Young Eating Unit Secretaries

SEENIT · Jun 29, 2008

I was a unit secretary before I became a nurse. It's not an easy job. A good secretary is a valuable resource. One of the first things a new to the unit nurse should do is make friends with the secretary. Believe me they get beat up daily by the nurses, doctors and managers. They are always there sitting at the front desk when someone wants to complain they are directly in the line of fire. They initially may be defensive and appear indifferent, thats because they have had many bad experiences. Hang in there, help her out. If you see her repeatedly answering a call light for the same patient and she in unable to contact that patients nurse offer to answer the light, take off your own orders when you have a minute. Believe me a mutual appreciation will grow and both of you will benefit.

tnrose · Jun 30, 2008

We have a one that we call the Warden. At first she really got on my nerves. Then one day we had someone from a different floor fill in that didn't seem to know how to do anything right, and the whole day was a stressful disaster, charts piled up with orders to be taken off, didn't put orders in correctly, etc. The next day I thanked her for all her hard work and gave her a big hug. Now she is really nice to me and makes my day a lot easier. I think I didn't realize how stressful her job was.

tolerantgirl · Aug 19, 2008

I am a unit secretary and also a nursing student 4th semester. I work in the ICU/CCU. We have 38 beds and we are always full and I work weekends by myself because they always try to make staffing cuts because of budgets so mostly i am by myself. It is a hectic job, but I go to work in a good mood and I do the best I can. I try to help all the nurses. There are some nurses who do all their own orders, much appreciation to them from me, but there are also days when those same nurses are given really, really busy patients and I try to help them. I feel like I run around in circles all day, but everything seems to get done somehow. I really didn't understand the nurses role and how busy they were until I had clinicals and I was taking care of the patient. They are busy too and their licsence is on the line. It is our job to support them.:wink2:

ShredMan · Dec 8, 2008

I am a Unit secretary in the ICU/CCU at my hospital. It's a great job, stressful, but a great job non the less. We have 20 beds between both units, so we're kinda small, but very busy 98% of the time. For some reasone we are understaffed most of the time, and we have NO dayshift CNA's in the unit. So, it falls on me to help out with patients. I'm not complaining here, I'm trying to get into a Nursing program at my local community college, and it's great experience. I'm not just a US though, sometimes I have to be a CNA, and Security Officer. Sometimes I'm the only man in the unit when we have an unrully patient and I have to help the nurse out. Unit Secretaries have a stressful job as well, but I love it, and I love my nurses too. Although, they could answer a phone once in a while..

iluvivt, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2008

I always say "make friends with the unit secretary" , They can be a your friend or your worst enemy. I vote for friend. I treat everyone with respect and in turn I am treated that way.

Magsulfate, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2008

Yep, most of the US I've worked with are BAAAAAAD. I mean, some of them do their jobs, but almost all of them have given me attitude about it.

We had a fill in unit secretary one time, and she didn't know who our new boss was. Well, the new boss came in and asked her for a few paperclips. There are tons of paper clips in the desk drawer. She handed her ONE and told her that it was all she could give her because she had keep them in case we needed them on the unit, they were not for other people to use.

LOL The new boss looked at me and made a funny face and then looked back at her and proceeded to tell her exactly how it was. I haven't seen this US since. :roll:bowingpur