How common is this?

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Mar 4, 2006

I'm a new RN, I just passed my boards. I have been orienting for 1.5 months now. I have been off of my home unit for several weeks on another floor and have just recently returned. On my home unit many times there is no unit secretary and no cna's. On an average day, I am expected to do baths, get meal trays for my patient's and others patient's, do I&Os, accu checks, and other duties that on other floors cna's do. In addition, I have to put in my own orders for labs, etc. and do other duties unit secretaries do. All this in addition to my nursing duties and trying to figure out what in the world I am doing as an orientee. Just the other day, I had an elderly total care patient that I had to turned every hour and spoon feed her meals 3 times during the shift. On the same day, at the end of the shift of course, I had a patient urinate while in bed and had to clean her, pass meds, and was expected to give a prompt report to the next shift (that didn't happen). I had admissions and discharges to deal with, too. Usually, my preceptor and I have about 5 to 6 patients. There are usually 10-11 patients on the floor with me my preceptor and another nurse. However, my preceptor is not very helpful these days. I know she thinks I'm disorganized and inept. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm being whiny. Now, I haven't worked in other hospitals before so I don't know if this is expected or not. I don't mind hard work. I just don't want to get burned out...

It's all too common, but there are other places that are better.

I'm all for people quitting places that treat nurses so disrespectfully and moving on to better places. Ultimately, YOU are the commodity. The hospital cannot work without YOU. They can only get away with such things if YOU let them.

So, my advice is to develop some reasonable standards of what you think is fair and not work for a place that doesn't respect your limits. If nobody agreed to work under such condition, they'd have to change the conditions, wouldn't they?

Unless you are tied to this facility, I'd look around and see your options. Because, yes, you probably will burn out at a facility that has no other use or respect for you than to see how far they can stretch you.

My first job was like that. But I had to pay off a 14 month debt in time for school asst w/ them. The day my 14 months were over, my 2 wk notice was in. And I've never looked back, and never regretted it.

Just my 2 cents.

~faith,

Timothy.

jenrninmi, MSN, RN · Mar 4, 2006

I'm a new RN, I just passed my boards. I have been orienting for 1.5 months now. I have been off of my home unit for several weeks on another floor and have just recently returned. On my home unit many times there is no unit secretary and no cna's. On an average day, I am expected to do baths, get meal trays for my patient's and others patient's, do I&Os, accu checks, and other duties that on other floors cna's do. In addition, I have to put in my own orders for labs, etc. and do other duties unit secretaries do. All this in addition to my nursing duties and trying to figure out what in the world I am doing as an orientee. Just the other day, I had an elderly total care patient that I had to turned every hour and spoon feed her meals 3 times during the shift. On the same day, at the end of the shift of course, I had a patient urinate while in bed and had to clean her, pass meds, and was expected to give a prompt report to the next shift (that didn't happen). I had admissions and discharges to deal with, too. Usually, my preceptor and I have about 5 to 6 patients. There are usually 10-11 patients on the floor with me my preceptor and another nurse. However, my preceptor is not very helpful these days. I know she thinks I'm disorganized and inept. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm being whiny. Now, I haven't worked in other hospitals before so I don't know if this is expected or not. I don't mind hard work. I just don't want to get burned out...

This is not common practice on my floor. Are they in the process of hiring cna's or secretaries? If not, I'd be out of there.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Mar 4, 2006

Excuse me.........I thought slavery was abolished in the 1800s. :devil:

RUN, do not walk, to the nearest exit and find yourself a job where you can practice safely and where there are ancillary staff to do the non-nursing tasks. I know what burnout is like, and I don't recommend the experience. :angryfire

grinnurse, RN · Mar 5, 2006

what size hospital do you work in? or the location? is it rural? i work in a small rural hospital and experience this all the time with no ward clerk, no cna, although we don't always have to enter our orders sometimes it is much easier than stressing the charge nurse out with them as some of them take patients too when the census is low. i am sure that the larger hospitals are not like this but for me, i put up with it b/c i don't want to drive the hour plus to dallas.

good luck on not getting burned out, it's tuff in these situations!!

CountryGirl1 · Mar 5, 2006

I'm at a relatively rural hospital. Sometimes there is a tech and/or a secretary on the floor. But, recently I've noticed that they are no where to be found. I'm concerned because right now I'm orienting so I have a bit of support. But once I leave orientation, I'm on my own to "sink or swim". I have enough trouble as it is feeling confident after just graduating. It may be time to look at other options.