Change of Shift; Controlling the Chaos.
You've just stepped off the elevator on your floor. You round the corner and start heading toward your unit. You're full of anticipation for what lies ahead. You've gotten plenty of rest from your last shift (yeah right!), and you know that this shift will be a little better. All of your patient outcomes will be positive.
You now start to hear the phones ringing non-stop. You see two or more sets of transporters with stretchers and wheelchairs in the hall. There's a small group of 'white coats' standing in front of the clerks desk explaning to her just what exactly it is that they have just written in the chart, because of course their handwriting sucks.
There's a group of nursing students mulling about and there are twice as many Registered Nurses present. Everyone is anxiously awaiting their patient assignments from the charge nurse who, by the way, doesn't recognize half the names on the assignment board.
There's the orientees, the float nurses, the Dieticians, the wound care nurse, the psych evaluator, the chaplain, the JCAHO team, the new transfer, the new admit, lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!
And suddenly over the intercom; "CODE BLUE!", and of course it's across the hall from your nursing station. Sound familiar?
The following statement by Groucho Marx was once used to describe Chaos Theory; "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana!"
As silly as that may sound, there is a small amount of simplistic genious to that statement, and without going into the many complexities of Chaos Theory, I think that you will agree that shift change is nothing short of Chaos.
Well, if you're a seasoned veteran and are master of your domain, chances are that 90% of the time, your shift change experience will be swift and complete. You already know that nurses run the show, and that nothing can stand in the way of the swift completion of your appointed rounds. You are like an arrow, straight and true.
The fruit fly, on the other hand, buzzes around from clipboard to clipboard, from chart to chart, from nurse server to nurse server (I had to throw in the Nurse Server part!
); anyway, you get the drift. The fruit fly seems to be the busy little beaver, but lacks any focus.
But that's not entirely true, because the fruit fly is really looking for that easy team. You know, the team with all the 'walky/talkies'! This type of person is not a team player and is a disruption to the change of shift process and to the unit as a whole.
The banana is the nurse who is either new or has lost their confidence somewhere along the way and is waiting to be eaten alive. And change of shift can be the one time that this nurse can be easily overwhelmed. An over-zealous charge nurse can really 'dump' on this person.
While there are hundreds of personality traits, and millions of circumstantial variables, there comes a time when all of the disruption and chaos must be tamed and the team begin to function as a cohesive unit. This is where your professional skills can shine and you can show some autonomy. (More on autonomy in an upcoming issue.)
If you are the 'take charge' type, you should waltz onto the unit and let everyone know that you are there to help. Be sincere, not cocky. If your charge nurse appears to have their hands full, offer your assistance before the chaos gets out of hand.
Steer the loiterers away from the nursing station, answer the phone, assume temporary care of a few patients while the off-going shift finishes their charting.
If your charge nurse has things under control, do what they ask and steer yourself away from the nurses station. Just do something, and do it quick. In the long run, the life you save may be your own.
Tracy Rigdon RN
From the No FLUFF Zone Newsletter
www.nurseserver.com
You've just stepped off the elevator on your floor. You round the corner and start heading toward your unit. You're full of anticipation for what lies ahead. You've gotten plenty of rest from your last shift (yeah right!), and you know that this shift will be a little better. All of your patient outcomes will be positive.
You now start to hear the phones ringing non-stop. You see two or more sets of transporters with stretchers and wheelchairs in the hall. There's a small group of 'white coats' standing in front of the clerks desk explaning to her just what exactly it is that they have just written in the chart, because of course their handwriting sucks.
There's a group of nursing students mulling about and there are twice as many Registered Nurses present. Everyone is anxiously awaiting their patient assignments from the charge nurse who, by the way, doesn't recognize half the names on the assignment board.
There's the orientees, the float nurses, the Dieticians, the wound care nurse, the psych evaluator, the chaplain, the JCAHO team, the new transfer, the new admit, lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!
And suddenly over the intercom; "CODE BLUE!", and of course it's across the hall from your nursing station. Sound familiar?
The following statement by Groucho Marx was once used to describe Chaos Theory; "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana!"
As silly as that may sound, there is a small amount of simplistic genious to that statement, and without going into the many complexities of Chaos Theory, I think that you will agree that shift change is nothing short of Chaos.
Well, if you're a seasoned veteran and are master of your domain, chances are that 90% of the time, your shift change experience will be swift and complete. You already know that nurses run the show, and that nothing can stand in the way of the swift completion of your appointed rounds. You are like an arrow, straight and true.
The fruit fly, on the other hand, buzzes around from clipboard to clipboard, from chart to chart, from nurse server to nurse server (I had to throw in the Nurse Server part!
); anyway, you get the drift. The fruit fly seems to be the busy little beaver, but lacks any focus.But that's not entirely true, because the fruit fly is really looking for that easy team. You know, the team with all the 'walky/talkies'! This type of person is not a team player and is a disruption to the change of shift process and to the unit as a whole.
The banana is the nurse who is either new or has lost their confidence somewhere along the way and is waiting to be eaten alive. And change of shift can be the one time that this nurse can be easily overwhelmed. An over-zealous charge nurse can really 'dump' on this person.
While there are hundreds of personality traits, and millions of circumstantial variables, there comes a time when all of the disruption and chaos must be tamed and the team begin to function as a cohesive unit. This is where your professional skills can shine and you can show some autonomy. (More on autonomy in an upcoming issue.)
If you are the 'take charge' type, you should waltz onto the unit and let everyone know that you are there to help. Be sincere, not cocky. If your charge nurse appears to have their hands full, offer your assistance before the chaos gets out of hand.
Steer the loiterers away from the nursing station, answer the phone, assume temporary care of a few patients while the off-going shift finishes their charting.
If your charge nurse has things under control, do what they ask and steer yourself away from the nurses station. Just do something, and do it quick. In the long run, the life you save may be your own.
Tracy Rigdon RN
From the No FLUFF Zone Newsletter
www.nurseserver.com
So checking this site at 2222 have to be up at 5 and at work where my shift starts at 7 and have a c-section scheduled to cut at 7 so really have to be there a little early... maybe I should go to bed