[VivaLasViejas]

I keep my old Food Stamp ID card for the same reason........everytime I have a bad shift, or just don't feel like going to work, I pull it out to remind myself that it could be (and indeed has been) MUCH worse.

[infinity]

I want to do research and have your opinions as to what makes a good manager-not just any manager but a NURSE manager!!
After thirty some years, all the managers I have had, and my co-workers' opinions, I am thinking we are not trained properly for the managerial position.
What characteristics are needed? What skills do we need?
What can we do to change it?

[kiwit]

in my personal opinion, poor staffing and management both at the same level, had gone its way deep in its attempt and desire into negatively affecting nurses morale in almost all hospital institutions especially where nurses shortage is now a common problem.
But in my hospital, even these two are the very obvious cause to the problem, they seem to be much quieter as compared anywhere else i guess.
because a very serious observation showed results as to how staffing should be followed to bring forth an excellent result and smoother shifts. and they are done and carried out as (this is found effective in my area the ED only) like having the best of the ED nurses to fascilitate shifting schedules meaning the ones wiith the sked of AM, PM,and night. and it means those nurses wiith the highest patient capacity and caring ability would be found to handle the shifts as they are the ones who gets the least of any complaints and they are the ones who even naturedly slow can somehow find time in his shift to be more effecient at trying to handle all of them that came in, in his shift.others are scheduled to fascilitate day to day office hours working time at our opd-er functions.

as others continued to oppose this proven facts, they had only find themselves often caught up as the ones who bring up problem discussions during our monthly area meeting. and the ones who are feared to be put up with the sched. as the ones alone to man the area on a shifting basis. as they will surely make an obvious faults on poor management and staffing ability of our heads.


its true.kiwit

[Tee C]

staffing issues, managemen tproblems lack of recognition all lead to job related stress. I chose job stress. Is there any nurse in here that is not STRESSED OUT.

[stevemartin]

I am an ER nurseand did not come into this profession thinking that it would be easy. I expected job stress and poor staffing some of the time, but I also expected to have fully competent managers that can look out for their people, the patients, and the hospitals bottom line budget equally. I feel like a race horse coming down the home stretch. The DON wants more out of us so they keep hitting us harder with the whip. How much can we take before the horse kicks the DON off and stomps all over them? Please excuse my rant, I'm very frustrated with my upper management. Thanks for letting me vent!

[kitty29]

Jerking around with personal lives....Schedualing issues!!! We reciently went through a staff vote after a review of options and thankgoodness stayed as we are....more or less self-scheduals.

Short staff....as far as people who call in ill consistently....we have some problems with this too...and as everyone gets older I'm sure it'll be worse. We are a closed unit...

Otherwise, I think we all work together well, and some of use have worked together for over 25 years! We have partys and routine lunches....an Great bunch of people!

[medicj]

STAFFING The staffing levels are critical to morale. There are only so many times that we can make due with short staff. I'm talking about 11-15 patients/nurse. When you can't finish on time, management balks at paying your overtime. Mandatory overtime to cover call-offs, scheduling errors etc... it all comes down to staffing levels.

[Jay Levan]

I'm sorry but I've been at this for thirty years and have handled
evry short staffed assignment thrown at me. Usually with a prayer and much luck I have not hit that critical place where you have to choose which patient to save, in a multiple "Code" situation with not enough people to handle two or more Codes at the same time. What really gripes me is that we do not get enough recognition for what we do. We save more patients from harm in a week than Doctors do in a year! We catch the misdirected Orders, the orders that were written by a DR. that was worn out at the end of his day after seeing to many patients him/herself and maybe all of their patients are more or less a blur. A missed decimal here, an errant order there, mistakes are also made when we fail to call a physician late at night for the fear of being ranted at, and berated because the Dr.'s order is not clear and concise. We always see on the News Programs, how important and how maligned Teachers are, and how underpaid and unappreciated our Police and Firefighters are. There are always shows on Oprah, Montel, and any other talk show you may think of that are dedicated to these professions. How many do you see dedicated to our profession. Oh sure, they are beginning to talk about the nursing shortage now. Have you seen any truthful information on why Nursing is in this critical state?? I have not. I have personally looked administrators in the eye, while telling them exactly where they have been ignoring us for at least twenty years. Everyone was led to believe that the nursing shortage of the eighties was essentially solved by the bringing in of foreign nurses and increased enrollment in nursing programs, Bullfeathers! Hospital Administrators have long ignored our pleas for fair treatment, and kept salaries and benefit packages, to the minimum they could get by with, resulting in that statistic of approximately 20% of Licensed Nurses not working in the profession because the recompense does not even get close to compensating us for the risks we take. In concern about being to long winded here I will end my Post here but we all know many more issues can be discussed and should be discussed in regard to the recognition and enlightenment of the general public about what our job is and how much stress is placed on us daily! Oh well that feels better, I really unloaded

[LadyBugRN]

Poor management!
there is no consistency where i work. i am told to do this and do that...but i don't see other nurses doing this or that even though they were told. i think if there is a policy to be implemented it should be across the board and not to be selective. morale is low because of poor management. i also noticed that "i don't care attitude" among nurses because the poor performers are not reprimanded or counseled.

[mjamesRN]

I voted staffing, but there are a myriad of problems in this industry. One thing is the trickle-down effect of ALL departments NOT doing their jobs and the assumption that "someone else will " pick up the slack -- and sadly this includes the physicians.

I also find that the environment is part of the stress. The facility I work in has had air-conditoning problems for years and the units are sweltering hot. I've all but quit due to this complete uncomfortable feeling all day at work.

Management? Hmph! As long as administration keeps greasing the palms of nurse managers with "budget incentives", it doesn't matter how "good" a nurse they may have been -- when the money starts talking, any sense of vocation or advocacy to their employees goes with them on their next paid vacation to Hawaii.