Yes, I'm a parent. I need help with my medically fragile son, and a break sometimes fro working my butt off all day caring for him. I am exhausted after doing this for all day...sometimes all night too. And I'm 35 weeks pregnant.
And somehow, about half the nurses that come here think I'm lazy for wanting to rest while they are working, or show up an hour late, or "forget" they were supposed to work a night....and feel like I need to stay up late showing them things they told me and the agency they were experienced at doing
Honestly is it too much to ask that a person who accepts a job shows up on time, actually follows the written checklist and does the things they are supposed to, and is actually able to perform things like straight catherization if they say they are very experienced with it? Sheesh, I'm getting sick and tired of digging diapers out of the trash to weigh too.....weighing diapers is on the 485, the checklist, and I tell them verbally as well. And yet...,here I am about to go digging in the garbage again.
Only the agency can fire the nurse as we are not employed by the family (for those of us that work agency). But the family does have the right to hand pick nurses as well as the agency they use. The family can even find a nurse through craigslist or wherever and have them apply for the agency they are with. But the nurse still works for the agency. But no family is forced to have someone they don't want in their own home. I hope that makes sense.
Of course. A patient's family can't 'fire' their nurse from her job, but like you said they have the right to ask a certain nurse not be assigned again.
Workplace culture is a big part of the problem. Agencies want coverage no matter what, so nurses aren't punished for tardiness (if you suspend 'em, you lose billable hours). I used to think I was Super-nurse because families always requested and fought for me to come back, but really it was because I always showed up five minutes early, didn't call out, and never talked on the phone. I love my coworkers. They are good people and most of them are either wise older women in the process of retiring from hospitals, or new LPN/ASN grads doing BSN coursework part time, but damn. So many of them are mentally checked out because it has become the agency culture given the severe staffing shortages in PDN in my area.
Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.
My problem is the HHAs that follow me in the morning. All three of them are consistently late. I don't mind once in a great while, but they blow in from 5-25 minutes late with a fresh cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee in hand and a supermarket salad in a bag dangling from their wrist. Because I cannot leave my client, I get stuck waiting those extra crumbs of time, which has added up to hours of time since September. I ended up reporting it to my office because they're quite cooperative with communicating expectations to their employees. But then these HHAs vent to the client how I reported them, how dare the nurse do that, they have all these xyz problems and I should be more understanding and cut them a break, blah, blah, blah. So I have to stay late at the end of a 12-hour shift so you can get your coffee and I'M the bad guy??? Please.
CloudySue, if you were to report the unpaid overtime to your local Labor Board in a complaint/request for payment, I would think that your agency would straighten out those HHAs. Go to the agency and request the pay first. Let them know you mean business. If they choose instead to retaliate against you for requesting your pay, perhaps another reason to find a new employer is at hand.
I show up on time every single shift. I am rarely late BUT when I am it's like 3-5 min.
I hate it when my relief nurses show up late. I mean hey, I am tired. I want to go home and you do ing late and thinking it is okay to sign in at your regular time takes money out of my pocket and that is unacceptable.
Gooselady, BSN, RN
601 Posts
Of course. A patient's family can't 'fire' their nurse from her job, but like you said they have the right to ask a certain nurse not be assigned again.