winter weather...slip slidin' away

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Compared to what people live with in other areas I'm almost ashamed to vent this but I gotta let it go! We had a couple of inches of snow after midnight and the temp actually rose.The roads were good but when I arrived at work the parking lot was a sheet of black ice.Numerous staff slipped and fell and there was a car accident IN THE FREAKING PARKING LOT! Where was the nursing supervisor?Did she assess the situation? Did anyone THINK to tell the night shift guards to prep the lots prior to shift change? Did they think " Wow,look at that snow,maybe I had better check the sidewalks and parking lot? NO! The crap should really HIT the FAN tomorrow but my DON has a history of blaming the STAFF in this type of situation.We have been told to carry shovels and salt in our cars and that our "stupid shoes" caused us to slip...I'm telling you and I mean this- the next time I roll up in there to a mess like this mornings fiasco I am calling from the car and sitting right in the parking lot until the area is treated.I could fall and get injured to the extent of never being able to work the floor again.....Yikes....

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Since when is the nursing supervisor responsible for a parking lot?

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Specializes in ICU/CCU/CVICU.

Yeah, I have to agree with Kyrshamarks on this one. The facility/ facility management should try to clear the parking lot for safety but this is not the nursing supervisor's responsibility. I live in New Hampshire and I always bring a shovel in my car because when they plow the parking lot the snow accumulates around our cars and we can get plowed in. The weather here is also never an excuse for being late/ not able to make it to work. We have to plan to sleep at the hospital if it is bad enough. You should plan ahead and bring different shoes or boots in to work if the conditions are rough.

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

Try being upset with maintance or whoever else may be responsible. I know everyone loves to beat up on the DON for everything wrong but this one is definately NOT her (his) issue.

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In smaller nursing homes, the sup IS IT on 11-7, so,yup, it is on her/him to take care of this problem.

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.
In smaller nursing homes, the sup IS IT on 11-7, so,yup, it is on her/him to take care of this problem.

Nope, I am the DON in a small facility and the nsg supervisor needs to be in the facility taking care of residents. The maintenance guy needs to come in or often times there is a contracted company that is suppose to handle this.

The OP mentions night guards and the nsg supervisor should have thought to alert them...wondering why the night guards couldn't have figured this out without the nurse having to make an ice assessment from inside the facility (who was likely up to her armpits in ....well you know, and may not have even realized the parking lot was icy)

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Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.

I'm glad I'm not that I supervisor. Apparently she is supposed to be the supervisor of everything. Poor nurse.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

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Specializes in retired LTC.
I'm glad I'm not that I supervisor. Apparently she is supposed to be the supervisor of everything. Poor nurse. ~
Didn't you know about 'other duties as assigned'???

As supervisor, I would just call Maint. They have all the shovels, salt, etc locked up. They don't do my med pass, IVs, wound drsgs, etc. I don't do SNOW - that's a 4 letter word!

Sheesh, I don't even do snow at home. That's what I pay condo fees for!!!

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

most nurses wear sneakers and they are considered almost as safe on ice as deck shoes, but hey! Nothing is safe on ice.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Our maintenance dept is not allowed to adjust the heating/air conditioning without word from nursing-that's just the way it is.The nursing supervisors, DON and the admin are ultimatly responsible,IMHO.And telling ME to "plan a head and bring shoes or boots" is missing the point.1#-the area has to be accessible to emergency vehicles and staff and #2 unless you have spiked boots you are not walking across ice and I draw the line at crawling on my hands and knees. The bottom line is it is the reponsibility of adminstration-they must maintain a safe work environment for employees.That particular supervisor GOES OUTSIDE TO SMOKE every 30 to 40 mins all nite so I'm pretty sure she saw the conditions.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
Since when is the nursing supervisor responsible for a parking lot?

Thank you....I'm only halfway through reading the OP. In fact, I am at the line "where was the nursing supervisor?" I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who was a bit perplexed by this question.

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the small place where i work, the only staff in the building on noc shift would be 1 Rn (sup), 2 LPNs and 4/5 aides....who do you think is going to be responsible for checking outside conditions??

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