I hate what's happening to nursing...

[nyteshade]

Eight years.

That is how long I’ve been in nursing. Just eight years. I haven’t been on AN in a while. I used to frequent the site a lot to vent with others, and help others with advice. Well, today is a ranting kind of day, so here it goes…

I hate what nursing is becoming. It is become overrun with elite folks who have forgotten what it’s like to just get through your shift. It’s being taken over by money hungry CEOs that are finding neat little ways to package “customer service” with healthcare. Our intelligence is being insulted here! What exactly do I mean by this? Well, what professional do you know gets “scripts” to regurgitate at patients? Why is it that we are not trusted to do our job or say the right thing?

I understand that healthcare is indeed a business. It has to be. If it weren’t, we’d all be working for free. I got that. I do my job. I put my all into my shift. I advocate for my patients. I’ve gone above and beyond…all without recognition.

But, I’m deeply saddened…Now I’m being told that isn’t good enough. All I see for the future of healthcare is walking into a patient’s room at the end of my shift saying, “My name is______, if you felt I gave excellent care call 888-tell-them, and rate me a 10.” Heaven forbid you score less than 10 three times…

Eight years ago, I felt so proud in my whites on graduation day. I felt professional, neat, knowledgeable, and respected. Now, I feel burned up, and abused. For now, I stay in nursing…patients still smile, and thank me at the end of my shift. They cannot detect how I feel under the surface.

But, I am seriously considering leaving healthcare altogether.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I have been nursing for a while. I, like many others, find the whole customer-service aspect of hospital nursing ludicrous. All one has to do is Google "medicare reimbursement and patient satisfaction" to get a disturbing preview of the numerous companies and conferences that cater to this real-world concept. I was sickened by the absurd concepts and tricks of the trade to "enhance the patient's satisfaction" or the "Know Me, Serve Me" mantra. Perhaps, even more disturbing is the quote, "and the financial pressure to improve patient experience is nothing short of mission critical." I guess we disagree on exactly what "patient experience" means.

It makes me sad that it is all about money. We are not stupid. We realize that hospital's are a business and they need to make a profit. We know that there needs to be a reasonable amount of customer service involved. But what I don't get is how this spin on comparing hospitals to 5-star hotels came to be?

We are all customers in some shape or form. (Heck, even nurses are customers of the hospital but they seem to forget that). The idea that a customer is a customer doesn't fly with me. Every customer is not created equal. A hospital customer (I prefer the term "patient" but whatever..I'll play along) is different than a restaurant, banking, dry cleaning customer. Apples and oranges.

I have put my foot down refused the scripting lines. I... just..cannot..make..myself...say it. I do say something to that effect before leaving the room, "Let me know if you need anything or push your call light, etc..." I just refuse to regurgitate their words. I am not a stepford nurse. I am not a child. It is bad enough that we have to endure daily emails about "getting your customer service scores up!" complete with annoying bobbing cartoon graphics and loud colors sent out by Administration's secretary. Reminds me of when my daughter was in Kindergarten and was graded on behavior by changing colors. How would mgmt feel if we were allowed to grade them on a daily basis?

It is hard to care for a critically ill patients for 12+ long hours, titrating gtts, drawing labs, calling doctors, and replacing electrolytes. Hard but satisfying. I made a difference. I am part of the reason that patient is still there at shift change. That satisfaction is short-lived, however, when you return to work to find out that "your scores" just weren't good enough.

The patient lived, but so what?

:yeah::yeah::yeah: Well Said! It's also the belief that it is a RIGHT instead of a privilege to have the greatest health care.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I am so sorry Esme ... I feel bad for you I still have my health but I agree with everything you say. I am so sorry you have been treated like that. God Bless you for sharing. I was afraid to open me to my fellow nurses on Allnurses.com as well because I feel like a failure because of my financial problems, but for it to cause me to not find work and this was a great full time night shift job with benefits makes me wonder what is happening with nursing. My daughter thinks its discrimination. I don't know maybe it is. I just know me and you are not working doing what we love. Please take care and I wish I could help you as well as help myself. :redpinkhe

Sometimes you just gotta say "I'VE HAD ENOUGH AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE"....

