I still don't get it - what do RNs do all day? I've been on the floor for two days now. The first I was with a tech - he had 16 patients (short staffed) we took all the vitals and charted them (on the computer). Then we made sure everyone was bathed. 3 or 4 patients got up and showered themselves, and we made their beds. 1 was off to surgery and 1 was bathed on the night shift. So we did 10 bed baths with occupied bed changes.

Day two I was assigned one patient to perform physical, cultural and nutritional assessments. The RN for my patient has other patients too but she never seemed to have time for "Sue," who was my patient. When I asked if I could get her dressed she was like, "I guess, but she needs her IV taken out." Now mind you, she didn't have her IV hooked up, just had the catheter part still in her arm. She told me I could take it out, but I said I never did one and did she want to show me. She was like, well I don't have time to do it, get your instructor to show you.

Now folks, I don't know if you've ever removed an IV before, but let me tell you it is nothing more than removing tape, carefully pulling out the catheter and putting on a band-aid. I DO NOT understand what that RN was doing that she couldn't spent two minutes with the patient to do this.

I want to be the type of RN that spends the time with her patients and does these little things.
-Lola