I am so sick of racing the clock

[Marston3s]

Are there any jobs out there where you actually get to know the patient? I feel that I am simply throwing meds at people and trying to discontinue the conversations they initiate so I can get to the next one as fast as I can. I work in a large rehab facility so everyone is in pain and I give a lot of prn meds. If I have a fall, injury, admit, or tranfer then forget it my med pass is going to be late. I have 6 sliding scale patients and more than half are diabetic! How am I suppose to take 6 blood sugars and give 6 insulins (if necessary) 15 minutes before meals? I am worried because surveyors are coming soon and I feel like I am going to get hit hard. I don't feel it is my fault and somehow I finish ahead of my fellow nurses every night who have a smaller patient load than I do. All I do is race the clock during my shift and then I spend the next 4 (or more hours) doing treatments, charting, and doing never ending accident reports.. then I get yelled at for not taking breaks and having too much overtime. I don't understand, I am finishing faster than the other nurses though my 8 hour shifts are turning into 12s. Are there any nursing jobs out there that don't involve racing the clock? I need to get out of here I feel like my license is on the line. And by the way I did my preceptorship in a hospital last year and had no problem taking 5-7 patients and finishing on time, this place however is impossible, I know other nurses lie and sign for things they never did because they would be there 16+ hours if they stayed to do everything. I am getting burned out but I need to pay the bills. Nurses are so abused..

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Perhaps private duty nursing would enable you to spend 8 to 12 hours with the same patient? You'd certainly get to know the patient after being their private duty nurse several days per week.

[Blackcat99]

The only time I got to "really know" a patient is when I use to do "private duty nursing." However, the pay is low in "private duty" nursing and so I went back to LTC. LTC is always hurry hurry rush rush. Just give out pills and hurry up. No time to talk to my residents. No time to listen to my resident's concerns. Just hurry up, get your job done as fast as you can and go home. At my LTC, you get written up if you have too much overtime.

[BellaInBlueScrubsRN]

What type of floor do you work on now? In the ICU I felt like I really knew my pateints, although most of them don't talk (hehe). Working med-surg, I felt as you did; always running around to each pt with just not enough time.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Are you looking for another job? This does not sound like a good place to work.

Have you had this discussion with your charge nurse or supervisor? You're absolutely right - it is impossible to do 6 SS insulins within the time allotted.... this needs to be re-thought by whoever is doing the assignments. Is there anyone you can delegate some of the work to?

Second issue - if you know that nurses are committing fraud by falsifying their documentation "other nurses lie and sign out for things they never did", you have to take appropriate action. This is an absolute professional requirement - failure to act is considered collusion by state licensing boards & FEDERAL investigators if/when the situation is discovered, and this means you would also face serious consequences. If your employer is 'not interested', you can report this to appropriate outside agencies... contact information is on those posters that have to be displayed in your facility. Once you have reported, you are protected from retaliation by FEDERAL whistleblower statutes.

[somenurse]

Yes, in ICU, or in CCU, or open-heart recovery, i usually felt i got to know my patients, and their families,

pretty darn well,

as i only about 2 patients.

Some nurses who work LTC say they know their patients very well, too, as they often have same patients every day, for months or years even. I personally feel LTC is very hard nursing, imo, far harder to me personally, than ICU or CCU ever was.

another area that one can get to know a patient pretty well, is Home Health,

or hospice.(if pt is in hospice long enough)

[tewdles, RN]

I would definitely recommend hospice, especially if you are comfortable with symptom management. It is true that the average stay in hospice is pretty brief, but on average, we have deeper relationships with our patients and families than the typical hospital based RN does.