SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
So I get in to work this morning and am informed with glee that I have to float.
The unit I am being sent to is known for it's problems. They are always understaffed and the R.N.'s are known through the hospital for being unfriendly. This is meant to be a punishment I'm sure for my being off the past couple of days. I shrug, grab my gear and head off to the unit.
The first person I meet is an R.N. from India. Absolutely beautiful and from the way she speaks she is intelligent. She greets me with the admonishment that her unit does things a bit differently from mine and I would do well to understand that. (Uh oh, I'm getting an idea of why this unit is looked down upon by the people in mine.) I look her in the eye and tell her that is fine and ask her to explain their protocols. She does and I find nothing amiss with their system. It is geared for their type of patients.
I get report from the off going Aides and am not impressed in the least. I start making my own first pass, looking in on my patients and introducing myself. My third patient is sitting there gasping for breath and looking bad. I grab my Stethescope and immediatly do another set of Vitals on this patient. They aren't good and I call the desk to report a problem. The R.N. is sent down to the room and steps in. Before she can say anything I give her my report. (What I have seen as well as the Vital Signs and what I think is going on.) The R.N. just looks at me for a minute before turning to the patient. Within minutes the Crisis Team is called in and the patient is transfered to the I.C.U.
The rest of my day went like this. I would go into a room and find a problem. I cured the problem. In most cases the problems were minor. Blown Lightbulbs or constantly flowing toilets. Piles of un-used or dirty laundry. One room had ten old meal trays.
I didn't play and I didn't take prisoners. I am a profesional. I have a job to do and I do it regardless of what others think. I was absolutely disgusted by what I found. The Aides on this unit do the bare minimum. They don't do Vital Signs, they ignore the patients for the most part.
One patient I came across had an extremely exfoliated and abraded Glans. After asking I found he had been forced to wear an external Catheter during the nights. (He was incontinent and a bit confused.) It took me a bit to get him cleaned up and treated. When I reported this to his R.N. she was surprised and investigated.
By the end of the shift the rooms under my control were clean and the patients cared for. My one R.N., the one from India, even surprised me by giving me a hug and telling me that she would work with me again any time. The Charge Nurse also told me that she would ask to have me transfered to her unit as I was one of the very few Aides she had dealt with that knew what to do. (I'm sure my boss will be happy to hear this.
)
Oh and the other Aides were pissed. (Like I could care.) Their sections looked like shit and mine was clean. Their patients were barely taken care of and mine were singing my praises. Then again they sat around playing on the computers and took overly long breaks while I worked my tail off. (And yet they complained when I took a half hour break.) Hell they even complained about my long hair. They claimed it wasn't acceptable. (Maybe because it is A) Longer than theirs. And B) My hair is clean.
It should be interesting to see what is said when I show up for work next.
Cat
The unit I am being sent to is known for it's problems. They are always understaffed and the R.N.'s are known through the hospital for being unfriendly. This is meant to be a punishment I'm sure for my being off the past couple of days. I shrug, grab my gear and head off to the unit.
The first person I meet is an R.N. from India. Absolutely beautiful and from the way she speaks she is intelligent. She greets me with the admonishment that her unit does things a bit differently from mine and I would do well to understand that. (Uh oh, I'm getting an idea of why this unit is looked down upon by the people in mine.) I look her in the eye and tell her that is fine and ask her to explain their protocols. She does and I find nothing amiss with their system. It is geared for their type of patients.
I get report from the off going Aides and am not impressed in the least. I start making my own first pass, looking in on my patients and introducing myself. My third patient is sitting there gasping for breath and looking bad. I grab my Stethescope and immediatly do another set of Vitals on this patient. They aren't good and I call the desk to report a problem. The R.N. is sent down to the room and steps in. Before she can say anything I give her my report. (What I have seen as well as the Vital Signs and what I think is going on.) The R.N. just looks at me for a minute before turning to the patient. Within minutes the Crisis Team is called in and the patient is transfered to the I.C.U.
The rest of my day went like this. I would go into a room and find a problem. I cured the problem. In most cases the problems were minor. Blown Lightbulbs or constantly flowing toilets. Piles of un-used or dirty laundry. One room had ten old meal trays.
I didn't play and I didn't take prisoners. I am a profesional. I have a job to do and I do it regardless of what others think. I was absolutely disgusted by what I found. The Aides on this unit do the bare minimum. They don't do Vital Signs, they ignore the patients for the most part.
One patient I came across had an extremely exfoliated and abraded Glans. After asking I found he had been forced to wear an external Catheter during the nights. (He was incontinent and a bit confused.) It took me a bit to get him cleaned up and treated. When I reported this to his R.N. she was surprised and investigated.
By the end of the shift the rooms under my control were clean and the patients cared for. My one R.N., the one from India, even surprised me by giving me a hug and telling me that she would work with me again any time. The Charge Nurse also told me that she would ask to have me transfered to her unit as I was one of the very few Aides she had dealt with that knew what to do. (I'm sure my boss will be happy to hear this.
)Oh and the other Aides were pissed. (Like I could care.) Their sections looked like shit and mine was clean. Their patients were barely taken care of and mine were singing my praises. Then again they sat around playing on the computers and took overly long breaks while I worked my tail off. (And yet they complained when I took a half hour break.) Hell they even complained about my long hair. They claimed it wasn't acceptable. (Maybe because it is A) Longer than theirs. And B) My hair is clean.
It should be interesting to see what is said when I show up for work next.
Cat
