Cleveland Clinic Nurses--Is Big Brother Watching?

RN Power Ohio · Apr 1, 2008

Too funny!!! Yes BB = CCF!

I am disappointed we don't have more lively discussions from our Ohio nurses.

It seems largely that regional discussion is from student- which is good- but it would be nice to see some local events and updates!

I would highly recommend you look at UH before committing to the Clinic. It seems to be a more nursing oriented hospital.

There are some good things about the Clinic but historically it's value of nursing is not one of them.

The model of care for it's surgical and medical floors can often be - 1 RN and 1 LPN for 9 or 10 patients. Nurses in my organization from UH report much better staffing.

Unfortunately, staffing is a BIG problem at most hospitals. So it is tough to make a decision based on that alone.

Good Luck to you wherever you choose to go.

**All Heart RN** · Apr 1, 2008

Thanks RNPower for your response! Hopefully other CCF nurses will feel more empowered to join in.

It's really disappointing to hear (not just form you) that CCF doesn't trully live up to the meaning of a Magnet hospital. Given their size and the amount of recognition they have received nationally, I would have expected more.

I haven't really looked into UH yet but over the last few years I've heard more positive feedback from nurses about UH than I have the Clinic.

Thanks again!

RN Power Ohio · Apr 1, 2008

Take a look at this recent article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. As most nurses know, satisfaction is strongly related to nursing care. When nurses don't have time to communicate or respond- satisfaction (among other things) suffers.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/03/northeast_ohio_patients_rate_p.html

Ohio Hospitals are not overseen by the Department of Health - so there is not much public information available. This report is significant.

Niotice that the Clinic has hired "an experience consultant" -perhaps they really need to staff better in both nursing and environmental services!

RN Power Ohio · Apr 1, 2008

It's really disappointing to hear (not just form you) that CCF doesn't trully live up to the meaning of a Magnet hospital. Given their size and the amount of recognition they have received nationally, I would have expected more.

Please read this information from the Massachusetts Nurses Association about Magnet!!! Magnet is an advertising label and revenue generator for the ANA.

http://www.massnurses.org/pubs/positions/magnet.htm

**All Heart RN** · Apr 1, 2008

Hi RNPower-

You provided some good info through the articles. I have to say that the Clinic's response to low patient satisfaction scores was (at best) annoying. It seems as though hospital administrators (and I'm not just picking on the Clinic; I work at a hospital in the Dayton area that is guilty of the same thing) are programmed to "address" every issue by forming some kind of committee. For once, it would be nice to see some kind of direct action.

For instance, the article you provided about the farce surrounding Magnet status, stated that mandatory safe RN-patient ratios is not a criteria for Magnet credentialing(!!!). Is anyone as disgusted and shocked as I am by that bit of news?! I would think that safe RN-patient ratios would be one of the most important criteria to even be considered as a candidate for Magnet status.

There's sooo much that has to change about bedside nursing (and healthcare, in general)---where do we begin?

I know, let's form a committee! :bugeyes:

RN Power Ohio · Apr 1, 2008

Yes an ORGANIZING COMMITTEE!!

Speaking of committee's as the solution for all...HB346!!! The hospital industry solution to the staffing crisis- let's make the suggestion of a committee -that "should" make staffing plans that they "shall" make available upon request a law.

actioncat · Apr 2, 2008

I'm not a Cleveland Clinic nurse, but have had family members there. I cannot say that I was impressed with the care or the facility. It did not seem like an environment that was nurse-friendly.

In addition, I do think CC is bigger than some hospitals on giving preferential treatment to VIP type patients.

University Hospital seemed like a much nicer facility and the nurses seemed less harried.

running_nurse · Apr 2, 2008

Let's just say....working there was a huge mistake. Never ever ever again!

tatarn2b2007 · Apr 5, 2008

Do not work for CCF!!! More than likely, you will cry everyday on the way to and home from work. I know I did as well as the numerous nurses I have talked to that have worked there in the past. As part of your orientation, you have to take a "nurse to nurse hostility class!" I am not making that up. The reason you have to take that class is because in one year they hired 1000 nurses and lost 1000 nurses!!! That is HUGE!!! I wish I would have listened to the few people who said it was bad and not made the mistake in working there. I am very thankful I got out and went to a smaller hospital and love it. Take my advice and do the same.

RN Power Ohio · Apr 5, 2008

At least I am not the only one. I used to do that too. I worked there for years but in the beginning I had an excellent team of coworker. We realy stuck together. We would all do things like swipe no lunch or write letters protesting unsafe assignments. We banned together and refused admits when we were really short. It worked. We worked nights and no one ever left alone we stayed and helped each other until each of us was done and walked out together every morning.

But it ws still too crazy and little by little my team left. I was a last man standing with mostly new grads.

Things go progressively worse- from the beginning we would report to our managers and director but nothing ever changed. We got the same gab "you need to manage your time better" "just do the best you can". I saw that approach failing over and over again.

After an especially bad night I got home from work at 11am- fell asleep in my driveway! That night there were 2 code blues and I had 13 patients. In the morning I got a "warning note" because I failed to document a follow up pain score in the chart. I had it! I left.

Now I am working to change things in nursing for the better. I work with nurses around the state of Ohio. I discovered things aren't so great everywhere! I feel like I'm back with my "team again" with NNOC. I have strength and power together with the other nurses who have joined together to battle for change -and believe me it is a battle- but a good one!

07rn2b · Apr 12, 2008

I work for a CCF regional hospital, NOT at the main campus downtown. I will never work downtown for a number of reasons. Mostly, I don't care for the environment. It's too busy and too big for me. There are parking issues, etc, that I don't want to have to deal with. Most of all, I live near to the hospital where I work, and enjoy my 15 minute commute. I love the size of the hospital where I am, and I enjoy the community feeling there. The staff is friendly, and it is a good environment as far as that is concerned. I know a couple of nurses who work downtown and love it, and I know some who used to work down there and hated it. It all depends on what you are looking for and what you are willing to put up with.

I look at the whole CCF/UH issue like this. I know people who have left to go to work for UH, and I know people who have left UH to work for CCF. On the whole, it seems as though it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. If you want to work at a hospital in Cleveland, with a very few exceptions, you are pretty much relegated to working at one facility or the other. For now, I'm ok with where I'm at. At this point in time, it's not worth the hassle of a job switch to go to UH.