer ignoring call lights while the RNs are tied up, who will not go into contact rooms so that by the time the RN gets in there, the BSC is overflowing, the patient has not been given any fresh water, they've been sitting on wrinkled linens for six hours and are starting to get skin breakdown, and the family is seriously (and understandably) ****** off at the poor care their loved one is receiving. I mean one of the three other aides who will plop down the meal tray just inside the doorway of a patient on contact iso because the "RN is in there anyway" and not come in and assist the RN to move the patient up in bed so they can eat. I mean one of the three other aides who will decline the freely offered assistance of another CNA "because I make the nurse help me since it's her patient too", while allowing the patient to sit in their own stool until the RN is free to help, when they have a CNA right there willing to help right now. I mean one of the three other aides who seem to think that the reason the RN just does everything his or her self is because the RN doesn't need help, when in reality it's because it's just a lot easier to do it all yourself than to have to micromanage someone else to get them to do the job they were hired to do.

Lucky for me, I was a CNA in LTC prior to becoming a nurse and had an average of 20 residents to care for *on my own* and so I learned how to change the briefs on the 300lb. immobile resident by myself, how to dress the hemiplegic resident by myself, how to slide someone up in bed by myself, and how I could possibly change 15 incontinent residents every 2 hours *by myself* in addition to everything else I had to do *by myself*. So yeah, when I became a CNA on a busy tele unit, it was a piece of cake in comparison.

Clearly, there are differences in culture and levels of teamwork from unit to unit, and we do not have a context for the original post. My point was only that perhaps, this "lazy nurse" is really somebody that holds the line and insists on holding others accountable to do their job. The OP is new to the unit, and may be unaware of issues that predate their employment there.

Whoatemyburger · May 1, 2014

Okay...
Will someone please tell me...
Where can I get this job???
You know, where the nurse can have time to sit at the desk and Facebook, plan vacations and play games.
Seems like nurses everywhere else are having a grand old time.
The only thing I can never figure out is... how do the techs know every little thing the nurses are or are not doing if the techs are so darn busy?
I'm just thinking that sometimes this isn't actually what's happening but what is assumed to be happening ("that nurse is sitting at the desk therefore they must be goofing off").
If this really does happen (and I'm not doubting that it does from time to time in certain places with certain nurses) then how do they get away with it?
I know I wouldn't put up with it and I would call that nurse on it (so would everyone else I work with).
Also, it seems that when someone posts about The Lazy Nurse, we get a description of the nurse sitting at the desk and that's all we hear...
Until another poster comes along and points out that the nurse is probably charting, putting in orders, waiting for the doc, etc...
Then the original poster comes back and says, "Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention The Lazy Nurse is actually Facebooking/playing Candy Crush/planning vacation".
Okay, why wasn't that mentioned in the original post then?
That's pertinent information to help us understand.
The fact that this info was left out makes wonder (right or wrong) if the original poster didn't just toss this Facebooking/Candy Crush/vacation planning scenario in (but only brings it up in a later post) is because it's convenient and they have no other way to really prove how that nurse is lazy.
I think if that was really what was happening, it would have definitely been mentioned in the original post.

I want to work there too ! Where I can drink coffee and hangout with my iphone . I'm lucky if I get a bathroom break during my shift . I eat and chart at the same time. I really need an interview in this place lol

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 1, 2014

I'd love to see one of those CNAs who insist that they are responsible, accountable and actually do their jobs. It would be a pleasure to have a CNA help me to turn my 300 pound patient, check my patient's glucose while I'm hanging out at the nurse's station on hold for Dr. Imaflamingdonkeybutt from whom I need to extract orders for his patient, fetch ice or jello for that needy patient who is on the call light every five minutes while I do my best to get my assessments charted or change the channel for the patient who can't find the remote (same device as that call light) while I check my orders. Most of the ones I work with are hiding out texting, taking breaks, having sex in the employee bathrooms or smoking dope in the janitor's closet. (No, I'm not making this up. I have stories!)

I'll grant that there are some rude and lazy nurses out there. But in my 37 years in the hospital, I've encountered more rude and lazy CNAs than rude and lazy nurses, which is interesting because I've worked with far more nurses than CNAs. A CNA does a really tough job for minimum wage, and I can understand the difficulty in attracting quality workers to the job. But since the original post didn't mention Candy Crush or FaceBook until AFTER I mentioned that the nurse may have been waiting for a call from a physician, checking orders or charting, I'm guessing that there probably WAS a valid reason for her not to go into an isolation room at that particular minute.

