texting at work

questionsforall · Dec 3, 2009

The other day I had an awful time working with a senior nurse who took a 45 minute breakfast break, a 45 minute lunch break, was in & out of the room constantly so that when I needed to go find a resident or get supplies, I couldn't; AND took a break at 5pm for over an hour!!!!

Imagine when it is this same nurse that is texting all day too.

fortunare · Dec 3, 2009

It's bad enough to text or do other non work related activities during slack times while being paid to work, but we have a group of Peds nurses who are supposed to be caring for critically ill kids. Not only are there frequent mistakes in procedures, some life threatening, but many of them are shirking their duties and have a supervisor who supports them no matter how inept or lazy they are. My job is to improve overall quality of care and I'm about to quit since their supervisor's boss seems to ignore all of these problems and the supervisor personally attacks me every time I mention a problem. Middle and upper management produce commercials and mission statements purporting to offer excellence in patient care but in reality all they care about is showing "profits" in a non profit hospital chain so they can increase their pay and bonuses.

Texcal43 · Dec 3, 2009

Texting, talking on cell phones/landlines, taking extended breaks, updating facebook, playing those non-sense farm-games while working is just outrageous. I don't care what unit your working on meg-surg, ICU, NICU, or ER. We are professionals and it is our duty to dedicate every moment of our shift to our patients care. Unless you are on a scheduled lunch or break we should be caring for our patients. These are all horrible infractions, but the worst infraction that I have seen is nurses and CNA's/PCA's sleeping on the the freakin job and when I mentioned this to my director she sided with the employees who had been on the job longer and completely dismissed my complaint. I wished many of the nurses that have time for the games find somewhere else other than the work place in which to enjoy them. I aspire to become an ICU nurse in the near future so why don't some of you texting ICU nurses leave and make room for those who really understand what the meaning of patient care is all about.

BVP910 · Dec 3, 2009

Ughh i havent taken the time to read this entire thread but all i can say is this obsession with texting is my complete pet peeve!! Im only 21 so its not like im old fashioned or anything, it just seems nowadays everyone is sooo distracted by cell phones, most often young people. One of the things that drives me nuts is when im in class and literally half of the class is texting. SO disrespectful!!

cjsbaskets · Dec 3, 2009

I am sadden and ashamed that any nurse believes that it is acceptable to be texting, twittering, surfing the net or talking on the phone for personal issues while at work. We are supposed to be professional people who understand the responsibilities of caring for the sick. Research has shown that the brain really can't do two things at once so it could cause serious harm to the patient if the nurse"s focus is somewhere else. There is also the problem of those who are always late, have to call home or get calls from home multiple times a shift. Then there are the smokers who always manage to get their breaks when others can't get to the bathroom. I guess professionalism is no longer taught in nursing school nor expected in the work place. Perhaps this issue needs to be brought to a Practice committee, Safety committee or the JCHAO readiness committee! Sorry to rant but this stuff makes me crazed!

ElectricHellfire · Dec 3, 2009

I honestly feel like something is wrong with me sometimes because I am actually working all 12 hours that my shift entails while other people talk and seem to have all the time in the world to do whatever (smoke, take breaks, surf the internet etc).

I've only been a nurse for one year but I still have to hustle around to get stuff done and I think I am fairly organized.

Anyone else feel that way?

southernbeegirl, BSN, RN · Dec 3, 2009

If you aren't employed there, whole different story, but the area where I live most NPs are employees of the hospital, therefore subject to the same rules that other staff are held to. And our policy states that having one turned on may be grounds for termination. And this came about per the wonderful Press Ganey and patient complaints about staff use of cell phones.

Having no cell phone whatsoever in patient care areas came about in my area recently. 2 CNAs at a LTC facility were taking nude pictures of their patients and posting them on the web. they are in jail now.

I dont get it. Where is the work ethic anymore? What ever happened to professionalism? When we go to work, we are getting paid to do a job. We agree to do a certain job, the company agrees to pay us for that. So where do we get this sense of entitlement that despite what our employers tell us being that we can't have cell phones in patient care areas nor use them in the same areas that we feel we have the right to thumb our noses at them and do what we want?

i have no control over anyone but myself. when i pull in the parking lot at work, i turn my phone off and throw it in my purse and do not turn it back on until i get in my car to go home. cell phones arent permitted at my job. if my family needs me, and that includes sick little ones, they have the number to the desk to call me at.

to even think its ok to text while you are getting paid to work just blows my mind. and dont even get me started on surfing the web while working.

