I am writing this totally heart broken and at my wits end.
I started my career as a nurse receiving compliments on what a good job I did. I felt that I was one of those people that had to do my job well and couldn't settle for any less. I had to chart well and provide the care that patients and families were more than satisfied with. They had to know they could count on me and that I was going to be there for them.
After 15 years and multiple hospital settings I have come to realize that it doesn't matter. Over the years, I have witnessed that many of hte units are run by managers and assistant managers that couldn't handle floor nursing and yet their demands on their employees are unrealistic. The people that they choose to be in charge and manage the floor are picked based on friendship and loyalty rather than hard work.
I have worked side by side with techs who run the unit and force nurses to do their work while they find time to sit on the internet or phone and then get out on time while we are stuck over finishing our work. I have walked into many patients rooms to pass pills only to find they had no water, haven't been turned or need urine emptied from urinals or pans that are overflowing. I can't tell you how many pans I have see stained with urine or feces because they don't get rinsed. How often patients are tied up in lines and cords.
I find myself picking up the slack and doing all of the jobs that countless others do not. Why can't people untangle lines? Why aren't pans rinsed from urine or feces? Why won't the techs do tech jobs and make sure people have water or that other needs are met?
In the end, what you get is punished. Punished because you couldn't get your work done. Punished because you couldn't meet everyone's needs and a patient or family felt you took too long to get to them and there was nothing you could say or do to make it right when you knew in your heart that it wasn't your fault. Instead, the blame is on the fact that there is too much for you to do or there is a major imbalance of productivity amongst workers.
The reason for the nursing shortage? Overworked and not appreciated and abused. You can't stick up for yourself, you can't tell them why you couldn't get things done - you can't say nothing. 15 years and nothing to show for it. I have tried nearly every hospital around and I find the negative complainers and the staff that knows how to socialize are the people that are respected and appreciated. It's not about the people that are out there busting their tails. Everyone knows there is a shortage and why but no one does anything and the biggest culprits are the administrators of the hospitals. The majority of those couldn't handle floor nursing or hardly ever experienced it at all.
I leave behind a lot of families and patients that thought I was a great nurse. But when you can't please one in a hundred or more you are a bad nurse. People don't understand the level of demands on a nurse. It is a downright abusive field with little to no appreciation surrounded by many people who are disappointed with their jobs and their choice in the career.
My final blow: After 3 years of sweating to please my last employer and taking the abuse of never hearing anything good - only bad. I went back to agency and went back to a hospital that I worked at 3 years ago. I knew that this hospital had a bad reputation for poor bedside care. Half the staff of any unit could easily be float and agency. The regular staff on the floor was made up of mostly young girls in tight spandex and inviting clothes working on socializing with doctors and hanging out at the desk all day long. Call lights were on non-stop but these girls would not answer them. The techs were busting their tails here. The agency nurses were working but the in house floats were sitting and socializing too. I ended up with a patient with a very bad attitude that was a complainer and law-suit happy. She was furious that for 4 days not one person followed through with obtaining her records from another hospital. It fell on me. I also had a patient admitted with respiratory distress which she shared a room with and could see I was busy. With her personality, she was angry at the moaning of the elderly lady who couldn't breath and was determined to get me to stop and cater to her to get on those records. When I got my respiratory patient stablized, I did just that. Turns out that the other hospital never received any fax requesting the information. This lady hated every person she had contact with at that hospital and wanted to call an agency to get them shut down. I'm sure you know the type by now. So....guess what. I was told today that I was not welcome back because of her complaint. I would literally pull a chair up and sit next to this lady and let her vent. I gave her my heart and I got booted. The nurse that she had the next day was a guy that sat around socializing and didn't care one bit about her. He was regular staff and he was NOT going to go out of his way. They all get to keep their jobs but the nurse that took the time out to take care of her is out the door.
I need a job or I wouldn't take the abuse. But, I know for a fact that this hospital is never going to get it. They were like that 3 years ago and now they have more floats and more agency staffing them. This is a big and reputable hospital.
The hospital I worked at for 3 years was dumping more and more tasks on the nurses and they were all unhappy and complaining. We lost good hard working techs and they were replaced with people who didn't want to work or nursing students who were tired when they came to work and were kicking their feet up taking it easy. Management loved those people.
I suffer from spinal degeneration and pain and I never get to sit down. My job is harder because they are not pulling their weight.
There is nothing left. I still owe for my loan and I am scared to death to take another nursing job. I know it is not going to be any different. I hurt. I lost my insurance and after all that I worked for I have nothing to show for it but bills and a destroyed ego and heart. I feel as though I am the misfit. I am the one who isn't right. I am wrong. I can't even bring myself to waste time on another application since I don't want anything to do with this career any more. I am going to lose my home, my vehicle and everything else.
I have noticed that the field is being taken over by young graduates who are more worried about looking sexy and socializing than working. Patient satisfaction has gone down the tubes and the senior skilled nurses are getting nowhere in this field. There is nothing anyone can do. We all know it is happening but we can't do anything about it.
P.S. I should have mentioned that though I've been in Britain for one year, all my prior nursing 'time spent' was in the USA.
