Vent lazy nurses/techs dont want to answer call light

rhondaa83 · Dec 16, 2008

Welcome to the real world of nursing. I am still new, so I run after call lights and alarms, but I see other nurses, acting in slow motion, or just tuning the noise out. Just always do the right thing, and help people.

southern rn · Dec 16, 2008

Well, who was the person in the white coat you stopped? It could have been anyone from the dietician to the phlebotomist lol. Your best bet is to learn what your "limitations" as a student are and start answering those call lights yourself. No better way to get a little experience and patient contact!

casi, ASN, RN · Dec 16, 2008

Not lazy, BUSY!

You should really clarify with your instructor what your role is. If you are able to answer call lights and do the basic CNA role for patient's who aren't yours you should do it.

RN1982 · Dec 16, 2008

ok so i noticed this phenomenon a lot.....at the hospitals.lights go off no one even bothers to respond,i even got reprimended by one of the person in a white coat than it is not their job to answer call lights when i stopped her to let her know that person such as that and that needs help...i didnt mean to stop specifically her but she was just simply walking by and i am a nursing student so i dont know what my limitation are as to you know helpin out with answering call lights,but i always observe keep my eyes and ears open.
where were the nurses and techs? i think that it is unfair of you to assume that the nurses and techs are lazy because they didn't jump at the call-light right away. did you take into consideration that they could have been busy caring for their patients. like a previous poster mentioned, it's time to learn your limitations and start answering the call-lights yourself.
i though people who work in hospitals are supposed to be a fast acting team,boy was i naive or what.i mean i know that 80% of patient use call lights for fairly safe resons but what about that 10th patient who might be just try to let you know he is coding.
you could have left out this comment. i found it to be rather rude and condescending. you are generalizing all hospital employees as lazy. it's not fair to those of us who are not lazy. please leave out these types of comments. they are not necessary and just offend people.

Batman24 · Dec 16, 2008

As you continue with school and go on to graduate and become a working nurse you will come to see that things aren't always as they appear. Not seeing a nurse or CNA running at top speed doesn't mean they aren't busy or working hard. They could be dealing with patients in dire need and remaining calm in doing so. To assume they are lazy without the facts isn't appropriate or fair.

You'll understand better when you actually are a nurse and deal with these things firsthand. You learn to prioritize in a hurry. It comes with experience.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2008

Ok so I noticed this phenomenon a lot.....at the hospitals.Lights go off no one even bothers to respond,I even got reprimended by one of the person in a white coat than it is not their job to answer call lights when I stopped her to let her know that person such as that and that needs help...I didnt mean to stop specifically her but she was just simply walking by and I am a nursing student so I dont know what my limitation are as to you know helpin out with answering call lights,but I always observe keep my eyes and ears open.
I though people who work in hospitals are supposed to be a fast acting team,boy was I naive or what.I mean I know that 80% of patient use call lights for fairly safe resons but what about that 10th patient who might be just try to let you know he is coding....

What? :confused:

britgirl37 · Dec 16, 2008

With all due respect, I have yet to come across a pt who oh so politely uses the call light to let you know he's coding.

lpnflorida · Dec 16, 2008

It is usually best to try and not prejudge what people might or might not be doing.

Example nurse at desk on phone, very animated in appearance. Next nurse sitting at desk head down.

On first glance you might assume oh sure they aren't doing anything one is on the phone , and the other is just reading or ready to nap. Two others are in the corner of the hallway, appear to be socializing.

In fact, first nurse is animatedly explaining to a patient's Dr. or family members events that occurring with the patient that need immediate attention.

Second nurse is reading the stat orders of a chart she has just had placed in front of her.

The two nurses down the hallway are discussing a patient and confiring on a potential crisis and how best to head it off before it gets out of hand.

Lights, we all try and answer lights as able., but priority is priority. Yes, students can answer a light, and then follow up with finding the specific pt's nurse to follow through if it something beyond what they are able to do.

