is the grass greener?

[roxie144]

How is it at your hospital? We are short staffed and nurses are more and more flexing up with six patients on a step down unit. We often find ourselves with one aid for 24 patients and then getting reminded about how important it is to answer call lights and do hourly rounding so our patient satisfaction scores are high. You are only one person who can do only so much. The moral at our hospital is low and anymore people walk in to work and we have so many poor attitudes because everyone is so fed up. Not to mention some of the assignments are just unsafe, for example, a nurse with approx. 2 years experience with a new grad and a nurse with 6months experience coming on at 7p with three heart caths, two of which that had problems with bleeding and a fresh cva coming to the floor and 8 other patients on top of it. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the comment "every time I come here I feel like my license is on the line." Just wondering is the grass greener or is it like this everywhere. We are expected to do more with less and are told all the time about patient satisfaction and budget but it seems like we never hear about patient or nurse safety!

[Biffbradford]

If it is greener somewhere else, then you can bet there aren't any positions open!

It's sucked for years and will only get worse. Sorry!

[dreamingofbeing]

Sounds like my old place of employment. I mean that seriously.

I always say the grass isn't greener it's just a different shade of green.

[Testa Rosa, RN]

I'm in California where we have ratios yet it feels overwhelming everytime I'm on the floor--we get less CNA's coverage and are expected to deal with higher acuity than ever before.

[Biffbradford]

A friend of mine works on a tele/gen. medical floor. Multiple drips, central lines, chest tubes. It's an ICU!

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

The grass IS always greener! The problem is when you get there you end up stepping in the stuff that makes it greener.

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

one of my favorite sayings goes like this (and i have found it especially true in regards to places of employment for nurses):

"the grass isn't always greener....it's just another patch of grass."

[Mrs. SnowStormRN, RN]

The grass is greener (because it's plastic).

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

The grass is not greener it just appears that way until you get overthere!

[Gratefulprn]

Grass is grass..the reason it looks greener is usually because it's been covered in bull!@#$ that you can't see from a distance :)

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

No, it isn't greener. The hospital I left last year was excellent, and had 6-7, sometimes 8:1 on the step down unit. The med-surg floor nurses usually had 10-12 patients, with a tech to help them. And yes, they had multiple lines, chest tubes, etc. That does not make a paitent CCU material, lol. The ED cut back to 2 RNs and 1 tech around the clock for an average volume of 30 patients a shift. I routinely had 3 critical care patients with no 2nd RN, no techs, no secretary. There was a lever to pull if I needed help from the ED in a hurry.

It's the same just about everywhere these days. Make the best of what you've got, b/c all you can do is trade one set of problems for another.

[itsmejuli]

I found the grass much greener when I crossed the border back to Canada earlier this year.