What do you think nurses do?

[Felix01]

I've just been reading some of the threads over the past few weeks and I wanted to ask MNers, What do you think nurses do in their jobs on day-day basis ? Responsibilities etc how many patients they look after?

Probably a ward of 12 beds between two nurses to monitor, do anything that needs doing such as putting in catheters, prep for surgery, support in surgery, post surgery care, giving medication, changing dressings, speaking to patients, physically moving patients, filling in patient charts, handovers to other nurses and doctors, paperwork, prescriptions, liaison with other bits of hospital, dealing with visitors, endless tasks really, very hard work and nonstop

Nursing today is probably very different to how it used to be. I don't have a clue what they do in a shift, but I suspect the dirty work is mostly done by HCAs now.

I had a CPN, and her case load was 37. I have no idea how she managed. She saw me once a fortnight.
That, and she did blood clinic too, and stints on the crisis team
She was amazing,
All CPNs are amazing.

I love unpaid carers. A carer that is happy to keep someone safe massively reduces the stress on me. Sadly, many of my service users live alone/have very little contact with their families-usually for totally understandable reasons. A carer is worth their weight in gold though ♥️

😁if only was just 5.

I'd say that was the work of an HCA not a nurse.

Personally, generally with complete respect and awe and in the community, very much a partner in healthcare. Honestly, HCPs visit then leave and see a snapshot, unpaid carers don't get that option. And often they are the experts in the person they are caring for, often holding the burden of joining all the dots in the endless health and social care services that are involved.

Plus there should be far more support for unpaid carers, they save the nhs and social services many millions - regular respite support (as in a regular day each week rather than when a crisis happens).

I think they are amazing. I saw a recent article in the paper about a 16 year old girl who got so obese she passed away during covid. Parents are being prosecuted, she had spina bifida and complex needs. From my years of working with complex needs I know they were failed by professionals. Many people with complex needs are food motivated and will become violent , display challenging behaviour if you don't give them unlimited access to food. It becomes easier just to give in for a quieter life. Especially if you haven't been guided by professionals or had help with behaviour ppans

Then as the person becomes larger it's harder to do the turns , clean , source the equipment. Everything just gets worse I see parents/carers all the time who I think are amazing and do their best with the limited shit resources they have.

Not a nurse, but a midwife. My job role, I co-ordinate a high risk tertiary labour ward in London. I am often the only band 7 in the whole maternity unit at weekends. I’m in charge of keeping the cogs turning, ensuring safety of women/babies, supporting other midwives and doctors, dealing with obstetric and neonatal emergencies, doing the stupid paperwork, often being a midwife for other junior midwives, keeping doctors in check where necessary. It’s endless, incredibly stressful

I’m a theatre HCP (not a nurse but still registered - Operating Dept Practitioner) so my patient care is 1:1

or sometimes we have 6+ staff in the room with a patient!

i work mostly with the surgeons. Sometimes I scrub for a case - prepare the instruments, count everything, anticipate what the surgeon will need
sometimes I assist the surgeon - holding a camera for keyhole surgery, retracting tissue, suctioning
sometimes I circulate the room - counting with the scrub person, making sure equipment is available, positioning our patients and ensuring their comfortable and not going to obtain any pressure sores or fall off the table! Documenting everything, getting anything else that may be needed during the surgery

i also work with the anaesthetists - preparing airways, making sure our ventilators are working, checking we have absolutely everything. Checking with patients that we are performing the correct surgery on the correct site on the correct patient, asking them everything that the anaesthetist has already asked them. We ask a lot of questions - it’s not us being annoying, we know you’re hungry and want a coffee. We just want to make sure everything is absolutely correct.

im also a senior team leader, so I need to make sure that my staff are competent, that they are happy to scrub for certain procedures, that they get sufficient breaks and can go home on time where possible. I need to keep up to date with their PDRs and make sure everything is compliant with the endless e-learning. I need to hold staff meetings and meet with company representatives. Keep an eye on stock and look ahead at lists that may require special equipment that we need to order in or borrow from elsewhere.

I LOVE theatre nursing. I worked as a HCA in A&E for many years before that and that was a bit of a different story.

The complexity of what many nurses and allied health professionals do is frequently underestimated.

However, It often seems that if they are not physically with a patient, they are viewed as not doing their job correctly. Seeing someone sitting at a desk is viewed as evidence of this.

I would like people to have a greater understanding that we live in a digital age! Of course we spend time at our desk because virtually every test request, result, X-ray, scan, referral, request for advice & guidance, clinic booking, risk assessment, SOP, guidance document, dictation, letter authorisation, hospital record, mentor document, mandatory training etc etc etc takes a digital form.

