After completing numerous clinicals and working as an EKG tech, I have observed and often dealt with nurses that are a prime example of what I don't want to be when I graduate. I also concede that I am a mere senior nursing student with no real-world experience.
1.) Night shift nurse who sits on facebook: Since when did it become acceptable to go on a computer and use social networking sites whenever you don't have work to do. In the time that you have sat on facebook you could have filled charts, done further research on your patients' needs, read nursing journals, assisted another nurse or CNA, or just do something that might help the morning shift. Instead, you sit on facebook trying to see if anyone you haven't seen in a few years got fat.
2.) The "thats not my job nurse": This kills me because as a tech I constantly hear this. "Mrs. Smith needs to go to the bathroom can you help her so I can do the EKG?" The reply from the nurse, "Ask the CNA...thats not my job." The nurse should really take a step back and re-evaluate your career choice because by not helping me you are not helping the patient.
3.) The nurse who openly criticizes patients or gossips with other nurses at the station: Guess what, people hear what your saying. You are making a fool of yourself and instead of complaining how so and so didn't bathe this patient during their shift, why don't you do it yourself? Be a professional, do your job to the best of your ability.
4.) The nurse who uses personal problems as an excuse to not care: I'm partial to this because I'm young but I don't care that you have kids, I don't care that your child has the snuffles and you were up all night. If you are unable to successfully complete the tasks of your job DO NOT COME INTO WORK. I have no sympathy for you. If I was out late partying and had a hangover and used it as an excuse would you care? An excuse is an excuse, either do your job right or call out, you are only hurting the patient.
5.) The nurse wearing winnie the pooh scrubs in an adult acute care setting: Your an adult. Dress like a professional, talk like a professional, and people will treat you like one.
6.) Nurses who always apologize to doctors when they call them: It is a doctor's job to take your call, listen to what you say, make decions based on the information you give them. Get some backbone, speak intelligently, and stick to the facts. If you show them you are serious, they will take you seriously and not blow you off as some stupid nurse who bothers them at home.
If I get some stool on the toilet after I dump the bedpan, housekeeping gets called. I didn't go to college for 4+ years to be treated like a cleaning lady (not that cleaning ladies -- or men -- don't deserve to be treated respectfully as a fellow members of the human race, but hopefully you get my point.)
You went to college for 4+ years, but you forgot all the teaching when you were little from your momma when she told you to clean up after yourself when you make messes?
Ruby I agree with you in that all aspects of patient care are your job. I do draw the line though --- I do not do floors. I don't do garbage. I will wipe up the cup of water you dumped on yourself, but I don't clean rooms. If I get some stool on the toilet after I dump the bedpan, housekeeping gets called. I didn't go to college for 4+ years to be treated like a cleaning lady (not that cleaning ladies -- or men -- don't deserve to be treated respectfully as a fellow members of the human race, but hopefully you get my point.)
:igtsyt:
I am confident that even Florence Nightingale would not tolerate such an elitist attitude from anyone in this profession. Just because we attain a higher level of educaton does not mean performing common courtesies when necessary are beneath us. While I agree that if housekeeping is available they should serve as auxiliaries in our patients' care, in their absence or delay we should do whatever we can to prioritize the patient's comfort. That's what nurses do! If that means cleaning up crap, emptying a trash can or changing a pillowcase to keep a patient happy, assuming our duties are not severely affected, then it's done - notwithstanding my 2 college degrees. Case closed.
Though I skimmed through the previous posts, I don't believe I have seen anyone state the obvious about OP's comments: An EKG technician is usually on the floor for about 15 minutes, 14 with the pt., and 1 with the pt.s nurse(to validate the order). If the OP is such a whiz as to be able to comprehend the total scope of the nurse's shift in that small time of interaction, they should be nominated for a Nobel Prize in Physics, because apparently they can understand time and space travel in a way no one else has been able to.
Specializes in multispecialty ICU, SICU including CV.
then you must be fabulously lucky to not only have 24/7 housekeeping, but to have housekeepers that come when they're called, comprehend enough english to understand what you want, and will clean up after you. i have a master's -- cleaning up after myself is not beneath me. i don't think anyone's bsn, msn or whatever exempts them from cleaning up the messes they make.
our housekeeping department is good, i will admit. we have someone in house at all times for emergency cleanups.
i'm not an elitist, but housekeeping is not in my job description, imo. i don't see what is wrong with saying that i went to college to get away from jobs that require a mop and broom. since when did that become a bad thing? i feel that this is not a nursing issue but an employment issue. i don't remember anywhere in my job description when i was hired that i was going to be mopping floors. nurses go above and beyond as it is. why pile on more crappy duties that just blur the lines of professionalism (which in nursing, are already very murky?) what other job do you know of that requires their college educated employees to take out the garbage? i'm not going there. hospitals can slash their budgets all they want. i draw the line there. if my patient's trash someday overflows in the middle of the shift because there are no housekeepers anymore -- yeah, i'll take it out -- to right in front of my manager's office door.
the reason why i don't clean up *some* messes especially (i previously mentioned stool) is because it is not sanitary. at my institution we do not have access to the appropriate supplies to clean this stuff with and be assured that we are not transmitting bacteria, etc. a paper towel, as one poster mentioned, does not suffice for biohazardous waste.
