Happy Flippin' Nurse's Day

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Wow. The company I work for used to be really good about treating nurses well during nurse's week. One year they hired a massage therapist to give 15 minute chair massages. Then one year they bought us lunch. Well this year.....a blood drive was organized.....for us nurses to donate to. Free food for those who donate. :eek: Is it just me, or is that pretty....ummmm.....what's the word....CRAPPY? I guess the bad economy is their excuse....Are there ANY decent places to work????

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

What happens on Doctor day? Do they get to do pro bono surgery all day and get a veggie platter if they do?

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

A simple "thank you" would be nice.

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What gets me is they hold whatever THING they're doing in a location far from where nurses actually work, and do something that you have to try to fit in in a busy nutso day w/ patients calling you every 6 minutes, only so you can go down and enter some drawing you'll never win, or pick up samples of crap, or cheap plastic token gifts w/ the hospital logo.

I tried to explain this today to a white-coat wearing nurse w/pearls and heels today, but she just didn't get it. She literally said, "Well, we hold this thing, but no one shows up." I said, "Well, things on my unit are pretty busy today . ..no one seems to be able to get free." She looked at me like I had two heads.

Come ON. Couldn't they perhaps get creative and run up carts to the nursing floors during busy days -- how about massages? Free coffee in the a.m., lunchtime manicures -- WHATEVER. But come UP to the units - where the nurses ARE. How about doing things at the nursing station?? There could be SO many innovative and truly motivating things they could do.

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

My LTC has given a small gift to nurses every day so far. The same gifts were also given to our 2 retired resident nurses (they were thrilled & each said they never got this much recognition when they were still practicing).

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Specializes in PACU, CARDIAC ICU, TRAUMA, SICU, LTC.

We got a rose and a so called "lunch tote." I tried to fit a small bowl in it and it wouldn't fit. It looks more like a tag sale item..I left my rose in the fridge; the next afternoon, I saw a housekeeper walking out with it. The $ they spent on this stuff could have bought me a good deli sandwich, but then again, probably not. National Nurses Week?? How about National Nurses Minute or two........

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Specializes in ED, ICU, Education.

We each got a rose (only those who worked), a clipboard, and an extra patient each!

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I think "Hospital Week" is just an excuse to steal away time from Nurses Week. On Nurses Day and then Saturday, they had little parties, all the signs said "Happy Hospital Week 2010." Mind you, this was on Nurses Day and Saturday, both days that were part of Nurses Week, neither were days that were part of "Hospital Week." So I asked one of the people running the thing (in a part of the hospital that our phones don't work, so we couldn't actually stay for any length of time), why they turned Nurses Week into a Hospital Week celebration? She said, "It's Nurses DAY, it's Hospital WEEK."

Her ignorance aside...Now when it's Social Worker Day, Physical Therapist Week, whatever, they get to have their own celebration. (Some of our coworkers, when it was their "Day" got the day off! Shows just how necessary THEY are to the running of the hospital.) Goodness, one Doctors Day, I was asked to bake cookies. But Nurses Week gets turned into Hospital Week as soon as they can, even before Hospital Week actually begins.

Oh, and our Nurses Week gift? (Gotta say, at least I didn't have to give blood.) We got to take a test! Yes, they actually said that to celebrate Nurses Week, all nurses should go take a quiz. Woohoo!

I could care less about getting a gift. But it's just blatantly disrespectful to take away our week and give it to the whole freaking hospital. Everyone else gets to have their day or week. Let us have ours!

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Specializes in ICU/ER.

We got two bags in the ICU...each contained a snack pack of Cheez-Its, a package of Starburst, Stride gum, ad a bag of pretzels. And the people we rent our bariatric beds brought it. And there were 12 nurses per shift.

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Specializes in ICU/ER.

The hospital gave us....a happy nurses week in our weekly paper. Awesome.

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We got a beach bag with our hospital's logo on it so I can feel guilty for taking a vacation while on the beach. You know what would be cool, a reminder put in the admission packets reminding patients that its Nurses Week and to be nice. Not that I expect it but not one of my patients said Happy Nurses Week :(

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
We got a beach bag with our hospital's logo on it so I can feel guilty for taking a vacation while on the beach. You know what would be cool, a reminder put in the admission packets reminding patients that its Nurses Week and to be nice. Not that I expect it but not one of my patients said Happy Nurses Week :(

This had me laughing out loud, I know it's not really funny but too funny none the less!

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Specializes in Rehab, Step-down,Tele,Hospice.

They held a Lunch at some place approx 45 minutes away, and we got a tiny bag of M&M's.

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