If I hear this one more time I'm gonna scream!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Originally posted by Kim44

We call Admin and they tell us to do the best we can

Originally posted by hapeewendy

management says muddle thru

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Imagine:

Airline pilot: "Tower, I have lost my landing gear, please have emergency equipment standing by."

Tower: "We're short on emergency equipment tonight, just do the best you can."

or

Doctor: "I need a suture tray."

Central supply: "sorry, we're out, just do the best you can."

Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.

Our house supervisor will tell us that we are short (whatever it is that we are short) and tell *us* to start calling people to see if they will come in. I am not the regular charge nurse; she will start doing this despite carrying a full patient load herself. Last time I charged, same situation and I just asked (very politely), "Isn't it your role to figure out staffing? I have patients to take care of, and we *are* short. Let me know who we can expect."

Miracle of miracles, we got someone! My charge (who is a very sweet lady who wants to be as self-sufficient - read: not labeled as a whiner - as possible) got some friendly counseling about the wonders of assertiveness ;).

It fries my gasket the worst when we are short a ward clerk of all people and the super thinks we have time to MAKE phone calls between answering them and entering stat orders on top of our usual duties.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
Originally posted by URSULA

How about this one, " I have a stack of applicants just waiting to take you job".:devil: Do you really???OK, just kick my a@# on the way out the door.

My boss did the "I've interviewed several new grads - if people don't shape up, there are some bright shiny pennies out there to replace them with".

Several people left - for the first time in years, she has had to sign on contract nurses - so much for the "Bright shiny new pennies":chuckle :chuckle

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My personal favorite reply to the shortage of nurses in a hospital I escaped from came from the staffing coordinator, who said, "What do you want me to do....sh-- a nurse for you?"

What I want to know is, if they can afford to pay an agency nurse twice what regular staff makes, why can't or won't they give the regulars more money?

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I personally like, " you guys don't have enough vents, we are pulling one of you" That leaves a critical care unit with five and six patients, and effectively one assistant. (and a few of us are new grads, scary huh?)

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Specializes in Surgery.

The answer to the nursing shortage they use at our facility is "we are working on it." Having an ad in the local newspaper for the last year, is called "working on it"

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

How about "There are just NO applicants, there's no one available."

"You have SEVEN people working. How is that hard with "only 30 patients?" (2 RNs, 1 LPN, 3 aides, 1 Phelbotomist who leaves at 11am, NO secretary, and ..........a partridge in a pear tree.)

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Hi, I just had a bad day at work and this post really hit home. I work in Hospice so you all know how stressful and busy it can be. But today our unit manager, who used to be a CNA until she got hurt, made a comment that "Why are we having two aides on the floor when we only have 15 patients? I used to do it all myself." Well, me being the smartypants that I am returned with "And you got hurt and now am stuck behind that desk because you refused help" Well, I got called into the DONs office and told that my comment was uncalled for. I felt the unit clerks was and she had no right to comment anymore about how things are done. I would much rather have my bonus go to pay for the extra help than to have to spend the rest of my life in pain because I had to do it all myself.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

The one that sends me around the bend is "With the number of residents on your unit, you're actually OVERSTAFFED" (3.5 CNAs for 34 residents on day shift). I'm the RN care manager for a unit that currently houses 7 skilled patients, 18 ICF residents, and 9 "young adult" clients who have serious psychiatric disorders (hx of suicide attempts, past and present drug/ETOH abuse, personality disorders etc.) These kids take up twice as much time and energy as all the other residents combined---even the SNF patients---but we have the same staffing as the medically stable ICF unit down the hall. What nobody higher up the LTC food chain seems to understand is that these people are extremely demanding, high-acuity residents with multiple complex problems. The minimum-staffing ratios instituted 20 or 30 years ago are completely outmoded nowadays, yet LTC facilities continue to perpetuate the myth that a single CNA can give good care to 10 residents (most of whom are two-person transfers, assisted feeders, and incontinent to boot). I swear, the next time I hear that BS from the staffing coordinator I AM gonna scream!!!

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.
Originally posted by shay

Rock on, preach it sister nell!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

I have nothing further to add other than 'AMEN!!!' and 'CAN I GET A WITNESS??!!'

;)

Witness on board! You rock Nell! :kiss Thumbs up on all that and then some!

Manage......or dismanage thyself from the unit! :chuckle

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WE GET LOTTERY TICKETS! GIVE ME A BREAK! DON'T EVEN HAVE TIME TO SCRATCH!

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Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.
Originally posted by BadBird

This is why nurses need to unionize, why is it that the staffing is always good when JCAHO is coming? I am seriously considering selling realestate.

Well, I just left a union hospital and I was NOT impressed! It was a useless union and I wasnt the only RN who thought so.

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Wait. You guys get PIZZA? I'm jealous.:D

All we get is excuses.

Melanie

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