You know, I kept it hidden for a really long time because I lived in constant fear of discovery by my work and being black balled (as I had seen done to others) but as my disability became more and more apparent ( and being confronted for an unsteady gait) I caved and spilled the truth. At first, the outpouring of love was heartening and I thought for a moment that maybe I was wrong and this time different( as I had been dumped when I was first dx with this muscle thing)........Well the cat is out of the bag for good so not only ageism is against me but disability......when is the last time anyone has ever seen a nurse use a cane or other assistive device in the acute care setting (especially acute care).

Now, I know almost for sure, I will never be able to work as a nurse again . I might as well make it a good reason to educate those around me and enrich their lives.....LOL........I may have bad credit due to circumstances beyond my control but I'm a good person and I deserve better!. I really never thought spending 32 years doing something like nursing would in the end break my heart but I guess most break ups hurt someone in the long run.........It just makes me very sad. But if my story can help one person not feel alone then it was worth it. Besides now I know you . Pm me when you need a friend to cry on! I'm all ears...............

[cosmicsun]

My Name is Kristy, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Lauren, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Sue, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on your hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Sarah, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. (I'm sure the patients think very highly of this.........)

And, when I am done lifting you, running for your bed alarm, turning you, boosting you up in bed, over and over and over - I will be thrown to the curb like a piece of trash due to an injury.

Is there anything else I can do for you?

[ZippyGBR, BSN, RN]

I agree. Healthcare is quickly becoming all about the money. Patient care does not even rank in the top five!!

Yet the moment anyone dares suggest reform of the corrupt US healthcare sysatem out comes the macCarthyite paranoia aobut reds under the (hospital) beds and the protestations of how 'good' services are in the USA despite the overwhelming evidence base that says otherwise.

the weakness of US labour laws and the way in which closed shop practices peretuate in those places which are unionised does not help,

throw in the perspective that sees 'fee for service' staffing as income geneartors and any other staff as a 'cost' and it's not suprsing.

I may be earning less and living in a smaller house in the UK but the arguements to emigrate to nurse elsewhere point me in a southerly direction (to Australia or Kiwiland) rather than across the pond

[Guest717236]

My Name is Kristy, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Lauren, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Sue, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on your hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Sarah, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. (I'm sure the patients think very highly of this.........)

And, when I am done lifting you, running for your bed alarm, turning you, boosting you up in bed, over and over and over - I will be thrown to the curb like a piece of trash due to an injury.

Is there anything else I can do for you?

You forgot, Would you like fries with that burger? We can super size that for only 99 cents plus the $ 100 upgrade fee billed to your health insurance company.

Is there anything else I can do for you?

[Psychtrish39, BSN, RN]

My Name is Kristy, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Lauren, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Sue, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on your hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. My name is Sarah, I will be your nurse today. I will be rounding on you hourly. Please let me know if you need anything. (I'm sure the patients think very highly of this.........)

And, when I am done lifting you, running for your bed alarm, turning you, boosting you up in bed, over and over and over - I will be thrown to the curb like a piece of trash due to an injury.

Is there anything else I can do for you?

Amen to that and its true....

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

No there is no effective means of fighting back. Where I live, and worked 20 years for this hospital, and put everything I had into it, above and beyond what their expectations were until My youngest daughter was pregnant with twins; we were excited about their birth and were shocked that they had died (stillborn). It was not what we had expected. It was heart wrenching for me and I know for my daughter. I took 2 weeks off from work to help my daughter who had everything ready for these two babies to be born. And not expecting to have to pack it all away, and also plan for burial. We got through it. I did go back to work to turn around and take a few weeks off to care for my mother who was dying. Which was very hard for me emotionally. But I did go back to work. Next thing I know, I was being written up, complained about by the younger nurses that I wasn't pulling my weight, couldn't keep focused, and was making mistakes. I got called down to the nursing office and was told that I was terminated. After 20 years of working there and giving my all. I was shell shocked for a while. Whats even worse is that the nurses I had worked with for most of those years didn't even back me up. I really felt like I was tossed out on my keester for no reason. Not long after that happened to me, there were 4-5 other people who also had been there 20+ years were also tossed out for other reasons. So it wasn't just me. The sad part of it is, that us older nurses were expendable. Sad..Sad...Sad....

