I am a nursing assistant at a hospital. Yesterday was my first day off orientation. I was working on a Telemetry unit, and it was insanely busy (I had 11 rooms by myself). P.T. got one of my clients up to walk, and as they did, she urinated in the bed. Since she was already up, I decided to change the bed right then. As I was walking back to the room, linens in hand, a nurse stopped me to tell me that another pt. had been discharged and needed to be wheeled downstairs. I explained to her what I was doing, that I needed 2 minutes to change the bed, then I would wheel the pt. down. In the middle of the hallway, with nursing students whom I have to see at school everyday, Physical Therapist, and the patient who urinated watching, she screamed at me that I needed to learn to prioritize and that there are patients waiting to come onto the floor, and the discharge was more important than cleaning up urine. I stood there, mouth agape, and just walked away and did what she said. Another person who saw what happened changed the bed while I was wheeling the pt. out.
Was I wrong in this situation? I have only been a nursing assistant for 6 weeks, so maybe someone can explain to me why the discharge pt. would be more important?
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
Where the heck were all of you when I was a patient in the hospital? My bed almost never got made until close to noon or sometimes near the end of the nurses' shift. I made it myself once or twice. Be honest people! Bed making is the last thing on the list of priorities. Wet bed? Strip off the underpad and slap a clean on on.
And wheeling a pt to the lobby who no longer needs care is a lower priority. Now if the scenario had been about caring for a new admission vs. changing the linen, we'd have a different thread.
Reminds me of when I was a nursing assistant...one of my first days on my own. The nurse told me I should take a patient down to the lobby since she'd been discharged. I did. Then when I got back the nurse asked, "where's Mrs. __?" I said I'd gotten her into the car with her husband and she was off for home. The nurse was quite upset because she hadn't meant that I should take the patient down THAT VERY MINUTE, but rather that I should expect it. The paperwork hadn't been reviewed yet! I felt very duhhhhh-ish!
Oh the joys of being a NA. It wasn't your fault. You did what she told you to do, and you got her into the right car. If the nurse meant something else, she should have said it, something like, "Mrs. _____ so-and-so will be d/c'd after her paperwork is done. I'll let you know when that happens".
Have y'all forgotten what it's like to have your charge demanding to know when Room 207 will be ready for the new admit that ED has called report on already and has called like seven times to know when they can send the patient up because the ED is backed up out the door?!?
We're TIMED from the time report is taken to when the patient gets to the room...and it had better be within the accepted time frame.
Have y'all forgotten what it's like to have your charge demanding to know when Room 207 will be ready for the new admit that ED has called report on already and has called like seven times to know when they can send the patient up because the ED is backed up out the door?!?
We're TIMED from the time report is taken to when the patient gets to the room...and it had better be within the accepted time frame.
Nope, haven't forgotten! I'm still a CNA; just working in the ED now. If that's the case, then the nurse should say so..or at least not take such an attitude with a NEW CNA who is trying to do their best. I tease "my" nurses by telling them "I'm your assistant!" and as long as they are respectful to me and it doesn't endanger anyone's health or safety, I'll drop whatever to do whatever they feel is more important.
Nope, haven't forgotten! I'm still a CNA; just working in the ED now. If that's the case, then the nurse should say so..or at least not take such an attitude with a NEW CNA who is trying to do their best. I tease "my" nurses by telling them "I'm your assistant!" and as long as they are respectful to me and it doesn't endanger anyone's health or safety, I'll drop whatever to do whatever they feel is more important.
One would think you'd have to know first to have not forgotten. I *said* the RN shouldn't have been so rough on the OP, but we don't know all the circumstances. There's a lot of pressure to move 'em out and move 'em in.
to me, either task could be considered priority, depending on point of view. however, something that the other responders did not point out - how that the exact same thing as what was done (bed got made and pt got d/c'd), could have been accomplished in the same amount of time, if the nurse had just shut up and let you finish the bed change. instead of you finishing the linen change, she yelled at you, making the other patient wait to be d/c'd. ridiculous! :icon_roll if i had been the nurse, i think i would have said "great!" to you and thanked you for your help in d'cing the pt after the linen change. i was a cna before becoming an rn and have no tolerance for those who wish to treat the cnas like personal slaves. :angryfire
oh, and one more thing - the nurse could have shut up, you would have finished the linen change then d/c'd the pt, and the other cna could have been doing something else that would have been equally productive, making even more pts comfortable & happy. that's what she gets for flying off the handle! :icon_roll unfortunately, it was the patients that suffered for her bad temper. :angryfire:o
ps. if it wasn't already clear enough, i think what that nurse did was highly unprofessional, at best. i hope you stand up for yourself and don't let her ever speak to you so disrespectfully again.
I am a nursing assistant at a hospital. Yesterday was my first day off orientation. I was working on a Telemetry unit, and it was insanely busy (I had 11 rooms by myself). P.T. got one of my clients up to walk, and as they did, she urinated in the bed. Since she was already up, I decided to change the bed right then. As I was walking back to the room, linens in hand, a nurse stopped me to tell me that another pt. had been discharged and needed to be wheeled downstairs. I explained to her what I was doing, that I needed 2 minutes to change the bed, then I would wheel the pt. down. In the middle of the hallway, with nursing students whom I have to see at school everyday, Physical Therapist, and the patient who urinated watching, she screamed at me that I needed to learn to prioritize and that there are patients waiting to come onto the floor, and the discharge was more important than cleaning up urine. I stood there, mouth agape, and just walked away and did what she said. Another person who saw what happened changed the bed while I was wheeling the pt. out.
Was I wrong in this situation? I have only been a nursing assistant for 6 weeks, so maybe someone can explain to me why the discharge pt. would be more important?
Thanks for any input!
To answer your question my first priority would have been to advocate for the poor patient who not only has to suffer urinary incontinence, but also to hear abuse from a nurse yelling at someone for cleaning up her urine. Disgusting. I would have told this nurse to LOWER her voice because she is intimidating my patient. I would have reported her to management with the nursing students, PT as witnesses, this is completely unprofessional behaviour that not only involves you but it involves the patient as well.
My first priority would have been the bed change as well. A d/c can wait 2 minutes, your there, have the linen in hand it it isn't a lengthy task making a bed.
Have y'all forgotten what it's like to have your charge demanding to know when Room 207 will be ready for the new admit that ED has called report on already and has called like seven times to know when they can send the patient up because the ED is backed up out the door?!?
We're TIMED from the time report is taken to when the patient gets to the room...and it had better be within the accepted time frame.
Yes, I understand that. But, I would argue the point that our first priority is to administer care to the inpatient's that we are responsiblefor. That bed change would have only taken a few extra minutes. If administration doesn't like it, then they should start to staff accordingly. A pt up walking does not want to go back to a wet bed. Therefor, is at an increased fall risk for trying not to sit in pee by moving herself while unattended. The discharged pt was safe, in a wheelchair and well enough to go home.
Daytonite, BSN, RN
1 Article; 14,604 Posts
Where the heck were all of you when I was a patient in the hospital? My bed almost never got made until close to noon or sometimes near the end of the nurses' shift. I made it myself once or twice. Be honest people! Bed making is the last thing on the list of priorities. Wet bed? Strip off the underpad and slap a clean on on.