Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Has anyone worked in the Hospital before?

lynn's Cavies

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 4, 2006
Posts
294
Joined
Jun 4, 2006
Messages
294
Hi all,

I am wondering if anyone has worked in a Hospital before?

I'm starting a new job there as a Housekeeping Aide and any advice would be lovely. I'm rather nervous as this is the first time I've worked in the Medical field. I'm also very nervous and worried about the high turnover rate. B.C. has privatized this particular job and contracted out positions, so I am not in the Union. It is my goal to eventually be hired by the Union and I have submitted my application.

I thought even though this job is not union it would be a good chance to see how the hospital functions and the environment to see if it really is where I'd like to work. I'm planning to go back to school in September and take the Hospital Unit Clerk Program. But before doing this I thought this would be good to get a feel for working in the hospital.

Does anyone have any advice or knowledge...or anything to help?

I would really appreciate some feedback. This is a huge career change for me as I used to work in Accounting. I'm rather scared.

Thanks all!!

Lynn
 

wolfie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Posts
209
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
209
Congratulations on your job! From accounting to a hospital is definitely a big change. I worked as a registered nurse for 20 years in hospitals. I'll try to give you some feedback although it would be more helpful to know what it is that scares you.

If you are concerned about working around patients, remember they are even more scared than you. Just be warm, friendly and smile. The most important rule for you to remember is what to do if they ask you for something or ask you for help (going to the bathroom etc.). If they do so, it is safer for both of you to just offer to call or get a nurse.

This job will certainly give you a good visual idea of how the hospital runs. But in general the housekeeping staff has limited interaction and involvement with other hospital staff and patients. On the other hand, if you become a unit clerk you will be interacting a great deal with nurses, other hospital staff, physicians, patients and families. As a nurse, I can tell you that a hospital floor will not run well without a good unit clerk.

Hope your first day goes well. I look forward to reading about it. If I can help in any way please don't hesitate to ask.
 

Marina_7

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Posts
51
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Messages
51
Congrats on the new job! I hope it goes well for you!
I am from BC, Canada too, and am a Cardiology Technologist (do stress tests, ecgs etc) and thus work at a hospital(s).
Honestly, it didnt take too much time to get used to the hospital setting. You just have to think fast and work hard:)
It is really fast-paced, and can be stressful at times. Also, unfortunately there is the "food chain" within the structure- some nurses and doctors can be mean, and rude but you just have to let it go and remember that they probably have had a 12 hour plus day and it is nothing to do with you!

As a hospital is a pretty dirty place (lots of disease etc) it is really important to wash your hands regularly. With warm water and anti-bacterial soap. Make sure you scrub them for atleast 10 seconds and rinse from the top of your hand to your fingers (rinses germs from the cleanest area to the dirtiest.)
If you find your hands are getting really dry, buy alittle tube of scent-free cream and keep in your pocket. Alot of long-time staff dont wash as much as they should cause of over drying, but they are taking a risk. Wash your hands!

Also, make sure that take off your scrubs when you get home. You could be carrying disease and germs on them. I have heard of families of nurses getting the Norfolk virus from their mothers scrubs- pretty scary. I usually wear a new set every day- alot of laundry but it feels cleaner.

Unit Clerks are in really demand right now- that is a really good choice.
The only downside is that the profession is under HSU (which has the 15% wage deduction awhile back.) We cardio techs are under HSA now.
Good luck with your career choices!

And lastly, dont eat the cafeteria food- all hospital food is pretty gross!
 

Slave to the Wheek

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
Posts
681
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
Messages
681
I worked in a small 60 bed hospital about 20 years ago as a housekeeper/janitor. I was the only staff on duty for the graveyard shift so it was pretty quiet. I mostly checked boilers, mopped floors, emptied garbage cans and cleaned up after emergency surgeries and births. It wasn't hard, but it was lonely.

I'm sure the daytime staff had much different jobs in some ways as they had to change beds as well. I would just say to remember that this is "service industry" job. As long as you enjoy doing things for people you will enjoy it.

If it bugs you when people ask you for stupid things, you will come to hate it quickly. People in hospital can also be very upset and have very short tempers. If you can forgive others for sniping at you that helps as well.

I'd say, think of it as a waitress with a broom.
 

lynn's Cavies

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 4, 2006
Posts
294
Joined
Jun 4, 2006
Messages
294
Thanks all for your responses. I totally appreciate them. One of the reasons I really want to be in the Medical field is because I want to help people. The patients don't scare me as I remember what it is like to be one. I want to brighten up their day a bit, even if it is just changing their bedsheets.

I guess what scares me is the food chain part. But I can understand that and empthasize with Nurses who are overworked and stressed. I will try not to take it personally. Also, what scares me is being overworked, because I'm a bit of an underdog in this situation. I am willing to work very hard but I still would like to have some days off to spend with my friends and husband. I just mean the regular 2 days off, but with this job sometimes you have to work more because people call in sick or they are understaffed. But I really need to stop jumping into the future and deal with this one step at a time. And cross that bridge when I need to.

I'm fortunate that the Hospital is only 5 minutes walking distance from me.

Thanks for the tip about scrubs...I never thought about that - transmitting diseases. I will do lots of laundry to keep us safe. I got my immunizations today as well. But I won't be fully vaccinated for Hep B until I get my third shot.

I am pretty good with dealing with people with short fuses as I used to man a 24-hour crisis line for the military around 9/11...so you can imagine the calls, etc. I also used to work in Customer Service and yes unfortunately the public can be pretty nasty and I imagine this would increase ten-fold when people are stressed about health issues. I will try to stick to doing a good job and call in nurses when necessary. It will certainly be a learning curve!

I am excited to start, still abit scared, but I think that is only natural. I will keep you all updated. And thank you so much! Great insight!

Lynn
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

JaneDoe
Replies
1
Views
626
Guinea Pig Papa
Guinea Pig Papa
Extraterrestrial
Replies
11
Views
1K
ItsaZoo
ItsaZoo
Guinepigmom_2.0
Replies
7
Views
3K
LaVitaEBella
LaVitaEBella
Guinepigmom_2.0
Replies
19
Views
5K
Guinepigmom_2.0
Guinepigmom_2.0
Top