Not in the job description

So I was thinking today, dear God, if I have to see any more nudity today I'm gonna puke. I do not ever recall reading it the job description that as I clean patient rooms I may or may not have to put up with seeing much more than I want to! And why are so many people completely unconcerned with rather or not they are flashing people?

Thankfully, this situation has made me very skilled at being able to do all my work while keeping my eyes focused only on the floor. I'll tell you, it takes some skill to be able to do that. But hey, you can't come in the room after me and say that floor is dirty. Trust me, it's the cleanest thing in the room.

Wondering when will my life begin...

I've seen the movie Tangled a few times recently and those songs from it get stuck in my head. After spending about 8 hours at work with one of the songs in my head, I started coming up with alternate lyrics that had to do with my job. It struck me that at the beginning of the song, she says, "7 AM the usual morning line-up." Well, I just so happen to start work at 7 AM every morning. So, here is a clip of the actual song from the movie and then the lyrics I came up with. Enjoy! It's very silly! =)



My lyrics:

Seven AM the usual morning line-up...
Set up my cart, then mop 'til the floor's all clean!
Someone spilled coffee and I've gotta soak the spill up.
Mop again, and by then it's like seven fifteen.
And so I'll clean a room or maybe two or three,
I'll fill a couple bags with dirty laundry.
I'll grab the trash and dust and mop and basically,
Just wonder, "when will my life begin?"

Then after lunch I'll have to start cleaning discharges.
Make up the beds and make sure the room smells fresh.
Wipe down the tub, sink, fixtures and toilet,
Then the kitchen I'll clean, check the bed-tracker screen.
And then I'll clean the glass if I have time to spare.
I'll wipe the ceiling vents, I'm sure there's dust up there!
And then I'll wipe down each and every waiting room chair,
Stuck in the same place I've always been...
And I'll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering,
"When will my life begin?"

Items most often discarded...

So when a patient leaves the hospital all too often things are left behind that perhaps shouldn't have been. I being the one who has to go in and clean that room, I often find these sad, abandoned objects. So I compiled a small list of the 5 items most often left behind in hospital rooms. Anyone care to take a guess????

Proper Etiquette When Using Public Restrooms

I would like to take a moment to educate the public on the proper etiquette to display when using a public restroom. Cleaning some public restrooms at the hospital over the weekend reminded me that though most of these tips may seem like common sense, some people obviously need reminders. So here we go!

TIP #1 -
Upon leaving the stall, make sure to WASH YOUR HANDS. No one likes the idea of you spreading your germs onto the bathroom door or anywhere else you go afterward. This is a basic you should have learned from an early age. If you gave up on it years ago, there is something seriously wrong with you. Remember, just because you aren't worried about germs, doesn't mean everyone else isn't.

TIP #2 -
If your cell is on your person and begins ringing while you are using the restroom, is it really that urgent to answer it??? Seriously, no one in the stall next to you wants to hear your conversation. And whoever is on the phone with you doesn't want to hear the toilet flushing or you washing your hands while you chat with them. Granted the use of bluetooth may make this bad habit somewhat less prone to the spreading of germs, but still...Please be considerate of others and wait until you leave the bathroom to have your phone conversation. I'm sure whoever is calling will appreciate it as well.

Tip #3 -
For all you ladies out there, I feel the need to explain the purpose of those little shiny boxes that are installed on the wall by the toilet. When stocked properly, these boxes should contain several small paper bags. These bags are meant as a place for you to dispose of sanitary napkins. To use, open the lid of the box, OPEN THE PAPER BAG and deposit the soiled sanitary napkin or wrapping within. DO NOT just shove these items into the box without any regard to rather or not the ended up in a bag. Doing so leaves the housekeeper *ahem* like me, the pleasant task of reaching deep into the box and fishing out whatever goodies were left inside.

Tip #4 -
Before you leave the stall, please be sure to FLUSH THE TOILET!!! No one coming in behind you wants to see your business. Come on people, it's not that hard!

One Loaded Question

So last night I was playing "Loaded Questions" with some friends and one of the questions was: If you could be your boss, what incentives/perks, aside from money, would you offer your employees?

My first thought was...can I make a list?
Well that didn't really work for the game, but mentally I was thinking of a list.

How about no penalty sick days? I mean, as long as you have a doctor's note or a supervisor's permission to go home early because of sickness, should you really be penalized for that?
Especially when I'm working in health care! I mean, you would think my boss would assume that since I spend all day working around infected bodily fluids, garbage, and sick people who are sneezing, have open wounds or sound like they are hacking up a lung...just maybe...every once in a while I might actually get sick. Maybe I'm crazy to think the odds of me getting sick over someone who say, works in a cubicle, are pretty high.
But no, if I call out sick or am unable to complete my shift due to illness, I'm in trouble. Doesn't matter if I had my supervisor's permission, doesn't matter if I have a doctor's note.

Idea #2 - Would it kill them to provide us with more uniforms? They give us shirts to wear and we select our own pants. No big deal, but this one housekeeper only has ONE top! Can you imagine working a full week like that?

Idea #3 - Some sort of annual award, recognizing hard workers, great team players, ect.
I have had lots of people in the hospital say I clean very well or that I am a hard worker, but besides that nice feeling of being complimented, I don't really have anything to show for it. And honestly, it starts feeling like my supervisors really don't appreciate it. Then you can start thinking if it isn't appreciated, why bother? So I think it would be encouraging for everyone on the team to get some sort of prize and recognition for their hard work. Besides, it would motivate people do always do their best.

So anyway, that was some of my ideas. Apparently, my bosses had other ideas because one of them brought breakfast in for us this morning. *sigh* Gotta take what you can get, I guess. Oh well, my cinnamon bun tasted awesome! :D

Masked Housekeeper No More!

Apparently on April 1st, flu germs magically cease to exist until the witty scientists decree that they can return sometime around November. Which basically means...I don't have to wear my mask anymore!!! I get seven months of freedom before I go back to the five months of wearing it again. Today was my first day working without it and it felt good. I do kinda miss being mysterious though...it was so much easier to hide my expressions with the mask. It is nice to be able to smile at people though and they actually know I'm smiling. I'm gonna enjoy this while it lasts...

No Life too Small to Save

At the hospital we are all about trying to save lives. So the other day, a lowly housekeeper got to play a role in this lofty endeavor. I single-handedly saved a life from near certain death! This poor soul I saved was a fuzzy caterpillar that I found in a trash can... :)
The poor little guy freaked me out at first. A live caterpillar is hardly something you expect to find when emptying the trash. But since I had gloves on, I let him escape onto my hand and I walked him outside. Of course, I showed off the handsome fellow to a few nurses on the way. It's amazing how such a small creation of Jehovah can inspire wonder and awe. Anyway, I let him out onto some green grass where he may live the rest of his life happily ever after. Remember, no life is too small to be worth saving. :)

Foul weather = foul moods and no babies

We had some serious storms this morning, which was rather out of the blue. I could have sworn the weather report said it would be sunny all week. Thankfully, I made it into work before the rain hit and by the time I left the sun had returned. Seemed like the weather had a negative effect on some people's mood though. There was an unusual amount of crabbiness in the air, most of it emanating from my boss.

On another note...
Strangely the baby suites were empty today. Guess no one likes having babies during a thunderstorm. Oh well, less work for me!