Safe staffing vent

[Swellz]

Yesterday I was floated to a hospital I had never been to before. I walked through a new wing, past a lobby with a fountain, into new, single-patient rooms fitted with Alexa to assist you with paging your nurse... and every nurse had 5 or 6 patients on dayshift. Ortho/trauma patients, confused/withdrawing patients, not a single independent one on the entire floor. Pain meds were late, q2 turns didn't happen, getting out of bed happened for the most part only when PT showed up. I'm so glad when the change of shift admission from the ED came in, confused, restrained, covered in blood, that required 6 staff members to get settled, that we had Alexa on the walls, because certainly that was more important to patient care than us having another nurse.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

yup, precisely why I hated floor nursing and went to the ED as soon as I could. Fix 'em and send 'em off.

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

Ahhh hate that horrible transfer that always seems to happen at change of shift and requires all the staff from both shifts to run to the room to settle the patient! And then do report super late, outgoing shift leaves late and oncoming shifts starts late and frazzled with patients angry that their call lights going unanswered for 30 mins! End of rant... sorry that happened to you

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Maybe Alexa could be programmed to murmur a constant stream of Press-Ganey positive terms and brainwash the patients into giving y'all outstanding survey scores...?

[Swellz]

You know the funny part is that Alexa didn't even work because of internet issues. My patients managed to get me with the call bell just fine!

[Daisy4RN]

Ah, Alexa. Admin is so good about finding ways to improve pt care!

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

23 hours ago, Swellz said:

I'm so glad when the change of shift admission from the ED came in, confused, restrained, covered in blood, that required 6 staff members to get settled, that we had Alexa on the walls, because certainly that was more important to patient care than us having another nurse.

I just had a flashback to the morning I decided I was done with the ICU... hang in there!

[Swellz]

Yeah I think this whole MS-tele-stepdown continuum I'm in just isn't for me anymore. Not that other specialties don't get dumped on, but it's been almost 6 years. Time to try something new.

[ClaraRedheart, BSN, RN]

Maybe with they could get rid of the genius that thinks up the expensive frou frou and use the extra money from his salary and the nonsense aesthetics to hire another nurse. That would be cool. Will never happen though until safe staffing ratios are mandated by law.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

4 hours ago, ClaraRedheart said:

Maybe with they could get rid of the genius that thinks up the expensive frou frou and use the extra money from his salary and the nonsense aesthetics to hire another nurse. That would be cool. Will never happen though until safe staffing ratios are mandated by law.

Exactly, I was thinking the same thing. How many patients actually understand how to use the stupid electronic gadget that the hospital wasted its money on anyway? Let me guess. It’s a nursing duty to teach the patient how to use the Alexa device in order to verbally summon us? It’s like giving someone with severe Alzheimer’s our phone number. Poor patient can’t remember where they are or who they’re calling after 2 hours of reorienting them every five minutes when they call again because they have the phone in their hand and dialed a number they see written on the board in the room.

Only way some big shot politicians will ever agree to safe staffing ratios is when they are subjected to the same exact care that everyone else receives as a result and don’t get the ‘VIP’ treatment they have become accustomed to and think they are entitled to above the average citizen.

Kind of like if our law makers got the same healthcare package they think is outstanding for the rest of us little people....okay I better shut up now. I don’t want this to come out sounding political as it’s not the way it’s intended. It’s just that I feel there will always be a double standard as to what government officials will believe is quality care for ‘them’ vs what is quality, or considered ‘safe’ care for patients. If they were receiving the same care we would already have mandated ratios.

[Dy-no-mite Nurse1, CNA, LPN]

On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 10:39 AM, LibraNurse27 said:

Ahhh hate that horrible transfer that always seems to happen at change of shift and requires all the staff from both shifts to run to the room to settle the patient! And then do report super late, outgoing shift leaves late and oncoming shifts starts late and frazzled with patients angry that their call lights going unanswered for 30 mins! End of rant... sorry that happened to you

You just described my shift today... NEVER ending complaints!!! High risk fall patients constantly getting oob or out of their chairs... so glad I don't go back till Monday.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

hEY ALEXA ...CALL 911---

When ever we questioned the spending of money on wasteful gadgets they tried to shut us up by saying they got a deal from the vendor and we should not question that.One example is when they replaced all the paper towel dispensers with battery operated ones that required several D sized batteries,a key,and special sized roll of paper and housekeeping staff to change/maintain them.They stuck them everywhere whether the fitted the wall or not.When the batteries died and no replacement available we ended up with a giant roll of paper just standing by wet splashy sink,you had to touch it ,lift and tear a piece to dry your so called clean hands....lol so disgusting,useless, even the visitors had to also.

So take Alexa and give me Nancy nurse.