Can a nurse just be a nurse anymore???

Flying ICU RN · Sep 15, 2010

Annoying isn't it?

What you are seeing here, is someone's justification for a high level position (or dept) at the expense of your time and effort under the banner of client benefit.

MassED, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2010

Oh boy do I hear ya! I was brought in as an RNII, which meant squat to me. I was told I was required to be on at least two committees, of which monthly. Not to mention a requirement to audit charts monthly. I just want to do the minimum so I can get my fair raise. I wish a raise was reflected based on attendance, performance, etc. Why is there this impossible standard? Why can't we just do a great job and go home? Why this high standard of contribution?? I feel like it's helping management do THEIR job, that's the only reason there are these ridiculous requirements.

wooh, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2010

It's all so when Magnet and JC come to visit the powers that be can point out how involved the bedside nurses are in the decision making. Because forcing the bedside nurses to participate in ridiculous extras that don't change anything empowers the bedside nurses! Not to mention, someone now has a nice office 9 to 5 job making sure all the nurses get their points (or "contributions" as my facility insists on calling them.)

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Sep 15, 2010

Nursing politics at it's finest.

allnurses Guide · Sep 16, 2010

Our clinical ladder is voluntary, and a way of getting credit for extra things that you do. If you don't want to be on a committee, or be a charge nurse, or be a preceptor.... you don't have to. We are union, so there are no subjective "merit" pay raises; but having a means of increasing your pay by your own efforts is available. I get my points by teaching and orienting students, by being the charge nurse, by community activities.

To repeat, clinical ladders should be voluntary.

dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I · Sep 16, 2010

I just ignore this stuff now. Junk like this comes and goes, and I find the more people ignore it the sooner it goes away. Or you can play the game, but I find that just encourages them. They should award metals for surviving nursing school, passing the NCLEX, then surviving the "death by power point" new employee orientations. IMHO.

jkpowell23 · Sep 16, 2010

Every year, during our evaluations we are eligible for either 2%, 3% or 4%. Every year we'd all get 3% and were told if we made more 'contributions' in addition to our good attendance and our good work, we would be eligible for the 4%. Bull!! No matter what we did there was always more that would be needed for the 4%. Most of us just gave up. Last week there was a memo that due to 'projected losses' related to the new healthcare plan of Obama's, we would now only be eligible for 1.5% max. Nice.

So, my theory is, no matter what you do, you don't get squat! (at my hospital anyway!)

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2010

Yeah, it is all in the name of "looking good on paper" for the powers-that-be. We have to do it if we want to be considered for promotion to a higher clinical ladder. We all know that it is tedious, mostly a waste of time, but it is the nature of the beast...sigh.

SandraCVRN · Sep 16, 2010

A friend of mine jumped all the hoops then had a bad run of illnesses and lost her clinical ladder so her pay was reduced!!! Currently ours is still voluntary so I just do my worker bee job and leave the CL to whoever wants it....

chloecatrn · Sep 16, 2010

Is anyone else sick of the endless demands placed on nurses? Now they are implementing a new clinical ladder thing at our hospital. If you have over 3 years experience you are a "RN II" and you must get 3 "points" a year to maintain it or you will not get your raise. Examples are "heading a committee to decrease LOS" for... 1 point!! Or becoming a member of professional organization and you must bring in proof of attendence to meetings for... 1 point! This is just ridiculous. Can a nurse just be nurse????? I understand some people love this kind of stuff and by all means give them a great raise and extras! I however don't have time for this crap and do not think it should be mandatory! ughhh!!!!!! :grn::grn::grn:

I really believe that the clinical ladder is to encourage the bedside nurse to continue to grow professionally within the organization. So many nurses say, "We do it this way because we've always done it this way." But why? With evidence based practice, which a lot of clinical ladders encourage, we can prove why our way is good, or show each other why we need to change for the benefit of our patients.

Shared governance, which does meet a Magnet requirement, also gives nurses a voice in the running of your hospital. Nurses complain because things happen to us. If you have a chance to make a change, then you can't complain as much anymore. For example, one of our committees focused on retention of the experienced nurse. This committee voted to give the nurses who had been with our hospital for over 15 years a cash bonus. They were able to show the percentage of those nurses who were loyal, thus reducing orientation costs, and show how their number that they had selected for a bonus would still be cost effective for the hospital. They got their bonus.

Having to come in on an extra day sucks sometimes, and we found ways around that, too. But the changes that were made in our workplace were awesome, because we were the ones that knew what was wrong and how we wanted it to be fixed.

wanderinrn · Sep 16, 2010

Where I used to work, they had a 'volunteer' program for community activities. But, it impacted your raise, in that if you didn't volunteer you wouldn't get the 'max' raise. I was only PRN, and lived hour and fifteen minutes from hospital, and on one of my evals, nurse manager had marked off on me for not volunteering at a health fair or elementary school fair, etc. Really annoyed me, but I just smiled and signed the eval and went on with my day....