Another one wanting to bite the dust.

[martymoose]

 

Warning, kind of a rant that nurses might understand....

I know many of my prior postings stated I want out of nursing; that is still true. But making it happen is such a difficult thing to do. Especially since the latest thing at my job is to steal our nurses for other overflow floors, and leave us with 10 patients each ( or more) to take care of on a cardiac stepdown floor. I can't get out fast enough!

All this does is make more people quit ,which is why they're stealing nurses to cover holes from other quitting nurses. Vicious cycle.

Of course the easy answer is , " well , why don't you quit too? " or find another job? Well, because only  jobs available are these patient care jobs, or jobs that want you to know everything already, such as care management and UM needing to already know regulations, etc. Or jobs that require on call, and I already live 50 minutes away, or excellent IV skills , which I don't have ( think bull in china shop) .

So then one says , well why don't you get a job in another field. Well, a 50 percent cut and no benefits is going to make me make my family have 1.) nowhere to live( we'd lose our house we've paid 20 years into, and believe me , its a dump as it is) 2. )no benefits- so if any of us gets sick or injured, well, too bad I guess. 3) There's this thing called needing food to live. Not gonna happen on a McDonalds job ( and they prob wouldn't hire me anyway, as I'm , lets say, Gen X. ( even though I worked there 3 years in 1982 ? )

Sooo, the conundrum. I've thought, well , go back to school? for what? The thing I was good at was nursing when in a fairly controlled situation ( oh um , like 4 pts on a stepdown for example) Even the ICU's are having  4 pts at times . The covid floors have 8 pts a piece!) 

I could get another two year degree at the community college, but still end up making 12 bucks an hour. I could go for a MBA- mega huge cost there which makes no sense at my age. 

So it's no wonder I dread every day I have to go in, and and upset that there seems to be no alternatives. Is this common in the "gen X" group? I'm guessing all hospitals are like this too. The PCP offices only hire LPN s and Med techs now, so no hope there either.

What to do, what to do.........

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

7 hours ago, martymoose said:

No not really . One post stemi, nstemi, hypernatremia in the 160 range, IV mag supplements, new chf'ers, covid, rapid a  fib, etc. One doesnt make this stuff up. and 3 of them were ED admits at the beg of shift within a 2 hour span. 

Its OK , I get the gist this is my fault for staying on.If I am stupid enough t o accept such an assignment, I'm just the dumb one for not quitting and finding something else.

And its clear employer doesn't give a rats *** for its employees or the patients. We are constantly told cant hold things up for staffing ( lack of). 

Our normal ratio now is 1:7 

There were 3 times that I know of where they tried to force a PM nurse to take 10 patients, normal 5 or 6 max.  Mgmt said they had no one to mandate so deal with it, but each time the nurses forcefully refused to accept a 10 patient assignment and they were able to find another nurse.  I would have quit on the spot before taking 10 patients.  Thankfully I was never put in that position.   

You would be better off taking a travel position than working where you are at!  At least you would get crisis pay. 

PS My comments are not meant as criticism toward you or others.  You are truly stronger than me, but the sad reality is once mgmt gets away with this, it tends to become the norm.  I would fight over 7 patients by myself and a PCA on a step down unit.  It was not pleasant and I wasn't popular with the supervisors, but I felt if I gave in it would become the norm. 

When I quit we were working 6 patients per RN and no PCA, covid or non covid units, with various drips like insulin q 1 hr BS etc, many patient's that needed to be turned and changed and needed at least 2 people to do that as well as dementia and etoh and psyche pt's thrown in the mix.  Many times we had no sitters and were forced to restrain patients.  Also holding ICU patients on the floor as they had no ICU nurses.  I've heard from travelers of worse staffing yet as you have had to deal with.

Luckily I had the ability to walk away and take early retirement.  But if that isn't an option you could still give your notice and take a travel assignment.  Many nurses are doing just that.  If they have to work short staffed might as well make good money to do it!  I know a couple coworkers who did just that and are happy!

[TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN]

7 hours ago, martymoose said:

No not really . One post stemi, nstemi, hypernatremia in the 160 range, IV mag supplements, new chf'ers, covid, rapid a  fib, etc. One doesnt make this stuff up. and 3 of them were ED admits at the beg of shift within a 2 hour span. 

Its OK , I get the gist this is my fault for staying on.If I am stupid enough t o accept such an assignment, I'm just the dumb one for not quitting and finding something else.

And its clear employer doesn't give a rats *** for its employees or the patients. We are constantly told cant hold things up for staffing ( lack of). 

Our normal ratio now is 1:7 

As JBM said, this is NOT your fault. This is the hospital's fault for not staffing. As a profession we have to stop thinking like the battered wife that it must be our fault for administrators not treating us better. Healthcare got turned into a business and blind greed and corruption has created an unsustainable healthcare system that sacrifices patient safety, outcomes, quality, and staff safety all for the sake of a chosen few who are accumulating more wealth than we can imagine. The problems are systemic and much bigger than what we staff nurses can control in our daily lives and most of us are just trying to survive the daily craziness.

[londonflo]

On 2/25/2021 at 1:17 PM, martymoose said:

So then one says , well why don't you get a job in another field. Well, a 50 percent cut and no benefits is going to make me make my family have 1.) nowhere to live( we'd lose our house we've paid 20 years into, and believe me , its a dump as it is) 2. )no benefits- so if any of us gets sick or injured, well, too bad I guess. 3) There's this thing called needing food to live

I know you were stressed when you wrote this but try not to exaggerate. Is there a s.o. in the picture? Sit down and talk about what you can do  realistically. 

 

On 2/25/2021 at 7:24 PM, Pixie.RN said:

Companies get hundreds of applications for a single opening. I feel like I won the lottery for sure. It still took me a while and numerous applications before I even got an interview. But there are so many avenues in nursing, you just never know where you might end up! ?

Think about networking..you need to develop some way to meet the employers looking for loyal, educated help. PTA, local nurse organization, church members/friends...It is not so mysterious if you put yourself out there, but of course never discuss the real reason you want out of the hospital --- you want to grow, learn and experience the many different roles a nurse can fill

Best wishes, 

[DowntheRiver]

Public health is also an option. The pay is so-so but the benefits are awesome, at least here. For a family it's $180/month for a BCBS PPO with an individual deductible of $500 and family of $1500.

[Florence NightinFAIL, BSN, RN]

Switched from medical surgical before the pandemic with 4-5 acute patients to maximum 2 patients on PACU. Will never go back to regular bedside. 

PACU is EXTREMELY BUSY. I might have 6-8 patients a day, but maximum TWO AT ONE TIME. So it's mangeable. 

Look into it. 

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Sounds dreadful. 

I feel your pain as I rarely have a good day anymore and wish for something better every day.  I'm a few years ahead of Gen X in the Gen Jones/Boomer category and have to sometimes just think of the paycheck and the bills and my retirement and travel goals.  

All the best.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

Just saw a job for a rehab nurse. I honestly don't know what that entails as an RN , but I guess its worth a try to find out. If not , then Ill try harder to pursue a non clinical job. I just might have to realize I have to drive even farther. Those types of jobs are in an area that the clientele is “well to do” . No way I could live in that area. Ugh I hate driving an hour each way . I guess one has to decide which is worse. Right now direct patient care is worse.
 

Thanks for all the support. ?

[freesia29, ASN, RN]

I thought I had it bad with 4 patients in PCU and no CNA help in Covid zone. Another fellow Gen X Er, and my body was wrecked doing those long shifts.  I just started PACU in an ambulatory surgery center and love it!  One patient at a time!  Little less money, but my sanity it worth it!  

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

8 hours ago, martymoose said:

Ugh I hate driving an hour each way . I guess one has to decide which is worse. Right now direct patient care is worse.

I am an anxious, stressful driver. I used to take public transportation to work, but got a new job that's 45 minutes away, mostly commuter highway. I bought a new car that can almost drive itself (but it keeps telling me to keep my hands on the steering wheel). Honestly, I love my car and it made my commute 100000x more bearable. The time still sucks, but music makes it more enjoyable.