tonight I showed up for work as schedule. When I got there I looked at assigment board and realized I had 9 patient's to take care off, no Charge Nurse, and a floor secretary that makes huge mistakes constantly. Before I clocked in and took any report and turned in my badge and left since I believe 9 patients is an unsafe patient load. My question is: Can they call me up for abandoment even though I didn't clock in or didn't take report in any patient.
People forget that it is your life that is the most important and that no one, no matter how much they need it has a right to it but you. Nursing is a great proffesion but unless you are a saint do not treat it as a calling. Saints are dead. As long as we nurses tolerate these kinds of conditions then they will continue to create them. Why should they value your life any more than you do?
And so, that's why I didn't clock in nor did I take report and told them, NO, I'm not taking 9 patients without even having a charge nurse, but anyhow, it's all behind. I was worry about patient abandonment, but I hadn't taken any report or clocked in so... yes, we most stand up and let corporations know that we do care about patients more than profit....
Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Exactly...we used to have a charge nurse who assigned by room number...didn't even think about acuity.
That is EXACTLY how our assignments are made! We are supposed to be using some Synergy model of acuity to determine patient load. Sure, we assign an acuity level to each patient, but that's as far as it goes. So Janis may have 5 patients who are considered a "level 3" and Nancy may have 5 patients who are "level 1."
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
It is true that a bridge was burned, and sometimes, facilities retailiate by making up lies. But, you did what you felt you had to do. I know you did not mean to burn that bridge, but nothing can be done now-we can't undo the past. I am the sort of person that thinks of worst case scenerios, imagine what I may have to do if this happens and keep a plan of action just in case. I don't mean to wallow in this forever, just to face that fact that it has the possibility of becoming a tit for tat issue.
Somehow, though, I doubt that would happen, if they already lost a director of nursing and 8 nurses within a few weeks. Take it as you walked onto Noah's Ark with the rest of them into safety.
orlycst
16 Posts
And so, that's why I didn't clock in nor did I take report and told them, NO, I'm not taking 9 patients without even having a charge nurse, but anyhow, it's all behind. I was worry about patient abandonment, but I hadn't taken any report or clocked in so... yes, we most stand up and let corporations know that we do care about patients more than profit....