[RetiredTooSoon]

Originally Posted by Chaoticdreams33

A patient recently hung himself In a CT hospital. Could lack of adequate staffing have anything to do with this?
It is scary and unsafe, and happens all too often. What will we as nurses do to make changes to keep everyone safe?

A psych patient here was murdered in his bed by his roommate. The victim had been brought in for a psychotic episode, but was doing better and was quite calm and docile-not sure what his roommate's reason for admission was or what the staffing ratio was.

[RNKittyKat]

It's gotten so bad that nurses are being mandated to work 16 hour shifts that usually run to more like 17. That same mandated nurse gets to go home to sleep for four hours and show up for her next shift 7 hours later. Our assistant managers have picked up as much slack as they can without dropping dead themselves.

I'm thinking of retiring early. Very early. This may be my last year guys. I just don't think I can cut it much longer. It's not just psych. The current culture permeates throughout the profession. I wonder what the average length of service is for nurses before they too hang up their license.

[nh4runner]

My goodness , I guess nursing on a gero psych unit and having 2 aides and 1 RN isn't so bad! (for 6 very disoriented, aggressive pts)

[inthesky]

Originally Posted by RetiredTooSoon

A psych patient here was murdered in his bed by his roommate. The victim had been brought in for a psychotic episode, but was doing better and was quite calm and docile-not sure what his roommate's reason for admission was or what the staffing ratio was.

TERRIFYING!!!!!!!! poor guy.. he checked himself in to be kept safe =(. I feel so much responsibility for my patients. They trust us to keep them safe!!! I don't know how I could handle that if he were my patient.

Very thankfully, In Arizona, mandatory overtime and mandatory 16 hour shifts are illegal!!! I don't like the nursing culture either. Nurses are truly expected to sacrifice themselves to the point of self-abuse!!! Most nurses I know (including me) don't always even take a lunch during a 12 hr shift!!!

Take care, RNKittyKat,
you only have one life to enjoy <3

[RetiredTooSoon]

Originally Posted by inthesky

TERRIFYING!!!!!!!! poor guy.. he checked himself in to be kept safe =(. I feel so much responsibility for my patients. They trust us to keep them safe!!! I don't know how I could handle that if he were my patient.

I can't imagine how the staff must have felt in that case-they're going to be double and triple guessing themselves for a long time.

I had a patient die by suicide while in hospital. I'd warned the other nurses repeatedly that he was at risk to self-harm, but I still felt awful. I wanted to call in security for a 1:1 or speak to his MD, but on that unit, everythign had to go through the RN and nothing happened. Either that, or else the patient told me of his wishes but denied them to the doctor and RNs-I don't know which.

I still sometimes second guess the last day or two that I cared for him, wondering if I could have done things differently, even though it's been 12 years, so I don't doubt that those psych nurses are going to be doing a lot of wondering and self-searching for a long time.

[RNdaze]

Originally Posted by inthesky

Most nurses I know (including me) don't always even take a lunch during a 12 hr shift!!!

Lunch break? What's that and why didn't anyone tell me about it?!?!

I recently heard that a fellow RN filled out the form that you are "supposed" to fill out if you work through a meal and/or breaks (since this time is deducted from your paycheck) and the supervisor refused to sign it.

But, hey, when I'm the only RN on a unit, I can't leave anyway. Someday .... well, one can dream.

[aloevera]

No, we generally do not do lunch either, but if on the rare occasion that the day is running smooth, while the majority of the pts. are in the cafe I always try to tell the other RN to get off the unit for 1/2 hr. they really do appreciate it and she will do the same for me.....this is
when we have 2 RN's on the unit...sometimes there are just one also.

You have to have a little time to recharge your batteries on a 12 hr. shift !!

[aloevera]

RNdaze----that supervisor should be reported....I always signed the "unit too busy for lunch break" sheet when I was supervisor....I even took them to the nurses to fill out when they did not think about it...
That is just horrible that she would not sign....must be more to it than you know....maybe told not to by higher ups, who knows??