Also, in my rush to get to the hospital for work, I didn't read any follow-up notes from you, BrokenRNheart. You sound much more pro-active than your first posting indicated! I like your suggestions and will be looking up all the links that you and others have posted. Good luck in finding peace. :heartbeat
I am so sorry you are going through this. I have been subjected to a very similar experience within the past month. I am(was) an RN in a community hospital ED with a total of 17 years as a nurse under my belt. I'd been in the ED over 3 years. I got along great with most of the nurses, and have received accolades from all the ED docs on my work. I had a patient one night that physically attacked me and threatened to rape me. Administration handled the situation terribly, and when they discovered that they might ACTUALLY be at fault for having such poor security in place, they decided to come after me instead. They told me it was my fault and that I didn't know how to properly handle the situation. They told me they were going to suspend and then fire me. I told them to keep their job, I quit. They spent 2 weeks "investigating" the situation; not to improve how nurses and docs and other pts. can be safer, but how they can keep from being sued by staff or other patients. I spent 2 weeks crying and scared. I couldn't believe that my manager and her manager were so out of touch with what the nurses were going through in the ED or what we needed to do our job safely. Most of the other nurses in the unit have been very supportive; a number of nurses and paramedics are either taking other jobs or looking since this incident. Ironically, this particular facility is named "One of the best places to work" in my state. HA!!! I have learned to watch my back much more carefully. I hope that you have better luck in the future. I understand you wanting to get out of nursing all together......I have felt the same way. I'm going to keep on plugging along for now. Good luck to you and you are in my prayers:nuke:
Geez.....I thought that was just my hospital that was in bed with their union. Union representation on the state level was a laugh.....they are indeed in bed together. Union reps in the unit (fellow nurses) were great, but their hands were tied.
I have been in nursing for 20 years! It is not an easy job, particularly if you are the fall guy, and that you were. Gathering from the info you gave, the institution used you as the fall nurse, because you were agency. And they are always the first to go. No matter the situation. Nursing is a great job, the good thing is that you can go into all kinds of directions, inhospital, community, LTC, correctional, etc. It's one job, that has all those possibilities. You need a brake from that merciless grind, and go where you can tend to people. Homehealth, as mentioned by someone else is a great field. The pace is easier, the patients are happy to be home, and easier to work with. The productivity required by the employer, the paperwork is the downside, as you are now with a smaller outfit, that strives to make money. But,,,aids, that are unfortunately not many in that field, are more satisfied with their jobs, so do rather well at it. It would give you a pleasant break from the routine. The length of time you have put into nursing will keep you up there in salary, which is always helpful. So,,,look around and get a new perspective! The conditions of hospitals are horrible these days, the staff issues appear everywhere the same. It's for all of us to gain perspective, to pick ourselves up and start all over again! So take heart and take a vacation if you can.
Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
What's it going to be like in 10 years after so many of us have left? We need a gall bladder out and push our call bell and - who comes, and how long does it take? How much training? Will they care about me?
I have such a sense of dread. Health care will become a luxury, and a much greater risk than it is now!
Why don't the powers that be see this as an emergency?
Frankly, I don't see many of us leaving - what will happen is this: and that trend is already here. There will be core staffing, the rest is all travel nursing/agency nursing. They pay better, incentives are great. Health insurance sucks. It takes care of burn out, as you deal less with the politics. The unit I work on, which is Oncology, few stay beyond bonus incentive years, then move on. I can't believe, I have been there a year already. And, since I have the incentive of needing decent healthinsurance for the next few years, get rid of bankruptcy burden from working for Medicaid, and not get paid! There are issues I have to deal with for another 3 1/2 years. But seeing the staff change in that one year is unreal. But it's the way of the future. This makes it more efficient for the employer, travellers are there for a limited amount of time. Nurses are still necessary, but nurses longterm is on it's way out. It'll turn all into temp nursing. What do you think...Maine!
Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
It'll turn all into temp nursing. What do you think...Maine!
Hi there! Well I hope you are right - I just wonder what happens when the agency/travelling nurses get burnt out ... cuz from what I read on this board, there's a lot of that going around too.
Problem too w/ being agency etc is that you end up being scapegoated a lot - "it's agency's fault" -- "they don't know where anything is" -- "must be nice to be able to take a break" "Oh it's no wonder that such-and-such went wrong, he/she is agency!" So that just contributes to that feeling of being unappreciated and then burnt out. You still have a heavy patient load/acuity regardless of whether you are from the facility or not.
I do wish I could still do travelling - my plan originally (after 2 yrs RN experience) was to visit the whole US coastline and a few states in the middle - I made it to my first assignment in Ft. Lauderdale when my "true love" beckoned me homeward - big mistake, sigh...
In my part of the world I do not believe that things are any better. I live in South Africa and nursing shortages are extreme! I am currently working in ICU(orthopedics,cardio etc) and have been doing so for the past 14 years. In this time our number of staff seems to shrink by the day....and the patient complaints triple! We loose lots of excellent staff to other countries ....Australia, New Zealand and the favourite....Saudi Arabia. The pay in Saudi is 4-5 times the pay we get in SA. So nurses leave their families for 2 or more years in order to go and make a reasonable living!
