I'm Done

[PMFB-RN]

The medium-sized hospital (275 beds) where I work only has one ICU. But thanks to the unvaxxed we have had to open another ICU for COVID patients again.

We first did this last Winter and it was awful, but it was nobody's fault. Now it is.

We are keeping our COVID ICU open by nurses working overtime. Many have been working five or six 12 to 16-hour shifts a week for months now. People's lives are falling apart. In the last year, two of our ICU nurses have committed suicide. I don't know everything that was going on in their lives, but I'm quite certain that working long hard hours for months, never being home, having no downtime to relax and recharge has a LOT to do with it.

We actually had more COVID patients last Winter, but they were older and not as sick. Like 70s and 80s, vs now it's people in their 50s-60s and they are MUCH sicker. They die like flies. We had a 31-year-old die, and several in their 40s. One died and after to code the doc called and informed her family, but somehow her two teenage daughters who were en route to the hospital didn't get the message and I had to tell them. I'm noticing signs of PTSD in our ICU nurses who are, for the most part, young people. Most are in their 20's. To work so hard taking care of their patients for weeks only to have them die is soul-destroying. I zipped nine people into body bags over the weekend. 

Long planned vacations have been canceled, nurses are losing touch with their families and support systems.

I've spent a lot of time and energy talking to people about COVID and vaccines. I've provided them with the latest data and evidence. I've related what it's like for hospital patients with COVID. But it's a waste of time and effort so I'm done with it. 

Everyone who isn't stupid is already vaccinated and that just leaves the stupid, and you can't fix stupid. I'll no longer refute disinformation with accurate information, just point out they are liars and move on.

My goal is no longer to convince people to get vaccinated. Now my goal is to identify as many of them as possible so that I can do everything in my power to ensure they are never given a position of responsibility again.

I've already started asking those I do business with about their vaccination status. Unvaxxed or refuse to answer and I'm done with them. My mechanic got vaccinated. I had to switch to another (vaccinated) barber. I spoke at two of my local school board meetings in favor of masking the students (including my children) and requiring vaccinations of all staff. I let them know I would be filing a lawsuit if they failed to do either. Luckily they did both.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

2 hours ago, summertx said:

The OP is not advocating that the unvaccinated are getting the care they deserve. He/she is belittling them. Clearly the wrong profession for the OP.

Fair enough and you're entitled to your interpretation.  

There is a lot of anger out there among health care professionals against the unvaccinated due to the stress and destruction they've caused.  There is no denying this happened and if that's belittling then so be it.  As long we remain professional on the job it doesn't mean we're in the wrong profession, it means we are processing what's happening.   

I liken it to the injuries some ERs saw from the "milk crate challenge".  The injured brought it on themselves, and doctors sounded the alarm for people not to take this challenge, but people having freedom of choice could still chose to stand on top of milk crates.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

3 hours ago, summertx said:

I don't think that's where the nursing shortage is. The shortages are at the hospitals, not administering vaccines. Nurses are leaving the hospitals due to being overworked for the vaccine positions. It doesn't make sense to 'come out of retirement'  to help administer vaccines due to the need being greater in the hospital. Pharmacists and MA's can do that.

True, but when the vaccines first rolled out people, at least here in Florida signed up by the 10's of thousands and it was a full time job of many people to get the vaccines to people, and their jobs in the pharmacy, and hospitals didn't go away.  We were so overwhelmed at first managers had to be recruited to help out.   Nurses who were willing to come out of retirement to help out, but would never return to the floor,  must have been a God-send.  

Now of course this isn't where the nursing shortage is.

Still, society needs to prepare.  Boomer nurses are retiring in droves and will continue to do so.  They've put in their time, they are done.

 

 

[PMFB-RN, RN]

15 hours ago, summertx said:

 

Never mind

[klone, MSN, RN]

20 hours ago, summertx said:

 It doesn't make sense to 'come out of retirement'  to help administer vaccines due to the need being greater in the hospital. Pharmacists and MA's can do that.

Nevertheless, they are. I run a vaccine clinic, and we use agency staff for it, and I've met 3 nurses who have come out of retirement to help administer vaccines. Sure, the need is greater in the hospital, but most retired nurses a) don't want to set foot in the hospital, and b) don't have the skills needed anymore to be safe in a hospital setting. Administering vaccines is a nice, low-stress, fairly easy pace for them.

[Zantros, ASN]

Quote

In the last year, two of our ICU nurses have committed suicide.

I understand your frustration but this is why personal boundaries are important. It's not our jobs to save the world. We would not be able to even if we wanted to. Burnout is real and we all knew what we signed up for: three 12 hour shifts a week and that's it (hospital hours at least). I know a guy working six 12's every week but he has set his life up around that. Please don't bite off more than you can chew.  

 

Take breaks (even if it means faking a low blood sugar EVERY shift/needing to call your kids that don't exist), eat properly/consistently, sleep when you can, DRINK. WATER. You are the most important thing you have: take care of you. 

 

[SunDazed, BSN, RN]

On 10/23/2021 at 8:56 AM, summertx said:

Their vaccinations status is really none of anyone's business.  That's  protected health information. 

