Burnout?

[registerednut1221]

]I've only been a nurse for 3 years, but I'm afraid I am completely burned out. I find myself wanting to do a public service announcement on how to be a good patient. I am sick to death of patients and patient's families complaining that daddy had to wait 20 minutes for a cup of coffee while I've been in the middle of a code. I'm sick of seeing family memebers out in the hall giving me the "stare down" like when am I going to come in their room (half the time it's not even my patient). Had a daughter of a patient the other day (an RN at that) and wanted to know why daddy didn't get shaved today. Well, lets see...we were working 3 nurses short, I had been there for 16 hours and I had 3 very critical patients that were very time consuming. You just don't always have time to do everything. I actually had one man blast me as soon as I hit the door about how he had been waiting 30 minutes for a cup of coffee. I explained to him that I had been in a code down the hall. He didn't care. I asked him if he were in a crisis situation would he want me stopping to get someone else a cup of coffee before coming to his aid? Family memebers want ot sit by the bedside and pester the crap out of the nurses and patients 24 hr a day, but God forbid they actually lift a finger to help their loved ones get a drink of water of get on to a bed pan. I often feel more like I'm working in a 5 star hotel rather than a hospital. Am I the only one who feels this way? :smackingf

[Mulan]

Personal hygiene is very important to families. Especially having daddy shave is one of them. You look sicker to me when your hair is unkept and you have a beard. Unfortunately, the staff to patient ration now does now allow these little extras. I as a nurse provided much of the personal hygiene for my father when he was in the hospital because I knew the situation. The average public does not understand this and probably never will.

It is easy to get burned out when you fill you are just treading water and never swimming. Hang in there.

Yeah, and too bad these people that are so concerned about someone being shaved couldn't do it themselves. Or maybe a son help a father use the urinal? God forbid!

[lindarn]

But isn't it about time that we informed the public of the charade that is their health care? That we spend more time documenting what we are supposed to do, but never really have the time to do it? That more and more professional nursing care is being provided by unlicensed assistive personnel, not the educated, registered nurse they though they were paying for? That we have 100% of the responsibility, and accountability, but none of the control.

We have become enablers of the hospital admistration who have allowed this to progress to the point that it has. Rather than saying, " this is impossible to do, and we refuse", we say, "we will just work harder, and not take breaks, get out an hour late, and not even put in for overtime for our missed breaks, and the late exit out of work. And oh, I can come in on my day off!

Why do we do this? Some one put an end to this madness!! Stop playing the "martyr mary", and make the changes that are needed. Support the nurse who speaks up and the staff meetings. Inform the patients what the nurse patient ratio is. Tell them how many patients you are responsible for. If the hospital complains, call the news and TV stations, and go public. It is about time.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

I forgot to add a little poem that was posted in the nurses station in a former job, about 100 years ago:

"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible, for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing".

Does this describe the current state of affairs in hospitals today? This was written sometime in the late 1970's. Somethings never change!!

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

[SICU Queen]

OMG I LOOOOOOVE that little quote of yours!!!

Snagged!

[cooblu]

sorry guys, have to disagree with you on this one. love my patients, love my job, great bunch of co-workers who regulary meet for drinks and dinner and doctors who do what we tell them instead of the other way round. maybe im just niave as i have just qualified. remind me of what i said in 5 years when im on here saying....i hate my job, hate doctors, hate patients etc...

holy hell for real?? would love to try this, sounds like a normal society but not as i've experienced in this prof----maybe it's me........

[cooblu]

When I'm in the intermediate nursery I bundle mine up super tight just for that reason ..... so they don't move or cry! But then again, they're on monitors so I don't have to tickle their feet :)

yessss, whatever it takes to be able to breath...might try hitting the code button (by accident) just to see who else is breathing. hey it could get you otta the crib room.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

That more and more professional nursing care is being provided by unlicensed assistive personnel, not the educated, registered nurse they though they were paying for?

Once again, there's a licensed nurse in between the UAP and RN, and once again, you ignore us.

[Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN]

I don't think I have ever been treating so disrespectfully ever as I have as a bedside RN.

I think that one sentence says it all.

It is all about a profession VOID of RESPECT.

That is the REASON I left the hospital. I will never return to bedside nursing. The ONLY salvation that I have in my current job is the fact that I am experiencing a degree of RESPECT (really!) that I have not had since I was in the fire service. I remained in the flightsuit (clean, on the way to work!) the other day, met my husband for dinner and even he noticed how the public "treated" me. Pretty awesome.

I did not change. I am the same nurse. Only the "clothes" changed - but suddenly I was asked for MY OPINION by ATTENDINGS when we delivered a patient to their care. Amazing! And SAD!

I have no idea how to cure the "disease". But, unless a cure is found - I suspect that there may not be any RN's to care for those that obviously DO NOT CARE FOR US!

Money will not fix this. Until hospitals DROP the client/customer mentality - ABUSE and DISRESPECT of nurses will flourish. Patients are not always right. The entitlement mentality of patients/families is ENCOURAGED by most hospital/facility administrations. STOP it now! Nurses should not have to function in an environment that is punitive to the NURSE in response to "patient/family complaints"!

I also believe that this "culture" is one that is anything but therapeutic. I believe, that this punitive culture is what allows some nurses to be "less than supportive" to other nurses. This is makes lateral violence flourish in many workplaces. It is a kind of attitude when certain nurses ALWAYS get the difficult assignments (and the obvious consequences of having to deal with those patients/families/doctors), where if one of your peers is "on the radar" you may be "safe" for now! Kinda a "sucks to be you" mentality. TRAGIC.

My grandmother used to say when words are confusing - look at the actions. Words are from the mouth out - actions take effort and commitment. I hope the public and hospital administrators are listening! Let the ACTION begin! Lives will depend on it!

Practice SAFE!

[pie123]

There are so many times that I state..."so this is why they took the potassium IV off the floors." I swear the though of choking someone...patients or families crosses my mind so much more often now a days!

Yes, people are too pampered and administration thinks that it is ok and that nurses actually have the time to kiss A$$!! Get real!!

More often, I can't stand my patients. And with family members, it seems that the least important thing to me is always the most important to them. The patient is at death's door, but you're upset because in the midst of trying to keep the patient from from coding, I forgot to bring coffee. Want coffee? It's at your house. Go get it. Get out of my life.

[pie123]

I hate patients.

I hate doctors.

I hate hospitals.

I hate insurace companies.

I hate nursing as a job.

Don't feel bad, most nurses I know have been burned out for decades.

All the above has taken the reward and fun out of the job.

Ditto everything you have mentioned above. I've been a nurse for 2 years and I haven't found my niche, if there is one. One nurse said I seem burned out, and told me it was too soon in my career for that. Honestly, I have at least 7 co-workers who have all been nurses less than or right at 4 years and are burned out. When I get a stretch of days off, I feel like I can finally breathe. What a way to live.