Personal Thought.......

[simonemyheart]

I work in a small hospital on the telemetry floor, I have only been working as a nurse for 7 months.

I have realized that what I do is more towards the critical care side than telemetry. The majority of my patients are crazy ill. We have codes at least 10x a week on my floor alone.....and there are only 2 floors.

I don't mind critical care but my nurse to pt ratio is often 1:6 and our pt's are not receiving the care they need or deserve.

85% of the nursing staff say they would not come to our hospital for personal care. I told my husband - "Unless I am on the verge of death I will kill you if you take me there. If you have to once I am stable you make sure I am transferred out ASAP!!!!"

I wish we could give better care. Sad truth.....I have been involved in codes where MD's are no where to be found. If you go to our ER they say there is a doctor there but truth is there is not, only ANRP's (which I adore by the way!!!)

Okay that is all, just a thought I wanted to share with my fellow nurses.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

That is the sad and unfortunate reality of healthcare today- especially in small, critical access hospitals. So many of these hospitals nationwide have been forced to close in the past few years due to bankruptcy. The ones that still are around are staying afloat by increasing patient ratios and bringing in (and keeping) as many patients as they can.

Just do the best you can. Follow your scope of practice and facility's policies and procedures. Document everything carefully. When you're ready for a change, you'll have gained some valuable experience to move to a different facility.