Amarillo Hospitals Question

HollyHobby · Feb 27, 2010

BSA is a not-for-profit hospital (the main difference is they don't pay taxes); Northwest used to be publicly owned but is now part of a chain of for-profit hospitals.

Northwest is a teaching hospital. However, the residents/interns are beastly to work with. I have been physically and verbally threatened by them too. I have not been personally hit, but I have had doctors raise their fists to me and threaten to hit me, for example when my patient's potassium was 2.7.

I started at Northwest as a new grad and worked there for a total of 7 years or so, in ICU. Supplies are very limited; for example, the hospital does not provide soap for the patients so if you work there you will need to bring a "bath bag" of supplies you purchase yourself. I also once got shrieked at by a doctor and written up because the hospital ran out of SCD pumps. Gang activity is common in the ICU; the opposing gang members will try to "finish the job" on you and your patients, so don't try to walk to your car alone. Also check your patient's belongings for weapons.

You are not given a lunch break, but the hospital will deduct 1/2 hour for the lunch break you didn't take. It is possible to clock "no lunch" but then your charge nurse (who has a full patient load too) will be written up, and if you try this trick often, you will be disciplined too.

The doctors in Amarillo are allowed and perhaps even encouraged to verbally and sometimes physically abuse the nurses. I know one doctor who punched a nurse in the face and was not disciplined for it. Our unit had a policy whereby other nurses were allowed to stand by silently while a nurse was being screamed at, but no one was ever, ever allowed to speak or that nurse would be written up. You can expect to have charts, scalpels, and even (in one memorable case) a bloody stump thrown at you. (The same doctors work at both BSA and Northwest, so one place is about as bad as the other.)

Management will not back you up. When my mother had a massive MI (in Illinois) I was not allowed to take a day off. Vacations must be scheduled at least a year in advance. I know one nurse who scheduled a day off a year and a half in advance, and it was declined. I was not allowed to take a day off for my son's surgery.

My starting pay was $10 per hour. I eventually worked my way up to $19 per hour with 7 years ICU experience. I am happy to say that I am soooo far away from there, earning enough to make a living, and working with doctors who are not allowed to hit me. It's amazing how much better it is to work somewhere else, and if I had to go back to Amarillo, I would kill myself. I'm not saying that to be dramatic: I would honestly kill myself before I went back there.

Bless your heart! I pity you!

twentytenRN · Feb 27, 2010

The doctors in Amarillo are allowed and perhaps even encouraged to verbally and sometimes physically abuse the nurses. I know one doctor who punched a nurse in the face and was not disciplined for it. Our unit had a policy whereby other nurses were allowed to stand by silently while a nurse was being screamed at, but no one was ever, ever allowed to speak or that nurse would be written up. You can expect to have charts, scalpels, and even (in one memorable case) a bloody stump thrown at you. (The same doctors work at both BSA and Northwest, so one place is about as bad as the other.)

:eek:

I would NEVER work under these conditions!!! :devil:

HollyHobby · Feb 27, 2010

Whenever I'm tempted to complain about where I work now, I take a moment and remember how awesome my hospital is here. And on my very worst days, I say to myself, "Thank God I'm not in Amarillo!" That always makes me feel much better.