Patients should be free from SHAME at a hospital and their vaccination status  should remain confidential. If someone questions me about my vaccination status with the  purpose of not providing care, shaming me or not providing me adequate care, they must be prepared  to answer to the regulating agencies.

you can't even visit during our new 10a-6p, 1 per pt visiting hours without proving your covid status - proof of vaccine status or recent negative swab test

and guess what? doesn't matter if you have had the covid vaccine... we swab and test every single patient in the ED who needs to be admitted or placed in observation

every patient who has a procedure, surgery, transfusion, etc. must have a recent covid negative test

you are totally out of touch if you think we are not going to protect the staff in the hospital at some basic level from getting covid. if for no other reason than the hospital cannot afford to have any more hospital staff from cooks to cleaners to nurses... out sick with the covid

[SunDazed, BSN, RN]

On 10/24/2021 at 10:56 PM, LisaNICUrn said:

Everyone has a right to choose what they put in their body. Your vaccine? That doesn't even last 6 months before you need a "booster" because you're no longer protected? Or the chance of you having a severe adverse reaction to the vaccine vs the chance of getting covid? I'll take the chance of possibly getting covid and the unknown consequences of what it will do to my body vs knowingly putting something in my body that is still being researched, is being stopped in other countries because of their side effects, will require a "booster" every few months because it doesn't last that long, and I have no idea what it will do to me. My health will always come first and I will NEVER feel guilty for that, nor will I let anyone guilt me into getting the vaccine before I feel it is safe to take. I hope the barber you dropped is singing praises that someone like you is no longer sitting in their chair. 

   The fact that I'm seeing registered nurses on this site blatantly say they see people and hear they are unvaccinated and hope they die!! What?!? Are you kidding me? Do you feel that way about overweight people who still eat that fast food and ice cream and end up in DKA and lose a leg? Do you say that to the older generation who ends up in the ICU because they didn't get their Flu shot for the season and has the flu? 

  At the end of the day, when I take off my stethoscope, I still have to protect myself! I will not take something because I have RN at the end of my name simply because the government or my hospital tells me to. I teach my patients about doing their own research, about informed consent, about their rights as a patient, and I will do the same when it comes to my health as well. 

  I have done my own research, I am not anti-vax. But I have questions on this vaccine, It doesn't stop anyone from getting covid, and it doesn't stop anyone from spreading it, so why would I chance taking a brand new vaccine. Not only new vaccine, but mRNA technology is new. Sure, it's been around a while, yep! But it has never been used because all their test subjects (I.e rats) die. Every single one. So forgive me for not trusting something that hasn't been properly researched? There were no human trials before it was given to millions of people at the same time.  What will happen to people in 2 years? In 5 years? How often will we need boosters? Every 6 months (or 2 months for the J&J vaccine) for how long? 

   This thread has disgusted me, and I pray my family members are never taken care of from some of you. You all need to learn compassion and acceptance again, realize even nurses are entitled to their own medical decisions. The hospital wouldn't be in such dire circumstances if they weren't firing nurses for not getting the vaccine. Why don't you blame them for firing your help? Then they bring in the national guard? You know they don't have to be vaccinated until at least the beginning of the year right? So you're still stuck with unvaccinated people. opps. 

are you or have you taken care of patients with covid? 

do you wear PPE if you do or don't? 

do you have the luxury of not caring because maybe you are not really at risk of getting covid from your patients?

 

[SunDazed, BSN, RN]

On 10/25/2021 at 6:13 AM, Queen Tiye said:

I wonder how many unvaccinated, critically ill Covid patients aren’t getting the care they deserve.  It never occurred to me that this could be an issue until reading this thread.

I think all the nurses give all the care they can... the problem is that there are not unlimited resources - vents, man hours etc... and when the beds are full the beds are full... life-saving heart surgeries postponed... hours of delayed care trying to fly out a trauma patient to anywhere with a bed... 

it is super frustrating to know that before covid, you saw people transfer to lower levels of care all the time... they saved lives... now they zip body bags

it is depressing. they don't now care... they wished those dying of covid had cared a bit more when they could have... it is like transferred regret

[lifelive, BSN]

It's very sad to hear about Healthcare workers dying from suicide due to our current state. I'm not at the point of feeling tired so I can only empathize with how you and a lot of my other fellow Healthcare workers are feeling.  In my opinion,  the article come off as blaming the public, but as you stated, you're tired.  However,  again, I empathize with you because of what you seen and been through.  Only God knows how long we will go through this. I hope we all, vaccinated and unvaccinated,  continue to wear our masks, wash our hands, continue to be clean and social distance (the best that we can). Thank you for taking the time to share your story. 

[GoldilocksNP]

@summertx 

Vaccine status is not protected information. Work places, schools, camps have long required proof of certain vaccines. Knowing a patient's vaccine status is important, and it's absolutely OK to ask about vaccine status in the community. A person can refuse to answer about their status, but it is within rights to ask. 

Perhaps you need to read a bit about HIPAA and what it covers.

[lifelive, BSN]

On 10/25/2021 at 8:13 AM, Queen Tiye said:

I wonder how many unvaccinated, critically ill Covid patients aren’t getting the care they deserve.  It never occurred to me that this could be an issue until reading this thread.

It's extremely concerning to read the nurses say how unvaccinated people should just die and doesn't deserve care. As a black American,  this terrifies me considering how us blacks haven't received fair medical treatment since Healthcare became an institution.  As a RN, I would never wish death on anyone or feel they are less deserving of care because they aren't doing what I feel they should be doing.  These Healthcare workers that state stuff like this shouldn't even be in the field. 

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

8 hours ago, klone said:

b) don't have the skills needed anymore to be safe in a hospital setting

My neighbor was over a few weeks ago. She retired from the ER in 2016 (early retirement to take care of dying spouse, she's only 56), and contacted her former boss about coming back. She thought that she was going to get an on the spot offer and make big $$$.  They thanked her for her interest and declined for this reason. She told me that she was shocked, as they were admittedly desperate, but didn't want to retrain. I told her that if they're going to have to retrain, they'll pick someone who has time to invest in learning and possibly stay longer term. So I agree, retirees are not going to come back in droves, or even be able to