But that is what is being done in a lot of hospitals today, I was not afraid to say what I felt needed to be said, I also had the speels on "customer approach" . We took on alot of duties over the past 5 years that we not part of job discription-lab draws, ekg's, abg's, supplying linens, answering phones, etc..... none of which was initially part of the job. I was okay with that, then they started on cutting back on time, putting people on call and operating with shorter staffing, next was the customer service thing....I could go on for hours but what the healthcare field has come too is awful. And it will only get worse. And for those of us who have lost that job- it has been even harder getting another job. I have heard too many times that they were looking for younger nurses, not a 55 year old with 20 years of experience. It sucks...

Sadly, I have heard this story happening more and more with older nurses. I myself am getting older, but have done many other jobs in health care, not just nursing. I feel sorry for the ones who are terminated and only know about nursing.

You should be commended. You went back after a very trauatic time and tried your best. Health care is brutal now, no doubt about it. I was just discussing all these cut backs with my mother today, the biggest city near me has decided not to use many agency nurses, even though (according to recent news reports people are waiting 14 hours or more in the ED/ER and some are found dead there) - it really, really concerns me that the public in general take such a blase attitude to the way our hospitals are dramatically going downhill - and fast.

Your story was very sad, it reminded me of the time I helped a young mother get through the death of her baby, we took prints of the hands and feet, dressed her baby in a beautiful outfit (kept by the hospital) and sat and grieved together. You did good to get through it, and I hope ur OK now.

I myself would not encourage anyone young to choose nursing as a profession nowadays - it just is not stable at all. Nothing is, but I think the nursing cuts will only get worse as time goes on.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Ha, you just wait till the reality of nursing hits you square in the face, and only then will you wise up and realize nurses have a reason to "b*tch"!

My guess is that you are a youngster with little life experience!

Happy

I thought a pre-nursing student was an American thing. Did the OP ever answer this question?

[Warpster]

You can tell what sort of nerve you hit by the number of kudos at the bottom of your post!

The truth is that turning health care over to MBAs was almost as big a catastrophe as turning it into a profit generating enterprise: the former has completely destroyed the morale of people in the patient care professions while the latter has completely destroyed the delivery system.

The "customer is always right" model favored by the business people because it works so well in hotels and restaurants is completely unrealistic in a health care setting. Nurses deal with people who are acting inappropriately due to stress or just plain mentally ill and setting limits is part of the job and invariably at odds with management's silly model. Of all the stupidity I saw come and go over my 25 years in nursing, this is absolutely the worst as nurses are caught between keeping things safe for themselves and their patients and obeying a bunch of asinine directives from the plush carpeted office suites, issued by medically ignorant men who should have been running supermarket chains, instead.

I've managed to retire now. However, while these idiots are still doing everything in their power to undermine nurses and destroy morale, I think I'd rather self extract all my teeth with a small hemostat than go back, I don't care how poor I get.

[beewink]

I've managed to retire now. However, while these idiots are still doing everything in their power to undermine nurses and destroy morale, I think I'd rather self extract all my teeth with a small hemostat than go back, I don't care how poor I get.

Now this is telling it like it is....All of you folks who are just entering nursing school should really pay attention to what this poster is saying. This is not a vent from a current situation - lots of people on here like to say that the negative posts are due to "bad days" and they just have to come on and vent. Here is a person who is retired and who has no real need to vent to get through a bad time or a bad day in nursing - they are already done.

[Riseupandnurse]

I am also "retired" from bedside nursing as of January 1. I thought I might miss it but I thank God every day that I do not have to go back into that soul-sucking madness and choose every minute of every day between what patients really need and what will get reported on the stupid, stupid Press Ganey. What I wouldn't give to just have one more day of nursing, real nursing. Because there were a few days, most of them many years ago, when I did get to be a nurse. But that is gone for now. It is up to the new generation whether it is gone for good.

[sevensonnets]

There's nothing for me to add here. I worry about the future of nursing in general. It's so sad that newer nurses won't ever know what nursing used to be like.