This is not my job?!?

Eirene, ASN, RN · Nov 3, 2008

I would have cleaned as much as I could have with a paper towel and then asked the housekeeper for her wet mop.

I actually did this today-- and I'm a nurse, not a student.

SDS_RN, RN · Nov 3, 2008

I would have cleaned as much up as possible then had it wet mopped. I wouldn't want it left on the pt's floor for 4.5 hours. It only takes a few minutes to clean it up so I probably would have done it myself.

curlybear · Nov 3, 2008

We actually just attended a seminar on this very issue. If you were there at the time, and you didn't have any pressing issues to take care of at that very moment, the best thing to do may have been to ask for help cleaning it up. I think a lot of times the ancillary staff gets delegated all the dirty work. Offerring to help when we can fosters a spirit of teamwork. Just my 2 cents.

RN1982 · Nov 3, 2008

Uh, I don't expect housekeeping to run up to the floor to clean up poop off the floor. In fact at night, we have limited housekeeping anyhow so unless you want the brown stuff to just sit there, you had better clean yourself. You could have cleaned it up and not left it there for 4.5 hours and then asked her to mop the floor after.

DroogieRN · Nov 3, 2008

I am a student, too, and I would've cleaned it. Would I have wanted to? Doubtful, but I would still have done like the previous poster suggested, and used paper towels as best I could. At that point I may have approached housekeeping about a mop. My guess is housekeeping would then take over but if he/she did not, I would've mopped it.

It was left there for 4.5 hours? I would say that's definitely not OK, regardless of the attitude of the housekeeping staff. My personal opinion is that you should have taken care of it.

Just my :twocents: .

kythe, LPN · Nov 3, 2008

I work in a group home where we have one nurse and one aide on staff at a time. If there is a mess, we clean it up. There is no housekeeping department - that's us. Nurses who come in with an attitude that it "isn't their job" to perform basic care don't last long. It also shouldn't take 4.5 hours to clean up a mess that probably smelled and hindered the patient's movement in their room because it is unfair to the patient to have to live in those conditions.

FlyingScot, RN · Nov 3, 2008

You cannot define nursing as what is your job versus what is somebody elses job. Everybody's job is to take care of the patient and sometimes that means cleaning poop off of the floor. Your approach may have been somewhat heavy handed. Had you asked her to help YOU clean it up it probably would have been more palatable to her. Instead it sounds more like you dumped in off on her and then told her how to do it. Even though you backtracked and told her you would do it if you had the supplies the damage was already done.

pielęgniarka, RN · Nov 3, 2008

Oh, I didn't mean to thank the post, I was trying to quote.

What housekeeper wants to be told to come clean up some poop and then HOW to clean it up? They are trained in how to manage those type of circumstances. Granted, yeah, their "job" is to "clean", but that was a little demeaning, IMHO.

I usually place some paper towels over the area and attempt to clean up a little bit of what I can with paper towels (with gloves on/PPE) while I wait for housekeeping to come and take over with any final touches.

4.5 hrs is too long for some poop to be sitting out though, I would have gone to the housekeeping supervisor about that.

Maybe I'm in the minority here but I'm interested to see how others respond.

lucky1RN · Nov 3, 2008

I am a student and my pt couldn't make it to the bathroom. Poop all over the floor. I went out in the hall and told a housekeeper staff member what had happened and asked her to clean it very politely. I also suggested a mop would be useful (wet poop). She caught the biggest attitude and asked me why I couldn't do it. I said if I had the cleaning materials I'd have no problem. Then her friend (male) told her to calm down, which made her even more enraged. Long story short, it took her 4.5 hrs to finally clean it up.
First of all, that really isn't an rn's job, or should I say priority. Second of all, that is why she gets paid, or a tech's job? How should I have handled this?:confused:

Seriously? There was stool on the pt's floor for 4 1/2 hours? Because neither of you would clean it up? How humiliating for the patient.

Had a similar situation about 2 weeks ago. Wiped up what I could with towels then cleaned the floor with the Virex wipes we stock. I informed the housekeeper so she could do any further cleaning as might be required by policy. Probably took me 5 minutes. Infection control is a priority and is EVERYONE'S job.

PiPhi2004 · Nov 3, 2008

I am a student and my pt couldn't make it to the bathroom. Poop all over the floor. I went out in the hall and told a housekeeper staff member what had happened and asked her to clean it very politely. I also suggested a mop would be useful (wet poop). She caught the biggest attitude and asked me why I couldn't do it. I said if I had the cleaning materials I'd have no problem. Then her friend (male) told her to calm down, which made her even more enraged. Long story short, it took her 4.5 hrs to finally clean it up.
First of all, that really isn't an rn's job, or should I say priority. Second of all, that is why she gets paid, or a tech's job? How should I have handled this?:confused:

Since you are a student, I would've told your instructor or the RN right away and let them deal with it or had them talked to the housekeeping staff. If you had time, I would have simply asked for materials to clean up the mess and gone on my merry way. I have had this happen before and have gotten some sweet sweet co-workers to help me clean the mess.

As an RN, if you had the time I would've just done it as it's easier than arguing and no patient should have a poopy room for 4.5 hours!!! Would you want your loved one to have a poopy room for that long? While it doesnot seem like a priority, you should have made sure it was cleaned up quickly. To me, 4.5 hours is not acceptable. Did you let your instructor know? The RN? A charge nurse? Did you ask a CNA for some help? If you just let it set there and waited for her then that wasn't probably the best idea, and next time make sure the room is cleaned quicker, even if its you who has to do it.

Think of the patient in this situation. They were probably embarassed that they lost control of their bowels. There were probably people going by who can smell their feces or see it and that would embarass them further. If they have to have some mean housekeeping lady go in there to do it they will feel even worse. This completely strips them of their dignity and self respect. Also, someone could slip and fall on wet feces. If this were the pt, there would be more issues. Feces is a huge source of infection and the floor should have been cleaned and disinfected immediately. If the patient stepped in wet feces and had non-intact skin on their feet and it soaked through the socks, thats a whole other problem. Think of if a family member came in and saw that mess! How would you feel if that was your family member? Would you trust that they were getting the best care? So, yes, this is a priority, one of your bigger ones IMO.

blueheaven · Nov 3, 2008

First of all, that really isn't an rn's job, or should I say priority. Second of all, that is why she gets paid, or a tech's job? How should I have handled this?

Well, in the real world we are jack of all trades and master of not very many. I've been swiping pooh one way or another for a long time so it makes no difference to me if I have to swipe a butt or a floor. My thoughts on the floor thing...clean up as much as you can and then have the floor mopped. This is a patient as well as a staff safety issue!!!!! EWWWWW sliding on poop and hitting the floor...talk about PAPERWORK!! Just do it and save the ******* contests for another day.