things i learned at staff meeting
healing environment is the thing. it is not new, but apparently, our hospital is way way behind when it comes to what is new. therefore, we are finally jumping into the wagon, by changing the paints and the curtains, and the floor, to facilitate healing. and since we are trying to get there, the nurses are part of the environment, therefore, we need to wear something that will facilitate healing. no prints, no striking color; just solid scrubs that will stop a patient from throwing up even when he just had chemo. i don’t know anything about this, but if you see leaves growing out of my ears because i am so one with nature wearing healing scrubs, do not blame me, okay? i am just an employee who does not really want to argue with what the latest in healing environment is.
we are keeping a “hair care box” in our unit now. blow dryer, hair clips, etc. i have nothing against this, but it makes me wonder. if someone can actually go through the motion of blow drying their hair, he/she does not really sound like a patient to me. or am i missing the whole point? i hate it when i don’t totally get it. although i have a vision of me holding some mirror while a patient is using one of things in our hair care box. in my vision, i am not really doing a good job.
they are our guests. from now on, we are not to call them clients, customers, or patients. they are our guests. apparently when you say they are your guests, it is self explanatory what we do with them, because we are always nice to our guests. hhhhmmmm….i say they should feel at home and just help themselves with the morphine and the dilaudid; after all, i want my guests to feel comfortable. and at home. why lock the narcotics? that is an insult to our guests.
if i don’t let the PCAs (patient care assistants), who are certified, take my patients’ (ooooppps, i meant guests!) vital signs, i have a problem. well, it was suggested that i should learn how to let go. for the record, i have nothing against the PCAs taking the vitals, i just want to know first hand how my patients (oooopppss) are doing before i do anything else. i am a visual person when it comes to these things. it is not enough for me to know that the temperature is normal, i want to see that he is okay beyond the vitals. i guess i need to see a professional to get help for this; because i’m the only one who doesn’t mind taking the vitals.
other than that, most of the things are just pretty much nothing. or maybe, i was already drooling. i was so sleepy, even the nurse manager looked like a big, soft pillow to me…


Interesting. Where my mom works, the patients went from “patients” to “consumers” to “clients” (MH/MR population). The change in terminology doesn’t seem to help their problems though.
I wonder how much money someone wasted doing a study on how the colors on staff’s scrubs affect recovery.
Comment by junebee — October 28, 2005 @ 5:29 pm
Generalizations.
One persons’ healing enviroment is another persons’ madhouse.
Me, I’d go for madhouse any day of the week. Except Tuesdays, of course, for obvious reasons. Little blue cars, you know.
Comment by shrimplate — October 28, 2005 @ 6:12 pm
“Leaves growing out of your ears” - LOL! Ummmm…. when I worked in the hospital, the older patients LOVED when I wore fun pediatric print scrubs. And if I am sick, I want to be a PATIENT with a good NURSE taking care of me, not a guest with a bellboy inserting my IV (though making myself at home and taking my own narcotics, now there is an interesting thought!)
Comment by mamalife — October 28, 2005 @ 6:14 pm
I think ALL health care workers should have an attitude like what you mentioned in the last 2 paragraphs
Comment by Rygel — October 28, 2005 @ 6:20 pm
It doesn’t surprise me that companies want their patients called guests because they already act like it’s the Hilton at our place. The patient’s are usually okay but the families are getting more and more outrageous with ridiculous requests! As far as vital signs go, I let my trusted techs get them but will follow up if it doesn’t correlate with my assessment for sure.
P.S. I thought I had a link on your site at one time? Check out yours on my link page!
Comment by Nurse Practitioners Save Lives — October 28, 2005 @ 6:40 pm
just wonering at your hospital how many visitors are your patients (ooops guests) are they allowed to have in the room at one time?
Comment by DayByDay4-2Day — October 29, 2005 @ 4:22 am
I hate when a hospital wants to end up as a hotel.
We’re not here to make a patient feel at home. We’re here to get them better. Between insurance companies breathing down our necks and the patients hating hospitals (you can put all the damn curtains up you want, it will STILL be a hospital and they will STILL want to be home), the point is to get the patient up and going.
Ah well, good luck with all that. *smile*
-Kit, who works in a mental hospital and wishes it was less like home and the medroom less like a freakin’ snackbar.
Comment by Anonymous — October 29, 2005 @ 11:20 am
Too funny. You crack me the hell up.
)
I laughed out loud when I read the part about not locking up the narcotics.
Noone can say that you are not being cordial to your guests.
I totally agree with the taking the vitals yourself. It doesn’t even seem right that they would ask you to take someone else’s word for YOUR patients vital signs. So if they were wrong or askew somehow on the vitals, does that make YOU culpable for not checking them yourself if something goes wrong.
I am just a lowly student right now but I worked in dental for almost 10 years and we were told that we also had to wear “soothing” colors for patients to feel more at ease. We wore mostly different hues of blues and greens. Those are supposed to be the “healing” colors. Not sure if I believe that.
If you are in need of scrubs..and lord I hope you are (lol)… check out my ebay scrub auctions. My ebay name is dawnlang2003.
K, now that I have plugged my auctions I will move along. Tell anyone you know who may need scrubs to check out the auctions, they are ending in a couple of days. Thanks
Hair care?? Just one more thing that has to be sanitized. Though after each surgery I had (TAH etc.) I DID take a shower,dry my hair and try to look decent as soon as I could.
Damn! Sorry for the novel.Have a good one.
Dawn
Comment by overactive-imagination — October 29, 2005 @ 2:15 pm
What do you think this is, the Hilton? I actually used that line tonight (in a joking way that made the person laugh of course) but my sarcastic comment was serious to me. What else can you say to grown man that is asking for a full body massage? For the record he didn’t get the massage.
Comment by SassyNurse — October 31, 2005 @ 12:16 am
hmmm, most of my guests are too concerned about getting the hell out of the hospital to really care about what colour i’m wearing, methinks…
as for having PCAs doing your vitals, hey, whatever floats your boat… i personally would do the same as you… since my assessment = my license…
Comment by ICU 101 — October 31, 2005 @ 2:43 pm
AMEN AMEN AMEN. Our hospital has gone from “give them the pickle” ideation, meaning if they want it they MUST need it so do a back flip to make their dreams come true, to: make your employees happy the clients will be happy. I have not actually seen this one in action yet. I like my funky scrubs and it 1) brightens the day for ME and sometimes my client 2)helps set us apart”No, no, I want the blonde nurse in the black and red asian scrubs , not the one with the dragonflies”
Comment by yvonne — November 3, 2005 @ 2:12 pm
Good to share experience”things i learned at staff meeting”
Comment by swetha — September 16, 2006 @ 2:52 am
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I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting
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