Breaking point re: expectations vs. time

[djh123]

I'm an underpaid and overworked LTC nurse. I'm not asking for advice... my reasons for being there in the first place and for still being there are not part of this post. All I want to say is this:

Why is it that - I'm talking theoretically here, my mgt. and/or company might not have the brains to agree even with the first part - most people could agree that a glass that holds 8 oz. of water when full can't hold 10 ounces, but they can't understand that you can't continue to add endless tasks to a fixed, rigid, 8-hr. day?

That's what they've done the whole time I've been in my job. If I'd had to do everything I do now when I started, I would've run out of the building screaming "I can't do this!!!". As it is now, I do everything I can, practically every single minute of every shift, and usually end up being there a little bit late, but it's never enough. I could easily stay 60-90 minutes late every single day if I did every little thing that we're supposed to do. And I'm neither slow nor bad at time management. It's madness.

Oh, and the above is just for 'regular' days - no falls, no new admission, no medical emergency - if any of those happen I'll be there a minimum of an hour late, and still not get done a variety of little add-on tasks that have been dumped on us lately.

Something tells me I'll get some agreement out there. :^)

[Davey Do]

Why is it that my mgt. can't understand that you can't continue to add endless tasks to a fixed, rigid, 8-hr. day?

Because they are merely attempting to manipulate their media to achieve a desired effect.

You, djh, are part of their media and the desired effect is their goal of pacifying all accrediting and benefitting agencies.

As you are obviously a caring and competent Nurse, it's up to you whether you continue with this organization.

The very best to you, djh!

[seaofclouds21, BSN, RN]

The keep adding because we keep doing. It starts with one thing. They add it, we find ways to fit it in. They think, okay, there were able to add that, so they have some available time in their shift, lets add something else. We then find ways to fit that in too. Then the cycle keeps going. As long as we find ways to fit the tasks into our shifts, they are going to keep adding things. Until we, as a profession, are comfortable speaking up for ourselves and asking them what they would like to take away from our responsibilities so we can add this new responsibility, they will keep adding more to our plate.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Usually the patient pays the price. Less time for care, corners cut, increased staff turnover.

[3ringnursing, BSN]

This is a good question, but one I've never been able to figure out myself, except that in nursing - like all jobs - management wants to try to squeeze the work of 2 people from a single person. This leads to burn out, as we all have our thresholds for endurance before we tell our self, "I'm done" and move on.

When I became a nurse it was nearly a quarter century ago in a state with low wages anyway. I never felt my salary reflected my educational worth (for the record: 1994 in Tucson, AZ I earned $12.75/hr as a new grad RN - this was the highest paying facility in my city. Pretty bad, huh?). As a result I never felt truly compensated for my work, and still don't because a low starting pay follows you for the remainder of one's career - giving the next employer impetus to offer a similarly low wage in compensation for literally working your fingers to bloody nubs.

Oddly, despite this resentment, low pay was never the deciding factor in my leaving past jobs. It always, always, always was the result of job duty expectations not matching reality. Many times these obscene expectations were a danger to patients, and my nursing license ... so to quote George Thorogood: "And out the door I went ...".