Tech vs. Nurse
I am so sick of dealing with techs who want to tell me how to do my job. Or worse, who think they need to tell me how to do my job “right”. It’s so easy isn’t it to be scrubbed in at the table, focusing literally on the task “at hand”? It must be easy if the tech has time to oversee the job of the nurse and make recommendations.
The tech is gowned, doesn’t have to do anything but prep equipment and hand it off, while the nurse runs around getting and giving meds, dropping supplies, keeping an eye on the monitor, all while attending to the patient on the table.
How many times have I been rounding the corner of the table to reposition the monitors for the spider shot, when the scrub tech says “could you get the monitors?” Well, duh…I swear they say it just to give the impression they’re running the show. The same thing goes for refilling contrast. I’ve literally had one hand on the bottle and the other on the spike when the tech says “I need some contrast here!” Duh.
Why, why, why do they have to play these games? So patronizing. The thing is, I know I don’t know everything. I don’t try to pretend that I do. Nobody can know everything. Well, except for these guys.
I wonder…do other nurses have to deal with the same thing? Or is this just the atmosphere in my lab?
April 13th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Chief, first of all, take a deep breath! I can tell you first hand after working both sides, both jobs are equally important. Do you think the tech would say something about the contrast, if he didn’t need it? And do you think he would say something about the screens, if they were not in the way? Where I work, the techs inject the contrast and the techs move the C-arm. We do mostly radial, so the MD is busy holding the catheter and focusing on the pictures. Did you ever think that the tech may not need to ask for those things, if you were a little more vigilant with your tasks? You may need to re-evaluate your skills or ask your lab manager to address the staffing issues.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I think maybe you missed the point. But thanks for your input! And you’re right…sometimes we just need to take a breath.
April 14th, 2010 at 7:18 am
Hello I have worked in the lab for over 20 years and I’m sorry to hear about your challenges. First, it is not tech vs nurse, you need to work as a team. I would recommend that you speak to your team and communicate your concerns, there is no one job that is more important than the other. I understand your frustration, the best advice I can give you is to talk to them. Good luck, Orlando
April 14th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Thanks for the input, Orlando. I agree that teamwork is vital in any cath lab. But sometimes it seems that the techs feel that they are more important, at least in my lab.