We also do not have lots of other options in nursing...home based care is but a small enterprize in SA. There is mostly hospitals( state/private), clinics, phlebotomy,outpatients and education to choose your working field from. The amount of nurses we train in SA every year has declined dramatically during the past 10 years. And the amount of nurses leaving the country is staggering! Last year I lost 3 friend to other countries in 3 months!
As I said I have been in ICU for 14 years....studied for four years to become a RN and have also completed a Degree(Admin) as well as my ICU diploma since completion of my RN studies. I average a salary of less than $1400 a month after deductions.
In our setup we do not have any techs. We do ECG's, bloodgasses and help the respiratory therapists when they are with the patients. We hand out food, water etc, do vitals( part of ICU nursing), deal with phone calls, visitors, doctors rounds....the list is endless. And still we must find time to really nurse!! ( and we do 12 our shifts only!)
I am lucky to work in a hospital where we are appreciated for what we do, with Management standing firmly behind us. This is unfortunately the exception to the rule. In previous hospitals where I worked we were constantly reminded that nurses are the hospitals BIGGEST expence!
BrokenRN heart I really hope that you find something in the field of nursing that will be fulfilling for you....you sound like the kind of nurse that can come and work with me any time!!
you are right about agency nurses getting( and taking) the blame for all the ills of a hospital, floor,unit,etc. i just joined an agency this week. i figured if i'm going to get abused anyways, i might as well get paid better to take the nonsense from the administration!
flychick08...my handle.....means that in 2008, i hope, i'll be doing flight nursing! pts, nurses and even docs at pick-up facilities are usually very happy to see the flight crew arrive. if they're sick enough to fly, the above mentioned groups almost never complain.....
Well, I am into my four years of nursing and I am already burnt out beyond recognition, ashes to the ground. Even as I type this, I am in the midst of looking for other employment opportunities elsewhere. Count that, and it will be my fourth job relocation in four years.
I had my fair share of dealing with managements who care less about staff. And worst of all the person who held the administrative post is a nurse herself. If a nurse can help their fellow peers, who do we turn to then? It's pathetic.
I remember having monitors in our ER taken into the wards just to save money on buying new one. Imagine one monitor for the rest of the place (despite the ER being a small one, but still...) Oh, that doesn't include trolleys, beds, thermometers... And the place where I am working now, I had to deal with using crappy gloves with way too much powder than a drag queen and got torn easily (even had ones that had hole on it). Did I told you that I deal with hepatitis B and C patients on a daily basis? When being told, it was said to cut cost. I wonder if they would like to cut some corners on our safety and health too.
They complain about having to pay so much of overtime but still prefer not to take in new staff - stating the present is enough to cope. The reality is, we are made to work more than we are capable to function safely. When I was in ER, I was made to attend to home nursing cases - even administering pain injections on verbal order of the Dr out of nowhere. In addition to responding to ambulance calls, assisting in stress test EKG in the clinic, corporate health screening (is this an ER by the way? I asked myself many times before) and part time phone receptionist - answering queries about the hospitals packages, drug information from patient discharged from the wards and the lot. New documentation and files popped out of nowhere and before long, I was attending to papers and not people!!! And I still see no pay rise, no bonus after two years slaving away. Given the job as a risk coordinator for the hospital and still no increment at all. After 2 and a half years, I quit.
Yeah, I feel your pain. I just hope I can survive for a few more years. If I still can keep my sanity.
Yep....I feel your pain!!! Our hospital is building a new tower-6stories. The ER has seen the most growth as far as sheer pt. volume in the past several years and the ER is NOT going to be in the new building!! The nurse to pt. ratio is horrendous every day, given the acuity. So...we have to take care of very sick pts, work around the construction of the new tower, of which we won't be a part, and being told by management that what we need to make things safe, efficient, and more comfortable for everyone isn't in the budget. Yes-I am burned out too. I'd be less burned out if the administration wasn't making life so difficult.
I just graduated in December and worked for only about 3 months in the hospital I had worked as an aid in, and I saw the same stuff. The big thing seems to be the pay, for PRN's it's a HUGE amount, so it seems like everyone wants the hours for the paycheck and not the actual work.
I took a pay cut and went to a mental health facility...from med-surg to psych!! I LOVE IT!! It was worth the pay cut! I have come across several people who came there from the hospital I had been at, and they all love it too!!
Start inquiring around about facilities you might not have thought about before. Search online, ask questions. I like to "do my homework" before I even apply somewhere, but I like where I am so much, I haven't been doing my daily new-job search!
Hang in there, you will find your place in the sun. Somewhere out there are people who need YOU to care for them with patience and compassion.....
MeditationPeace
46 Posts
P.S. I should have mentioned that though I've been in Britain for one year, all my prior nursing 'time spent'
was in the USA.
Also, in my rush to get to the hospital for work, I didn't read any follow-up notes from you, BrokenRNheart. You sound much more pro-active than your first posting indicated! I like your suggestions and will be looking up all the links that you and others have posted. Good luck in finding peace. :heartbeat