In a perfect world, what would you change about nursing?
I changed careers to become a nurse because I wanted to help people. I was dissatisfied with my former life and just wanted to follow my dreams for a change. Here I am years later and although I love my patients I can't say I always love what I do. What would I change, lets see:
I would make it so that people could SEE how HARD we work as nurses
I would put administration in a room and lock the door until the end of the work day is over
I would pay us hire and give us better benefits
There would be enough jobs for all of the nurses that have wracked up all of this debt training to be nurses
Facilities would be staffed adequately
This is just the five that immediately came to my head, what do you all have to add?
In a perfect world, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have all the equipment that I need to start a case. I work in the OR, and I spend MOST of my time searching for the needed equipment I need to do the case. Example: I am setting up for an ACL surgery. I need a tourniquet. I don't see the need for me to spend 20 minutes searching the entire OR for a freaking tourniquet. I ask the ORAs to find me one, but they are so backed up (lack of staffing) that they cannot help. So here I am, an RN wasting valuable turnover time looking for equipment when I should be doing things like...oh, lemme see...checking labs, checking the H&P, checking the consent, getting all of the supplies together to start my case, interviewing my patient, checking to make sure that blood is ordered, getting the right bed and positioning stuff in the room as well as getting all of the drugs and the hundreds of specialty items ready for the surgeon so that he doesn't turn into The Hulk when he sees that his requested items are not in the room!
Please don't misunderstand...I don't mind turning over the room myself and mopping the floors. Heck, I just see it as part of the job. Whatever it takes to get the next case ready is what I am willing to do. HOWEVER, it would be nice if I didn't have to spend so much time looking for essential equipment when we have staff that are supposed to do this to streamline turnover times.
OK, so that was a bit of a rant. Ask and you shall receive!
And then you call down to distribution and they tell you that tourniquets are on national backorder...
I get dinged if drapes down to drapes up is >30 minutes. I would like all of the other people involved in some aspect of preparing for surgery (holding RNs, or materials managers, sterile processing) shadow me for a day so they can see how big a deal it is when they neglect to do something little. When they send the patient to the OR fully dressed and without taking them to the bathroom, I am counseled by management for having a 34 minute turnover. When distribution tells me "we haven't kept surgicel in stock for 12 years," and I have to go down and find it myself, I get written up for having a 45 minute turnover.
As long as we're dreaming, I would love to have a "magical" device that you could carry with you to dictate patient assessments, interventions performed,and other pertinent information. It would record what you did at the the time you did it, in perfect charted form to fit whatever computer program your facility uses, and sum it all up in perfect patient narrative notes for you at the end of the shift (with the option for you to re-read and edit as needed).
Haha, I know I'm going a liiittle over the top, but I would like some type of portable dictation device we could use throughout the shift (if you wanted to, just as another option), especially when you have a lot going on with a certain patient. "Pt A had a seizure lasting 5 minutes, with eye twitching, head turned to left side, desats to 85%, and circumoral cyanosis; blowby oxygen provided, Dr Smith to bedside at 2310, Ativan 2mg given at 2312, seizure resolved less than one minute later, pt now drowsy but responsive with sats 98% on room air." Wouldn't that be easier and more accurate to dictate at that minute than write down in shorthand and then go back and rewrite later; especially if Pt A continues to have seizures throughout your shift, so you have to look at all your handwritten shorthand notes at 7am and try to chart everything at once?
Having the other departments call the MD themselves instead of going through the nurse to do it. Their fingers work just as well as mine. And no- I do not have the authority for the echo or MRI to be put off till the next AM. Call the MD yourself and ask them if it is OK.
Or the lab will ask me if they really have to draw that lab and why. It is so maddening.
Oh my goodness, THIS THIS THIS!!! That just runs all over me. Do your own job- I don't have time to do mine AND yours!!
No interruptions when I'm passing meds or doing assessments. No overhead paging. I know it's on line 1 #$@$, I'm sterile/in iso /busy here.
Other departments being held accountable (like lab actually drawing labs, pharmacy actually stocking meds, linen actually stocking linens)
Having what I need to do my job without searching/making phone calls/raising hell.
Ugh overhead paging is a pet peeve that I hate. Especially when they make all the nurses carry phones and yet they still overhead page! Why?
My perfect job would have support staff. There would be enough nurses, nurse's aides, and secretaries to adequately staff the unit.
My perfect job would include more assistance for nurses wanted to go back to school. I have worked at hospitals that give nurses $2,000 for education. That poor attempt at assistance shows me how little some employers value nurse's continuing their education.
My perfect hospital would include a cafeteria that is open 24hrs a day.
All nursing students and alll nurses should be a patient for a week before they set foot on the floor. Alsoif thereis any other job you can be happy at don't go into nursing. I love the field and have seen many changes in 36 yrs- not all good. I wish seasoned nurses would remember what it is like to be new and new nurses would show respect for older- more experienced nurses. They have already paid their dues and maybe just maybe they can give you a tip that will make your day better. Old nurses would not hover but would suppport and care for their new colleagues. Most of all the pt comes first and take responsiblity for YOUR actions. Good luck to all- happy nursing
RPN_2012
259 Posts
I'm only a student but...
-Safe, adequate staffing
-Safe, adequate nurse to patient ratios
-No mandatory overtime
-No overhead paging
-The public actually being informed on what nurses do
-No abuse, that include verbal, physical, lateral violence, evil management, etc.
-Respect from families, MDs, management, and patients
-Patient to be called patients not clients, ugh:mad:
-no customer service BS, we're not customer service representatives
-12 hr shifts to actually be 12 hrs, not turn into 13-14... hr shifts as I hear people on here complaining...
-No such thing as "can you work a double?" seriously 12hrs+another 12hrs?