California nurses, how do you experience burnout?

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I just finished reading a thread about "why is nursing such a horrible job?" I live in Ca and the nurses are unionized. So my question is this: California nurses are your jobs more easier because of the union laws or is it just as difficult as other states without unions? Do you have the same issues? Thanks in advance!

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Nursing is a hard job everywhere. When a pt is really, really sick, they need ALL of you, and ALL the time. THere is no way that this cannot be an exhausting experience. However, it helps if there are mandatory limits to the number of pts. each nurse is responsible for. I previously worked in a non-union field (computers), and had no particular love of unions. But after reading the horror stories here on this forum I am glad I work in the only state with staffing ratios. And the only reason we have these laws are because nurses banded together to make a bigger voice for themselves.

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Specializes in med/surg, ER.

Not all California nurses are unionized, but we all have staffing ratios...

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All the problems in nursing don't just magically go away when good staffing ratios are in place. However, I am in CA and the ratio on our unit is 3:1 (better than the law requires) and I would probably quit if the ratio was higher.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Keep in mind that mandatory ratios are expensive for hospitals to maintain, so they often cut costs by ridding some units of ancillary personnel (CNAs, PCTs, dietary aides, techs, transporters, etc.). The nurse must sometimes transport his/her own patients, pass meal trays, give baths, and fetch stuff in addition to doing the duties that cannot be delegated to anyone else but an RN.

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