Poseys

This is a little story about something called a Posey.

A Posey is restraining device. It is a cloth band that goes around the waist and has strings that are tied (quick release) to the bed, or chair, wherever the patient is. It is used on patients who are confused and who have shown that they are likely to try to get out of bed on their own.

One of my little old ladies (LOL from here on out) the other day had just had surgery on her left hip that day, and had dementia, among other issues. Sweet as could be, but very confused as to where she was, why she was there, who was with her.

The nurse went in to give her medicine and saw that LOL had her feet hanging off the bad and was trying to get up. We quickly conferred and decided to put a Posey on her.

Later, I was sitting at the nurses' station charting when I heard chirping from a machine in LOL's room. I'm familiar with the sound by now- it meant that her foot pumps were either disconnected or off. I went in there to fix them and saw something I was NOT expecting. LOL was naked, on the floor, several feet away from her bed (and yes, one of the foot pumps had fallen off in the process). Holy crap!

I hit the staff assist button, and with the help of the others who came dashing into the room, got her gowned and onto the commode (which is where she said she was going), then into bed. We got vital signs, and I put a new dressing on her hip (she had pulled that off too). And yes, I got the foot pumps adjusted.

Looked like she had managed to undo one side of the Posey. So I retied it, put wrist restraints on as well, made sure the bed alarm was on, and stressed to her the importance of letting us know if she needed anything.

Every time I went in there for anything, I triple checked to be sure the restraints were all on and the bed alarm was set. And I passed along in my report to do the same.

One thing that struck me that night (and other times I've worked) is how smoothly things go when you work as a team. Within seconds of me hitting the staff assist button, I had three nurses and another aide in there, all pitching in and doing something that needed to be done.

If I know another aide is on her lunch, I will watch her lights. If she's busy in another room, I'll watch lights. If someone needs help moving a patient, I will gladly help, because what goes around comes around. If I help them, they are more likely to help me.

I am still new and know I have to earn the respect of my coworkers. They have seen many come and go, and until I prove otherwise, there's no indication to them that I'll stick around, or be dependable. What I do is being noticed, though. Another aide took a family member down to the main entrance (too much construction for simple directions), and I helped with one of her patients while she was off the floor. Her nurse relayed that to her, and later she thanked me for all my help.

In other news, I had a good conversation with one of the float aides who is applying for the same nursing program. He was told that though 20ish people took applications, 5 have decided not to do the program. Hello, better odds! He and I seem to have similar philosophies when it comes to balancing priorities, and it was encouraging to talk with someone else about it. Applications were due today- hopefully I'll hear soon about an interview!