This is my first post on this board, which I found on a web search. I hope no one minds, but I am not a nurse, my husband is. However, he is the type who rarely will ask for help and tries so hard to be strong, but it is wearing him down and affecting his mental and physical health. So in desperation I am turning to people in his field, who from my own experience I know are wonderful and caring and will understand our dilemma.
Jim has been an agency nurse for over 3 years. He had signed on with several and finally settled with one which sent him consistently to a NJ state hospital at an excellent hourly rate ($25-28 hr). The pay he receives is important because I am disabled and just get a measly disability check which a mouse could barely live on. He worked at one hospital as agency fill in for over 3 1/2 years and we were just starting to get back on our feet, even though we had to declare bankruptcy due, among other things, to my medical expenses.
To make a long story short, our wonderful Governor has decreed that all "unnecessary expenses" be cut. This meant that state hospitals are not to use any agency nurses anymore, and so in reality this means Jim has lost his job. The hospital loved him and tried to keep him but it is impossible. And what nursing shortage? Here in our area of the state there are 1) no agency jobs even though he is signed up with 2 other agencies and 2) few regular nursing jobs and if there are any the pay is pitiful ($11.00/hr.). I used to make that amount as a Senior Clerk Typist! We live very frugally but even that amount would barely sustain us. New Jersey has an extremely high cost of living, and I'm sure all of you LPNs out there realize that your pay in no way is in line with all your hard work and knowledge that you possess. In fact, it's a disgrace. You save people's lives while risking your own and are paid less then a junior accountant--but that's another story.
I am writing especially because my husband is so depressed over this. He feels like a failure although none of this is his fault. We sold my old car and are depending on a 14 yr. old truck that is barely holding together. He has been a nurse over 30 years and to have this happen is ruining him. We lost our home in the bankruptcy and want to someday own another before it is too late and this certainly isn't helping.
He has no desire to become an RN as he's pretty burned out and after this sudden shock just before the holidays is pretty disgusted by the whole business. He's getting unemployment (when there's supposed to be a shortage!) and of course our relatives are throwing this supposed shortage in his face all the time like he just doesn't want to work. Adding more guilt, of course.
Guess I just had to vent and felt that other nurses would probably understand his feelings better then anyone else. It breaks my heart to see him so sad and also to see this happen to a career which has spanned so many years during which he has saved a number of lives and has also comforted the dying and also helped people survive devastating injuries.
If anyone has gone through this or has any suggestions that I might be able to pass onto him, please post. As I said, he is somewhat shy about discussing his problems with others so I have taken it upon myself to try and help him. You know how some men just clam up and keep everything inside, which is not good and can lead to physical illness. I have re-read my post but if there are grammatical errors or phrases that don't make sense please excuse me but part of my conditions involve both memory loss and the inability to express myself properly. At any rate, thank you for reading this and bless you all for the wonderful work you do.
P.S. Maybe I can get him to eventually register and start posting under the various topics here as it would be good therapy for him. In the meantime, this will be our secret and any ideas will be welcomed!
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