So after working two years in the same ER, I feel as though I'm finally reaching burn-out. I've worked every variation of shifts - all day light, all night turn, weekend only - and nothing seems to make any difference. My coworkers, for the most part, are decent people but a lot of them seem to feel the same way I do. Good people who I have looked up to, with years of experience, are leaving. To replace them, we're hiring people with no experience. We're too inadequately staffed to do things correctly. I'm terrified I'm going to make a mistake that will hurt someone. Last night I had two patients come in almost simultaneously, without prior notification by EMS, in flash pulmonary edema. One stabilized with BiPAP and a nitro drip, and the other with just the nitro but things could have gotten a lot worse easily. I feel like my nurse manager portrays the situation less than accurately to the ED director so he in turn thinks things are peachy keen for nursing. The place is a disaster waiting to happen.
