Had a general Nursing Meeting where it was again announced that there would be less floor staff and greater pt. loads. Was told that our nurse to pt. ratios were the highest in the area and they are planning on cutting this....at the floor level.
So where do these more than adaquate numbers come from?
Our facility provides R.N.'s and secretaries to visiting O.P. clinic docs....I'm finding other facilities do not as the docs bring their own.
Our LPN's are used as unit secretaries, and computer entry people for projects such as Cimro. They also fill-in as schedulers when needed.
We've hired a few aides that appear on the nursing schedule but then are pulled to work housekeeping, laundry, and as pt. guides as our facility is far-flung with confusing hallways due to multiple additions through the yrs. They meet people at admissions and guide them to their clinic setting and then back-out.
All these people count as Nursing Staff and figure into the over-all per pt. ratios which makes the numbers look tremendous on paper. However, the proportion of staff for each area/department is not counted as the requirement isn't legally there.
Consequently, the floor is chronically understaffed and an ugly, killer place to work.
The core floor staff is exhausted and disheartened. Lord knows we've tried. We've used the chain of command and asked repeatedly for staffing needs and staffing reviews. The result as stated above is that the floor is just going to get worse. Basically my interpretation is, "Can't cut the muster? Get out."
Well, that's where several of us are at. I want to go now while I have a smidgen of a sense of adventure and a tad bit of energy to go for it. Unless I do, I will literally die due to the stress and the constant run, run, run each and every shift. Working full-time that is each and every day. Not to mention the awful feeling of not having provided well for the pt.
I'm at the place of, "Trust God. Trust your gut."
I know the facility will go on with or without me. My concern is will I go on?
I have a need to hear the experiences of Nurses that have had to bail a rotten situation and then went on to bigger and better things.
Throwing in the towel
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because there was a "glut" of nurses. After 5 years of increasing acutity, decreasing staff and increasing responsiblity, I burnt out. More like flamed. I was scanning for bookstore jobs. No body dies if their book doesn't arrive on time. Anyway I left med/surg for NICU and loved it. Then I traveled for a few years and finally settled in the southeast. The best decision I ever made was leaving when I did. I have the life I have now because God gave me the courage to leave an unhealthy job situation.
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