Change has hit... and it ain't good.....

[jschut, BSN, RN]

please explain to me and tell me if i am wrong, but where is the even handedness in this equation?

nurses that work 6a-6p are required to pass am, noon and 1600 medications and deal with the daily goings on during that shift. minimal treatments, minimal charting...

nurses that work 6p-6a are required to pass hs meds and 0600 meds, do medicare charting for 2nd and 3rd shifts, do all 2nd and 3rd shift treatments, do 2nd and 3rd shift documentation for all atb's, skin occurrences, incident reports, vital signs, skin assessments for 2nd and 3rd shifts, get all accuchecks in the morning, and change o2 and nebulizer tubing.

nurses that work 1st and 2nd shifts are known to take 1-1/2 hour lunches, disappear off the floor and no one can find them (one has even been seen out shopping and getting her x-rays at the hospital while on the clock!). a couple others take more smoke breaks and are outside more than they are inside....

3rd shift nurses can't even leave the floor to eat lunch.

admissions are being left for 3rd shift to complete. 1st or 2nd will only order medications, then the chart is left for 3rd to complete. including skin, rom, client inventory and questions that should be asked during the client's waking hours... not while they are asleep.

does anyone else see a bit of bias going on here?

this is going on where i work, and the excuse is: 6a-6p have 3 meals to go through. (and that means what exactly? the nurses don't help in the dining room, they don't help on the floor, and they don't clean up!- 3 meals... so?)

gggrrrrrrrr......................

[showbizrn]

i hate to pre-judge

but i have been in nursing

a long time

and....

sounds like the delgation of shift assignments

are misdelegated and mis- appropriated.

[oramar]

Management people always dump on night turn because they think they have nothing to do. Also, they have little or no experience of being on night turn. When you clock in they are in their beds. I have been in meetings where management person actually said, "we will give this new form to night turn because they have nothing to do". The few good managers that I have had that really had a concept of what it was like on nights were people that had actually worked nights.

[AOx1]

It seems as if there are many problems at this facility, not just the unfair shift assignments. It sounds as if there is little accountability to professional standards (what would happen if a patient had deteriorated while the nurse was shopping?) and legal standards. It also sounds as if there are serious morale problems. One thing I have noted in past management positions is that if lazy employees (the nurses who are doing anything on the clock other than working) are allowed to continue on that path, it really demoralizes those who are working hard. It's hard not to feel bitter and dumped on when you see others doing nothing while you bust your butt.

Doesn't sound like a very good workplace overall to me. Any direct knowledge of people leaving the facility during work hours should have been reported and investigated.

[KBRN413]

it is completely opposite where i work. the day shift 7a-7p medicates throughout the day. does all the treatments, handles mds, family members...etc..etc...etc. nights seem more quiet. i have done quite a few nights for overtime and what a difference! much less to do! not always slow at night, but the majority of the time, i spent just doing paperwork and rounding on my patients.

maybe you should talk with your manager regarding the huge difference in obligations! nursing should be a 24hr/day job! things should be getting done when there is time. if they have time to take 1 1/2 hours breaks, then there is no reason why things can't get done during the day!:typing

[rngolfer53]

I haven't read past the OP, but unless I'm badly mistaken there will be a litany of similar complaints about the night shift.

Humans and bovines share that view of the grass on the other side of the fence. :chuckle

[jschut, BSN, RN]

It sounds as if there is little accountability to professional standards (what would happen if a patient had deteriorated while the nurse was shopping?) and legal standards. It also sounds as if there are serious morale problems. One thing I have noted in past management positions is that if lazy employees (the nurses who are doing anything on the clock other than working) are allowed to continue on that path, it really demoralizes those who are working hard. It's hard not to feel bitter and dumped on when you see others doing nothing while you bust your butt.

Doesn't sound like a very good workplace overall to me. Any direct knowledge of people leaving the facility during work hours should have been reported and investigated.

Well, put it this way.... the very same nurse that takes the 1 1/2 hr lunches, was also reported for restraining a resident with a gait belt. Nothing happened to her then, either.

It used to be a wonderful place. Until a clean sweep was made with administration, and some of the new nurses hired from the DON's old place of employment were complaining about the workload... then, of course..... we all got dumped on.

Humans and bovines share that view of the grass on the other side of the fence. :chuckle

This is true, but the reason I "know" that the grass is greener on the other side of this fence is because I worked the 6a-6p shift myself BEFORE all the changes were implemented, and everything that some of the newer nurses say they just don't have "time" to do, I accomplished everyday. It's a matter of time management, in my opinion.

Guess I just wanted a place to vent to.......thanks for listening!

[elliejayRN]

Yes, that sounds like your organization, as mine we all get a pretty heavy load. What gets me is certain nurses routinely get all there work done. They're surfing the net, reading the newspaper and I don't know how in the world they get it all done, until I follow one of them. Then I know, they aren't getting everything done evidenced by how you have to take up their slack and complete your work too. They all clock out on time too. The boss usually loves them.