A question for working nurses

[cherishlpn]

Hi,

I am an LPN and am currently doing pre-reqs for RN. I am doing a paper on "burnout". I have been an LPN for >8 yrs. and have recently had some frustrations while working in the crazy med surg unit of the hospital I'm at. Anyway, I can see some reasons nurses can get burned out on that unit. It would be nice to get a little insight as to why we get burned out and some situations that lead to it. I think understaffing and the nurse/patient ratio contributes to it. Any one have any other ideas? Any ideas or examples would be nice:nuke:coollook:

[CruisingRN]

You hit the nail right on the head!

Staffing Ratios, Patient load are major contributors to burnout.

Nurses are under-appreciated for all the things that we do.

I graduated Nsg school in '96 when there was NO NURSING SHORTAGE... however, high patient load was still the norm- 8 patients on a surgical floor (no aide) with an average of at least half or more returning from surgery on my shift... it was impossible to give blood, do post op vitals, toilet people, walk them, empty drains, reinfuse blood from the constavac, and monitor the CPM machines on knee replacements! And that was just the surface; I felt so horrible at the end of my shift because I couldn't take proper care of my patients. No back rubs, no pm care, no patient education, etc... etc....

It was awful, and forget about dinner or a potty break!

And then of course I hurt my back; that was the end of my hospital nursing career. I said no way; I was 22 with 2 herniated disks so I left the hospital and went somewhere less strenuous.

I've enjoyed all my different ventures, and I love being a nurse. I am happy now where I am, but am trying to do more of my travel work, and less of the nursing.

There's more perks and more money in my part time job, and they treat you better and appreciate your hard work.

Nurse's aren't appreciated mostly; only by patients and their families; not the hospitals or admin... to them we are the grunts.

It's a sad state of affairs; and now with mandatory BSNs on the forefront, you will see less nurses and more unlicensed people doing nursing tasks.

Nurse advocates think they are doing something great by pushing for the mandatory BSN, but really they are just making the shortage worse, and pushing alot of people away from nursing.

And, as I said, there will be many more 'techs' to replace the nurses who can't and won't go into nursing if it requires a BSN. BSN, ADN, or Diploma, a nurse is a nurse; we all take the same test and can do the same tasks.

Those wanting to go into management or a specialty that requires a BSN should be supported; but telling nurses without a BSN that they aren't good enough... it's just plain wrong.

I'm a heck of a nurse, and no amount of elective college classes is going to change that. Give me seminars and pertinent continuing education to help me grow, but don't tell me probability and statistics is what I really need! (i took it for BSN courses... it didn't affect my practice at all- what a waste of time)!

Happy Trails! Happy Sails!

Cruise for a Cause!

[cherishlpn]

Wow! I can't imagine 8 post-op pt.s and NO AIDE!!? That's the kind of situations I'm talking about. On the med surg unit in the hospital I'm at, we have 6 patients, our aides leave the floor for hours at a time and never get fired or anything. The docs are writing STAT and Now orders before we're even finished with report, so assmts are quick to say the least. I know the feeling of leaving thinking that no one recieved good care from you. No time for it, good care, pt education, emotional support, etc. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Your story will definitely be helpful in my paper. I didn't realize that the whole BSN thing was getting so in demand. I only work with a few nurses with their BSN. But you are right, I think more and more nurses will go into management and leave the floors. The feeling of being a failure at your job gets harder and harder to live with.