After reading some of these responses I'm glad I started this thread...lots of colorful responses. I have no experience in nursing, so if that is enough for you to discredit my opinion that's fine. I'm young, inexperienced, and not a nurse, but I am observant. On the other hand, you could view what I've wrote as an opportunity to see what people outside of nursing notice when they come onto the floor. As for some of the other comments, how long are most employees other than nurses on the unit? How long are visitors at the nurses' station or how long are visitors who just stop by there - 15 to 30 min seems reasonable.
If a relative of a patient came to the floor and saw a nurse sitting on facebook while they were asking them about how their mother did overnight, they wouldn't be to pleased. I could say others but I'm sure harmless examples would be taken out context.
Why are you personalizing all of this...again?
- You don't need to defend going on facebook to me. I just posted what it looks like while your on it.
- You don't need to justify wearing cartoon scrubs. But to me, they look ridiculous, and I (emphasizing I) think they make nurses look silly (except in peds, I'm sure someone will be like "I work in peds and they really make the kids happier) obviously they are fine in peds, obviously, obviously, obviously.
- You don't need to justify blowing me or anyone else off in the fifteen minutes I'm on the floor. *You're* right, I'm not there for 12 hours watching you work. But, although I might have thirty EKGs on que, I take the time to explain a basic summary of the pt's rhythm. I'm sure if any of you asked me, "Hey, how does it look?" and I said, "I'm busy, I don't have time to answer any question!" You would forever refer to me as the mean EKG tech. Guess what, it took exactly one sentence for you to form an opinion of me and my work ethic
Finally, I was surprised that everyone took general statements and applied them to specific situations where, what I said didn't apply. Obviously if you call someone at 3 am you would apologize for waking them up. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with using the internet occasionally on your shift. I'm talking about the nurses who take peronal liberties and abuse the internet, employees under them, or use their personal life as a crutch. If you need to personally defend what you do at work, your probably guility of some of the things I mentioned. If so, I really don't care, but I don't need 10 yrs of nursing experience to know when somone looks like they are slacking off or has a bad attitude. Nothing I said is clinical based, get over yourselves.
Love it and glad you came back, OP you are someone I enjoy disagreeing with because since I've calmed down we can do so respectfully. I can't wait to see us in the next post!
One thing you'll see, is that we, just like you have our own hot buttons... and that's why a few things, well all of them get off on a tangent, but you did list several, so that does and will happen in a good thread. It's great conversation, as long as we don't attack too much.
I appreciate the reminder of what family hears. Keeping noise from nurses down is my pet peeve as I work nights and everything we say can be heard. You have a valid point here.
Understand, although posts take on a personal view, an opinion, doesn't mean anyone feels personally attacked, just strongly responding to personal views or experiences that initiated with your post, but others may not feel they have to "defend" themselves to you... just their opinion to others. It's not all against you, it's all of us bickering against and WITH each other. That's what we do here, that's what keeps it interesting.
In the future when others disagree, it never diminishes your opinion, we just strongly defend our own. A personal attack is... "your an idiot". Make sense?
While your post really ruffled my feathers, I've really enjoyed reading other points of view on all the topics you've hit on. So while we may never agree on things, know that nursing, resembles this thread. It's a bumpy ride navigating through many mine holes and the end goal is the same... how we avoid blowing up the mine... is vastly different. But the patient goals are usually the same. I swear it, we just all get there differently.
Disagree with you soon, and looking forward to it:yeah:
I have offered kudos for everyone who has made some very good points and put OP in his/her place. We as nurses have a hard enough job without coming to "ALLNURSES"--remember the name, newbies, has NURSES inserted in the middle--to get bashed by people who know NOTHING about what this job entails.
I have NEVER done ANY of the things OP said, and I also know a lot of fine nurses on this board who are still doing bedside nursing and I have MUCH respect for every one of them!!!
I would suggest the Xray tech that thinks he/she knows sooooo much, start an AllXraytech.com board, and you can bash away. But if you and all the other non nurses who clog this board come on ALLNURSES and disrespect nurses, expect to get bashed right back.
I have offered kudos for everyone who has made some very good points and put OP in his/her place. We as nurses have a hard enough job without coming to "ALLNURSES"--remember the name, newbies, has NURSES inserted in the middle--to get bashed by people who know NOTHING about what this job entails.
I have NEVER done ANY of the things OP said, and I also know a lot of fine nurses on this board who are still doing bedside nursing and I have MUCH respect for every one of them!!!
I would suggest the Xray tech that thinks he/she knows sooooo much, start an AllXraytech.com board, and you can bash away. But if you and all the other non nurses who clog this board come on ALLNURSES and disrespect nurses, expect to get bashed right back.
