Is it just me?

[mindlor]

Or is nursing one of a handful of professions where it seems that managements job is to work against us at every turn and plot and plan to make our lives as miserable as possible?

They want good survey scores, then they staff with skeleton crews. The pull newbies from orientation way too soon. They make us go to meetings and talk about survey results and how every negative metric is somehow the fault of the nurses.

Then they are shocked and appalled when employees leave...to the point of being offended....

Its really perplexing to me.....

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

to them as well. Remember, they have bosses too. Event the CEO has to answer to the Board of Directors. It is a business and has to be run like a business, not a charity. You are right, though, it does not always "make sense". Hospitals are being judged by so many governing bodies and some of those base how well the hospital is doing by patient satisfaction. This is not always realistic given the job we do (we hurt people sometimes to help them get better) but we have to play the game or expect lower reimbursement. Tough call

[tokebi]

I actually feel a lot of sympathy for nurse managers. It's a tough job that I would never want. They are stuck in the middle, getting blamed from both above and below at every turn. For example, a unit manager gets blamed for going over the budget, and then on the floor, she sees heaps of dressings, tubings, tapes, etc., that nurses piled up in an isolation room, which will all have to be thrown away. ::sigh::

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

I also, have a heart for management. They have to make tough decisions based upon their own bosses' demands. I especially feel for floor managers, where the :poop: rolls in from all sides.

That said, sometimes they're just plain evil, and delight in power and the exercise thereof. If heads are not rolling, they feel they're not doing their job.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

Management demanding more for less isn't unique to nursing.

And it's more pronounced in such a tight job market.

I agree with others that unit supervisors and DONs and the like are under pressure to squeeze blood from a turnip. If they rebel, they'll just be replaced with an eager go-getter waiting in the wings. We're all in the same boat.

But the CEOs and the like at the top? No, no sympathy for them. They're laughing all the way to the bank as they watch us dance on strings.

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

http://medcitynews.com/2013/10/study-finds-little-correlation-patient-satisfaction-scores-quality-care-hospitals/

My husband recently had surgery - we got one of those questionnaires in the mail and I promptly thru it in the trash. What a bunch of BS questions. I bet the only ones who answer them are those who are incredibly dissatisfied with their care - whether it be legit reason or not.

I have to say I have no desire to be a manager and have to be responsible for answering to those surveys.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

I dont think they are shocked and appalled if we leave- they're like "next..."

[AZ_LPN_8_26_13]

Management demanding more for less isn't unique to nursing.

And it's more pronounced in such a tight job market.

I agree with others that unit supervisors and DONs and the like are under pressure to squeeze blood from a turnip. If they rebel, they'll just be replaced with an eager go-getter waiting in the wings. We're all in the same boat.

But the CEOs and the like at the top? No, no sympathy for them. They're laughing all the way to the bank as they watch us dance on strings.

I agree - what the OP is describing isn't unique to nursing or healthcare. Management always wants more for less. They want more work out of everyone and of course they want it all to cost little or nothing so they come in under budget, and you don't always get the resources you need to do what is asked of you. Nursing is a second profession for me and I've spent many years in the workplace. And I don't really have too high of regard for the position of CEO in a hospital. Maybe in a "regular business" I would - sort of like Steve Jobs of Apple. IMO hospital CEO is probably the highest paid "non-essential" position in a hospital. Just my opinion based on observation.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Interestingly, across the board, nearly all of the survey information regarding ways to "up scores" starts with having a "dynamic and engaged leader". Nearly. Every. One.

Some things DO start at the top. But unfortunetely, the poop rolls downhill....

[JBudd, MSN]

We were told that pts that responded with "good" on their care questions didn't count; it only counted if they said "excellent". And as we all remember from statistics, most people don't like to answer with extremes, so they tend to choose the 2nd highest answer, even if they were satisfied with the care.

So our scores are tied into annual individual evaluations; if the floor as whole doesn't get a high enough aggregate score, your individual eval score is decreased by 10%. "Good" care doesn't count, only "excellent". Which just leads us back to the old baseball saying: there are lies, d*** lies, and statistics.

[AZ_LPN_8_26_13]

Interestingly, across the board, nearly all of the survey information regarding ways to "up scores" starts with having a "dynamic and engaged leader". Nearly. Every. One.

Some things DO start at the top. But unfortunetely, the poop rolls downhill....

Not disagreeing with you there - some things do start at the top.... Just nothing really essential to hospital operation IMHO. Dynamic and engaged - subjective things that are hard to quantify. Most of these surveys I've seen appear like they've been written by PR people or marketing firms......

[tiddles]

yeah - it's amazing that no matter how severe the budget crunch, the CEO always gets his (always a HE) humungo salary and bonus.