CONTINUED IN WHAT IS THE MAJOR REASON Why are they all leaving?

Nurses General Nursing

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What conditions would cause so many nurses to leave? Our ER has been losing friends fast. Why is there such a large turnover in nursing? I'm going to school, yet I talk to many RN's who are looking for a new career!!

I don't understand this at all. Perhaps we are lucky in Australia, but having breaks is mandated by law. People cover your breaks. You get a 10 minute teabreak and 30 min lunchbreak you HAVE to take. I don't understand how people can do an 8 or 10 hour shift without getting to the bathroom! Then again, we have mandated nurse-patient ratios, including med-surg wards, so perhaps as I said we are just lucky. There is no way I'd work in that situation.

We work 8 1/2 hours, get paid for 8, the only problem is there is no one to cover for the breaks. I think California is the only state that has mandated nurse patient ratios, that leaves 49 states that don't have them. You can ask for help but that doesn't mean you are going to get it, everyone else is just as busy and sometimes the supervisor has no help to give, they can't pull a nurse out of thin air.

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Add to that, the fact that most of these hospitals, probably all, are run by businessmen and they are in the business of making money and making a profit. Labor is the biggest cost, so where are they going to try to save money?

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Specializes in PACU, ED.
No comparison! If you have not worked on a medsurg floor as an RN then you do NOT know what we are talking about, and you are in no position to offer advice.

Your are right, your problem cannot be solved or at least I don't have anything to offer to solve it.

I can say that during my 3 years working as a tech in PACU in Arizona I have never seen a nurse miss out on lunch. They all also find time to use the restroom. I'm graduating in March and have been getting setup to go straight into PACU to avoid going to a med/surg floor where I know the caseload is higher and there are fewer folks to help.

Perhaps there are some med/surg nurses here who can offer help advice or commiserate with you. I wish you luck.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
No comparison! If you have not worked on a medsurg floor as an RN then you do NOT know what we are talking about, and you are in no position to offer advice.

Obviously no comparison. But I disagree with you. I like that post.

Taking a break for nourishment and elimination is essential, no matter how busy you are, that's what I got out of the post.

In the 15 years I've worked as a med-surg nurse 99.99% of the time have I eaten (mind you they haven't all been the 30 minutes I'm allowed and confess to eating many a meal on the run, or being interrupted) and 100% of the time I take time for bathroom breaks. I take other breaks as they come up, which isn't often, but eating and bathroom are mandatory.

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Obviously no comparison. But I disagree with you. I like that post.

Taking a break for nourishment and elimination is essential, no matter how busy you are, that's what I got out of the post.

In the 15 years I've worked as a med-surg nurse 99.99% of the time have I eaten (mind you they haven't all been the 30 minutes I'm allowed and confess to eating many a meal on the run, or being interrupted) and 100% of the time I take time for bathroom breaks. I take other breaks as they come up, which isn't often, but eating and bathroom are mandatory.

Good for you.

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Specializes in cardiac.

Hummm......I always took my breaks. Guess I was lucky and other staff would cover my pts for the time being. Of course, we ate on the floor in the breakroom should an emergancy arise we would all be there to help. There were some times that I didn't get a lunch and I charged the hospital for it. Manager didn't like it and I explained to her that if I was expected to take report on new admissions and get them into bed while on my lunch break, then, they will pay me for my time. It was mandated that we were allowed an uninterupted 30 minute lunch. I pointed that one out to her in the employee handbook. She never brought the subject up with me again and I DID get paid for working through my lunch. I realize that sometimes the units can be crazy and we may have to eat on the run, but, take the time to pee, and to grab a bite to eat. It's important not to run yourself into the ground. Nursing is a 24 hour job. What can't get done on your shift, can possibly be finished on the shift that follows.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Good for you.

Thanks. Mind you I still run around, my patients usually aren't covered when I'm gone, and I often stay late to finish my charting. Still it's the price I choose to pay to empty my bladder and nourish my body.

