I'm About To Walk!

[lorster]

This travel assignment has been ok until the past two days and now I seriously feel my licence is in jeopardy. I had seven surgical patients today. After the most horrible day of my 18 year nursing career, the unit charge nurse started yelling at me, in front of staff, doctors and patients/families, right out at the nurses station. I am a traveler and I will not be treated like this. This behavior was not in the contract that I signed. I have never in all these years, been yelled at by another nurse. Fortunately, I took the high road, maintained my professional composure and listened to her unravel. Now, I don't want to go back. I don't need this. I didn't ask for it and I will not put up with it. I am here, helping out in a situation that is both dire and unsafe for both nurse and patient. I realize that we are helping a bad nursing shortage, but I should not have to put up with this. I was humiliated and embarassed. What can I do about this?

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Lorster, I appreciate your posts on this issue because I always wondered what Agency nurses did when they were asked to take impossible assignments in horrible conditions.

I like the way you handled it. Please keep us updated.

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

This travel assignment has been ok until the past two days and now I seriously feel my licence is in jeopardy. I had seven surgical patients today. After the most horrible day of my 18 year nursing career, the unit charge nurse started yelling at me, in front of staff, doctors and patients/families, right out at the nurses station. I am a traveler and I will not be treated like this. This behavior was not in the contract that I signed. I have never in all these years, been yelled at by another nurse. Fortunately, I took the high road, maintained my professional composure and listened to her unravel. Now, I don't want to go back. I don't need this. I didn't ask for it and I will not put up with it. I am here, helping out in a situation that is both dire and unsafe for both nurse and patient. I realize that we are helping a bad nursing shortage, but I should not have to put up with this. I was humiliated and embarassed. What can I do about this?

Hi Lorster; Hope your situation has improved by now. While it would not have improved the basic situation, one thing you could have done would be just print off your initial post, exactly as written, and hand it to that charge nurse, without another word. This would give her some feed-back about the efffects of her melt-down, apart from and after the event.

[lorster]

I went to night shift hoping that I can retain my licence through the next six weeks of this job. I'll be glad when it is over. I took a shared position at my home hospital, when I get done with this travel job. If I learned anything, it is that there is politics whereever we go. You don't get away from it. My home hospital is safely staffed and was actually nice to do a four hour shift at the other night. I cannot wait to get home.

[NurseguyFL]

Good that you have only six weeks left on your contract. The time will go by before you know it. As a parting gift to that hospital, you should make an anonymous phone call to JHACO and to the regulatory state agency to report these unsafe conditions. That place needs to be shut down!

[lorster]

It is funny you mentioned that. Last week JHACO showed up on the unit. Apparently this hospital did not pass last time around and it was a revisit to see if things had improved. My home hospital is in the process of JHACO accred. I hope it does not make it harder to do my job in the future.