Secretaries who believe they rule the unit or hospital

Mikey31079 · Apr 4, 2016

Hey Everyone! I'm a unit secretary/monitor tech...I'd like to say a couple things here :-)

For the most part, I work with some pretty awesome techs and nurses. But there are some that sometimes I have to keep on about some things...for example, if I tell the PCT I need weights by 6am, it's because I need to update census for day shift then. And PLEASE let me know if the bed scale isn't working so I can call maintenance, or if I need to, order a new bed. Most are good with that, but there is one that I had to remind a few times (she got huffy and I ended up doing it myself.)

One more thing...I can't speak for all secretaries, but sometimes I have to guard the office stuff because some nurses think they need like 10 black pens in one shift, or someone takes 3 pads of post-it notes. At my facility, we're only allowed to reorder once a week and we only get a certain amount with each order.

And also, the one post I saw (forgive me, but I just woke up from pulling 6 nights in a row and I'm too tired to dig for it right now) about UCs being "low class" Not cool. Not cool at all.

Farawyn · Apr 4, 2016

Hey Everyone! I'm a unit secretary/monitor tech...I'd like to say a couple things here :-)
For the most part, I work with some pretty awesome techs and nurses. But there are some that sometimes I have to keep on about some things...for example, if I tell the PCT I need weights by 6am, it's because I need to update census for day shift then. And PLEASE let me know if the bed scale isn't working so I can call maintenance, or if I need to, order a new bed. Most are good with that, but there is one that I had to remind a few times (she got huffy and I ended up doing it myself.)
One more thing...I can't speak for all secretaries, but sometimes I have to guard the office stuff because some nurses think they need like 10 black pens in one shift, or someone takes 3 pads of post-it notes. At my facility, we're only allowed to reorder once a week and we only get a certain amount with each order.
And also, the one post I saw (forgive me, but I just woke up from pulling 6 nights in a row and I'm too tired to dig for it right now) about UCs being "low class" Not cool. Not cool at all.

The pens? You sound so much like a unit secretary!

(That's a compliment... Don't hurt me! :nailbiting: )

MMC.RN · Apr 5, 2016

Our UC DOES run the unit and she knows it too! In many ways, she does know more than I do and she can be a great resource, especially when it comes to obscure hospital policy or an HR thing. She goes to bat for the staff on our unit and defends us to admin when needed. I appreciate her so much and she makes things run so much smoother. I've never had her tell me or observed her telling another staff member what to do unless it was in jest. She will pitch in when she can if we are short staffed as she is trained as a PCT, even though she doesn't have to. A good UC is worth their weight in gold and are great assets to the unit, I would not be so quick to discount them...

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 5, 2016

Another horrible post.....why am I not surprised....

Yea.. can definitely relate to the OP here. Where I've worked, secretaries think that they have the lay of the land on a given unit. It's especially bad when the secretary has a lot of seniority. They think they're some sort of proxy for the managers because they pass out newsletters or answer the phone for the unit. Like they're some sort of communication hub. They also control the stationary and office supplies for the unit which emboldens them furthers.
I think part of this phenomenon is due to secretaries and unit clerks being from the lower socioeconomic strata of American women. They're on par with waitresses, cashiers, babysitters and act as low class as the group they originate from.

Mikey31079 · Apr 5, 2016

The pens? You sound so much like a unit secretary!
(That's a compliment... Don't hurt me! )

HAHA, I would never do that!! And thanks for the compliment! :-)

Nurse Leigh · Apr 5, 2016

UC stands for unicorn, right? Because unit clerks were about as rare as unicorns at my former hospital. I think ours came for a few hours a couple of days a week. Then, when we went to CPOE, admin apparently decided none were necessary at all. :rolleyes:

So all the UC's tasks (that they actually knew how to do quickly and efficiently) fell on the nurse's already full plate.

No wonder I practically get an eye twitch when I think about the C suite suits.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2016

Or unit secretaries who believe they literally run a unit. These people have no medical training at times and are not certified or licensed, yet they feel they have the authority to tell the RNs what to do.
I don't get it, why????

In my personal experience, workplace culture dictates how much power is held by ancillary staff. Hence, managers who allow this behavior to occur without intervention are part of the problem.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 5, 2016

Actually, it's a way of giving people a semi-graceful "out" for their display of ignorance.

I would never have thought to word it this way, but that's exactly what it is!

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Apr 6, 2016

I think part of this phenomenon is due to secretaries and unit clerks being from the lower socioeconomic strata of American women. They're on par with waitresses, cashiers, babysitters and act as low class as the group they originate from.

Yet another inflammatory comment. Nurses in general aren't considered part of the upper SES either, so get off your high horse. You're not impressing anyone here.

OyWithThePoodles, RN · Apr 7, 2016

Our UC is definitely worth her weight in gold. She's been there longer than I've been alive. She knows every doctors name/phone number/specialty and has usually called them before you can finish asking for the number.

I'll say "Sue (not her name) you're in charge today!" To which she always replies "Honey, they don't pay me enough to be in charge, but I'll tell you what to do!"

In an emergency when nurses or docs are calling out orders she puts them in no questions asked, whereas others will say "I can't do that unless be Doctor writes it in the chart..."

If I ask for something to be done, and come back later to see if it was, she says "Baby, I got you, you know this".

Sure, she can be a little rough around the edges, but give me a UC that knows what the heck she is doing over a sweet as pie UC any day.

And she can call me her nurse. I call the providers on MY floor MY docs. We're a team.

happy_life · Apr 7, 2016

Our UC is definitely worth her weight in gold. She's been there longer than I've been alive. She knows every doctors name/phone number/specialty and has usually called them before you can finish asking for the number.
I'll say "Sue (not her name) you're in charge today!" To which she always replies "Honey, they don't pay me enough to be in charge, but I'll tell you what to do!"
In an emergency when nurses or docs are calling out orders she puts them in no questions asked, whereas others will say "I can't do that unless be Doctor writes it in the chart..."
If I ask for something to be done, and come back later to see if it was, she says "Baby, I got you, you know this".
Sure, she can be a little rough around the edges, but give me a UC that knows what the heck she is doing over a sweet as pie UC any day.
And she can call me her nurse. I call the providers on MY floor MY docs. We're a team.

Maybe it's cuz I'm so tired after my shift but this post is so dang cute!! Love it! :inlove:

saptam0109 · Apr 7, 2016

I had one sectetary one time that would constantly call me while I was in my patient rooms telling me another one of my coworkers patients needed pain medicine/needed help/ etc.... Later come to find out that she was intimidated by other nurses, so she told me about the things their patients needed to avoid talking to them because they would ignore her when she would call into THEIR rooms. She would also always tell me my patients needed more pain medicine, that I wasn't giving them enough, etc. after a few months at this job, I didn't realize how much she weighed me down when I was working.

Yeah I left that job after a year for several reasons, and I love the secretary I work with now. I wouldn't be able to function without her, and I constantly thank her for her job. On days that she is off or on vacation, man do we know it and do we pay for it! She puts in our written orders, constantly is answering our never-ending phone calls, deals with maintainence, orders our supplies, and so much more. I hate it when she's gone LOL