Sitters give 'em a break!

1 You want to know why you're complaining that the world is ending because you have to take your own vitals? Because your aides are sitting.

You want to know why your aides are sitting? 'Cause your sitters quit.

You want to know why they quit?

'Cause nobody took 10 minutes out of every 2 hours to let 'em pee/smoke/get a Coke.

'Cause they know if they don't get those 10 minutes every 2 hours esp. 7p to 7a they're gonna fall asleep and get fired.

'Cause they were PRN aides who didn't offer to do a 12-hour shift sitting, they just got grabbed and whereas they could keep themselves awake running around the floor all night, they aren't physically prepared to stay in one darkened room all night without breaks and not nod off.

You can't get them to come back because they quit working PRN and went dedicated labor pool in a unit that doesn't use sitters.

'Cause the RN couldn't be bothered to call the doctor to get an order for Haldol PRN, or for effective pain meds, or to order restraints when it was really, really needed. Or couldn't be bothered to give PRNs that *were* ordered.

You know one night I got tired of watching all the RNs drinking coffee and complaining in full view of a sitter who hadn't had a break for 4 hours. I ran and bought her a Popeye's fried chicken dinner. Me, on $7.50 an hour.

2 nights ago for the first time after a hundred sitting jobs, I had a kindly old RN give me 2 breaks Q2H, told me to take my time, and guess what she did, she charted, no skin whatsoever off her nose.

Compare that to the countless times I really needed some help or supplies in the room and had the call bell ignored for 30 minutes or more. Or the 4+ nights I had it cancelled on me repeatedly. Repeatedly!

Got a sitter shortage? Fix it yourself. You can do it.
we use a lot of sitters on my floor, since we have computerized charting now, it's very easy to take over and give them a break while i chart in the room... we always make sure their lunch is covered, but i bet they could use more breaks in between....when our techs float to other floors to sit they come back crying about what terrible treatment they've recieved.

Quote from kurosawa'Cause the RN couldn't be bothered to call the doctor to get an order for Haldol PRN, or for effective pain meds, or to order restraints when it was really, really needed. Or couldn't be bothered to give PRNs that *were* ordered.

Quote from all4schwaif the patient has a sitter i try hard not to give the sedating meds, but restless due to pain is something that should be treated.

Quote from all4schwawe use a lot of sitters on my floor, since we have computerized charting now, it's very easy to take over and give them a break while i chart in the room... we always make sure their lunch is covered, but i bet they could use more breaks in between....when our techs float to other floors to sit they come back crying about what terrible treatment they've recieved.

I'm not going to indulge you. Don't come working for me expecting a break every two hours. Heck, I'm lucky if I get a break every 12 hours.Thanks for telling me what my patient is up to while you're in the room. I appreciate the input but I'm not medicating my patient for the convenience of the sitter.We use a lot of sitters on my unit, head injured and suicide attempts. They get a morning break and a lunch break, and that's it. That's more than I get. Night shift gives them a dinner break and breaks prn as they ask, but not 10 minutes q2h.I understand it's hard on night shift to sit, I couldn't do it, especially when from your view nurses are sitting around doing nothing.Good luck!

Quote from TweetyI'm not going to indulge you. Don't come working for me expecting a break every two hours. Heck, I'm lucky if I get a break every 12 hours.I understand it's hard on night shift to sit, I couldn't do it, especially when from your view nurses are sitting around doing nothing.Good luck!

Quote from TweetyI'm not going to indulge you. Don't come working for me expecting a break every two hours. Heck, I'm lucky if I get a break every 12 hours.Thanks for telling me what my patient is up to while you're in the room. I appreciate the input but I'm not medicating my patient for the convenience of the sitter.We use a lot of sitters on my unit, head injured and suicide attempts. They get a morning break and a lunch break, and that's it. That's more than I get. Night shift gives them a dinner break and breaks prn as they ask, but not 10 minutes q2h.I understand it's hard on night shift to sit, I couldn't do it, especially when from your view nurses are sitting around doing nothing.Good luck!

Quote from kurosawaSee, that's the rationale used for not giving the Haldol, the pt has a sitter.

Quote from TweetyI'm not going to indulge you. Don't come working for me expecting a break every two hours. Heck, I'm lucky if I get a break every 12 hours.Thanks for telling me what my patient is up to while you're in the room. I appreciate the input but I'm not medicating my patient for the convenience of the sitter.We use a lot of sitters on my unit, head injured and suicide attempts. They get a morning break and a lunch break, and that's it. That's more than I get. Night shift gives them a dinner break and breaks prn as they ask, but not 10 minutes q2h.I understand it's hard on night shift to sit, I couldn't do it, especially when from your view nurses are sitting around doing nothing.Good luck!

Quote from all4schwabut, that's not always the rationale for not giving meds, especially haldol. head injury patients have to run a certain course to heal and shouldn't be doped up for convenience. however, if they are going over the rails and dangering themselves or the sitter, then you are right, the primary nurse expects this to be reported to her to she can take the next step.

Hold on- I am a new grad and have been a sitter myself. BUT my recent experience with sitters is this- I had a psych patient who was in 4 pt restraint(protection of lines) with a sitter. The sitter pretty much watched VH1 all night- loudly- even when the patient asked her to turn it down. She did get breaks- the unit rep sat in for her. The regular sitter did not empty the foley, do ROM for the restraints, or even try to accomodate the needs of the patient (by turning down the TV). I had 3 other patients and did not get to have a break myself, but giving the sitter a mini-break from VH1 happened when I was in the room caring for the patient, which was frequently.

I'm sorry, I agree with Tweety. I've been reading this thread trying to figure out how to voice my opinion without sounding disgruntled, and he did it for me.the rules say we're not to leave the patient's presence. And the rules make sense from the pt safety perspective. No bathroom break even with a bathroom a few feet away.