Imagine my Dismay.....

Nurses General Nursing

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You are reading page 2 of Imagine my Dismay.....

mindlor

1,341 Posts

Well all I am saying is when our med surge nurses float to my unit, they are completely overwhelmed, in tears and nervous wrecks......perhaps you would be able to handle it...I dunno...I only speak from my own limited experience....

kungpoopanda

215 Posts

Bloof should not be hung in SNF units. Check Medicare regulations on that. Good luck with staffing help

I'm glad I've never had to hang bloof. I wouldn't know where to start.:cheeky:

sapphire18

1,082 Posts

Specializes in ICU.

Yeah, I would not call SNF a "vacation"...not by any stretch of the imagination. Especially not the one described in the OP!

iluvgusgus

150 Posts

And many acute care "med surg" floors are comparable to many ICUs in smaller community hospitals and many times have very unstable pts that should be on the ICU or IMC but the doctor just wont write the order because the RN suggested it! With 5 pts. So yeah, a bed bath does take a back seat.

Ayvah, RN

722 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg, Specialty.

What's with the lack of support towards nurses who are in a different unit than you? Whether that be SNF or Med Surg or other, until you have walked a mile in their shoes stop assuming their job is so much easier.

What's with the lack of support towards nurses who are in a different unit than you? Whether that be SNF or Med Surg or other, until you have walked a mile in their shoes stop assuming their job is so much easier.

I don't think it's a lack of support issue persay. It's the sudden realization that you have been given a license that is accustomed to having 3-5 patients with patient care techs to do the heavy lifting in an environment such as described. The license doesn't know the floor. The license isn't used to turning and repositioning patients. The license isn't used to taking their own vitals, etc. It's a lot like being designated to precept. You now have a shadow, but what you really need is someone who can help more with managing an unsafe staffing ratio without incident. The mistake many make seems to lie in either assuming that license is incapable of functioning, or, worse yet - that an opportunity exists show off at the expense of that other person.

It's rather awkward for me personally to gently explain and demonstrate how the floor staff band together in situations such as described. And situations like the OP describes are ones I see nearly every day I work. Namely because I'm agency these days, and these are the type of situations that agency nurses encounter often if not every working day.

Could you imagine having census 38-42 with two nurses and one tech? It happens. It's not a cakewalk. Meanwhile, when I've been sent to Med Surg, Tele, Ortho, or Stepdown I have 3-5 patients. But I get to focus in on those 3-5 patients and provide them with considerably more care. Many of our brethren have great difficulty making that transition.

While I don't agree with SNF/Subacute nurses bashing nurses from other specialties, there have been hundreds of examples I've personally witnessed of imploding floats in situations like that. It's not fair to bash them however. Not every nurse has worked in that type of environment. Many I've seen haven't even been minimally prepared for it.

You have to decide if bashing your co worker is worth risking poor patient outcomes. To me, this is a no brainer. You just don't...

toomuchbaloney

12,696 Posts

Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

"we have like 24 pts and 3 nurses and to my shock, only 1 CNA for the shift"

Yikes!

I cannot even imagine functioning in that environment. Kudos to you and your peers who can function professionally when so disrespected by your employer.

There oughtta be a law...

mindlor

1,341 Posts

I think somewhere along the line there has been misunderstanding...listen...it is they, the 3-5 pt nurses that bash and disrespect us. They look down their noses at us and treat us like we are somehow lesser nurses than they. I can and do float to their floors. When I do, I do not feel like I am on a vacation, I am on a vacation..I run circles around them and when I am caught up I go and help them. I end up doing their discharges and admits. When they come to my floor, I run circles around them. When I get caught up, I help them. I do all their discharges and admits....I console them and dry their eyes and let them know that I wont let them fail. Then I watch them move so slowly that it it is painful for me to watch....granted, they have not had the same experience as me. But this fact remains....I can do their job, but they cant do mine, yet they consider me their underling.....so yes, I suppose I am somewhat bitter....

Bortaz, MSN, RN

2,628 Posts

Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.

When I glanced at the title of this thread over on the bar at the right of my screen, I thought it was about DISNEY. Imagine my disappointment. :(

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
When I glanced at the title of this thread over on the bar at the right of my screen, I thought it was about DISNEY. Imagine my disappointment. :(

You weren't the only one. ;)

BrandonLPN, LPN

3,358 Posts

Some of the posters in this thread have Disney cartoon mouses as their avatars, so it's kinda-sorta Disney-ish.

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