Zana2 · Dec 16, 2008

Why didn't you answer the bell? You might not be able to help, but you can reassure the patient. They might just want a commode or the light switched off. If you're not sure, go and ask someone:so and so wants some water, is that allowed (they might be discussing making the patient nil by mouth and you just could get into trouble). The innocence due to lack of knowledge doesn't allow you to presume and accuse.

PS. I know it's scary to answer the bell. You'll be fine.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2008

You'll understand better when you actually are a nurse and deal with these things firsthand. You learn to prioritize in a hurry. It comes with experience.

Very true. That reminds me of the other night, when my CNA tried to prioritize my time for me. I was in the middle of assessing my new admit with an acute intracranial bleed (I am a cardiac nurse, and this neuro stuff freaks me out!), already having planned to go to my patient who had come in with V Tach and make sure he got his amiodarone on time next. The aide comes into the room where I'm assessing the ICB to inform me that "when you're done here, XXX needs her meds". Uh, gee, thanks for letting me know. I already knew she would be asking about her meds right about now, and I will get to her when *I* deem, in my nursing judgment, I need to. Her request is a matter of convenience, not safety. Heck, I already spent a half an hour I didn't have fetching another blanket, getting her chamomile tea because she doesn't like peppermint, and placing a new IV because she didn't like where the ED put in the one she came up to the floor with (of course, I didn't say any of this; I thanked the aide and told her I'd be there in a little bit).

At dinner, same aide is asking me about the diet order for a particular patient. I tell her to look at the order. She says "I don't have time for that, I am busy" passing dinner trays (then promptly went to dinner the second trays were passed). Hello, do you not see the bag of heparin and the little vial and syringe I have in my hands? Heaven forbid a patient should have to wait an extra thirty seconds to get their meal tray because the nurse wouldn't delay starting heparin on a chest pain patient to answer a CNA's question that she could easily find the answer to for herself!

But, it is useless to explain these things to this particular aide. She is completely clueless, and although she means well, and I do believe she feels she is a compassionate caregiver (bless her heart), she really has no idea what the nurses are doing.

Point of this novel is, it's easy to judge when you don't know. If you see a nurse staring at a computer screen, they could be doing something very important, like looking up blood pressure parameters on an acute ICB patient and determining if they need to give a PRN, or reading the results of the head CT so they have a little bit of a clue about that patient that they're responsible for. At my facility, a major responsibility of the CNA is to answer call lights. It's in the job description. The nurses will do so if they are not in the middle of something that they cannot interrupt. But if I am doing something, like starting a heparin gtt or assessing a patient who is bleeding in their brain, it's the CNA's job to answer call lights. If the CNA is not around, hopefully it's because they are busy providing care to another patient, and will answer the light when they can.

If you are unsure what your limitations as a student are, you need to clarify that with your instructor. In my program, when we were in clinicals, we were not allowed to go into the rooms of patients that we were not assigned to, unless it was to observe or practice a skill under supervision. It was a liability issue, and part of the agreement that the nursing school had with the hospital. I've heard of other nursing programs where students are expected to function as unpaid CNAs, jumping in and answering call lights and assisting with patient care for the unit. Whatever the case is, your clinical instructor should know and should be able to explain it to you.

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2008

I answer lights as I am able....during report/med passes/charting/chart checks/talking to docs/etc....I cannot do so. I answer lights for patients that I am going to..but I can't answer everyone, else my job would never get done.

when things have calmed, and I go past a IV beeping, or a patient light and I can duck in for a minute, I do so....I am not above putting a patient in the bathroom, or getting water, etc....but, I cannot do anything with a patient that I cannot infer information about.

As a student, YOU need to take the inititive, can you answer lights? If so, then do so. You have basic CNA knowledge, if the patient can answer then help them as you can. If you are unsure, go "I'm a student, so I need to clarify this with your nurse, but give me a minute and I'll be back." and go find the nurse right away. I personally enjoy teaching others....and hope that they learn with me.