HOSPITAL FACTORS to want to work there

[Mursemade]

As nurses, what do you want to see from hospitals that will make you want to work there and stay? Need help looking at different factors

[Emergent, RN]

An organized, helpful, compassionate manager who is straightforward and a great communicator. 

[RNperdiem, RN]

At the overall hospital level, I would be cautious about some of those corporate chains with a reputation for not treating staff well. Sometimes in the news you will hear rumblings about unionizing in an area where unions are scarce. This comes from staff feeling chronically unhappy.

I suspect more of job satisfaction comes from the unit level. A thoughtful manager who is an advocate for their patients and staff is very important. Unit culture matters. A nurse can survive for a long time in a place where nurses help each other out, and patient care matters. I like to see nurses who rarely miss a lunch break, do some self-scheduling and are able to actually take time off in a fair fashion. Unit culture also extends to how nurses are treated by the doctors. In a teaching hospital, the attendings set the example. A moderate amount of turnover is good. Too much turnover usually indicates trouble, and too little can be good, but also can be a place a newcomer with new ideas might not be welcomed. Add in fair pay, some shift differentials and good benefits, and a hospital can be a good place to work.

[Mursemade, BSN, RN]

17 hours ago, Emergent said:

An organized, helpful, compassionate manager who is straightforward and a great communicator. 

would there be any other factors important to you?

[Mursemade, BSN, RN]

7 hours ago, RNperdiem said:

At the overall hospital level, I would be cautious about some of those corporate chains with a reputation for not treating staff well. Sometimes in the news you will hear rumblings about unionizing in an area where unions are scarce. This comes from staff feeling chronically unhappy.

I suspect more of job satisfaction comes from the unit level. A thoughtful manager who is an advocate for their patients and staff is very important. Unit culture matters. A nurse can survive for a long time in a place where nurses help each other out, and patient care matters. I like to see nurses who rarely miss a lunch break, do some self-scheduling and are able to actually take time off in a fair fashion. Unit culture also extends to how nurses are treated by the doctors. In a teaching hospital, the attendings set the example. A moderate amount of turnover is good. Too much turnover usually indicates trouble, and too little can be good, but also can be a place a newcomer with new ideas might not be welcomed. Add in fair pay, some shift differentials and good benefits, and a hospital can be a good place to work.

true by hospital I was also indicating towards the functioning of a unit. Culture and respect are some of the common factors nurses have been indicating towards a unit having. 

Thanks for the reply really appreciate it 

 

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

RN to patient ratios.  That's the #1 with me.  If a facility cares enough to provide safe ratios, it's most likely to have good morale, safe outcomes, and happy staff.  

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

Competence. Common sense. 

[Mursemade, BSN, RN]

On 8/6/2021 at 1:44 PM, OUxPhys said:

Competence. Common sense. 

If only hospitals/units could understand this 

On 8/6/2021 at 11:53 AM, Tweety said:

RN to patient ratios.  That's the #1 with me.  If a facility cares enough to provide safe ratios, it's most likely to have good morale, safe outcomes, and happy staff.  

Which state do you work in? Have you worked in hospitals without patient ratios?

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

46 minutes ago, Mursemade said:

Which state do you work in? Have you worked in hospitals without patient ratios?

Florida with no ratio law and I've worked with both good and bad ratios.  In theory our ratios are good where I work now but hard to hit lately with the surge in covid patients and unvaccinated nurses getting covid.  

[EDNURSE20, BSN]

If I could only pick one, it would easily be safe staffing levels. Be able to do my job safely, without extreme stress, having proper breaks ect. 

[Davey Do]

On 8/5/2021 at 5:27 PM, JBMmom said:

I can't feed my family or send my kids to college on ideals, I'll be the first to admit.

This is one of many reasons why I decided to not have children.

We have enough difficulty making it through life without accumulating more baggage, so when I knew that my life calling was going to be serving others, I solidified my decision and got a vasectomy.

There are enough people in the world who require attention, service, and care without me adding to the numbers. Therefore, I was able to expend my psychic energies on my providing service to others for four decades, and deal with all the BS, with less distraction.

Mine is not a popular stance, but it is my life stance. And the Supreme Court has ruled that one's life stance is equal to, and carries the same weight as, one's religious beliefs.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

Hospitals are normally a hard no from me but I do sometimes work in one when the pay is outrageously good.

[vintagegal, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Nice cohesive teamwork. Pipedream I suppose. But it would be nice not to have management tolerate bullying, belittling, and overall interdisciplinary disrespect.