Case Study: More Than Cleaning Products, It’s My Job
Mr. Simpson is a very dynamic young licensed practical nurse (LPN) at a large hospital. Frequently, when there is a spill of food or biological fluids, he takes it upon himself to clean it up. It is not uncommon for him to go to the housekeeping closet and get a bottle of cleaner to use for this purpose. This bothered the environmental services staff because they frequently found their cleaning supplies misplaced. They were also concerned that Mr. Simpson may be using the wrong products to clean the spills.
The head of environmental services decides to talk to Mr. Simpson’s supervisor, Ms. Dean, about the matter. It was not clear Mr. Simpson was following the correct procedures to clean the spills. The head of environmental services reminded Ms. Dean that there are specific cleaners and procedures for each type of spill and that these procedures are available in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) manual on the unit. Ms. Dean replied that for small spills of harmless substances it makes sense for the nursing staff to attend to a spill so that it does not become a hazard. The head of environmental services suggests that she and Ms. Dean develop a review class for the nursing staff regarding the institutional policies and procedures for cleaning spills.
Discussion Questions
- What are the issues around Roles/Responsibilities in this case?
- Which Sub-competencies in Roles/Responsibilities were used in this case study? Which ones were not used, but still would have applied to the case study?
- Was the main issue in Roles/Responsibilities resolved? If so, how?
Case Study: More Than Cleaning Products, It’s My Job
Mr. Simpson is a very dynamic young licensed practical nurse (LPN) at a large hospital. Frequently, when there is a spill of food or biological fluids, he takes it upon himself to clean it up. It is not uncommon for him to go to the housekeeping closet and get a bottle of cleaner to use for this purpose. This bothered the environmental services staff because they frequently found their cleaning supplies misplaced. They were also concerned that Mr. Simpson may be using the wrong products to clean the spills.
The head of environmental services decides to talk to Mr. Simpson’s supervisor, Ms. Dean, about the matter. It was not clear Mr. Simpson was following the correct procedures to clean the spills. The head of environmental services reminded Ms. Dean that there are specific cleaners and procedures for each type of spill and that these procedures are available in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) manual on the unit. Ms. Dean replied that for small spills of harmless substances it makes sense for the nursing staff to attend to a spill so that it does not become a hazard. The head of environmental services suggests that she and Ms. Dean develop a review class for the nursing staff regarding the institutional policies and procedures for cleaning spills.
Discussion Questions
- What are the issues around Roles/Responsibilities in this case?
- Which Sub-competencies in Roles/Responsibilities were used in this case study? Which ones were not used, but still would have applied to the case study?
- Was the main issue in Roles/Responsibilities resolved? If so, how?