Burnout?

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2007

Im sorry your having a rough time

Ive seen some bad times though

Golf has always cured it for me though

nightmare, RN · Nov 5, 2007

What ,you beat them up with a golf club,neat idea! :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2007

you get rid of a lot of stress beating the dickens out of some innocent little white golf ball

Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 5, 2007

I bought some really bright pink ones. I can find them after a nasty slice!!

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2007

What ,you beat them up with a golf club,neat idea!:lol2:

:rotfl:

nursemike, ASN, RN · Nov 6, 2007

] Am I the only one who feels this way? :smackingf

Evidently not.

I think everyone feels this way, at least some of the time. Only you can decide whether you feel this way enough of the time to get out of Dodge for good, or maybe just for a vacation. (Really, I think this problem could be solved very simply: Double--maybe triple--our pay, and give us at least four 2-week vacations per year--with the option to take them back-to-back.)

Eh--back to reality: I recently had a pt who was herself very upset, and whose husband chewed me out first thing on my shift. I did point out that I just got there, but his point was that they'd been there a couple of days and their concerns hadn't been addressed. So I listened, then assured them I'd do everything I could to see that the concerns were adressed, even if it meant calling the attending at home. (A lot of their problems were things only a doctor could fully address--including the ever-popular "I've been here X days and haven't seen a doctor once!")

Happily, a more concerned resident was on call, that shift, and when I advised him of the situation, he got a lot of things moving. One of their big concerns was that she hadn't been getting some of her home meds, and the resident was a bit ticked that it hadn't been taken care of during her admission. He rectified that right away, and saw the patient as soon as he could to let them know what was going on, what the plan was, etc.

Best of all--I got credit for getting the docs on the stick! But I did tell the pt and family where the doc deserved the credit.

There were nursing interventions where I could help, and did my best to do so. Biggest was prn pain meds in a timely manner. Pt had major pain (chronic) and was opioid-tolerant. Didn't make her feel like a junkie for needing 4mg IV MSO4 every hour, but reinforced the view of one of the "bad" doctors that this couldn't be a permanent solution, with more tact. Did a godawful lot of therapeutic listening. Fetched water, pillows, etc., right along with the aide.

Two twelves with this pt, and some other moderately busy ones, was wearing me pretty thin. For my third, she was assigned to another, fresher nurse who was feeling my pain by 2200. She managed things a little differently, but in an equally caring way, and they liked her just fine. So all went well, but I was notified that I couldn't leave in the am without stopping by my former pt's room for a hug.

Pt's husband remarked that I was the first person they'd seen who had treated her like a human being. I'm not sure how fair that was, but there is a satisfaction in turning a patient's negative impression to a positive one. Which isn't to say I don't cherish the ones who are "good" patients from the start. Or that there aren't some who no amount of empathy can satisfy.

As a relatively new nurse, I rarely--well, pretty much never--get to feel like I've gotten a desperately ill patient and had a lot of direct impact in getting them better. I'm delighted when a pt doing poorly starts doing better, but mostly I'm just carrying out doctor's orders, and sometimes getting more experienced nurses involved. I'd be hard pressed to think of a single case where someone is alive today because I was their nurse, though I know nurses who could very well say that.

I do get to say that some of my patients had a better stay because of me, that I've run my butt of and charted in doorways to keep a patient out of restraints, and even that I've let patient's families vent when that was the only thing they could think of to help their loved one.

Golly! If I could do that every time, with every patient, I bet I'd be some kinda saint or something. Alas, I've spent enough time kicking the med cart and cursing to disqualify myself. Sometimes you just give the PITAs the least of your time that's necessary and pray for the shift to end. We pretty regularly get a patient or two that no one is assigned to two nights in a row, to avoid pillow-therapy.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Nov 6, 2007

Im sorry your having a rough time
Ive seen some bad times though
Golf has always cured it for me though

I like getting out in the country and birdwatching. Or staying home and cuddling with my cats. Or drinking.