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Specializes in Peds ER.

You know, whether she's a nurse or not, her advice is great. Nurses should take their breaks and lunch DAILY. I know there are times when it's just not possible but those days should be few and far between. The reason why nurses continue to work in these absurd conditions is because WE ALLOW IT! Never have I seen such complacency as you see in this profession. I know we need to pay our bills and eat but that doesn't give the hospitals, nursing homes, etc. to treat you like garbage.

On my floor, whether it's a madhouse or not, we go one at a time to take breaks, get lunch, etc. We cover for each other while the one is out and it works out great. I would suggest trying to get a system going where everyone can get a break. Even if it's only for 10 minutes, we need it!

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I have been informed from a friend in Canada that some of the nurses in ER leaving in droves due to assault and abuse from patients.

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I sense some bitterness on these boards, yes?

I also am not a nurse yet. BUT, I do work as a nurse extern in EVERY unit in the hospital with the sole exception of the OR. I work on understaffed days, severely understaffed days, overstaffed days, severely overstaffed days, and once in a blue moon, I work a day that is appropriately staffed. I have NEVER not taken a lunch. I have taken them late, I have taken them WAY early, I have run to the cafeteria for 5 minutes to get myself lunch that I can eat intermittently, I have taken short lunches, and I have stayed late afterwards to finish all my work. But I WILL NOT deny myself food or a bathroom break in order to get non-urgent patient care done right away.

If you have to deny yourself those basic needs, you need to leave. It isn't appropriate and it isn't safe. If there is no one to cover your patients so you can run down and get something to eat, or run to the fridge to grab your food to eat while you chart, then there is something seriously wrong with the picture.

Now you can blast me for not having appropriate experince to back up my position. ;)

Chrissy (nurse extern)

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Specializes in cardiac.

Porcelina,

No blasting here. I wouldn't call it bitterness though. I think it's more frustration with the job. Most nurses, as I have read on these boards, are very committed to their pts and are constantly put in situations that are almost impossible to keep up with. I love the aspect of taking care of sick people and doing my best to ensure they have a positive outcome. It's just some of the working conditions that are imposed on some of us are horrendous. Nursing IS challenging. And, I also love that aspect of it too. You just sometimes get sick of being worked like a machine day in and day out where there's not enough time in the world to complete all that needs to be done. I used to go home at night and wonder, "Did I do enough?" "Did I miss anything important?" " I wonder if I gave Mr. So and So enough info about his meds." ETC.... As ItsyBItsySpider said in her/his last post, "WE ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN" And it's true, we need to start standing up for ourselves. And I'm not going to blast you for "not yet being a nurse." I think these type of discussions are informative to all other persons considering a career in nursing. This way you have a good chance of not going into the field blindly, with rose colored glasses, like I did. Boy! Was my bubble ever busted when I started working as a new RN...

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Specializes in burn, geriatric, rehab, wound care, ER.

I thought about leaving nursing for years but the work environment finally got better -I was finally treated like a professional - what made me stay?

-union protection

-patient ratios

-mandated breaks/reimbursement for breaks not taken

-better pay

-financial compensation for years of experience/ certifications

-zero tolerance policy for abusive behaviour toward nurses by physicians

-worth saying again - union protection

I live/work in California, so the joint effect of a concerted effort to recruit/retain staff due to the nursing shortage and the advances afforded by unionization have helped me to stay in nursing.

It's not rocket science - who wants to go to work every day with the altruistic notion of helping people just to be consistently abused - and that's what's going on - plain, simple ABUSE. We have laws against child abuse, elder abuse, domestic partner abuse, even animal abuse in every state- but apparently laws against nurse abuse (ie nurse ratios) only in the State of California.

So perhaps you should rephrase the question "Why are some nurses staying ?" (and perpetuating the cycle of abuse -aha! -now I understand why nurses "eat their young")

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