acuity v/s reality= burnout

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.

:idea:here is something to think about and makes one wonder why there is a high rate of burnout among nurses after a few years.

this is what is happening where i work.

sunday evening shift 7p-7a;

staff 2 rn's. 2 lpn's and 1 pt care tech for 19 pt.

to begin with 1 rn is charge nurse/unit secretary/team-leader.

2 rn is admission nurse/tech for vs and has a one on one pt.

2 lpn's with 8 pts each.

tech all 19 pts.

the night starts like this; one-on-one pt has to be transfered to the unit because of wbc's being over 50,000.00 and septic.

have 5 pts that are geting colon preps, 3 are bed-ridden and incontient.

4 pt's are confused , setting of bed alarms when trying to get out of bed, get out of and end up urinating on the floor because 4 staff memebers are transfering pt to unit and no one is there to help.

i have 8 pts, 6 on strict bedrest due to dvt's pe's and cva's. 1 pt has a hx of being parinoid and is allergic to. ativan, valuim, xanax, haldol, ect. etc, ect and is screaming at the top of her lungs" jesus help me, they are trying to get me, get those evil ones out of her, lord they are coming for me" getting the picture.:o nothing to help calm her due to those darn allergies and by the way she is in chf and getting lasix q 8.

have another pt, 92 yf in with chf, a&o x 4 ,getting

lasix q 6 and refuses a foley and demands every one drops everything and come help her, because her son is on the board of directors at the bank that is helping to fund our new 18mil $ ed that is being built.

once the pt is taken to the unit, wham here goes the fax machine and phone, calling admissions. we get a total of 7 from 11-5:30.:uhoh21:

now how could anyone in their right mind not get burned out over this .:uhoh21:

yet all we ever hear is the good ole number game. you are over staff.:lol2:

just thought i would share some humor and venting at the same time and see if others have to deal with this type of manag mess?:angryfire

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Specializes in LTC, Sub-acute, correctional.

Well, you really had me laughing!! The staffing must be done the same where I work....... look, you have sooooo many nurses for only this many patients.......... which would work real nice if all the patients had only PO meds that they actually took on the first try and that were actually in the med cart, hit the call bell only once a shift, and fed themselves! Thanks for the post, I enjoyed it very much.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.

[.......... which would work real nice if all the patients had only PO meds that they actually took on the first try and that were actually in the med cart, hit the call bell only once a shift, and fed themselves! Thanks for the post, I enjoyed it very much.

:lol2: was glad to add some humor today, have to laugh or else would die from crying so much.

:monkeydance: in the life of a nurse!!

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

All I can say is God bless you for putting up with that mess. I feel very spoiled and blessed to have only 5 pts a night. Come to think of it, why don't you move to a state that has better ratios or travel?

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Specializes in ICU, M/S,Nurse Supervisor, CNS.

Wow!!! I would hate to work on that unit. Despite how much I complained about the med surg and then post surg units I've worked on, neither was as bad as what you just described. Personally, there is no way in he$$ I would stick around on that unit. The most patients I've had to take at once is seven, but we also had numerous discharges and admissions per shift, so it was still pretty hectic. But anyways, hang in there and don't let that job burn you out. Move on to another job if that crap begins to affect your health, thats what I did.

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I feel your pain, we only get 3 staff for up to 20, when we hit 21 we get another nurse. This is more than reality, it's a nightmare.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.
wow!!! i would hate to work on that unit. despite how much i complained about the med surg and then post surg units i've worked on, neither was as bad as what you just described. personally, there is no way in he$$ i would stick around on that unit. the most patients i've had to take at once is seven, but we also had numerous discharges and admissions per shift, so it was still pretty hectic. but anyways, hang in there and don't let that job burn you out. move on to another job if that crap begins to affect your health, thats what i did.

would love to change to different unit, but the higher-ups have decided that lpn's can not transfer to another floor or unit.

these are the same ones that tell you" oh the numbers aren't that bad" :angryfire:uhoh3: you have enough staff !!

guess when i see pigs flying:lol2: i know that major changes are about to happen!!:rotfl:

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

They're always after an LPN's scope of practice, aren't they? Now it's out of your scope to change jobs? What .... the.... (bleep) are they thinking?

There's a term allnurses taught me: "vote with your feet."

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:idea:here is something to think about and makes one wonder why there is a high rate of burnout among nurses after a few years.

this is what is happening where i work.

sunday evening shift 7p-7a;

staff 2 rn's. 2 lpn's and 1 pt care tech for 19 pt.

to begin with 1 rn is charge nurse/unit secretary/team-leader.

2 rn is admission nurse/tech for vs and has a one on one pt.

2 lpn's with 8 pts each.

tech all 19 pts.

the night starts like this; one-on-one pt has to be transfered to the unit because of wbc's being over 50,000.00 and septic.

have 5 pts that are geting colon preps, 3 are bed-ridden and incontient.

4 pt's are confused , setting of bed alarms when trying to get out of bed, get out of and end up urinating on the floor because 4 staff memebers are transfering pt to unit and no one is there to help.

i have 8 pts, 6 on strict bedrest due to dvt's pe's and cva's. 1 pt has a hx of being parinoid and is allergic to. ativan, valuim, xanax, haldol, ect. etc, ect and is screaming at the top of her lungs" jesus help me, they are trying to get me, get those evil ones out of her, lord they are coming for me" getting the picture.:o nothing to help calm her due to those darn allergies and by the way she is in chf and getting lasix q 8.

have another pt, 92 yf in with chf, a&o x 4 ,getting

lasix q 6 and refuses a foley and demands every one drops everything and come help her, because her son is on the board of directors at the bank that is helping to fund our new 18mil $ ed that is being built.

once the pt is taken to the unit, wham here goes the fax machine and phone, calling admissions. we get a total of 7 from 11-5:30.:uhoh21:

now how could anyone in their right mind not get burned out over this .:uhoh21:

yet all we ever hear is the good ole number game. you are over staff.:lol2:

just thought i would share some humor and venting at the same time and see if others have to deal with this type of manag mess?:angryfire

yep, that's why we get burnt. i have to say, the pt load has been the same since i was a nurse aid back in 1977. but, things are so different now. law suites out the wazoo, paper work that admin can't seem to function without, new techno, more meds etc... but, on the other hand, we also get paid much more than the nurses did back then. nursing is difficult, so put one foot in front of the other and go about your way. however, don't put your self in a situation that is dangerous for you or your pt. don't forget to take care of your self too...we take care of pt's , families, admin, dr's, aids and the list goes on an on. but , we forget to take care of ourselves. hang in there !

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.

[but , we forget to take care of ourselves. Hang in there !

:uhoh3: I have too, who else is going to help take care of my family?:uhoh3:

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