Simple Solutions

I've found that sometimes it's simple to make tasks easier. My patient's home is small and crowded, and for several years I struggled with turning her wheelchair around in her room, after I'd gotten it from the closet in which it was stashed between uses. One day it hit me--why not BACK the wheelchair down the hallway, and up to her bed? I also back into the room when I take her back to bed, saving myself from having to turn it around again in the very limited space in her room. This had made a tremendous difference in the time, effort, and back ache involved in transfering her several times a day. {I felt rather silly when I told the other nurses about this great discovery, and they replied that they'd been doing this for years!}

SL's mom fixed up a small cart in another room, which contains items for dressing changes, IV flushes and supplies, and other procedures we routinely perform. One day I decided that instead of trying to get all of the supplies to her room, I'd take the whole cart to her room! WOW--what a difference! I didn't have to worry about forgetting anything, and if I dropped something on the floor or needed different or more supplies, they were right there.

What can you do to make your job easier? We all develop our own methods and routines in getting through our days, whether we're nurses, mothers, students, carpenters, or cooks (or fill all of those roles during our day). Think about what you can do to make any job easier.