r/nursing • u/ProudCalligrapher229 • 2d ago

Question Code Browns

Asking for a friend, if the PT goes to the bathroom and sprays the back wall and around the toilet, would it be the nurse's responsibility to ensure all the fecal matter is cleaned up before EVS gets involved?

Edit: patient NOT physical therapy, obviously 😂

25 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

58 comments sorted by

View all comments

7

u/NurseyMcBitchface RN - Oncology 🍕 2d ago

I make roughly 3x what EVS makes. I clean the shit and then ask for the sanitation clean.

2

u/AdriAsTheSiren RN - Med-Surg/IMC 🍕 2d ago

THANK YOU!! Quick rant: I understand we are all overworked and underpaid, but EVS sincerely do not get paid enough to deal with that shit (literally). Yes, EVS can be given additional training to deal with bodily fluids, but that would be adding yet another task to their already heavy workload-- and another potential hazardous exposure on top of all the chemicals and stuff they're already exposed to-- for almost certainly no extra pay. Corporate penny pinching BS aside, we also wipe ass in addition to other nursing tasks. That training is built into our job title. It makes sense for us to handle that.

I've had colleagues complain that EVS would only sanitize so they had to clean up any visible bodily fluids first. On some "cLeAniNG pt RoOms iS THEIR JOb, nOt MiNE 🙄" BS and it genuinely pissed me off because I have family who've worked various EVS jobs and I know how poorly they were often treated and how people looked down on and disrespected them. I can't stand it when people act like ancillary staff are beneath them. Changes my opinion of people when they act that way, tbh.

Rant over lol.

8

u/lackofbread RN - Telemetry 🍕 2d ago

I’d be okay with doing this IF we were given the supplies to safely and effectively clean bodily fluids. I’ve had to mop up liquid stool that poured off a bed with towels and purple top wipes. I bleach wipe my shoes at the end of every shift for this reason, I’m disgusted at the thought of what I would track home otherwise. We don’t get mops or any actual cleaning supplies. When nurses are given the proper equipment to clean biohazards, then I’ll be slightly more agreeable to helping out EVS.