I am officially broken. Vent. - Page 3

Sounds like my week. LOL Then I ran into my Aunt and she told me about the huge bonus the doctor friend of hers just got and I only get a 2% raise.

I think you probably need more than a sick day. If what you describe is a typical night you should start looking for something else IMMEDIATELY. Knowing that you're not going to be there for much longer can provide some peace of mind when things go crazy. I also can't stress enough DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!!!! C.Y.A, because it sounds like your supervisors and facility would not have a problem hanging you out to dry if/when something bad happens.

There is no nursing shortage. There is a staffing shortage. Hospitals are doing this to make more money. It is at the expense of safe working conditions for nurses and at the expense of safe care for the patients. Believe me, while your hospital is crying poor, they're still giving bonuses to the CEO.

Finding another position elsewhere may not solve your problems, because this is a trend that seems to be widespread and growing right now. It may be that the only way to get away from it is to get out of the hospital environment altogether; an infusion clinic, dialysis, hospice, home health, urgent care, endoscopy clinic, or something NOT in the hospital might be a little better.

I was seeing the same trend in my ED, so I left for a small specialty niche. It's with the same company that owns the hospital, but it's an outpatient service, and we actually make lots of money for the company, so they're not looking to cut our staff or downsize us. It reminds me of the Eye of Sauron in the Lord of the Rings. I feel like my department has this cloak of invisibility that prevents the eye from being able to see us.

There is a lot I miss about the acute care environment, and someday I may go back, but not until I see the pendulum swing back the other way. Sadly, I think it's going to take a few sentinel events and wrongful death lawsuits for that to happen.

This is happening in all aspects of healthcare. In my outpt clinic we are about as short staffed as we can be. You cannot provide the patient care that your patients need let alone deserve. Mistakes happen, things get overlooked. Oh yeah and our satisfaction score better be over 95%. HA. NEVER GONNA ******* HAPPEN!!! You can have the biggest smile on your face and use whatever catch phrase they want (it is my pleasure, thank you for your hospitality, etc) but if you don't have the staff to provide any care your not going to get that 95% satisfaction score. Oh and we are going to have to cut your benefits, but the docs/ceo/cfo/cno are still getting their bonuses. It is enought to make your head spin.. I wish you the best of luck. Call in sick and take a day of rest.

I'm new and probably naive to the reality of what is going on. But heck why weren't these folks in restraints?! I am not a fan of em, but the situation sure sounds like "risk for harm to self and others" I trained in a facility that had float CNA's for when there were a lot of confused pt's, it was great. I also trained in a facility where 3/4 people coming through the door were confused and everyone was hogtied to the bed, I spent alot of time on safety checks, releasing and roms. But I was grateful to avoid the above mentioned craziness.

My god, what sort of facility do you work at? I assume a hospital?

I think float CNA's are an excellent idea! Oh yeah, we used to have two aids on a wing, but then they cut it to just one and then when the crazy's act out your SOL! But I know many places don't even staff CNA's on the night shift so things could always be worse!

My heart went out to you missladyrn when I saw the title of your post. Hope you took that day off. My last two day run was the same way, it was horrible. It would have been better if they wouldn't have sent all our CNAs home 3 hours into the shift and sent an RN home because "we can handle it". With 3 bedbound total cares(2 confused and nonverbal and unable to turn) one on q 1 hour golytely through peg tube, my only semi walkie talkie was VERY needy (and at the last room down the hall as far as possible from the supply room and nurses station) and she needed a last minute hibiclens shower right at the busiest time of the morning. Also they tell us they basically disolved the medical records dept and we RNs need to copy our own charts when a patient goes to SNF and when any of our patients are discharged we need to go through each page in the chart and make sure there is a patient label on each page and no staples in the chart because the chart is going to be scanned. I don't have time to do my job and they expect this too? They said the CNO of the hospital was "upset" by this news but will anything change? Nope. And in the same breath they talk about patient satisfaction scores and to use the slogans, blah...blah..My stomach has been flip floppy, I notice I am losing more hair in the shower than I usually do. Yesterday I decided it is time for a change. Something other than bedside nursing and I am doing research today. I work this weekend and hope it is better. Wishing well for you missladyrn and all else who feel our pain

This is exactly why I left the floor and went to the unit. The unit is tough, but you can get an order for anything (basically) that will help keep your patient alive/safe. I worked on a geriatric unit, and I have had so many horror stories. You are not alone! Don't get discouraged, but do take a mental health day. You will be useless to your patients if you are sleep-deprived and stressed. I've only been in my current position for 6-7 months and I've taken a mental health day. We all deserve them. Hugs to you, fellow RN.

Been there, done that, have the grey hair and wrinkles to prove it. I agree, take a sick day. Mental health is just as important as physical health (if not more than).