registerednut1221 · Nov 6, 2007

This struck me as funny and made me remember the time I accompanied my private duty patient to the nursing home to visit a relative. Well, I decided to sit out in the visiting area so the family could have some privacy--I'd never been to this nursing home in my life. I was sitting lounged back, and this harsh looking woman marched over to me and told me so and so needed the bedpan. I just said in a nonchalant way oh she does? and I'm kind of dense but I then realized I was in my scrub suit and she apparently thought I worked there.
Then she barked out, she's been waiting the last HOUR (I didn't really know the situation, but having been in the nursing home scene before I know time seems to get exagerrated when it comes to how long people have been waiting for this or that).
Anyway, I could have cleared up the misunderstanding but...naa. So after she said that I just nodded and said oh wow, that's long time and kept sitting in the chair in the visitor's lounge. She was so angry she could hardly stand it and I could see how she was glaring at me and the rage was building up, while I sat there all innocent. About that time two aides came rolling a trash bin down the hall and into the bedpan waiting patient's room.
I imagine the aides cleared up the misunderstanding, but it was funny at the time.

OMG! This is priceless! I LOVE IT!!! Sounds like something fun to do on my days off! :lol2:

gentle · Nov 6, 2007

you get rid of a lot of stress beating the dickens out of some innocent little white golf ball

Beating the dickens out of some innocent little white golf ball?

Ummm, is that before or after you envision the "thief's face who pic-pocketed your wallet" on that little innocent white golf ball? :lol2:

And then after that lovely little vision, exactly how far does that innocent little golf ball fly, Tom?

gentle · Nov 6, 2007

Lowly student here. Yes, people should be grateful that they have access to good medical care and highly educated nurses. But it seems to me that hospital marketing departments encourage them to behave like customers at a high-paying hotel.
One of the medical centers near me advertises that patients receive a "home-baked chocolate chip chookie" each day and brags about its four-star cuisine. It's even running ads touting a new surgical center, complete with "indoor trees and a wall-size aquarium." When you walk into the lobby of the 300-bed hospital in my home town, it's like walking into the Hyatt, complete with dramatic fountains (yes, fountains, plural), a sweeping glass staircase and a Starbucks. What's wrong with this picture?
No wonder patients treat nurses like maids and demand speedy room service. They've been told to expect it.

Where in the world in this hospital? I mean, seriously, what state is this money gobbling concrete boulder sitting in? And oh please, a fountain in a hospital. EEEWWWW!!

My husband works for a major corporation and all the issues with fountains. I am completely disgusted.

How in the world does this place survive compliance and even if it does well for now--management changes.

And old Proverb: after a rich man dies, who knows whether the son will be a fool and squander all that the rich father had accumulated.

What if the new management later on down the road, is incapable of handling all the Operational Demands of this extravagant concrete, well oxygenated and watered, costly piece of rock.

My apologies if I offend with this vent. IMHO, I believe that Casino scale "hospital?", has sadly, misappropriated funds that could have been used for the better of many people. I am disgusted.

gentle · Nov 6, 2007

Hi ya registerednut,

I hear ya. I'm getting tired of this too. I haven't decided on a plan; but, I have decided that I don't want to keep this up. The managers, families, patients, and JCAHO . . . nope.

I'm doing what I need to do for now and I'm enjoying what I can. The future is my responsibility and my priviledge. I do not want anyone to ruin my peace and joy.

Best wishes.

EmmaG, RN · Nov 6, 2007

And oh please, a fountain in a hospital. EEEWWWW!!

Good point. Hadn't thought of that angle...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&list_uids=8237978&cmd=Retrieve&indexed=google

http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/PREVIEW/MMWRHTML/00047291.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/search.do?sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&ie=utf8&q=Legionella+fountains&ud=1&oe=utf8&start=0

http://www.cdc.gov/search.do?q=pneumonia+fountains&btnG.x=0&btnG.y=0&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&ud=1&oe=utf8&ie=utf8

Approximately 10,000-15,000 cases of Legionnaires disease occur each year in the United States; most occur sporadically (1). Investigations of outbreaks have documented aerosol transmission of Legionella from contaminated cooling towers and evaporative condensers (2,3), showers (4), decorative fountains (5), humidifiers (6), respiratory therapy equipment (7), and whirlpool spas (8). However, the proportion of sporadically occurring disease attributable to these sources has not yet been determined.