Sitters, give 'em a break!

[anonymurse]

You want to know why you're complaining that the world is ending because you have to take your own vitals? Because your aides are sitting.

You want to know why your aides are sitting? 'Cause your sitters quit.

You want to know why they quit?

'Cause nobody took 10 minutes out of every 2 hours to let 'em pee/smoke/get a Coke.

'Cause they know if they don't get those 10 minutes every 2 hours esp. 7p to 7a they're gonna fall asleep and get fired.

'Cause they were PRN aides who didn't offer to do a 12-hour shift sitting, they just got grabbed and whereas they could keep themselves awake running around the floor all night, they aren't physically prepared to stay in one darkened room all night without breaks and not nod off.

You can't get them to come back because they quit working PRN and went dedicated labor pool in a unit that doesn't use sitters.

'Cause the RN couldn't be bothered to call the doctor to get an order for Haldol PRN, or for effective pain meds, or to order restraints when it was really, really needed. Or couldn't be bothered to give PRNs that *were* ordered.

You know one night I got tired of watching all the RNs drinking coffee and complaining in full view of a sitter who hadn't had a break for 4 hours. I ran and bought her a Popeye's fried chicken dinner. Me, on $7.50 an hour.

2 nights ago for the first time after a hundred sitting jobs, I had a kindly old RN give me 2 breaks Q2H, told me to take my time, and guess what she did, she charted, no skin whatsoever off her nose.

Compare that to the countless times I really needed some help or supplies in the room and had the call bell ignored for 30 minutes or more. Or the 4+ nights I had it cancelled on me repeatedly. Repeatedly!

Got a sitter shortage? Fix it yourself. You can do it.

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

To the OP...you have sooo got it spot on!!!

Quite the contrary. I think the OP's post was disrespectful and rude and a little naive. I think we've all been a sitter before. It's not that hard of a job! As a tech, we fought over who got to be the sitter that day, and it usually went by senority. But, then again, I didn't feel entitled to an hours worth of breaks throughout the day.

Prepare for your day and ask for what you need.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I think the OP's post was disrespectful and rude and a little naive.

Have to agree. When i read the first post on this thread, i had to wonder if the sitter was in the pt.'s room with the door closed to everything else happening on the floor.

[JoeyDog]

I think the OP although a little insensitive in their post was just expressing their frustration. Being a sitter is hard work IF you take your job seriously and you care about your patient. It is difficult to be stuck in a room for 8-12 hours with a patient that you cannot rationalize with, comfort, or let alone controll. It is emotionally draining and physically exhausting.

I think what the OP was getting at (with the whole break Q2h) is that as a sitter you have no escape. You cannot step away and go chart, you cannot talk to a fellow coworker, you cannot take a quick swig of coffee, you cannot go see another patient who is alert and oriented. You are basically isolated from everyone except for the staff that come in and out occassionally and they are always in a hurry and cannot make a social visit out of it. Furthermore, cabin fever tends to set in after about 2 hours, and 5 minutes starts feeling like 3 hours.

If you end up sitting in an isolation room things are even worse. Every time you have an itch you have to deglove/demask, scratch reglove/remask, oh and wash your hands before and after for the next 8-12 hours. Forget about not pitting out, you are sweating 30 min after getting all your gear on, those isolation gowns don't breath at all. If your patient is incontenent, or extremely agitated and hard to comfort you will be wishing you had brought a sweat band with you.

So I understand the OP's frustration and yeah it would be nice to get a break Q2h but it just isn't realistic. Which is why always asked to use the restroom when the RN or RT came in the room to do something. It worked for me. But I have to be honest...I hated being a sitter.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I think the OP although a little insensitive in their post was just expressing their frustration.

I agree, the initial post seemed a little like nurse-bashing and inflammatory, but after some later posts of clarification, it does sound like this unit would be a very frustrating one to sit in.

It has to be frustrating to be stuck in a room relying on others to relief you. Especially when the reality is that the nurses are able to probably get a few minutes to themselves every couple of hours.

I still stay expecting ten minutes every two hours would be asking too much on the unit I work on. Other units, other shifts perhaps, not not mine.

Each of us brings our own unique perspectives and frustrations and we should be respectful and mindful of that.

[BSNtobe2009]

I agree with the others. Yes, it's a boring job, but sitters actually go and apply for the job, so they shouldn't complain at having to stay awake, etc. I think a break every 2 hours is over the top. What other job would you get that many breaks? I personally, couldn't do it no matter how much you paid me. It would drive me nuts.

[bethin]

Quite frankly, I have no problem that aides sit. Given the attitude, I am more than happy to do my own vitals...especially since it invariably takes more time/effort to get the aide to do his/her job than to do it myself.

I'm presuming you don't mean all aides?

We don't hire sitters where I work but even if we did you better believe they would not be getting breaks q2h. I went 10 hours before I realized I had to pee for the last 5! No one working on a floor gets breaks q2h.

[BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

wow,..what a thread,...a bit off subject here,.but do any of you have trouble getting a sitter because of policy? our hospital doesn't provide a sitter unless it is a suicide precaution,..anyone else must be told that the hospital will "try" to provide a sitter, but the pt will be responsible for an hourly charge for the service, which is almost never covered by pvt insurance, or medicare. this usually involves contacting a family member to okay this and sign a form, and quite often they won't! it is very frustrating to have a pt that is confused, pulling out iv's, taking off monitors, getting out of bed when they can't even stand alone,..etc. this is very frustrating, and invariably it is the family that refuses to sign for the sitter, that is the first to complain when they come in to find grandma in restraints or blood in grandpa's foley bag because he gave himself a turp last night while trying to walk to the bathroom leaving the bag on the bed! not sure what the answer is to this problem.

[jo272wv]

Not to have ruffled any feathers but my options to the RNs were not demands just choices. It is state law not Rns choice that hourly workers receive a 30 min lunch and two 15 min breaks for a total of one hour per shift. If you refuse a sitter proper break time, they can and do report you and the hospital to the labor board. My option to them was either a 10 min break every 2 hours or a 45 min break all at once. This was not a put down it was the law. My choice with the sitters if they except it is 10 min every two hours because it is easyer for me to give them that then all at once. I forgot to releive a sitter once and they were timmed and did not ask for one, my butt was sore from the chewing out I got the next time I worked when I was reported to the float pool supervisor.

[DusktilDawn]

Not to have ruffled any feathers but my options to the RNs were not demands just choices. It is state law not Rns choice that hourly workers receive a 30 min lunch and two 15 min breaks for a total of one hour per shift. If you refuse a sitter proper break time, they can and do report you and the hospital to the labor board. My option to them was either a 10 min break every 2 hours or a 45 min break all at once. This was not a put down it was the law. My choice with the sitters if they except it is 10 min every two hours because it is easyer for me to give them that then all at once. I forgot to releive a sitter once and they were timmed and did not ask for one, my butt was sore from the chewing out I got the next time I worked when I was reported to the float pool supervisor.

Frankly I consider it the employer's responsibility to ensure staff get breaks. What a lot of RNs are frustrated with concerning this topic is that DESPITE state and labor laws THEY ARE NOT GETTING THEIR BREAKS, YET ARE EXPECTED TO COVER EVERYONE ELSE FOR THEIRS. And yes pretty much everybody within a hospital gets their breaks (and usually then some) and leaves on time EXCEPT the nursing staff. Heaven forbid anyone BUT a nurse doesn't get a break. Interesting how the state or labor boards do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about this. I guess even the state and labor boards consider nurses as having less rights than any other employee. This is what nurses are frustrated about concerning this topic.

For each sitter I have on my unit, that will be 1 hour of extra work for the nursing staff so that the sitter can be relieved. That is the reality. Whether it is housekeeping, dietary, NAs, unit clerk, supervisors for the different departments, etc, whenever anyone is not there to do THEIR job it becomes the nurses job. Whatever is not in anyone else's job descriptions suddenly by default becomes the nurses job.

I've worked with many exceptional sitters who were great with the patients and more than willing to work with me to accomodate THEIR breaks. I've also dealt with others who have reported me to the supervisor for not immediately relieveing them for break when they DEMANDED it when I was in the middle of report at shift change and REFUSED to wait to see what accomadation could be made and some actually abandon their patient because they wanted THEIR break at THEIR convenience. Guess what, the supervisor was on my side. My priority is first and foremost to the patients, not relieving others for break. Relief for breaks should be our employer's responsiblity, not dumped on the nursing staff.

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

It is state law not Rns choice that hourly workers receive a 30 min lunch and two 15 min breaks for a total of one hour per shift.

Listen. If I can't even relieve myself for a break, I can give a rat's patootie what the state law says about your breaks. Like it or not, it IS my choice when/if to relieve you. I will not ever choose your break over the health and safety of my pts. Sorry. I'd love to see someone report that! I'd love to breakdown my day and list all the things that I still needed to get done while someone is again demanding another break. Hmmm, titrating up on levophed, or relieving the sitter for his 4th break.....hmmm.

[vamedic4, EMT-P]

No one said it was easy, and I certainly couldn't do it. I'd rather be overwhelmed with work than sit. I would go insane.

You still aren't getting 10 minute breaks q2h from me. :chuckle

This is true, and truthfully unless you're incontinent of bowel or urine you don't NEED a break q2 hours. I was simply saying that I would rather do just about anything than sit with a patient for 12 hours...ugh.

[vamedic4, EMT-P]

Vamedic, if you don't like sitting why don't you do something else like CNA? Is someone twisting your arm and pressing you in that chair?

There HAS to be someone in with the patient...sometimes that's ME. I have no problem changing, turning, bathing...whatever the patient needs...I was just saying that it's hard to do all night long and not fall asleep.