iyqyqr · Dec 3, 2009

I'm so happy to read your posts and see that I'm not the only person bothered by the amount of 'personal' time some nurses feel it is their right to have at work. I'm 59, and have worked in 11 different NICU's around the country. I raised 3 children through college as a single parent and they rarely had to contact me when I was at work from 7p-7a. My present unit has a nursing staff of about 110 nurses and I would estimate that about 1/3 of them carry cell and I-phones and routinely text, play games, share photos, shop online, and post on Facebook while at work. This would include transport and charge nurses, who should be the ones that our new hires look up to and want to emulate. When I hear monitor alarms constantly ringing off, I walk into rooms to find nurses texting and laughing. When I inquire to whom they are texting at 2am, I'm told it is a boyfriend at a bar or a nurse friend across the unit, or they may be playing a game with another nurse who is elsewhere in the unit. A month ago we had our yearly evals and before we sat down for this we were required to read a one page review of policy on tardiness, nails, HIPPA, cell phone use, etc and sign our names that we would be compliant with all of the above. The hospital policy on cell phone use in patient care areas was also posted and for a few days you could hear staff discussing it. Neither of these attempts to curtail use has acheived the goal, in fact, I think more staff are texting than before.

What concerns me the most is that most of my shifts I find plenty to occupy my entire 12 hours. I'm efficient and organized and can run circles around many as I give bath demos to parents, change all my beds, restock my cart and room, visit and teach families, help them Kangaroo. If I have down time I help launder and fold our stash of pretty linens and baby clothes, put things away, look up a case, or read a nursing journal. Many of the staff I work with do none of these things, yet they have plenty of time for 'personal time on cell phones'.

I've been a nurse for 26 years and the lack of professionalism and sense of entitlement of nurses in all age brackets is hard to bear. When I do take my 15 and 30 min break, I often have to sit and listen to one or more cell phone conversations during my break. I feel that if they want to be on the phone during their break, which is their right, they can go to a more private area, so that their long conversations don't infringe on my limited down time.

When did we stop 'being present' for one another and believing that an employer who pays you for a 12 hour shift deserves your attention to duty for that period of time? I wonder what it will take to get us back on track, to really BE THERE for our patients, families, and each other. We can do that and still have fun at work and enjoy it. I managed to do so for many years or I would have found a new career a long time ago.

Emergency RN · Dec 3, 2009

All I'm waiting for, is for a plaintiff's attorney to subpoena a nurse's personal phone records to show that the nurse was inattentive to the dying patient as there are a stream of text messages from her phone while she was supposed to have been at work closely monitoring the patient.

LOL, now that would be really be a wake up call, eh? I could just imagine the look on the nurse's face when that happens. Losing a malpractice or negligence case, or perhaps her license because she was too busy with personal nonsense on the phone? Priceless...

Sean 91 · Dec 3, 2009

Texting??!! What really bothers me are employees who are chatting on their phones!! Especially some aides, who if you are looking for them, just go to the staff room and there they are. But, I mean, walking around the hall as they get linens talking on their phones! And I'm working my butt off as a nurse. (But the administrators say that for evey 10 interviews they can only offer a job to two people because the other eight don't pass the background check, so it's impossible to be fired once they get hired because the administrators are more afraid of not having someone than the phone use.)

Eaglelady · Dec 3, 2009

I totally agree I only have enough time to get my work done I definitely do not have time to sit and text---it takes almost the whole 12 hrs to get orders in do assessment and all the charting and treatments plus pass meds and answer call lights so how in the world does one have time to text?

sunnycalifRN · Dec 3, 2009

All I'm waiting for, is for a plaintiff's attorney to subpoena a nurse's personal phone records to show that the nurse was inattentive to the dying patient as there are a stream of text messages from her phone while she was supposed to have been at work closely monitoring the patient.
LOL, now that would be really be a wake up call, eh? I could just imagine the look on the nurse's face when that happens. Losing a malpractice or negligence case, or perhaps her license because she was too busy with personal nonsense on the phone? Priceless...

You've hit the nail right on the proverbial head!! Nurses out there, remember that we're living in the "high tech" age, and every keystroke, every word spoken over a cell phone, is recorded and backed up. As the poster says, in a court proceeding, it could all be presented as evidence. Recently, there has been a case involving texting while working (not nursing) . . . there was a railroad engineer in Los Angeles area who was texting away as his Amtrak train crashed head-on into a freight train. He wasn't charged because he was also killed in the accident . . .