Throughout the recession, workers have repeatedly been asked to take on increased hours and additional job duties, as employers try to squeeze as much productivity out of as small of a workforce as they possibly can. The health care industry is no different, especially in public hospitals and medical centers like those associated with colleges and universities. One Tennessee hospital believes it has found a new place to make a budget cut – make the nurses do patient room cleaning on top of their regular care rounds.

According to the Channel 4 I Team in Nashville, Vanderbilt University Medical Center has informed the nursing staff that they will be responsible for cleaning patient areas as well as their standard duties.

‘Cleaning the room after the case, including pulling your trash and mopping the floor, are all infection-prevention strategies. And it’s all nursing, and it’s all surgical tech. You may not believe that, but even Florence Nightingale knew that was true,