WHAT DO NURSES DO? --help me respond to this question

[RiaRN]

Ok,I work in a city hospital as an RN in new york. It is so busy sometimes you don't have time to breathe. I was asked by my nurse manager to write something on what nurses do so that she could give it to the doctors. The doctors told her that they have no idea what a nurse does all day. PFFFT! Anyway I am overwhelmed and have started a list of what nurses do so that I can write something using it. I want to hear from other nurses who could possibly think of things that are slipping my mind at the moment. Its a big job to try and explain all the things we do on any given day, because every day is so different. I feel that the doctors need some good education ( maybe they'd show us an ounce of respect then? or is that wishful thinking?) Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to write a really good response. Thanks in advance!

Heres a few things I jotted down real quickly:

Monitor vitals

assess for pain

teach

listen

Advocate for patients

determine if orders are complete/appropriate

communicate with all levels of hospital employees

(doctors, nurses, dieticians, social workers, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, , even nonlicenced personnel such as housekeeping, families, kitchen and phone/TV)

Assess for changes in patients condition

Assess for actual or potential problems with the patients health status or safety

Perform care for total care patients

Tasks like suctioning, trach care, feedings, blood transfusions, ekgs, drawing blood, start iv's, start Foleys, acquire samples for the lab, check orders and make changes accordingly, interpret cardiac strips, calculate I and o's

Solve problems, use their resources

Assist patients with their needs

Do discharges and admissions

Monitor for post surgical complications

protect patients

save money

prevent suffering

There are probably tons more so please respond!

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

OK after I finished gnashing my teeth i thought "Hmmm... potential Teachable Moment..." (ever the optomist, right?).

Only things I have to add to the list you are developing would be:

-first and foremost; format it so it lists the TIME required for each of the functions you identify. (If particularly observant your NM or the MD might note that the time required most likely exceeds a typical shift).

-emphasize the more technical aspects of what we do and you might also specify how much time is spent on assessment/ monitoring functions that cannot be delegated

-finally, give a list of the types of documentation required and the time this takes; this can be a real eye-opener in terms of reducing actual patient-contact time for caregivers.

[nyapa, RN]

I like the shadow idea. Pair a doc up with a nurse for the day and make him shadow her for 12 hours. That should clear up the supposed confusion.

I remember quite a few years back I had a med student follow me around supposedly to find out what a nurse does - apparently it was part of his course. I worked on a heavy med floor often having to provide full nursing care. Kept saying/refusing to do things...he was allowed to! BTW haven't seen med students following nurses on the floor for a very long time...must have been a novel idea by one of the lecturers.

[Sabby_NC]

I am surprised the Nurse Manager could not do this and present it to the Doctors!! She, of all people, would know exactly what you all have to do!!

Ya poor thing like you have the time LOL Oh yeah Ummmm NO would have been my answer. Hahahahhaa sorry being silly here now.:trout:

[CRNI-ICU20]

I cover the doctor's a$$es when they make/write stupid orders.

I take care of families as well as patients who are angry at doctors who don't show up at scheduled times to talk about care plans for their loved ones.

I keep crazy patients from pulling out their airways, IV lines, dialysis catheters, and foleys.

I keep crazy family members from pulling out IV lines, airways, and Dialysis catheters on their sick loved ones.

I monitor vitals, neuro changes, accompany patients on "road trips" to CT scan, radiology procedures, and any other place a doctor can think of to send us for " sh*%s and grins"

I make sure my patients are well cared for, clean, comfortable, and provided for throughout my shift...despite my own needs for a pee break, a scarfed down lunch, or five mins. to take a deep breath.

I bring all manner of changes good or bad to the dr.'s attention....

including the allergies listed so he/she doesn't order meds that the patient is allergic to...ahem

I start IV's on people who have" no veins."..thus saving the patient multiple sticks and docs from having to put in central access...

everyday, I make a difference...

without me, there would be one less person at the beside of a dying patient, a crying patient, a scared patient, an angry patient....

crni

[Cosper123]

neither scenario is acceptable.

if the nm took it upon herself, it is passive-aggressive and still undermines the professionalism of nsg.

if the md felt his/her peers were not appreciative of nsg., then asking a nm for a job description is still degrading and spineless.

any doctor worth his/her salt, would inherently know, appreciate and defend nsg as their backbone.

i want a nm that knows how to defend and honor his/her staff.

'we' (nsg) do not need or warrant explanation.

period.

leslie

Moot point....AGAIN, "It is important to consider that what this person received from the NM was nothing more than hearsay. We do not really know the NM's intentions here, nor the Doctor(s) who approached the NM."

The senarios that I gave were mere hypthetical examples. Whatever the case, we still do not know the full story here and jumping to conclusions and acting in haste is not productive.

[leslie :-D]

Moot point....AGAIN, "It is important to consider that what this person received from the NM was nothing more than hearsay. We do not really know the NM's intentions here, nor the Doctor(s) who approached the NM."

The senarios that I gave were mere hypthetical examples. Whatever the case, we still do not know the full story here and jumping to conclusions and acting in haste is not productive.

every single answer on this thread, is based on the op's presentation.

had we received more detailed info re: nm/md's rationales, the answers, i am confident, would be based on that data.

i can only respond to what i've been dealt.

leslie

[RiaRN]

Ok, so I wrote it...came up with 3 pages, still am not totally satisfied with it but I gave it to my NM. I will keep my ears open to hear the feedback. I think they have some sort of a meeting on wednesday. I tried to keep my negativity out of the paper (not so easy to do). I am glad its over but I almost feel like its wasted time and energy. They will never give us the respect we deserve!

[GregRN]

They will never give us the respect we deserve!

You're right. And by agreeing to this ridiculous assignment, you have made that a certainty.

[RiaRN]

wow...that's harsh....

[reesern63, RN]

wow...that's harsh....

Ria: Reread your post right before Greg's response. Now does it seem so harsh? Even you are acknowledging it was pretty much an exercise in futility.

Don't feel bad. Your intentions were good. Think of it as a learning experience. What not to do the next time something like this comes up.

People who really want to learn seek out knowledge; they don't ask for it to be handed to them.

[sharann, BSN, RN]

Did you at least receive a thank you from the NM? A great big thanks is in order.

[Crimsonking]

Being new to the profession, I have to ask, is this something that is done regularly?

I have over 10 years managment experience in another field. From my experience, this is usually the first step towards a work force reduction. I'm not saying that this would apply here. Like I said, I'm new to this industry. However, when a company is considering reducing staff, they first assess who does what and can we get by with X instead of Y. If a unit is staffed with 16 nurses, find out what they do and can 10 nurses do that job safely. Just my experience.