Anyone else getting cut by the budget ax?

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2012

I'm not on the reserve side of the house, but the active duty folks are feeling it, too. You know it's getting really nasty when we don't have enough funds to change out sharps containers...

kcmylorn · Mar 12, 2012

I am not active duty but I am a civilian RN in a MTF - Primary care practice. All us civilian nurses working contracts(UM, Case managment, Disease Managment and Clinical RN) just got letters today from our contracting agency that we may not be employed after May 12,2012 - the end of our contracts. A larger contracting agency bought the contracts and positions will be "tasked" through this big agency to our smaller agency. To me, it sounds like 'another hand to feed' and spending unnecessary money to jack up a big bill- taking advantage of our military and us taxpayers. Why do greed people always have their hands in someone's pockets.

I am a 'fill in' for deploying active duty nurses and have been there for 18 months. No deployments at this time, like last year- always one coming and one going. The upstairs has to "justify" the nursing position, my position and with the deployments, my position was able to be justified. I am being replaced by an active duty nurse.

I kind of knew this in the back of my head when the US withdrew troops from Iraq. Although, look at the turbulence that withdrawing has caused over in that part of the world. The troops coming back would have to be absorbed somewhere, some how. I know at our base, some of the active duty have been asked to voluntarily separate- their military jobs were being eliminated and they were given the option to retrain or separate. And they do it with alot of grace and dignity; if they couldn't make the weight or the PT testing- they were asked to separate; or due to a certain # of disciplines or infractions- they were asked to separate; I'd like to think- too many sick calls, quarters, continous endless profiles(schleppers) should be a criteria for some of my patients. I think this is the military equivalant of the progressive discipline we see in the civilian healthcare systems- 3 call outs and your gone, 3 write ups and your gone, don't like your scrubs- your gone. Only difference is- from what I have seen being in both worlds- the military is more civilized and plays by the rules and federal laws, the civilian job market does not.

I love my job. Just figures, this would happen. :bluecry1: I have really enjoyed these past 18 months and learned so much.

nurse2033, MSN, RN · Mar 17, 2012

It would be a good time to cut poor performers, especially on the PT test. I was talking with a colleague who is dying to deploy but just can't get a slot.

mn_nurse · Mar 28, 2012

I am in Minneapolis. We are losing our planes, so we have no idea what will become of our squadron. At our last CC, the wing commander asked us to write our senator/congress representative. We have several people on base from the Chicago base when they closed, and from the Wisconsin base. Everyone is really anxious about the uncertainty.