why does medsurg nursing have to be like this?

ShayRN · Sep 6, 2011

I learned very early on that if you need help in nursing, you need to ask for it. If you are overwhelmed, ask, ask, ask. Could you please do my med pass? Could you please check on the patients in 2 and 4, I haven't seen them in 4 hours. You can't do it all, you simply cannot!

martymoose, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2011

Its much worse than a manual labor cause not only your physically drained out, but mentally and emotionally as well.

oh goodlord what i wouldnt give now to have my old manufacturing job back. Im finding ill be a cripple either way, but at least i dont need a license to make parts.

I do wonder if op is having the same problem as I do in that the "company" is pushing the customer service thing. As previous poster said about making priorities- well of course that is the "right " way to do things. But since there is so much focus on the customer is right, etc, teh customer doesnt want to hear rthey have to " take a number" see what I mean? thats where it adds even more stress to the job.With this job climate, do I really want to be wrote up for providing bad customer service, and possibly lose my job over that, or do i want to lose my license,m and therefore my job, because i missed something really important because i was too busy with customner service bullhockey.

Dude- I totally see where you are coming from. To those who wonder why theres charting to be done 2 hrs after shift- well its because untill you are off the clock is the only time you will not be bothered for customer service requests and can actually physically press any keys on a keyboard or write in a chart.

THAT"S HOW MUCH OUT OF CONTROL THIS CUSTOMER SERVICE STUFF HAS GOTTEN!!!!!

FLmomof5 · Sep 6, 2011

I think the only solution is to force our administrators to do our jobs for 1 day. It is the ONLY way they can see what is truly involved and when THEY have to make the decision to handle that critical patient and ignore the demands of that ungrateful patient/family member.....maybe then and only then will they see the futility of their "customer service" mantra. :cool:

nyrn5125 · Sep 6, 2011

yeah the customer service thing is getting bad. Nursing is not the same as making a burger the way you like it. Oh your on bedrest, your demanding to get out of bed and your'e in NSVT and you need a bolus of Lido.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't explain away safety and that no you can't give mom a sandwhich with dysphagia and an NGT. So you don't have to ask me in 5 minutes if she can have some ice cream cause it's her favorite and she keeps asking for it

hecallsmeDuchess · Sep 6, 2011

@Stargazer, I'm not the OP but at my place of work, the person that gets attended to first is the person who is most likely to raise a stink and give the hospital bad PR. And the people who do this are usually not critical, they need blankets, water, ice, pillows fluffed, etc, and they always need this when another pt in another room is tanking. I used to naively think the priority was the sickest pt until I was set straight by the customer service police--the day that happened is still the lowest point of my short nursing career.

@OP, I've been there and I wish I had a solution but I all I can say is don't let them drive you insane...

TriathlonRN · Sep 6, 2011

Is going to nights a possibility? I've worked both days and nights in med/surg and it literally is two different worlds. At nights there are times where it is crazy but much, much less than during the day. Plus there is a span of down time that you can catch up....even if its just an hour of the 12 that gives you some time to catch up and chart.

During the day there is so many other people to juggle on top of the pt and family as previous posters have mentioned i.e. therapists, casemanagers, pharmacy, imaging, new MD consults, and new orders all throughout the day from all the MD's on the case. Thats not including looking for the chart and waiting for missing meds. It never ends!

I feel your pain and frustration and I too agree that we as nurses need to learn to reach out and ask for help when it gets overwhelming. If I see that my fellow staff nurses are too busy, I reach out to my charge and ask for help! I think it also lets the charge know that maybe the assignment should have or needs to be split up d/t the acuity of the pt(s).

I hope it gets better for you.

enchantmentdis, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2011

i got off work today 2 hours past my clock out time to chart. I am so burned out. I was literally on my feet the whole entire 12 hour shift. Doing this doing that. call lights here call light there. Family complains, md orders, blah blah blah. Seriously, I feel sorry for myself for becoming a nurse. In school, I have 3.7 GPA. Since I started nursing, I feel like I wasted all all this to become a CERTIFIED, GLORIFIED MAID for the patient and MDs. I should have taken a degree on something where I will feel appreciated and respected. Not like working my a*s off and not getting something back in return. Whenever I see student nurses in our unit, esp in private schools, I feel sorry for them cause they have no idea what they're getting into (plus all that school loans they have to pay for). If I could only take back time, I wish I have taken a different route than nursing. I didn't know then thats why im here and i hate it.
PS: If only the economy is better, I would have quit nursing and get a lower paying job that i can say im truly happy. Sucks!

Amen to everything you said. Tell it like it is. Honey, i stayed in med-surg tele for over 15 years, and you know what, since day ONE of stepping on the nursing floor i felt like nurses were treated like absolute garbage, and i despised every second of it. It paid the bills though. But i only wish i had gotten out sooner. For some reason, back then, i just didn't want to disrupt my family by taking another job, didn't want to commute, thought it would be just as bad wherever i went; and strangely, i stayed because i thought the manager i hated would find another position or just die. :eek: Lol. Well, that never happened, and i felt trapped for 15 years. Now, i'm doing hospice and the stress level is 1000 times better. The manager i loathed is still there, however, and i routinely bump into other nurses in grocery stores, etc, who shudder, faces contorted, eyes bugged out, seething with anger and hatred when ever i mention that manager's name. If i bump into the manager anywhere i will pretend i don't recognize her. :lol2:

