I work part-time as a patient safety attendant. We sit with patients who are suicidal, confused, depressed, fall risk, etc. I know we literally "sit" at times, but it is still a job and I took this job to help me during nursing school. I work at different floors all the time. One shift, I overheard the nurse say that all she does is watch the tv. I was with a patient who was a fall risk at a cancer floor. He had the news channel on even from the night before and when I asked him if he wanted me to turn it off, he said no, he likes that channel. He slept most of the time while I was there, so since the tv was in front of me, I saw it at times. At another shift, the nursing assistant told the nurses in behind the counter where they sit in front of the computers that she was going to relieve me for lunch, and they said,"go relieve her from her chair and giggled." I just went on my break, but I was very offended. I know we can't do much, but it is still a job, and if the nurses think it's so worthless, why call the sitters to sit with the patients?
Geez. Laugh with them already! Take a joke.You're in nursing school(it's not like it's even THE nursing job).Don't be so offended all the time- find humor in it.
I agree ignore them!! I have had the pleasure of working with some awesome sitters on some of my clinical rotations & there is NO WAY I could have got everything done without them as I had several patients that were fall risks that tried to get out of bed every few minutes!! So hold your head high & screw em!
I agree wholeheartedly that a good sitter is worth his/her weight in gold.
That said, just to point out another side, I have had some sitters with pts that really were not terribly helpful. Rather than try to help meet the pt's needs, such as comfort or re-direction, they would just put the call light on. I have also had sitters that allowed the pt to pull out not one, but two (well-taped!) IV's in a shift. It can be frustrating to have a sitter that doesn't really help to lighten the workload or keep the pt safe, including keeping lines and tubes in place.
I don't mind if a sitter watches TV or reads or studies while the pt rests, though. No reason not to, if the pt is safe.
When I was a PCA during nursing school, if I was assigned to sit, I usually asked my co-workers if they wanted to trade. I just couldn't sit there or I would fall asleep. So I have a lot of respect for the folks that can do this job well, because I struggle with it.
Just my .
If you do your job well, don't worry about what others think. Pride comes from within.
let's see how upset these Nurses would be if they had to sit with one patient while care for another 4. I guess none of them stop to think if you werent there and one of those patient's fall or executes a suicide without accurate supervision, their license is on the line. Any extra help is better than no help.
Worthless? .........you are worth your weight in gold.
Shame on the nurses for making those comments.
there have been times, that i wanted to kiss the sitter's feet!
i was that grateful that i received help for a time-consuming pt.
op, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
the onus is on them, not you.
Geez. Laugh with them already! Take a joke.You're in nursing school(it's not like it's even THE nursing job).Don't be so offended all the time- find humor in it.
*sic* go relieve her from her chair:D
why should she laugh, when it wasn't meant humorously?
if you're referring to laughing it off, i will agree that it's ideal to not take snide remarks personally...
I ADORE sitters. Anyone who has had to sit knows how hard it is to stay awake in a room while someone sleeps and its dark. that is someone who has just has never done your job.......You ARE IMPORTANT!!!!
As a new neonatal ICU nurse, my first hospital was having some staffing difficulties. I was once floated to work as a sitter with a confused elderly patient. Man, did that generate a lot of comments! Some of them were good-natured, but many were not.
I can be a little bit of a pushover at times, but I knew that I wasn't to take a group of severely burned out nurses and give them some grand epiphany about the value of having a sitter. I stayed attentive to the patient, but I played right along with the kidding and may have even encouraged it a little bit. After a bit, everyone seemed to relax and to be more pleasant.
I know your situation is a lot different, and it probably feels more personal because they're talking about the job you do regularly and not just a one-time assignment. I just try to think about whether any kind of confrontation is worth it before I pursue it.
I work part-time as a patient safety attendant. We sit with patients who are suicidal, confused, depressed, fall risk, etc. I know we literally "sit" at times, but it is still a job and I took this job to help me during nursing school. I work at different floors all the time. One shift, I overheard the nurse say that all she does is watch the tv. I was with a patient who was a fall risk at a cancer floor. He had the news channel on even from the night before and when I asked him if he wanted me to turn it off, he said no, he likes that channel. He slept most of the time while I was there, so since the tv was in front of me, I saw it at times. At another shift, the nursing assistant told the nurses in behind the counter where they sit in front of the computers that she was going to relieve me for lunch, and they said,"go relieve her from her chair and giggled." I just went on my break, but I was very offended. I know we can't do much, but it is still a job, and if the nurses think it's so worthless, why call the sitters to sit with the patients?
I've done that job. Yes you have days when you are just sitting there staring at the walls. And then you have the other type of days!! All H E double toothpicks breaks out and you are all alone in the room with a hyperactive person bent on escape and the Nurses on the floor suddenly have someplace (anyplace) else to be. And yes I did that during my schooling too, the good days were great for studing, the bad ones... not so much!
i was pulled from my job as a CNA to sit with patients a few times. i HATED it. it was hard to sit in a quiet room (night shift no less) and not fall asleep! it would've been different if i signed up for that work, but i didn't, and i would've been fired for dozing.
one time i was sitting with a patient who was totally out of it. he was fine. he just hadn't slept in awhile and he'd finally received the medications he needed...so he slept. the television was already on and guess what...i turned the channel ! the guy was within arm's reach of me in the bed SLEEPING! if they wanted me to do that job i was going to have to watch tv at the least. when i was moaning about having to "sit" that night a nurse told me he'd be glad to switch jobs and i asked him if he'd also be willing to switch pay. that usually shuts them up.
i'll tell you what did drive me nuts as a CNA who was running my butt off is when people who were getting paid to sit down and watch tv, eat snacks, read books, be on the internet, etc. would call out and ask when they could take their break WHEN I HADN'T EVEN TAKEN MINE! if you're known to ask for breaks you should expect that kind of response. if you don't ask for breaks and only take the one you're supposed to get then there's no reason for them to be that way. just imagine being on your feet for 8 hours, starving, and literally you haven't had a chance to sit AT ALL (not even for a few seconds). you haven't peed. you haven't had anything to drink. then, a patient safety tech calls out and wants to know (while sitting in their chair with a coca cola and a laptop) when you can "relieve" them. i don't know that this is you, but i'm just sayin - it DOES happen.
.
Katie5
1,459 Posts
Geez. Laugh with them already! Take a joke.You're in nursing school(it's not like it's even THE nursing job).Don't be so offended all the time- find humor in it.
*sic* go relieve her from her chair:D