Whoatemyburger · May 1, 2014

I'd love to see one of those CNAs who insist that they are responsible, accountable and actually do their jobs. It would be a pleasure to have a CNA help me to turn my 300 pound patient, check my patient's glucose while I'm hanging out at the nurse's station on hold for Dr. Imaflamingdonkeybutt from whom I need to extract orders for his patient, fetch ice or jello for that needy patient who is on the call light every five minutes while I do my best to get my assessments charted or change the channel for the patient who can't find the remote (same device as that call light) while I check my orders. Most of the ones I work with are hiding out texting, taking breaks, having sex in the employee bathrooms or smoking dope in the janitor's closet. (No, I'm not making this up. I have stories!)
I'll grant that there are some rude and lazy nurses out there. But in my 37 years in the hospital, I've encountered more rude and lazy CNAs than rude and lazy nurses, which is interesting because I've worked with far more nurses than CNAs. A CNA does a really tough job for minimum wage, and I can understand the difficulty in attracting quality workers to the job. But since the original post didn't mention Candy Crush or FaceBook until AFTER I mentioned that the nurse may have been waiting for a call from a physician, checking orders or charting, I'm guessing that there probably WAS a valid reason for her not to go into an isolation room at that particular minute.

We have priorities. That's the only way I make it alive by 730am - some CNAs don't understand that turning or changing a patient right now when they want to does not take priority over med pass or having to hang blood right that min or a bolus etc . I was an aide too , but being a nurse it's just a whole different game . I'm constantly interrupted while passing meds for things that can really wait or they can address themselves . I guess is just the nature of our jobs .

duskyjewel · May 1, 2014

And now I'd love to know where I can get the job where I can actually refuse verbally to my nurse's face to do parts of my job, hide in the bathroom texting, and disappear for coffee breaks and not get fired.

Let's just admit there are crappy people on both sides of this divide, that management who refuses to deal with them effectively is the problem, and move on.

duskyjewel · May 1, 2014

Lucky for me, I was a CNA in LTC prior to becoming a nurse and had an average of 20 residents to care for *on my own* and so I learned how to change the briefs on the 300lb. immobile resident by myself, how to dress the hemiplegic resident by myself, how to slide someone up in bed by myself, and how I could possibly change 15 incontinent residents every 2 hours *by myself* in addition to everything else I had to do *by myself*. So yeah, when I became a CNA on a busy tele unit, it was a piece of cake in comparison.

Kudos to you for being superwoman. Much like I am a runner with no desire or need to prove anything to anyone by running a marathon, I have no need or desire to prove my CNA bona fides to anyone by showing I can run myself into the ground harder and longer than anyone else.

I really think I have benefited by coming into this profession after the age of 35 and having matured and learned a lot about myself. One thing I have come to recognize is that, while I should always strive to improve myself in whatever way I can, knowing and accepting my limitations increases my success and satisfaction and decreases failure and stress. Maturity also helps put into focus what's really important and what's not. I realized from the beginning that I could never hack LTC, and so I never tried. When I realized I couldn't hack the hospital, I saved myself and everyone else the consequences of my continuing to try. Do I feel like a failure? Nope. I found a place where I can be successful, give great care to my patients, and where I am expected to slow down and take a little time with them. I may not change 60 briefs during a 12 hour shift, but I can pass on to the next shift what strategy I found worked best for calming that agitated dementia patient. I may not turn 300 pound people alone, but I find out that the spunky lady I am caring for was a nurse in London during the Battle of Britain! (I dang near bowed down in her room. That was so awesome to meet her.) I may not rush a dozen people through the shower in one day, but I get to let my pediatric patient play with a toy and splash in the tub for a little bit. And while nothing is guaranteed, by getting help with pulling people up in bed, etc., I reduce my chances of tearing up my body and sustaining a life-changing injury, which is the most important thing to me.

twinkerrs · May 1, 2014

The main problem I have found in nursing is that everyone ASSUMES they know the nurses role and job duties. There is so much that we do that CNAs techs etc do not even realize. It may look like we are being lazy but there are time frames that have to be followed or we get written up. Our techs never get in trouble for press gainey because the patient doesn't remember their food tray being out of reach they remember not getting their pain meds. Don't judge what someone else is doing as being lazy. Do your job ask for help when needed.

And as for that nursing student she should have been helping instead of running to the charge nurse to complain. If I was her instructor grr. She is a visitor not an employee and she has no right to complain to anyone but her instructor. Let the instructor get the facts and talk to the charge nurse.

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · May 2, 2014

Our techs never get in trouble for press gainey because the patient doesn't remember their food tray being out of reach...

Oh, I think patients do remember stuff like that, but they blame the nurse.

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 3, 2014

Oh, I think patients do remember stuff like that, but they blame the nurse.

EVERYTHING is the nurse's fault -- the doctor who didn't come to see them when promised, the food tray that has foods they dislike, the pharmacy that didn't dispense their discharge meds on time, the janitor that missed a puddle of water when he mopped. It's all the nurse's fault.

Whoatemyburger · May 4, 2014

EVERYTHING is the nurse's fault -- the doctor who didn't come to see them when promised, the food tray that has foods they dislike, the pharmacy that didn't dispense their discharge meds on time, the janitor that missed a puddle of water when he mopped. It's all the nurse's fault.

exactly !