War is coming and the lines have been drawn. Management says we need to cut payroll. Flex people off. We are being looked at by "Corporate" for low numbers and high payroll. I work in a hospital in a very very depressed area. Most patients are medicare and medicaid if any ins. at all. I work in outpt surgery area and Endoscopy area. 5 yrs ago a nurse had 3 pts to check in for surgery and take back postop. Some went to recovery if general anesthesia used and others returned to out patient surgery if IVM anesthesia. This week they want 5 patients per nurse. Nurses are angry, upset and saying that is not safe and they dont feel safe! Trying to check in two pts due at 615 to get ready for surgery at 715. Taking your postop pts back while trying to check in more preop pts. Its horrible. Supervisor for area ready to quit and so are the others. But it was made VERY clear in the staff meeting (first in months) that $$$ is the deciding factor. Too much payroll for the "numbers". Bottom line, cut payroll.
CAN THE NURSES REFUSE THE ASSIGNMENT? Would they be fired, written up because they dont feel safe, because they are not giving pts (preop and postop) the attention both types of pts need??
Example: be checking in a 10am pt and have a ivm postop pt come back directly to you with nausea, pain of 8 then have a postop pt come within 20 min of last postop doing fine - already have had a postop pt waiting to be discharged--and another preop patient expected to arrive within 45min.
Whispers of a walkout or going around. Whispers of people looking for another job but very few can do that since the next closest hospital is 40 min away and owned by same company. Next closest is 1 hr away in different state or 1 1/2 hr same state.
This post condensed down so not to take up so much of your reading time. Thanks for the forum.