Hi all. I need advice. I'm giving my notice tomorrow and transferring to another dept. within the hospital. I love the patients, most of the staff, and even my current schedule, but the staffing for the last year has been horrendous. They recently closed 4 beds because we don't have enough staff. The straw that broke the camel's back was last Wednesday; I was working 7-3:30. I sat down to listen to report and saw that I had 9 patients. I was working with an LPN. I went to the charge nurse and asked why I had 9 patients, how many call-outs were there? She said there weren't any call-outs :angryfire I told her the assignment was unsafe. She gave me a CNA along with the LPN. Then PACU called an hour later; they wanted to send me a 10th patient!!! The charge nurse refused the patient, explaining that there were 31 patients on the floor with only 4 RNs.
Somehow I made it through the shift, but I refuse to continue to put my license in jeopardy. I've gone to the HN and AHN with my concerns and things just continue to get worse, so I'm leaving. I'll be giving 3 weeks notice to the HN, but I really want to explain my reasons to her. The problem is, she gets very defensive and doesn't allow people to discuss their concerns. She just says things like "we're working on fixing the problem, we're hiring new staff, and closed 4 beds, etc" How can I relay my reasons for leaving and have her hear me out? She can be kind of intimidating.
THanks guys :) It actually didn't go badly. I told her I was giving my notice and right away she said "that's fine, I know you're unhappy here, you've expressed your concerns before." I was charge for 12 hours today so I had to work closely with her. Later in the day she said "you know I'm going to miss you." She even said maybe I could come back some day! So I didn't burn any bridges. Of course I was required to give 1 month notice so hopefully she'll replace me soon so my coworkers don't have to suffer :)
I'm looking forward to starting my new job :balloons:
I understand 100%.Last night for the first time I stood up for myself at the beginning of the shift(for an unsafe staffing ratio).One nurse was never scheduled(this seems to be the new norm the last 2 weeks).The attitude seems to be well it's sunday afternoon no administration around to hear the complaints.so what else will the nurses do but work and just deal with it today.yesterday was one time too many in the last 3 weeks.i sat down in a chair and announced to the off going shift that i would not be getting report until at we were staffed with at least bare minimums.further stating no facility was worth my license and it was not abandonment unless i accepted the assignment ,then left.(not to mention that i was orienting a brand new nurse on the 3rd day).the administator(who has not done floor nursing for at least 3 years and into her 60's)told me i had to take report.i refused and sat there.she asked me what i suggest she do on such short notice(no one volunteered to stay!)i suggested she come in and work the shift herself as she asssumed that responsibility with that position or sit there and call around for the next 2 hours to find agency.i wanted more than a warm body.she showed up an hour later-busiest shift in months.she thought i had the easy assignment and hijacked my patients-already settled for the shift.2 of them went bad on her time.she had to run her cheeks off .she threatened my job and refuses to speak to me.the walmart greeter position or 7-11 store clerk sounds better and better.last night made me sad to be a nurse
dragonfly-
I admire you so much for putting your foot down! You are my hero today.
Unfortunately, your name is probably mud to administration now. Do you think this will blow over, or will they try to retaliate? Or, do you think they might have a clue now and actually do something about staffing?
I went in to work after several phone calls from my employer regarding me refusing to take report and that entire mess.yes,i got blasted when i came to work for about an hour.They attempted to try to tell me i misunderstood the assignment and told me i had been told on friday we would be short-staffed.i said no way,no one told me anything.then it was blamed on all the noise in the report/break area.hmmm...nope.that didn't work with me either.yes,my name is mud with administration and i look for one of 2 things to happen:they will eventually cut my schedule little by little until i have no hours or make it so unbearable i leave.let the incidental write up games begin!yes,i can get another job in a flash.but not for the same $ i make now in a small area and time flexibility.guess the part of the job description i missed was being the whipping boy for administration's mess-ups.and you know what made it even better : the nurse that stayed until the administrator arrived ranted and raved about how she had to stay out of duty to her fellow nurses(a whole hour)and another nurse( who never even worked that day mind you)joined her in the tirade.this facility is now currently 90%agency- no kidding.i wonder why :chuckle
Sadie04
204 Posts
THanks guys :) It actually didn't go badly. I told her I was giving my notice and right away she said "that's fine, I know you're unhappy here, you've expressed your concerns before." I was charge for 12 hours today so I had to work closely with her. Later in the day she said "you know I'm going to miss you." She even said maybe I could come back some day! So I didn't burn any bridges. Of course I was required to give 1 month notice so hopefully she'll replace me soon so my coworkers don't have to suffer :)
I'm looking forward to starting my new job :balloons: