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"?
Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.
Oh, I forgot to add, I have absolutely no patience for lazy secretaries. I've worked with some and had some in our unit (floats). A good secretary is with her/his weight in platinum and a bad one is just an albatross.
We had one who was the worst ever, she was PRN. I entered my own orders when she was there because she generally screwed the orders up. She is no longer allowed to work with us.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i'd just be thrilled if our unit secretaries could tear themselves away from text messaging, e-bay, facebook and flirting with the messenger staff to answer the damned phone! the phone is ringing off the hook, and they're just sitting there playing texttwist on the internet (it improves their vocabulary, you know, and possibly their spelling).
Ok yes that may be at ur facility but ours is monitored for that sort of thing and that falls back on the people who LET your secretarys get online and play games when they have things to do. I'm sorry but just because theres a few bad ones doesn't mean we all are!
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
ok yes that may be at ur facility but ours is monitored for that sort of thing and that falls back on the people who let your secretarys get online and play games when they have things to do. i'm sorry but just because theres a few bad ones doesn't mean we all are!
i'm happy that there are facilities where the secretaries do their work. ours don't. none of them, and the people who let them get online and play games would be managment. the same management that doesn't back us up when we need more help, are abused by patients, visitors and others and always has something to say about press-gainey scores. us bedside nurses are too busy doing our jobs to try to monitor the secretaries who aren't doing theirs!
Our secretaries do not answer call lights. We do use a system that lets you answer lights from the desk but nobody uses it. Our secretaries are not cross trained for other tasks so the beginning and end of their medical training is CPR.
I think it would be as bad as any other non-medical personnel who "help" by answering lights and end up making things more difficult. They feed NPO patients, assist patients on bedrest to the bathroom, empty urinals for patients on 24 hour urines, put O2 on patients scheduled to get ABGs on room air, get water for patients on fluid restrictions, etc. I know the intentions are good but sometimes even those simple "non-medical" requests that any person could do shouldn't be done for medical reasons.
Having read several pages, in a lot of the posts, I'm still not entirely clear on what some people mean by "answering the call light." (I know that makes me sound stupid, so I'll explain ). Call systems obviously vary widely from facility to facility. Where I work, it's a phone/intercom system, so it rings at the desk, someone picks it up, says, "can I help you?", finds out the patient request, and then pages the nurse or CNA to let them know what the patient needs (the nurses and CNA's wear a badge thing that also alerts us when the call light goes off, but then also goes off again and can receive text if someone goes as far as typing in what they need~pain meds, bathroom, whatever the case may be). You CAN answer the light FROM your badge, but the reception is ATROCIOUS, so that part I don't do; I can't hear what they are saying, anyways. In some places, there is a central board that goes off when a patient rings, but there isn't an intercom, etc. So I can only base my answer on what I am used to.
When I read the OP, I initially thought "answering the call light" meant the part about picking up the phone when the patient was calling, not PHYSICALLY going to the room and taking care of the request. IMO, that is not the job of the HUC, no matter how busy nursing is. Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely wonderful if that happens, truly though, it just doesn't. Where I work it varies tremendously from HUC to HUC. Our full time day shift HUC would NEVER get up and go get someone water, or whatever. She is so glued to the chair that she has to find her favorite one every morning, and gets mad if someone is in it. She also, however, is the best one at actually answering the phone and typing in the specific request, which is extremely helpful (as opposed to going all the way to the end of the hall to find out that someone wants a warm blanket, and then having to go all the way back to the linen room and the blanket warmer to get one). One of our day shift HUCs (THANKFULLY PART TIME) is not efficient at doing ANYTHING....she doesn't answer the call light phone (or the REGULAR phone half the time), if she needs someone, she'll just yell out their name without looking to see if they're even anywhere in earshot, she starts yelling/b*tching/complaining to anyone/everyone/herself when she's having a "bad day" (which, mind you, is EVERY SINGLE DAY for her), if a doc writes orders it won't get put in for a good three hours, because she's ALWAYS behind.......you get the idea.
Our PM shift HUCs are also cross-trained as CNA's, and they are wonderful. These are the gals that if time allows, will answer a light (go to a room). If you need a pair of hands for turning or walking or cleaning someone up, they will help you. Some nights don't allow for it, but if they do, they are more than happy to get away from the desk to lend a hand (and will offer to go do a "menial" task if they know you are in the middle of a lot of things). They are SAVIORS on our unit, especially the one that works full time on PM's. She has her stuff so together, we'd be LOST without her. She'll even take a look at our staffing/assignments when the charge nurse is swamped (since the new staffing gives the charge nurses a full patient load like everyone else)....we trust her enough to do this, and she does a great job (we look it over, of course, but it's so nice that someone else can take the time when we really can't). I don't know how she does it! A good HUC truly can make or break your shift!
I've HUC'd shifts before, when we haven't had one on (if someone called in sick), and let me tell you, I sure know it's not an easy job. I cannot imagine asking/expecting one to go and answer my lights. As far as the call light phone, it's technically the job of everyone to answer (as is the regular phone, the HUC can only answer one call at a time!), and some nurses are good about it, and some are not. I can be running through/past the desk getting meds or supplies and be in the middle of something in a room, and the thing will be ringing and I know it's my patient but I can't stop to answer it, and I know by who else is near it if someone is going to or not. I'm not even meaning, for someone to go in that ROOM, just to answer, find out what they need, and tell them I'll be in there as soon as I can. Some nurses (and HUCs) just WILL NOT do that, and it drives me nuts. I do my best to answer it and get the messages relayed out (the typing/texting system is not utilized NEARLY like it could be, and it saves a lot of time if someone can just type in "wants pain meds" when they hang it up), or go to the room and do it, if it's something I can take care of, like water or a bathroom trip.
I got off topic a little bit (sorry). It boils down to teamwork, I think, and realistic expectations. Remembering that you may not fully understand how busy someone else is (I'm not implying anything or pointing any fingers in this thread; I'm thinking more about my own workplace when I say that).
I'm a HUC and am not allowed to answer patient call lights. And not only that, I wouldn't have a second to do it. I'm swamped the entire 12.5 hours I'm there. I don't even have time to eat for more than 5 minutes during any given shift and don't even take my break.
Obviously some units must be different as some of you have mentioned they have plenty of time to sit there and waste by surfing the internet.
Definitely not on my unit. It's wicked crazy busy all the time. I'm running around like a maniac all day and not a shift has gone by that I don't go home with a massive headache afterwards.
I am an RN student and currently work as a unit secretary.. if I am not on two or three phone lines while simultaneously putting in orders and paging departments then of course, I answer call lights, get pts ice/water/blankets/etc.. and if I pick up a call light and no one answers I drop what I am doing and go actually LOOK at the pt to be sure they are ok...
I can tell you that my job is not just answering phones, putting in orders, and making up charts... I feel that my job is to be the "contact person" for the unit when at all possible. When I got hired my nurse manager told me it was part of my job description and that it helped keep the unit running smoothly. I keep track of what nurse paged what doctor, who needs a late meal tray ordered, who is still waiting for EKG or RT, etc... and now that I am in nursing school I keep my eye on the tele monitor which is also at my desk... and I answer call lights unless it is not possible. If no one else is available to answer them then I answer as soon as I can...
I am sorry to hear that there are so many US's who think this is "not our job". I sure hope that when I am an RN next year I get a US who is willing to step in and help out!!!!!
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
The unit secretary I work with is great. We have great team work. We all answer calls. No one is allowed to use a cell phone or I pod when we are at the desk or out in a patient care area. She sometimes plays on the computer but I don't care as long as all the work gets done. She is smart and nice and she keeps everything running. I could not charge this floor without her.
Once again, a secretary is being blamed because someone can't do their job. Nurses and CNAs - call lights are YOUR responsibility. Not the secretary's. Do your job instead of looking for someone else to blame it on.
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
I have found out that when my expectations of people are too high I get sorely, sorely disappointed. I expect the unit secretaries NOT to answer the call lights, and when they do, I am very grateful for their help.
I feel the same with other people in their jobs. I don't expect from them; therefore whenever they do go out of their way, I reciprocate and never forget.
I, too am a unit secretary (4+ years) while I am going to nursing school. Picking up call lights is a part of my job, and I will forward it to the nurse if it is something they must do, such as IV pump beeping, etc, and if it is something I can physically do, like getting ice, tissues, etc then I will get up and do it. I also help the nurses and CNAs in any way I can even thought I do not hold a CNA license. I think this system works out because it is a team concept. Everyone works. Of course, for those that are complaining about the secretaries, you KNOW there are the nurses that are on facebook all day and have not bathed their patients...:) come on!
). Call systems obviously vary widely from facility to facility. Where I work, it's a phone/intercom system, so it rings at the desk, someone picks it up, says, "can I help you?", finds out the patient request, and then pages the nurse or CNA to let them know what the patient needs (the nurses and CNA's wear a badge thing that also alerts us when the call light goes off, but then also goes off again and can receive text if someone goes as far as typing in what they need~pain meds, bathroom, whatever the case may be). You CAN answer the light FROM your badge, but the reception is ATROCIOUS, so that part I don't do; I can't hear what they are saying, anyways. In some places, there is a central board that goes off when a patient rings, but there isn't an intercom, etc. So I can only base my answer on what I am used to.
AlabamaBelle
476 Posts
Oh, I forgot to add, I have absolutely no patience for lazy secretaries. I've worked with some and had some in our unit (floats). A good secretary is with her/his weight in platinum and a bad one is just an albatross.
We had one who was the worst ever, she was PRN. I entered my own orders when she was there because she generally screwed the orders up. She is no longer allowed to work with us.