What can I even say anymore? I don't care what you do, as an individual nurse or nurses you have encountered. I could have renamed this thread, "things your coworkers do that you hate" and I'm sure there would be some overlap with what I have stated and what other people would independently say. How many times do I have to say that I'm not a nurse? I mean seriously, I'm on the outside looking in, but guess what, all healthcare workers are in the business of customer service, so the perception of your coworkers from other disciplines should matter to you.
If you were at a restaurant and a waitress was sitting on her blackberry while you were waiting for drinks, you wouldn't say, "I don't know, she might have been here for a while and worked really hard, so I'll just wait until she's ready." (Awaiting someone who was a waitress to somehow misconstrue this )I'm talking about general stuff, lighten up. I actually take a lot away from a lot of your posts, which makes me glad Allnurses.com exists. You show a lot of immaturity by not being able to consider the validity of someone else's opinion. Yes I'm young and naive, but a lot of the posters seem jaded. I am distressed that this thread has been diluted to debates on wiping toilets or what times you call a doctor. This is nit picking and ignoring the reasoning behind my posts.
If you were at a restaurant and a waitress was sitting on her blackberry while you were waiting for drinks, you wouldn't say, "I don't know, she might have been here for a while and worked really hard, so I'll just wait until she's ready."
Recently, while I was charting at the desk (a combo of computer and paper charting) a small group of visitors walked past. One of them said loudly- clearly wishing to be overheard- "I want a job like that. Just sit on your *** all day, don't do anything, and get paid for it."
By that time, several hours into my shift, I had done my assessments on four ICU patients (including taking their vital signs and fluffing their pillows), passed several dozen scheduled meds, passed a dozen PRN meds, started an IV on a very difficult stick, drawn labs on a pt the phlebotomist could not draw, performed a 12 lead EKG (those EKG techs take forever to arrive and then ***** so much about having to WALK over to do their frigging JOB that it's just not worth it to have them in the building, and I need that 12 lead NOW, not when you get done with your ******* break because my patient is sick NOW- sorry to interrupt your peaceful frigging day!!! Thank you, I'd much rather do it myself), called a couple of doctors about urgent situations to obtain orders (entered the orders, and called the various departments involved to ensure those orders were going to be carried out), cleaned up four kinds of ****, engaged in teaching various patients and/or caregivers as to the plan of care for each patient, answered who-knows-how-many call lights, all the while storing hundreds of bits of information into my brain (slight decrease in pt A's urine output, blood pressure change on pt B, possible drug interactions on pt C, deciding whether the neuro changes on pt D were due to sundowner's or a symptom that must be reported at once- and knowing I was likely to be making a trip to CT with that patient within the next hour and figuring out who would watch the other pt's while I was gone and I need to call the family to update them and I already know that the pt's psycho husband will post my every word and action on his blog and threaten to sue me...), while taking calls from the house sup requesting beds for new ICU patients and determining whose assignment made taking an admission possible keeping in mind the level of competency of each nurse as well as each nurse's assignment load... and keeping in mind how many people are too new to handle a challenge, and who can be relied on to support her neighbor, while the pt in bed 14 is becoming combative and it's my responsibility to deal with that...
You get the picture. So when this jerk strolled past and made that disparaging comment, I wanted to punch him in the eye. Instead, I smiled as sweetly as I could manage, which probably wasn't so sweet.
My patients are not "waiting for drinks". I am not a waitress, although most of them seem to think that's about as far as my intelligence and education goes. I am their link between death and (hopefully) some sort of meaningful recovery. A big part of my job includes charting, which is when I sit down and write in excruciating detail about every little thing I've done. If I did not chart these things, I would be out of a job by the end of today. (Didn't chart you gave that med? called that doc? made that assessment? acted on the findings? Not charted = not done. Even if it was done. Good luck in court.)
Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.
Whoa, guess we didn't run him off. That boy sure enough came back with a punch and in only 2 posts. Haha!!! More Power to you Bloop23 this will certainly be one of my favorite threads. Guess some of us got told. :)
recently, while i was charting at the desk (a combo of computer and paper charting) a small group of visitors walked past. one of them said loudly- clearly wishing to be overheard- "i want a job like that. just sit on your *** all day, don't do anything, and get paid for it."
ymmv
ugg, stuff like that kills me. i can't stand passive aggressive rude comments like that, i think its so cowardly.
Recently, while I was charting at the desk (a combo of computer and paper charting) a small group of visitors walked past. One of them said loudly- clearly wishing to be overheard- "I want a job like that. Just sit on your *** all day, don't do anything, and get paid for it."
YMMV
What's even worse is when its a CNA. I actually had a CNA say something similar to my coworker a few years back. "Why can't you do that, you just sitting around". Mind you the nurse had just got done doing a 2 hour med pass with other tasks and was actually preparing the meds sheets for the next month - a task in itself.
Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN
1,130 Posts
You went to college for 4+ years, but you forgot all the teaching when you were little from your momma when she told you to clean up after yourself when you make messes?