This is not my job?!?

loriangel14, RN · Nov 4, 2008

it still comes down to the OP leaving poop on the floor for 4.5 hours. My charge would say - suck it up buttercup.

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

It would do most other departments well to have a little common respect for the nursing department.

I've found from experience that if I give respect I'm more likely to get respect. :)

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

Oh, trust me, on the days I'm at work, I make sure NOTHING like that happens...my ltc folks are my extended family and I treat them as such.

Oh, Mikey, I was agreeing with your post! I hope I didn't come across wrongly with my opinion. I agree completely with everything you were saying.

Anne, RNC

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

Wow, just wow. I hope we never work together, as your demeanor toward teamwork and ancillary staff speaks volumes.

Exactly!! I have worked with other staff members with this attitude or demeanor, and I would rather not get to meet any more with this demeanor. I've had my fill.

Anne, RNC :down:

tridil2000, MSN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

Everyone poops. Everyone gets loose stools sooner rather than later. Even YOU. How would you feel if you pooped on the way to the bathroom and your nurse made such a fuss? You'd be mortified.

Nursing is about the PATIENT not the poop. Bodily functions are part of what we monitor... not turn up our noses at. You should have reassured the patient and eased their stress and anxiety. What happened was natural and not their fault. THAT is your job... to think about the patient, not just their poop, but the whole patient and their psyche.

You should have said something like, "Oh don't even worry about it Mrs. SoSo. Accidents happen all the time. I am sorry you're going through this." Then you could've quietly, without a fuss, thrown a towel or sheet down over it, wiped some of it up and then called housekeeping to sanitize the area. I am sure the patient would have really apprecited that approach... one with sensitivity and compassion.

There will always be poop in your career. Remember, think about the patient and their dignity and handle the situation with compassion. The more you focus on whose job something like this the more you're forgetting about the patient. And correct me if I'm wrong, isn't that why you went into nursing? To care for the whole patient?

GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

I would have cleaned it up with whatever, towels, papertowels, washcloths, then the saniwipes, then called housekeeping for a 'real' cleaning. Esp on nocs, they lock up the carts and cleaning supplies so really it has to be done, you can't leave it, that is just wrong in so many ways

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

I would have cleaned it up with whatever, towels, papertowels, washcloths, then the saniwipes, then called housekeeping for a 'real' cleaning. Esp on nocs, they lock up the carts and cleaning supplies so really it has to be done, you can't leave it, that is just wrong in so many ways

That is exactly what our facility does at night. When i was on night shift, I cleaned up poop off the floor, wall, and even off the privacy curtain. And I try to clean all I can, like I would hope the staff taking care of my mom or dad would.

And again, just my opinion, but the responses for the most part seemed to me to be informative to the OP, and answering the OP's question, especially Mikey and MichiganRN.

StNeotser - If respect for housekeeping, or other departments is such a big issue, then maybe there is a problem at your facility. A general statement you made does not necessarialy apply to every facility everywhere. When I have been in the ER or the floor as a patient at my facility, some of the housekeepers have come by to visit and keep me company. They all know I have respect for every one of them and all the work they do.

Anne, RNC

Jailhouse nurse · Nov 4, 2008

You were okay with your patient lying in bed, helpess to help herself, within a few feet of fecal matter for over four hours because you are too important to clean it up?

I really, really hope you are able to learn from this.

My fear is that you will not.

GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

My one question would be as a student, did you not discuss this dilemma with the RN in charge of your pt, or your CI?

nursemike, ASN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

In my previous position, cleaning patient rooms was part of my duties. In most cases, if there was a large, liquid mess, the nurse or aide would soak up the bulk with towels or chux, and I would clean up the rest. If they didn't have time, I did it. I'd do it on units I wasn't assigned to if I happened to be there and my responsible counterpart wasn't around. I know a few of my peers who routinely insisted that the nurse or aide clean the bulk of the mess before they would touch it, but I thought they were pretty lame.

As a nurse, I would have cleaned the mess. In fact, I have on nurmerous occassions, then asked someone to mop it, just as many of the respondents have suggested. I would not mop it myself, as we have been instructed that the housekeepers can grieve through their union if we pick up a mop. I would also not tolerate being told to do it myself. Part of my duty as a professional nurse is to appropriately delegate, and if ancillary staff refuse that delegation, they need to be disciplined.

I will say, as a student, the OP would probably have been more prudent to ask her instructor or a staff nurse how to proceed, rather than attempting to delegate on her own. In any case, the housekeeper had absolutely no business delegating to the student.

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

I have mopped plenty a floor in my time. I actually got reprimanded for picking up a mop in my current facility. We're union and I was told someone could claim I was trying to take their job! So, I don't do it anymore..I do go and find housekeeping to clean up a mess. Wouldn't want anyone to file a grievance against me.

I think the best thing to do would be to try to at least make a start of cleaning it and then ask for some help from housekeeping. Unless, of course, you're in a union facility. :lol2: :smokin:

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 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:

Just to clarify... I did clean it up the best I could. There was also poop encrusted in the floor (this wasn't the first time). All she really needed to do was run "the/her" mop over the floor. I got the major stuff up OF COURSE!
If the job didn't req a mop I would NOT have asked "housekeeping" or w/e they refer as.
I was the one doing the dirty work here...NOT HER!

In your first post, it sounds like you asked the housekeeper to clean up the poop. In your second post, you state that you cleaned up the poop. So, I am a bit confused about what really happened. In any case, even if you did clean up the poop and just needed the housekeeper to go over the floor with the mop, is it possible that the housekeeper thought you were asking her to clean up the poop?

As others have already stated, yes, it IS your job to clean poop off the floor. Use some damp washcloths, wipes, paper towels, or whatever, then ask housekeeping to sanitize with the appropriate solution.

At my facility, housekeeping closets are kept locked due to JC requirements, and the nurses do not have access. We can, however, grab a bottle of antimicrobial spray and wet down the area, then wipe up with towels. This will disinfect the area in a pinch, until housekeeping can get there.