How can I communicate with a non-nurse patient scheduler, who schedules patients for 16 nurses but does a crappy job? I’ve spoke to her a few times to show her things/make life easier for her, but I’ve overwhelmed her/made her cry.(I was reprimanded)
Talk to whoever is a nurse above her. They should help her with nursing assignments.
"Crappy" does not explain the situation. Crappy in what way? You did not mention why you were reprimanded. So correct me if I am wrong, but the answer lies in who she answers to. If this is out of your scope to communicate directly with her, then find out who "is" her supervisor and go through the proper channels. She sounds overwhelmed, and under trained. Also, have a chat with your supervisor to voice your concerns about the schedule...So, are you talking about "the schedule": days off or # of patients assigned? This question is not clear.
It might help to show it to her in an objective type of way. If there's an issue with the number of patients that are getting scheduled per nurse, maybe using math, such as "x number of patients per nurse=x number of minutes able to be given to each patient per hour" and then giving her a sheet which breaks down the typical time a nursing task takes (10 minutes for med pass, 15-20 for toileting, etc) so that she can see how unrealistic giving too many patients might be.
If your unit uses acuity sheets or formulas, perhaps she can be taught how to read/use these sheets in her own scheduling so that she can provide more balanced assignments based on patient load rather than numbers or something arbitrary. Maybe the charge nurse can do a quick in-service with her to show her how she assigns patients during the shift, and what system she uses to hand out admissions.
I do agree that it might help to talk with her superior, but these are some solutions you can implement at your level. She might be in a situation where she's being given 1% training and is expected to turn around and provide 100% productivity without any true guidance. This isn't your job by any means, but realistically we all know how horrible these healthcare systems can be at well...everything. We're all part of the same team, so we gotta try to help one another where we can, right? Well, except for JCAHO and nursing administration. They can suck it lol.
Hope everything works out! :)
