Unit Secretary....Answer the call light for pete's sake!!!

bjaeram · Feb 18, 2009

Our unit clerks answer all call lights and forward the message to the nurse. Most or our clerks are very good at helping and multi tasking. I am suprised to see so many responses stating a clerk should not be answering a light it should be a licensed person. WHY? It's like answering the phone and passing on the message. You don't need a license to say how may I help you? 90% of it is something like water, bathroom, blanket that the clerk or a tech could handle. If a nurse is needed the clerk can find or page them.

My frustration is when the clerk doesn't bother to find the nurse. I've seen them turn around and blindly say room 2 has to go to the bathroom and turn back around not making sure anyone actually acknoweldged them. Or she will page overhead and not make sure the nurse heard the page. I could be in the bathroom or busy with a patient and not hear the page. If you have a message for me make sure i get it please.

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Feb 18, 2009

It sounds as if nursing units are set up very differently in different places. Not all units have an intercom system in place. On my telemetry unit there is so many admits and discharges, the unit secretary is already overwhelmed (and underpaid I might add). The best one calls us for important orders, she's priceless, albeit grouchy at times.

djc1981 · Feb 18, 2009

I feel sorry for most unit coordinators. They are soooo busy most of the time with lights and patients families and doc order and phones. Half the time they are harried and stressed out to the max! All this and their pay is barely above minimum wage. So my hats go off to them!

nuangel1, BSN, RN · Feb 18, 2009

in my ed and hospitals it is not the unit secretaries job to answer call bells.it the nurses and iades

bjaeram · Feb 18, 2009

Work in the ER and our clerks don't do orders. They answer phones, page doctors, answer the call lights, ect. We have a dedicated nurse each day that enters orders and assists the doctor with writing admit orders and other tasks. I think this works out well. It is nice to have a nurse doing orders because they better understand what they are doing. Don't get me wrong some clerks are smarter then some nurses it seems but in general I think it works best for a nurse to enter nursing orders and a clerk to answer call light. It's interesting to see how different things work in different places. I'm sure part of our difference is ER versus floor because they are two whole different worlds in the way things flow.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Feb 18, 2009

Is it just me, or do some unit secretaries feel that the call light is for the nursing staff to answer? I don't understand this mentality at all. If all the RN's and CNA's are running around and busy in the rooms, why can't the secretary help us out and answer the call light! Let imagine a patient is choking or is about to soil themselves, in this type of emergency TIME IS OF THE ESSENSE!
Just the other night, When i was changing a dressing, I heard the call bell going off for maybe 5 minutes. Where were the other RN's and CNA's you ask? Doing vital signs, baths, assisting with turning, med passing, suctioning, and other essential patient care routines on a 40-bed med/surg/tele unit.
Is it so hard to move an inch and pick up the call light, Mrs. Secretary? "Nurses Station, How Can I Help You"?

It sounds like things might be different on your unit than on mine. On my unit, the phone never stops ringing, and the ward clerk is always busy entering orders. I would never expect him or her to drop what they're doing to answer call lights.

Is your ward clerk not very busy?

makes needs known · Feb 18, 2009

What about bed alarms and chair alarms? ANYONE can intercept that patient when they are trying to get out of bed or standing up to walk about in there room. I don't care what your job is. All staff where I work are required to respond to bed or chair alarm.

PeaceonearthRN · Feb 18, 2009

I think it's everyone's responsibility to answer call lights even if it is not their patient. Often, I answer call lights since it could be an emergency. I beleive we all have to set an example whether we are an RN floor nurse, a charge nurse or a secretary. It's everyone's job to keep things going! :)

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

I will add that for the floor I work now where all the unit secretaries answer the bells, the doctors are required to put their own orders into the computer. Also, if the lab calls with lab values, the RN has to take the message personally. So, the secretaries answer and direct calls, put together packets for admission, and answer call lights. :)

I have never worked in a situation like that.

So...the unit clerk informs the techs and nurses who needs what? What if the tech is presently not busy, the unit clerk still answers the bell? That seems like adding too many links to the chain of communication, whereas if the tech answers the bell, he or she can save a game of "whisper down the lane."

I guess I'm an old fashioned girl and I prefer less need for technology and whatnot. I've been pulled to floors that have a complicated call light answering process...the unit clerk answers the light, then calls the tech in charge of that district. Too much of a chance for things to get confused that way, I think.

I digress. I'm glad you added that information because now it makes sense and does show that the worker in question isn't doing his or her job. What tasks should be delegated to whom is a different issue, I know.

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

I have never worked in a situation like that.
So...the unit clerk informs the techs and nurses who needs what? What if the tech is presently not busy, the unit clerk still answers the bell? That seems like adding too many links to the chain of communication, whereas if the tech answers the bell, he or she can save a game of "whisper down the lane."
I guess I'm an old fashioned girl and I prefer less need for technology and whatnot. I've been pulled to floors that have a complicated call light answering process...the unit clerk answers the light, then calls the tech in charge of that district. Too much of a chance for things to get confused that way, I think.
I digress. I'm glad you added that information because now it makes sense and does show that the worker in question isn't doing his or her job. What tasks should be delegated to whom is a different issue, I know.

If the PCT's or RN's aren't busy, they will answer it, but most of the time, the unit secretary is sitting right there by the call bell. All of the nurses on my floor also carry mobile phones, and just as the secretary can forward important calls to my phone, they can also call me if a patient needs something nursing related (it is up to the secretary to decide whether to contact the nurse or PCT).

I'm a little confused by what you mean by your statement "the working in question isn't doing his or her job." This has nothing to do with lazy PCT's or over zealous unit secretaries. This is the way my hospital is set up, at least all of the acute care floors. When I have floated to other floors all of their unit secretaries also have a similar system for answering call lights. This system works out great in my opinion. Gone is the constant ringing of the call light. It gets answered promptly, and is quickly redirected to the appropriate personnel. My hospital is getting ready to move to a brand new hospital building, and they are adding even more ways to make answering call lights go smoother (ie currentally the PCT's don't have phones).

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

I'm a little confused by what you mean by your statement "the working in question isn't doing his or her job."

What I meant by "the worker in question," I was referring to the original unit clerk who wasn't answering call lights. Now that I know what his or her job entails, I agree that he or she is not completing the job's necessary tasks, and therefore agree with the OP.

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2009

What I meant by "the worker in question," I was referring to the original unit clerk who wasn't answering call lights. Now that I know what his or her job entails, I agree that he or she is not completing the job's necessary tasks, and therefore agree with the OP.

I think it is interesting reading how different facilities and floors are set up to deal with the issue of call lights. Good thread!