Operation "Escape Housekeeping" has been Initiated

Well, I did it. I applied for another job. After a year and a half doing housekeeping in this hospital, and several years of cleaning houses before that, I'm finally trying to make a career change. I am super excited about it! The job I applied for will allow me to use the skills I learned in class back in February. I really hope it works out.

Of course back then, when I was taking the class, my supervisors found some excuse to give me a warning. This stopped me from transferring to another field back then. Now everything should be cleared for me to transfer...if my boss gives the approval. Right now I'm kind of holding my breath. I swear, some of the people in authority at my job seem to enjoy trying to ruin my life. Not sure what pleasure they get from it, but I'm am determined not to be repressed. Here's a good example of what I mean...enjoy!

Volunteering

The hospital put up posters in the elevators advertising their need for volunteers. This colorful poster shows a smiling, happy volunteer as she assists a smiling patient...very nice photo. It describes some of the things volunteers help out with and then makes the statement, "Volunteering is the greatest job you'll never get paid for!"

Is just me, or is that statement not very motivating?

All in a Day

I see a lot of interesting or even heartbreaking things within a day at the hospital. Here's a sample of things I witnessed just today...

Caring for crazies - a patient in intensive care sat in her bed mumbling on and on, words that were seldom coherent. Her hands and feet restrained, she began kicking the foot of the bed fiercely in an attempt to escape. Her nurse was able to calm her thankfully. I couldn't help but think that in former times people would have assumed such a person was possessed. Today though, we have more knowledge of things like mental disorders, drug withdraw, ect.

Letting nature take its course - a patient was brought into the ICU from another floor. His health was failing and the doctors realized there was little more they could do. I watched as a family member signed a waiver agreeing to "let nature take its course".

The man with the robot voice - I was a bit startled when I heard a very distinct tin-sounding robot voice coming from the hall. Peering out of the room I had been cleaning, I saw that the sound was indeed coming from a patient. There was obviously something wrong with his throat or vocal cords. He would press a device to his mouth that transmitted the vibrations into actual sound, though the result sounded very artificial. First thought, I'm so glad I have my voice. Second thought, it's wonderful they've created devices like that to help people.

Begging and sobbing - I heard and saw a woman running through the hall, talking on her cell phone and sobbing loudly. She was talking to her mother apparently (not that I was eavesdropping, but seriously everyone could hear). It wasn't a show. It was the sound of true despair and distress. Stuff like that always pulls at my heart, especially when there's nothing I can do about it.

Well...tomorrow is office day so it shouldn't be as exciting. However, that's actually okay with me.

Firing Nurses Isn't Groovy

So the hospital I work at is one of many owned by the Hospital Corporation of America or HCA. And recently, more and more HCA hospitals are becoming unionized. Our hospital became unionized last fall and the unions are still working on our initial contracts to begin changing working conditions. Anyway...there are two unions involved: National Nurses United is for RNs and 1199SEIU for all non-RN staff (people like me). Both of these unions frequently post flyers in our break rooms to notify us of what is going on in bargaining or in other unionized hospitals around the country. Today, one such flyer caught my eye...

This flyer said that in an HCA-affiliated hospital in Texas, seven nurses were recently fired. The reason? These nurses worked in the ICU and they refused to accept an additional assignment that in their professional judgment was unsafe.

Hospital management demanded the nurses, who in the ICU provide constant care for the hospital’s most severely ill patients, take on additional duties of temporary charge nurse, who make clinical assignments for patients and staff on the floor, and code team assignments, which can require them to rush to other hospital floors to assist with patients – leaving their own ICU patients and their ICU charge duties behind.

In addition, when the chief nursing officer was notified by email of HR's decision to threaten termination of the nurses, his response was, "Groovy". So today, RNs at the hospital where I work were passing out stickers that read: "Firing Nurses isn't groovy". Sounds like they might be wearing these stickers to the next union bargaining session.

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????