I just got a new (sort of) job and I am a bit concerned already. Background: it is an ambulatory surgery center, and I transferred from one branch of the company as per diem, to this other branch as full-time. I didn't stay at first branch as full-time because the PACU nurses (what I was doing at the time) NEVER get their breaks. Only a lunch. I need food and a break or I am not a safe nurse, and it's state law. But I digress...
Please tell me if I should RUN NOW or try to stick it out:
-There is currently no RN clinical director; she quit and left mere days before I was hired on. There is a job posting but no replacement yet.
-Hallways overflowing with supplies, supply-chain person seems totally confused and over-worked, we are running out of things because "it's inventory time"
-Scrub techs are not labeling any of the meds or solutions on their field, ever!!!??!
-TWO of the main OR nurses with most knowledge and seniority are leaving. Well, going "per-diem". This leaves the charge nurse, me, and this other OR nurse who seems VERY shaky on her feet; charge nurse even said she didn't feel comfortable having this nurse orient me. But we are so short today and per-diem nurse who knows what he is doing is out sick, so guess who I am training with...
-Charge nurse overheard saying how much she hates her job.
-Charge nurse takes two days off for mental health break, during my FIRST WEEK of orientation. My 4th day on the job, I am in a room by myself, on my own. I handled it fine, but the cases and surgeon were easy. Not even a week, and charge nurse says she thinks I can be "done with orientation". Um, what??
-Scrub tech telling me about worker's comp surgeon with dubious practices ("oh that knee cartilage looks pretty good... *tear* oh whoops, looks like I now need to do a repair $$$")
-Numerous people warning me about one surgeon who hates new people and will "test" you by being a dick to see if you have thick skin, one surgeon who bites your head off if you whistle or hum, one who is extremely condescending etc etc etc
-Manager is friendly enough but constantly looks and seems extremely nervous and un-sure
-Scrub tech saying jokingly that he was amazed I came back after my first day
-looks like some very new nurses are training even NEWER nurses in pre-op and PACU
I am feeling pretty uneasy, guys. However, I have hated all my nursing jobs and my resume looks like I am a job-hopper. There is another surgery center who is interested in interviewing me... should I look into it? Should I stick it out?
I am having a difficult time accepting the fact you left a job due to not getting a consistent break. There would be no nurses left it we all made that a deciding factor.
Listen to yourself and the concerns that you have voiced. You must think of your licensure and what your expected to do as a prudent nurse. I understand your uneasiness with the physicians personalities especially toward new emplyees. There is nothong wrong with thock skin but there respect of you goes a long way. I would like to share with you an incidentvl had with a doctor that all the nurses were afraid of where l was working at the time. I had a patient that was on coumadin therapy and l had received results of their PT/INR. I had placed a call to this doctor after l reviewed the patient's chart just in case he would ask other questions pertaining to the patient. When the doctor responded to my call l gave him both PT and INR result at which time the doctor called me a moron and hung up. I called him back and asked that he please address me by my name and explain to me what he wanted the patient to receive (coumadin) he then stated that he was pnly interested in the INR result and adked that in the future l give that result. I ended up working with this doctor many years after that with no problem. He did apologize to me and l accepted it with the understanding that he needed me to carry out good nursing care to his patients and in order to do that l needed his cooperation. Always put your lice.nse first and if you feel that things are wrong or poorly done your instinct is probably right to either move on to a more professional setting or stay there and get caught up in a rat race
I am having a difficult time accepting the fact you left a job due to not getting a consistent break. There would be no nurses left it we all made that a deciding factor.
Well, maybe nurses should make that a deciding factor, and then administrators might actually have to show us more respect. I have to say, while it's nothing personal, this sort of thinking really gets to me. As long as nurses berate each other for wanting something they're entitled to, or insinuate that nurses have no power in their workplace, administrators will continue to take advantage of us. In most other fields, if you're an hourly employee, you get your breaks. Companies that don't give their hourly employees breaks often face class action lawsuits or fines. (The hospital I work for fixed that by making us "salaried professionals". No break? No problem! And I'm part of the problem because I put up with it to have their name on my resume. )
But it really shouldn't be seen as unreasonable for someone to want to leave a job because they aren't getting the paid / unpaid breaks they are entitled to. Unfortunately, nursing culture currently dictates otherwise...
