tech rant

[sullidog]

The past couple days they've been given me a tech who is soooo slow! She can't multitask or something! Also when she sticks me she goes too deep and so deep that it hurts bad! I have had this tech in the past and have requested not to have her, but they still give me to her! The other day another patient and I got done at the same time. Instead of doing one patient at a time she'd return me, go to the other patient, come back to me to disconnect my tubing, then go back to the other patient, while she is doing this my tubing is disconnected, needles still in me, and further more, the needles are uncapped leaving the needles open to the air for jerms or whatever for about 10 minutes, then finally she pulls them then leaves me again to go back to the other patient, anyone else know a tech like this? Is it a risk to leave my needles uncapped?

[PatDowns]

1) Learn to stick yourself then you will not have to depend on getting a "bad" tech for cannulation.

2) If you will not stick yourself, for whatever reason, then don't allow someone who isn't that good to do so.  Stand up for yourself.  Potential problem though, one day no one will be on your shift that you consider good.  Then what?  Which leads to....

3) How about helping the tech to get the stick right?  Which technique do you use on your fistula - rope ladder or buttonhole?  Explain the curves, depths, bad spots, etc. of your access to her.  Pick the spots you want to use that day.  Also, you can still help out by doing the prep on your arm.

4) There is nothing inherently wrong with the way your tech handles taking 2 people off at the same time (problem seems to be that your FA has cut staff to bare bones).  It is being done in a methodical manner (exhibiting good multi-tasking ability). 

5) As far as the tech not capping the needles, have you asked her to do so?  All she has to do is use the caps from  the short arterial and venous infusion lines at the time of disconnecting your blood lines.  This should be routine procedure to prevent contamination.  Let your FA know it is not being done.

6) OK, what if the tech did decide to take one patient off at a time.  Would you be OK if the other patient was finished up before yourself?  Or, is this more about you wanting to be taken care of first?

7) Better yet, tell the tech to go ahead and take care of the other patient and that you don't mind gettimg a few extra minutes of treatment in.  Just have the UF turned off.  Never hurts to get in more dialysis time.

 

[sullidog]

I am blind so sticking myself is out of the question, but I wish I could, but maybe there's still a way? No, I was more concerned about her not capping the lines while taking care of the other patient. I understand that I'm not the only one that needs to be worked on.
We do the rope technique it looks deeper then it really is. It's had about 9 revisions done on it.