I am a Unit Clerk working in B.C., and I will be entering into the BsN program next year. I have just recently become a unit clerk, after an 8 month course through the local college. What I want to know is if the majority of nurses value their unit clerks? As I am only 20 years old, I've dealt with a lot of older RN's commenting on how young I am and that "Unit Clerks aren't supposed to be so young...". But by far, the worst comment I've heard was when an RN told me that it was a waste of time taking the Unit Clerk course, because anything we can do, can be done by a nurse, and that we are useless and replaceable!!! I do feel a definate heirarchy amongst the nurses and unit clerks here in my town. Some of the nurses just think we are there to do whatever they want. I work in ICU, and while the nurses sit around reading magazines or playing on the computer (when they don't have patients), they yell at me to "page staffing", "sort this chart out!", ect. I know what my duties as a unit clerk are and I am very meticulous and like to be busy, but when there are only 2 patients in the unit, and the Dr hasn't been in to write orders, there is only so much that I can do. If I sit down for one minute, I'm barked at and told to go fetch the nurses coffee. I don't feel that I use my knowledge like I could, I feel more like a maid than a unit clerk. I am posting this because I am hoping for feedback as to how unit clerks are treated or if they are valued in other hospitals.
