Waitressing as a pre-req?

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Ever feel like this requirement was left out? Part RN part waitress? We don't have any techs, aids, or ward clerks on our unit. I will always get my laboring patient what she wants, I try to show the family where the patient kitchen is so they can help themselves or even get it for the patient; but there is always some family member that thinks you, the RN, are there for their catering needs.

I do wish our unit had a family kitchen area - I've seen these in other hospitals and they are a huge time saver. Instead of the nurse making multiple trips for drinks, snacks, cups of ice, etc., family members can do it themselves. I have no problem grabbing someone a cup of ice or a drink, but it's fairly low on the priority list, especially if I've got meds administer, dressing changes to perform, or patients to turn. I'm sure many people would rather take 2 minutes to go get their own Sprite than wait 20+ minutes for me to finally have a chance to do it.

But it's sooooo faarrr!!!

Not to mention the families that load up on snacks at discharge. Ergh.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology, Epic CT.

Good post. I too use to be a server for 5 years before I entered the health care field as a pharmacy tech and now I am a current nursing student. From my years in serving, I walked away with a lot of good qualities under my belt. Some of them included - fine tuning of customer service skills, work hard ethic, patience, and most of all, communication!

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

Hell, waitering (not waitressing in my case) on my nurses' salary as opposed to minimum wage and tips? I'll take it! :D

Thankfully, our CNAs are absolute angels, so delegating is not an issue. If I do end up getting something for a patient and it's slow, it's my pleasure and not a chore.

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Note to self: Must not ask family members, "Would you like fries with that?" Must not must not!

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Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.
Me too...I waited tables all through college & while taking my nursing pre-reqs. I think it does help with the customer service skills...it also keeps you humble.

Humble?

I made more as a waitress + tips than I do as a nurse. The nursing bennies are def. better 'tho.

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Specializes in ICU/PACU.

I waited tables at age 18 and the similarities are definitely there. You start off by introducing yourself, and instead of saying server, you replace it with nurse and it's pretty much the same thing. You're ordered around like a servent by entitled people (depending on where you work of course) and have to kiss ass to keep your job. Ahhh nursing sucks.

"Anything else I can get you?"

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I would be a terrible waitress with how clumsy I am. I did learn how to make coffee since I started nursing though.

I'm in a small percentage of the clumsiest people on earth. The flat floor has a tendency to "jump up and trip me". I waited tables for 5 years, and actually I was good at it and liked it! If you can make coffee, you could do mornings at a diner, that's all anyone cares about anyhow. More to your credit if you spill something cold on them though...

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I agree 100% Family members are the bane of my existence. When my family members were is the hospital, I went out of my way to show my appreciation to the entire staff. Nurses in turn, would come into my father's room for "no particular" reason. I think it was to hide from the crazy family next door. One day I bought a large basket of treats for the staff. As I was taking it to the desk, the "next door family member" was at the desk She was ranting about something stupid and insignificant. I went to the desk and delivered my gift and loudly expressed how wonderful the staff was and to enjoy the treats. Then I turned around and said to the woman, "That is how you treat hospital staff; stop being a *****, they are doing their best."

This was a different hospital than I worked at. They had no idea I was a nurse and I never told them.

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How about the ones that stay around the clock and get dietary to send double portions and an outrageous amount of food. They get discharged and then need extra bags to tote away all the acquired. That is when you actually see someone eat your raise.

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Specializes in MICU - CCRN, IR, Vascular Surgery.

I did my first year in med/surg and I would always tell my husband that I felt more like a waitress than a nurse and he just could never quite understand...

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My waitressing experience has been such a bonus for surviving working on a busy med-surg floor that it is almost scary! One of my co-workers says that that big white and blue H sign on the roads no longer means Hospital but Hotel. She is so right!!!!

It is only going to get worse!!! Read it and weep. (Literally!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/health/patients-grades-to-affect-hospitals-medicare-reimbursements.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

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I agree and this is one of the reasons I am so happy to be out of institutional based care, e.g., hospital, LTC. I HATE people thinking I should get them a stamp, a newspaper, a hot tea, a coke, a snack, etc., etc. I want to scream "Would you ask a doctor to do these things?" I went to school to be a registered nurse, NOT a waitress. I was a waitress before I became a nurse and I didn't mind delivering food and drinks then. I surely never thought by becoming a nurse I'd have to be a waitress too. If I had, I'd probably have become a pharmacist or a physician.

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