In any case, that job sounds awful for a variety of reasons, and I know I wouldn't want to stick around.
I am having a difficult time accepting the fact you left a job due to not getting a consistent break. There would be no nurses left it we all made that a deciding factor.
Maybe the above attitude is what is dysfunctional. Management will do whatever they can get away with and no more. We allow them to get away with it. If A room closes down 30 minutes for lunch, the sun will still set that night and you didn't do home with that intractable hunger headache. Would you want to have surgery with a headachy, irritable and exhausted staff?
I started my career in the ambulatory surgical unit. Yes, it is like you described. I was a per diem PACU RN , and it was usually 2 RN in the PACU recovering the entire schedule ( sometimes up to 60 patients).
ASCs are all outpatient quick procedures with MAC anesthesia. Most patients get propofol which metabolizes super quickly. The ASC is for ASA's I and II, sometimes healthy IIIs. So these patients are ready for discharge 30 minutes after last dose of anesthetic. ( it varies from state to state and procedure center, but generally that's the average).
I personally would not recommend a new grad to work in these places due to an extremely rapid patient turnover, and lack of peri-anesthesia nursing experience but it's a great place to start a career. Get a foot in the door, so to speak.
Every single ASC I have ever worked in had high staff turnover. For many RNs ASC is the entry level job mostly because these post op patients rarely complicate. The entire process from the admission to the discharge is almost automated. After 3-6 months these new grads finally acquire enough nursing experience to get a staff job in hospitals.
I almost never had a break, and a lot of times cut my lunch too. Because I was per diem I would put in hard 6-7 hours of non-stop action, and then leave once all the cases were done. Techs get away with a lot of stuff. Once upon a time I was a tech myself and never took direction from nurses. My boss was the surgeon. If he was ok with the set up we would start.
Do you feel safe working there? Generally speaking, if your intuition is telling you something is wrong, follow it. Your gut senses things.
I started my career in the ambulatory surgical unit. Yes, it is like you described. I was a per diem PACU RN , and it was usually 2 RN in the PACU recovering the entire schedule ( sometimes up to 60 patients).
ASCs are all outpatient quick procedures with MAC anesthesia. Most patients get propofol which metabolizes super quickly. The ASC is for ASA's I and II, sometimes healthy IIIs. So these patients are ready for discharge 30 minutes after last dose of anesthetic. ( it varies from state to state and procedure center, but generally that's the average).
I personally would not recommend a new grad to work in these places due to an extremely rapid patient turnover, and lack of peri-anesthesia nursing experience but it's a great place to start a career. Get a foot in the door, so to speak.
Every single ASC I have ever worked in had high staff turnover. For many RNs ASC is the entry level job mostly because these post op patients rarely complicate. The entire process from the admission to the discharge is almost automated. After 3-6 months these new grads finally acquire enough nursing experience to get a staff job in hospitals.
I almost never had a break, and a lot of times cut my lunch too. Because I was per diem I would put in hard 6-7 hours of non-stop action, and then leave once all the cases were done. Techs get away with a lot of stuff. Once upon a time I was a tech myself and never took direction from nurses. My boss was the surgeon. If he was ok with the set up we would start.
Do you feel safe working there? Generally speaking, if your intuition is telling you something is wrong, follow it. Your gut senses things.
Always stick it out. I was hired onto a unit that was scheduled to be sold to an outside company, but they left that part out, otherwise I would have stayed right where I was. I now find myself facing a layoff and no job prospects which I attribute to age discrimination/high end of the pay scale.
Specializes in Post Acute, Med/Surg, ED, Nurse Manager.
Maybe you could consider being a leader and encouraging change to more EBP. If meds are not labled then be the nurse that insists things are done to a higher standard. If employees say a prson treats nurses badly... wait and see if it happens (don't listen to the rumor mill.) If it does, even if it is a doctor be direct, in a tactful way and state I appreciate constructive critisism. I do not appracite being put down. Dont allow others to reat nurses in a condicending manner. Be a leader and see what happens.
rbekt2005
12 Posts
I am having a difficult time accepting the fact you left a job due to not getting a consistent break. There would be no nurses left it we all made that a deciding factor.