Our hospital has started deliberately understaffing the floors. No secretary. Only one tech for 18 patients. No phlebotomy department. This is not because we don't have enough staff...they actually send techs home all the time because they have redesigned the staffing grid. As a result, the nurses are now the secretaries, the lab, the tech, etc. We usually work one to two hours over our shift.
The management is getting tired of the nurses clocking out late and attached a note to our pay checks that said we must clock out on time. If we don't, we must fill out a form that says "why" we didn't and then have the charge nurse sign it. Of course, the charge nurse has six patients of her own. We are always so swamped, that we are not in the position to help one another. We never take lunch and usually don't even have time to pee. We are encouraged NOT to fill out a missed lunch form because we must also list all the reasons why we did not take lunch. We must also have this "approved" by the charge nurse.
The management thinks we are so dense that we don't realize they are hoping we won't have the time to fill out these forms and, as a result, won't get paid for these extra hours. One manager says she doesn't understand why we can't get our work done.
It took everything in me not to look at her and say, after my 14 hour shift, "You are a horrible human being. How dare you treat your employees this way." I have been a nurse for ten years and I can't believe how bad it has become. I am seriously thinking about a different career. Am I wrong to assume that satisfied employees make satisfied patients? Our management cares NOTHING about the patients. If they did, they would make sure they had enough staff to take care of them.
Specializes in Infusion Nursing, Home Health Infusion.
Studies prove that when the nurse to patient ratio is improved death rates go down Well duh!!!!. we could have told you that.In Ca acute care hospitals could do whatever they wanted (excluding ICUs) until the Ca ratio law went into effect. Thank god for CNA for all their efforts in getting this law passed. I hear other states are looking at our law to construct similar versions. Anyone else have mandated ratios or are they on the way?
iluvivt, BSN, RN
2,774 Posts
Studies prove that when the nurse to patient ratio is improved death rates go down Well duh!!!!. we could have told you that.In Ca acute care hospitals could do whatever they wanted (excluding ICUs) until the Ca ratio law went into effect. Thank god for CNA for all their efforts in getting this law passed. I hear other states are looking at our law to construct similar versions. Anyone else have mandated ratios or are they on the way?