Stupid hospital/company tricks

Nurses General Nursing

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The stupid nurse trick thread and some of the abusive policies cited in the getting fired for being late/calling out thread have triggered me to start this thread. What ludicrous policies have been put in place where you work or have worked, what was the rationale for the policy, and what was the result?

My example:

One hospital I used to work for tried to force the nursing staff to bake cookies for the patients using what looked like a cross between an easy-bake oven and a toaster oven. Cookies were to be offered at....you've guessed it...7pm. Yes, right at change of shift. They also wanted us to DOCUMENT offering cookies. Predictably, this new mandate was met with howls of protest from nursing, which were entirely ignored.

The ovens went to each floor except ICU to "make the hospital feel welcoming and increase patient satisfaction." The already busy nurses often burned the cookies, or ate them during report, as they had not had time for a break all day. The majority of our cardiac patients were also diabetic. The floor smelled often of burnt cookies. The staff was resentful. A few months later, the cookie ovens disappeared, never to be mentioned again.

Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

I worked in a state facility for developmentally delayed. We got a new client who had to be removed from a group home due to her severe behaviors/hurting other clients and staff. She had some very odd mannerisms and I suspected her to be at a developmental level of a 6-8 y.o. She would incessantly ask for ibuprofen and other PRNs. Her "team" (case mgrs, counselor a, ect) made a new rule for her that if she wanted a PRN she would need to walk over to the health care center to get it. So pretty much every evening (I worked 2-10) she would come by complaining of a headache or various other conditions. I got creative and started convincing her that other things would help - lotion, any left over snacks we had and then we figured out she really liked tea. It became a routine that every evening she would come over she would make her complaints, we would give her a bag of tea, we would chit chat for a few minutes and she would give me a hug and leave. The other nurse who worked on my days off got on board with it too.

This went on for 4-5 months until one of the "nurse supervisors" was working a evening shift (didn't happen often). She complained to NM who sent out an email to me and the other nurse that we were "not to be giving her food or tea anymore because it would cause a behavior if we didn't have any to give her." Also it wasn't in her behavior plan.

The next few evenings we didn't give her anything edible - we gave her old magazines just b/c she wouldn't leave until she got something from us. NM and nurse supervisor found out and didn't like that either. I heard thru the grapevine that our actions were discussed at length during an admin meeting.

I'm not sure how it went down - I suspect that they were going to try to impose disciplinary action - but an email was sent to all the nurses and her case workers by the psychologist. He thanked us for helping her to develop her social skills and positive relationships and reminded us that this was part of our job. He said there was no reason that we could not continue to do what we were doing. Nothing more was ever said about it.

I resent being refered to as "patient care champions" or worse yet "customer service champions".

I resent being refered to as "patient care champions" or worse yet "customer service champions".

Lol!!

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I just have the old-fashioned app-free variety because like a moron I left my smart phone in the car while at work, overnight in the city. Some thug shattered my window to get it. Hard, cold lesson learned. Really cold, driving home on the interstate in the upper Midwest with no window. :facepalm: But I digress.

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And that's a good argument for allowing smartphones to be in your pocket on the unit. A colleague of mine had his stolen from his bag in the break room. Mine is in my pocket.

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Ick! I wouldn't want all those hospital germs on my personal phone. Yuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Wow, that's hardcore. I saw a nurse escorted out when she refused to wear a mask and wouldn't get the shot...but to not even give the nurse the option of wearing a mask? That's hardcore.

And I'm sorry, I had to laugh at that Nurse's Week gift! Nothing like a flowery encouragement to suck it up! lol (Or dirty, if your thumb is as brown as mine and can't keep plants alive.)

How about being terminated from your position (10 years with the hospital) when you're four days late getting your flu shot?

And there was that year when we got a red plastic cup filled with potting soil with a seed packet on top and a note that said "bloom where you're planted".. that was our "thank you" during nurses week.

Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
I don't often giggle helplessly at AllNurses, but AOx1's post about the backscratchers just about killed me.

Me too! My 2 y/o daughter keeps asking, "What, Mom? What so funny Mom?" 'Cause I do this :roflmao: every time I check this thread. The backscratchers post took the cake.

And there was that year when we got a red plastic cup filled with potting soil with a seed packet on top and a note that said "bloom where you're planted".. that was our "thank you" during nurses week.

Oh dear God.

Specializes in Maternity & Well Baby Nursery.
I used to work nights on an OB floor. The postpartum rooms surrounded the nursing station. As often happens, the patients sometimes complained about the volume at 2 am at the nursing station. So the nurse manager installed a huge streetlight thingie - it was about 2 feet tall, and had a red, yellow and green light. If the volume got louder, it would go from green to yellow, and louder still, from yellow to red. When it went to red, a very loud alarm would go off.

Then we started getting complaints about the really loud alarm that would go off at random times throughout the night. After a couple months, the streetlight went away.

We still have those but silenced the alarms. Lots of patients and their families ask about them though.

I'm sure this isn't very uncommon, but I'm still a little bitter about my Christmas bonus... A frozen turkey that has been taking up about 1/4 of the space in my freezer.

I'd never complain about a pizza party. We always get donuts or soft pretzels.

I'm sure this isn't very uncommon, but I'm still a little bitter about my Christmas bonus... A frozen turkey that has been taking up about 1/4 of the space in my freezer.

I'd never complain about a pizza party. We always get donuts or soft pretzels.

BAHAHAHA You just reminded me of our Thanksgiving gift.

One year, management decided to gift us a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. The problem is that the turkey people came and handed them out at around 3-4pm and, this being Southern California, it was 75 degrees outside. Where the **** were we supposed to put the turkeys?! We could not put them in the break room. Our fridge wasn't even enough for our regular food. We couldn't put them in our car unless we wanted to call off sick for food poisoning (although THERE'S an idea... Hmmm). The hospital did not have fridge space. So basically about a couple dozen turkeys died only to nearly thaw out very slowly and sadly in a corner of the break room we tried to pack with ice. As far as I know, no one actually cooked and ate them.

If anyone on the unit was feverish, maybe we could have used the turkeys instead of a Gaymar.

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

we have been issued phones so we can be reached instantly instead of being paged to pick up a line. If you are in the middle of something, don't answer it, however, if you consistently (in their subjective opinion) don't pick up then you get dinged on your eval. Lab values are sent to us so we can notify the doc, instead of sending it to the doc directly (who carry the same phones as the nurses). So then I have to stop and chart physician notified on the computer.

I swear, last week all it took was for me to go through the curtain to a pt for the phone to go off. Either I keep paying attention to the pt while the phone rings non stop, or I stop and answer it (to hear the monitor tech telling me to go to a room to answer a call bell) and let the pt sit there while I'm on the phone. Ye gods, can't win for losing!

Aren't we taught not to let things interrupt us while talking to a pt in front of us? If you want good "customer service", then why make it so I can't concentrate on the "customer" I am with!!

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