whistleblowing and living with the after effects

[tera1931]

Ethically I am bound to say something to try and correct pt care and pt safety issues for better pt outcomes. Ethics and abiding by them are really tuff. I'm having difficulty not getting depressed. I love my job. But when an individual comes into the environment and starts changing things around....Hey I'm down with change....but in nursing best practice and all, any changes should be to improve pt outcomes. There should be some thought about the decision. A new Director and increased admissions, we are always to capacity, so why are we cutting nurses and increasing nurse to pt ratio which puts pts at risk. So up the chain of command I go with no responses that weren't just a pat on the head, while pt's are getting hurt due to high nurse to pt ratio. There was absolutely no reason to cut the nurses except unwillingness to fill the slot. None...It couldn't be to improve pt care and safety because it has done the opposite which a blind man could've of seen. Anyway, up the chain with no responses. Decision just except this substandard care and go on and do my best with it or try to get somebody to listen and change it for the better of the patient and their care. I went to the standardizing and regulatory bodies. Now I examine my motives and they were correct but the backlash is great and I am very depressed for I fear I will have to walk away from my job I love. Just trying to cope. Living by an ethical code comes at a price. Fellow nurses have already begun to do the ostracizing thing. Why do nurses do that to each other? RN on an acute psychiatric Unit

[pigginsrn]

Yes it does

[WinterLilac]

I'm sorry to hear you are going through this. What is not clear in your original post is:

1. Did you confer with other nurses about how they are dealing with the pressure? Or did you take on the responsibility of informing 'up the chain of command' without consulting your colleagues and line manager first?

2. Did you have objective documentation to show where the sub-standard care was and why this was occurring? (high nurse to patient ratio for example)

3. Did you report any of your colleagues for substandard care higher up the ladder before taking it to your direct line manager who could have addressed the situation first?

Making serious reports about substandard care particularly further up the chain of command could impact the rapport you have with your immediate colleagues. They could feel betrayed by you or have lost trust in that you didn't speak with them first.

It is clear you have the best interests of the patients at the forefront however this issue sounds like a organisational nightmare and something that needs to be death with by the management.

Talk to your nursing Union about what has occurred, they may be able to offer support and professional advice. Good luck and be strong :)