enchantmentdis, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2011

To the OP: Hang in there, but consider these alternative careers---outpatient surgery, endoscopy, urgent care centers, telephonic/triage nursing, chemo clinics, school nursing, hospice, home health, plastic surgery clinics, cardiac cath labs--all after you have a few years of nursing under your belt, of course. Just don't stay too long in med surg. That will make you bitter.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 6, 2011

oh goodlord what i wouldnt give now to have my old manufacturing job back. im finding ill be a cripple either way, but at least i dont need a license to make parts.
i do wonder if op is having the same problem as i do in that the "company" is pushing the customer service thing. as previous poster said about making priorities- well of course that is the "right " way to do things. but since there is so much focus on the customer is right, etc, teh customer doesnt want to hear rthey have to " take a number" see what i mean? thats where it adds even more stress to the job.with this job climate, do i really want to be wrote up for providing bad customer service, and possibly lose my job over that, or do i want to lose my license,m and therefore my job, because i missed something really important because i was too busy with customner service bullhockey.
dude- i totally see where you are coming from. to those who wonder why theres charting to be done 2 hrs after shift- well its because untill you are off the clock is the only time you will not be bothered for customer service requests and can actually physically press any keys on a keyboard or write in a chart.
that"s how much out of control this customer service stuff has gotten!!!!!

i've been around a while (lol), but did have to deal with the customer service crap beginning in the late 90s (when it really took hold where i was working).... and this post made it more cohesive in terms of the whole problem (thank you- jrwest! :up: )

the comment about "take a number" is so very much a part of the whole customer mind set- i'd completely forgotten about it ( the take a number part- nobody can forget the whole customer service cram-down-your-throat bs... :barf02: )!! you are so right about the customer service angle to healthcare....where it is so inappropriate, and actually dangerous.

this might be a way to go about getting some changes. maybe. not gonna be fixed today- but it's a place to start. :idea:

if there is some way to educate the public about the dangers of looking at healthcare as some sort of concierge service, and that their expectations of having a "pleasant customer experience" (gag) are not only unrealistic, but a detriment to good care, there may be a way to put a dent in the whole press-ganey-is-our-god mentality (whether or not lay people know what that is).

yes- we all want happy patients and families, but not at the expense of someone getting the best possible physical outcome of their hospitalization/ltc stay. the whole pg thing is demoralizing and reduces nursing (and other departments, but we all know that nursing gets at least their share of the grief over it) to gerbils on a wheel.

something people can do - anonymously- is write letters about this to the media, the ceos, nms, state nursing associations, etc. but do it under the radar. and often. make someone notice because of the sheer volume of statements. if you can safely get petitions, do them (but the media is the key, imo).

the middle management folks (nms, dons, etc- depending on the type of facility) are often times stuck as much as the folks on the floor- they still have the bean counters dictating to the ceo/coos- so the middle folks aren't the real "targets"... aim for those who can actually do something.... the "customer". if they know what is being compromised by their inane requests for another sugar for their 14th cup of coffee that shift, it'd be a start.

back in the dinosaur days, (and this may be a big part of the division- perceived or otherwise- between the old ducks like myself, and the newer nurses), patients and families were focused on getting uncle boo boo healthy and home... now it's about looking deep and wide where uncle boo boo might have a lawsuit, and "could you send my laundry out" type nonsense. pg is ruining healthcare (along with the lawsuit-happy mentality....every time someone sues over something that is on the informed consent or side effect list, your salary freezes, your new equipment order is cancelled; obviously gross negligence needs to be dealt with). :twocents:

i learned something today (even if just putting things i knew into a different light), so it that is always a good thing :):heartbeat

nurseinstead12 · Sep 6, 2011

i think you should continue doing nursing job even if there is economy boom.I like nursing job.

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2011

@Stargazer, I'm not the OP but at my place of work, the person that gets attended to first is the person who is most likely to raise a stink and give the hospital bad PR. And the people who do this are usually not critical, they need blankets, water, ice, pillows fluffed, etc, and they always need this when another pt in another room is tanking.

No accredited healthcare institution can make this a policy. They can pressure you to think this way, they can try to create a culture of "customer service", but it cannot be enforced.

Can you imagine the kind of PR the place would get if they fired a nurse because Mrs. Jones complained that it took too long to get her iced tea, because the nurse was in with Mrs. Smith, who was getting ready to code? There's no way they'd be stupid enough to fire you for something like that. If they did, they'd have a whistle blower on their hands (at least, I would certainly hope so!).

But you can sure as heck bet that if you failed to rescue Mrs. Smith because you were too busy fluffing Mrs. Jones' pillows so she wouldn't raise a stink, your employer would leave you hanging out to dry.

No matter what kind of culture they are promoting, you do what you know is right. Don't even bother replying that I just don't understand, it's not that simple, because yes, it is that simple.

They cannot force you to buy into the customer service BS. Yes, be nice to your patients and their loved ones. Do what you can to make them comfortable. But ultimately, patient safety is the first priority, no matter what the "customer service police" want you to think.

mikesinger · Sep 6, 2011

I really, really hope you have the guts to leave nursing and are not just venting. I work with too many nurses like you, who hate their work, who are always complaining about the patient, the family, the mean doctor, the aide who isn't helping enough or not right there so you have to get off your own behind, of the other nurses/shifts who leave you stuff to do. Your whiny type makes for a long and frustrating day. I'm betting many of your coworkers look at who is on that day and are depressed from seeing your name, especially if you're down the same hall. Please- find another job, or go work an office for some doctor. Acute care needs better people, people who don't reminisce about their GPA. Wow actual work is more than reading Beowulf, who knew.