Working For A Struggling Hospital In An..

Nurses General Nursing

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under served area is rough.

The public views hospitals as perfect places, where everything is available, staff is abundant, and the hospital administration has their interests as their number one priority.

Unfortunately hospitals and health care has become much more corporate and revenue driven.

Currently at my hospital, administration is only working on driving the numbers up.. more patients in less time regardless of staffing or staff concerns... trying to compete with the big wealthy hospitals in town...you know nothing new.

I haven't heard any plans to improve patient safety yet. Although both nurses and physicians are pushing back.

Working for a struggling little inner-city hospital is no fun. With hospitals collapsing and closing around us and volumes surging ''patient satisfaction'' seems like a joke when you can't even provide a warm meal or pillow for your patients because we don't have anymore or provide privacy beyond a torn and stained curtain.

Over crowded ED's and hospitals are a symptom of a much greater disease. Our healthcare system is an embarrassment for such a wealthy country.

I've worked for swanky institutions and struggling ones in poor under served areas and the differences are night and day. Patients are treated differently, and patient care standards are different too.

The patients are tough and demanding and feel that the hospital and hospital staff ''owe them'' something. A lot of times I feel bad for them because I know deep down the hospitals aren't going to roll out the best for these people many whom are uninsured, poor, and homeless.

I don't regret working in an under served area because someone has to take care of and educate the people, at times it's just seems like a losing battle and you can't please anyone.

There is so much that influences our practice and profession. I stopped believing in the ''goodness'' and ''perfection'' of the hospitals and realize that it is the individual professionals from the housekeeper to the administrator... at least those who care that keep these places running.

Anyway, just venting.

That is so well said :) A really good vent that everyone can relate to.

How are nurses and doctors 'pushing back'? Is it helping, or changing anything, or . . .?

It sounds like your facility was recently 'acquired' and has a new administration or something. What is the Chief Nursing Officer like? Does she make rounds or send chatty emails? We saw ours when the state was breathing down our necks, but in all she was a concerned, professional nurse wearing a suit. Our DON, just 'beneath' the CNO, was our go-to, and also personable, professional and character disorder free :D . I'm wondering cuz even in a struggling little hospital, the quality of your 'superiors' can make all the difference in the world, even if they can't make a lot happen in your day to day.

My latest hospital job was the 'regional' 'good' hospital, the biggest one in a relatively rural area complete with Magnet status years running. Even so, we ran out of pillows all the darn time. It sounds like your facility struggles just to provide the basics and unfortunately, it's been my experience that the underserved can be as entitled and demanding as the swanky VIPs.

What caught my eye about your post most was your last paragraph, where you sort of 'own' yourself as a nurse, and give yourself the credit and respect you deserve, instead of whining about how unfair and how money grubbing the hospital is. Those things are way beyond our control, yet, we are still nurses who need to . . . nurse :)

I just signed on with a staffing company for private duty, and in doing my research, the company has been engaged in multiple lawsuits over the last four or five years for such things as FRAUD (ahem), denying overtime pay to employees, etc. The CEO didn't commit fraud, the regional managers did, in collusion with plenty of staff and even a family member. But you know, what does that have to do with me taking care of a six year old on a vent over night? Not much, as long as they pay me. I can look out for myself, within reason. I'm always learning and always will but my abilities are OK, I trust myself and know what I don't know. So far so good, there's a comprehensive "compliance" program system wide that is adhered to, I know how and what to chart, I know how to do professional boundaries, so what else? What you said is really the bottom line and I think nurses individually would have so much more satisfaction with your attitude. None of us went into the field to be dissatisfied or oppressed by a corporation, we are here to NURSE people and the facility or agency provides us a place to do nursing. It's not our baby sitter or our Mama. Thank gawd.

Yep you have to find a way to look on the bright side. Honestly it's really challenging working bedside these days at any hospital. I can tell me colleagues and even my higher-ups are frustrated but I'm doing my best to keep myself fresh and happy. If that means leaving bedside nursing sooner than I'd hoped then that's what it's going to be.

Mid-level practice here I come.

Thanks for your response, it's good to know we're in this together!

Back in the "90s" , these were the sort of places I working. As for equipment ( sometimes staff) , alot of stuff that would add up to nothing. Like - peanut butter and no jelly. However, I now appreciate where I'm now. Granted , its times this place gets on my nerves. But, so much better than I've been.

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