We all have stupid rules to follow that were created by people who have never seen a real resident in their entire nursing careers (if they are even in nursing at all -- Helloooooooo, Mr. CEO!). Some of my favorites:
1. No chux if they wear a brief; only use chux if they are continent. We all know how leaky briefs can be. Thus every brief change turns into a full-blown bed-and-gown-change. This ****** off the residents, ****** us off (not to mention creates more work for us), and necessitates further linens for laundry to clean because their jobs are oh-so-hard (see #6 below). And what's the point of putting chux down in the first place if a person is fully continent? There's nothing for the chux to absorb; they are just hot, uncomfortable sheets of plastic that are rubbing on the residents' skin. All. Night. Long.
2. Only 3 chux can be stocked at a time for each resident. Of course, they're not the heavy duty chux, either. They're the cheap, thin ones that do little better than if I had coated the bed in a single layer of toilet paper. If the person is a leaky, heavy wetter, multiple chux must be put down each time. So I'm supposed to make a new trip to the supply room every time they wet because I wouldn't want to exceed having 3 in the room at any given time? And another thing, if they bought the good chux in the first place, they would SAVE money because we wouldn't have to an entire package for every drop of pee.
3. A CNA must be in the dining room at all times. We don't want residents to choke. Apparently our very presence magically prevents it, whether we are 10 inches or 10 yards away from the resident. Please disregard the fact that per facility policy, CNAs are not permitted to do the Heimlich or initiate CPR. So, in the case that a resident starts choking, this means we have to run around the facility like crazy looking for a nurse, any nurse, to come and save this poor person's life. And you KNOW how long it can take to find someone (and you know we're not allowed to have walkie-talkies or cell phones). Mrs. O'Reilly, I hope you can keep that french fry from further obstructing your airway just long enough for me to go find a buddy. Like they say, "Two's a party!"
4. No clothing protectors. "They're undignified." "They make the resident look/feel like a child." "How would you like to have a bib on?" They're only undignified if you make them undignified. If they are so worried about it, why did they purchase several hundred of them that have FLOWERS on them that look ridiculous on everyone, let alone a 250-pound man? And is it "less" undignified to be wheeled around with dried, crusty drool and smeared, pureed "chicken" (I'm not sure what type of "meat" dietary prepared today -- as far as I know, they all look and taste the same) all over your shirt and pants? Really?
5. No matter how long you have worked, you still only get a 30-minute lunch break. If you work 6 hours, you get 30 minutes. If you work 16 hours, you get 30 minutes. So if I work day shift and take my lunch at 11:00 am but then graciously agree to stay and work evening shift due to a call-in (because people are tired of being worked to death), according to management, I am just "out of luck?" I'll let my unconscious, emaciated figure do the explaining for this one.
6. Each type of linen must be bagged separately upon leaving the room. Sheets, pillow cases, etc., go in one bag. Washclothes and towels go in another. Clothes go in yet another. Non-compliance to result in write-ups. All this to "make things easier for laundry" because nursing is "always making extra work" for them. I know that each department thinks they have it worse than any of the others, but really??? I have been in laundry and seen them practically having parties that would rival Jersey Shore when nobody else is around. Yes, they do have it hard.
7. Drinks must be covered when taken from the kitchen; water pitchers do not. Let's ignore the fact that regular drinks have no more than 2" diameter exposed, while water pitchers have around 4". That's only a two-fold increase in the area available to be contaminated by numerous microorganisms freely floating through the air. Shouldn't it be the other way around (if at all?)? Are malaria-infested mosquitos really going to infect the watered-down fruit punch and multiply during the 30-foot walk from dietary to the table but decide NOT to do so if I carry an open water pitcher to a resident room?
haha, I thought the whole laundry "it's too much work" thing was just at my facility. They are always like things are too heavy. When we get little notes like that I am like in my head "what is their problem it's not like we ((nursing staff)) have the capabilities to lighten our loads when we want to--we just keep working". Wow...
Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.
So then if someone's grandma is choking on a piece of breakfast sausage and her chart reads DNR.......do we sit there and watch her turn blue and pass away ? Probably that's a stupid question, but oh well leave it to me to ask the stupid questions.
IN Response to this: choking is not a natural death. Doing heimlich in a choking situation is not related to a DNR as a DNR covers natural death. Choking is unnatural. If someone chokes to death with a DNR and no one does anything, you SHOULD be sued!
Call lights are not to be looped through the side rails. "It's a fire hazard."
It's the same principle as wrapping the slack from the electrical cords on the DynaMap around the metal prongs (that were built for this purpose). Yet that is "allowed." Funny, I've never seen one of those burst into flames.
If anything, it's a FALL hazard because the call lights fall off of the bed 3.25 seconds after we leave the room. If they're not looped, then how are they supposed to stay in place? Sure, we could use those "clips" that maintenance bought if they would bother to purchase ones that weren't made of pure crap and break after 2 hours of use, or if they even bothered to attach them to the cords in the first place. How then, are residents supposed to call for help when their lights are in big fat piles on the floor?
At least the call light will still be within reach so they can push it when their bed ignites from the light being wrapped around the side rail.
Perhaps spontaneous combustion isn't just a myth anymore.
We're not allowed to tie the call bells either because it "damages them" or something. We do have clips though. If the clip falls off then I have to get creative with the furniture- drape it over a wheelchair or nightstand which is then dragged next to the bed. Stupid....
1. We cannot wear gloves in the hallway. How about you, the genius, who made up this rule, come and carry a poop/urine/vomit soaked sheet to the laundry bin gloveless?
2. Emptying trash cans can only be done by housekeeping. Great! Except that housekeeping works limited hours and never at night. We get to smell dirty briefs everytime we open the flipping trashcan. *puke* Never mind that the trash cans are left in the residents rooms so they get a whiff of the lovely smells all day long. I would love to empty the trash if you idiots would give me some bags.
3. Dietary brings meal trays at 12 pm and we are given 30 minutes to pass and assist with feeding. Then the RN's whine about why residents are losing weight...hello. We have asked for longer meal times but it ain't happening. Then we get the lecture about not rushing residents while they are eating. All dietary cares about is going home.
4. Laundry does not work on the weekends. When Saturday morning rolls around, the joint smells like a barn.
what happens if someone pukes in the hallway:eek: no gloves, what is so bad about gloves in hallway? I really do not understand the rationale of CEOs etc
Jen{NAR}
54 Posts
haha, I thought the whole laundry "it's too much work" thing was just at my facility. They are always like things are too heavy. When we get little notes like that I am like in my head "what is their problem it's not like we ((nursing staff)) have the capabilities to lighten our loads when we want to--we just keep working". Wow...