Patients absolutely need direct hands on care, but don't underestimate how much needs to be done at the desks.

Great post!
Not many people even know what an ODP is!

I'm an ODP but nurses do the same job as me. We coordinate operating lists, liasing with wards and surgeons plus multiple other departments (radiology, endoscopy etc) make sure we've got the right equipment, the right skill mix of staff. We work with surgeons and know the ins and outs of multiple operations and work to get patients through the operation safely, adhering to safety guidelines set out by the world health organisation. We look after patients when they're waking up from surgery, administer medications and observe them to make sure everything is well.

This week so far I have scrubbed for several bowel cancer operations, burst appendixes, stented kidney stones and helped to deliver 2 babies by c section as well as stitching women up after they've given birth.

I do also work in anaesthetics, helping make sure that patients are asleep safely and pain fee during surgery. I feel like I earn my money and theatre staff are often forgotten about because the patients are asleep!

Nurses do a great job!

😂😂Not at all, although there was something to be said for an old fashioned type leader who had come up through the ranks and understands the nursing role rather than the grey suited pen- pushers that make up NHS management now!

I'm just saddened that attention to basic patient care seems so low down on the NHS agenda, nurses and ward staff in general seem so overwhelmed because of low staffing numbers and the necessity to prioritise and complete non- patient related tasks.

Whilst I celebrate the marvellous improvements that have been made in medical research and treatments, I also completely welcome the continued development in the professionalism of nurses. I do feel we have somehow lost sight of how important the basic skill of "caring" for patients is and the need to recruit and fund appropriate numbers of nurses to fulfill this task.

@MadeOfSteel I think if you've read the whole thread you'll see that we aren't afraid of getting our hands dirty.

They stood around chatting at the desk and laughing together while my DC almost died from breathing difficulties, all her monitors going off and were angry when I ran to them asking for help.

In a paediatric hospital. DC brought in by ambulance so they knew it was serious.

Apparently they were "really busy" and had "had a hard night".

Once she finally got proper medical attention and was stabilised, as a breastfeeding mother I was left without even a glass of water while I stayed with her overnight.

The NHS is a shambles.

I have had the pleasure to meet some absolutely wonderful midwifes, who I preferred seeing to any doctor and who were very skilled and top of the league in terms of patient care.

Where nurses start getting criticised is there is an expectation that a doctor/consultant zooms into the ward (not all of them but a lot) presents the information, does the larger procedures and off they go. Whilst a nurse carries out multiple procedures, they are sometimes the only human touch a patient can get and when there is none, what is left? So the human side is more expected of them. There are like in any job, anywhere, any discipline a few who aren't suited.

Attend child protection strategy meetings having researched the families health background first with complex backgrounds and multiple children. Make recommendations on the information shared alongside partner agencies.
Actively contribute to the management of high risk violent and sexual offenders who are a risk to children.
Actively contribute to the support and safety plans for high risk domestic abuse cases.
Advise staff and supervise complex case management and assess risk of significant harm often with gaps in the history.
Ensure all staff receive high quality safeguarding supervision and are supported in their work.
Professionally challenge and escalate cases that have drifted and partner agencies are minimising the escalating harm.
Audit record keeping to ensure standards of practice are high and put management plans in place for staff not meeting those standards.
Deal with highly distressing written and visual content relating to child abuse.
Write and deliver safeguarding training to staff and evaluate effectiveness.
Provide an emergency on call service for staff with immediate concerns.
Write policy's and procedures to provide the safest care possible.
Write reports for criminal and family courts and appear as a professional witness.
Be on a grade of pay that has zero progression for 5 years. The only band in the nhs locked like that and only pays me £30 a month more than the grade below with less responsibility.
There's more but I think that paints a picture.
I would be dangerous on a ward. I'll stick to what I know!

Thank you …we are absolutely 100% on our patients side and will do every course to keep ourselves competent and safe and care for our patients.

@Felix01
That case you quote of the 16 year old girl will no doubt in due course find failings with the professionals that were involved and the impact covid restrictions had on their practice BUT her parents were not devoted carers trying to manage a challenging young person. Her mother has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and the fathers defence is he knows he was a crap dad and that proves he had no idea what was going on. I won't post the details here but easily found on news websites but this was sheer prolonged neglect of a child dependent on her family for almost all of her day to day functioning.

I think the main point that has not been mentioned…sorry if I missed it ,is that absolutely everything we do has to be documented…fucking hours of paperwork to cover our arses …if not written down it didn’t happen!! Does this ring bells to RNs ?
Paperwork is actually effecting patient care because too busy on computer and not actually delivering the care ! Rant over .