SeaCat
Hey, my Halo is smoking
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2003
- Posts
- 15,378
I was convinced to go in to work this afternoon at 1500 to cover for another co-worker whom I call "The Princess".
I call her "The Princess" because she seems to get away with doing whatever she wants.
Well I showed up on the Unit and watched as she left without giving me even a hint of a report on the patients. I can deal with this though so I got to work doing the patients Vital Signs and introducing myself. The first patient I talked with wanted to know when they would be cleaned up. (This was a Total Care Patient.) They informed me they hadn't been cleaned up at all yesterday or today. I told him I would be back as soon as I finished checking on my other patients while thinking I was unlucky enough to get one of those patients that exagerate.
AS I worked my way through the patients though I saw a pattern showing. Of the 12 patients "The Princess" was caring for only the three Self Care Patients had been cared for. That meant the five Totals and four assists hadn't been cared for at all. Nor had any of the paperwork been done. What had she been doing during her eight hours on the floor?
Needless to say I was pissed off about this. Now I was going to be busy as hell. I grabbed a Linen Cart and loaded it with everything I was going to need before getting to work. One of the R.N.'s saw this and asked me what was going on. When I told her she shook her head and walked away. (I didn't realize she went to talk with the Unit Supervisor.)
As I worked on the first patient while appologizing to him my boss was talking with my other patients. I found this out when I came out of the room and found the Linen Cart moved further down the hall. I also found it was half emptied.
What had happened was the Boss had talked with the patients then had turned to the rest of the staff. She explained what had happened and asked for volunteers. Every staff member on the unit who could do patient care stepped forward. That meant that five R.N.'s, the other Aide and my boss each took a patient to care for.
I couldn't believe this but I still had another patient to care for. I grabbed what I needed for this patient and went into the room and got started.
Now this room just about took my breath away as I went inside. I didn't even have to talk with the patient to know what was happening. I set down my supplies and went out to get more. Finally I was ready and got to work even as I talked with the patient. I was almost done cleaning the patient and had one last chore to do when the door opened for a second and the Boss came in.
Now I know my boss well and knew that she wasn't used to what I was going to do. Naturaly that meant that I asked her to stay so she could hand me things as I changed the patients Colostomy Appliance. (According to my boss Aides aren't supposed to do this but I do it quite often. I can do it so the patients skin isn't torn up and the new appliance doesn't leak. Because of this the R.N.'s often call me and ask me to do it for them.)
I removed the overfilled bag and the leaking appliance as the boss slowly turned pale. I cleansed and treated the area then applied the new appliance as the boss handed me things and turned even paler. I finally relented and told her she could leave when I saw her start swallowing almost convulsively. (Of course I was going to torture her, she's the one who keeps protecting "The Princess".)
When all of the patients were cared for the boss retreated to her office for a bit then left for home still looking a bit rocky.
Before she left she did appologize to me for what I had walked into and promised me that "The Princess" would be at the very least written up tomorrow for what she had done. (I'll believe that when I see the proof.) Then she informed me that after watching me do the Colostomy Care she was going to recommend to the C.N.O. that I be retested and then allowed to do the jobs I used to do.
These jobs include but aren't limited to:
Ostomy Care
Vent Care, (I could do without this one.)
Catheterization
Wound Care
Blood Draws
Not only would this make my job a lot more interesting but it would mean a three dollar an hour raise.
We shall see what happens.
Cat
The reason the Hospital stopped allowing Aides to do these jobs is because we had a rise in infection rates. The reason behind this was because people were cutting corners and not following proper Sterile Field Procedures.
I call her "The Princess" because she seems to get away with doing whatever she wants.
Well I showed up on the Unit and watched as she left without giving me even a hint of a report on the patients. I can deal with this though so I got to work doing the patients Vital Signs and introducing myself. The first patient I talked with wanted to know when they would be cleaned up. (This was a Total Care Patient.) They informed me they hadn't been cleaned up at all yesterday or today. I told him I would be back as soon as I finished checking on my other patients while thinking I was unlucky enough to get one of those patients that exagerate.
AS I worked my way through the patients though I saw a pattern showing. Of the 12 patients "The Princess" was caring for only the three Self Care Patients had been cared for. That meant the five Totals and four assists hadn't been cared for at all. Nor had any of the paperwork been done. What had she been doing during her eight hours on the floor?
Needless to say I was pissed off about this. Now I was going to be busy as hell. I grabbed a Linen Cart and loaded it with everything I was going to need before getting to work. One of the R.N.'s saw this and asked me what was going on. When I told her she shook her head and walked away. (I didn't realize she went to talk with the Unit Supervisor.)
As I worked on the first patient while appologizing to him my boss was talking with my other patients. I found this out when I came out of the room and found the Linen Cart moved further down the hall. I also found it was half emptied.
What had happened was the Boss had talked with the patients then had turned to the rest of the staff. She explained what had happened and asked for volunteers. Every staff member on the unit who could do patient care stepped forward. That meant that five R.N.'s, the other Aide and my boss each took a patient to care for.
I couldn't believe this but I still had another patient to care for. I grabbed what I needed for this patient and went into the room and got started.
Now this room just about took my breath away as I went inside. I didn't even have to talk with the patient to know what was happening. I set down my supplies and went out to get more. Finally I was ready and got to work even as I talked with the patient. I was almost done cleaning the patient and had one last chore to do when the door opened for a second and the Boss came in.
Now I know my boss well and knew that she wasn't used to what I was going to do. Naturaly that meant that I asked her to stay so she could hand me things as I changed the patients Colostomy Appliance. (According to my boss Aides aren't supposed to do this but I do it quite often. I can do it so the patients skin isn't torn up and the new appliance doesn't leak. Because of this the R.N.'s often call me and ask me to do it for them.)
I removed the overfilled bag and the leaking appliance as the boss slowly turned pale. I cleansed and treated the area then applied the new appliance as the boss handed me things and turned even paler. I finally relented and told her she could leave when I saw her start swallowing almost convulsively. (Of course I was going to torture her, she's the one who keeps protecting "The Princess".)
When all of the patients were cared for the boss retreated to her office for a bit then left for home still looking a bit rocky.
Before she left she did appologize to me for what I had walked into and promised me that "The Princess" would be at the very least written up tomorrow for what she had done. (I'll believe that when I see the proof.) Then she informed me that after watching me do the Colostomy Care she was going to recommend to the C.N.O. that I be retested and then allowed to do the jobs I used to do.
These jobs include but aren't limited to:
Ostomy Care
Vent Care, (I could do without this one.)
Catheterization
Wound Care
Blood Draws
Not only would this make my job a lot more interesting but it would mean a three dollar an hour raise.
We shall see what happens.
Cat
The reason the Hospital stopped allowing Aides to do these jobs is because we had a rise in infection rates. The reason behind this was because people were cutting corners and not following proper Sterile Field Procedures.
