I'm no stranger to mandates due to weather conditions but I actually began to feel helpless these past few days because of the snow blizzard in NY that ended up being more intense than anticipated. I worked 24 mandated hours on a subacute rehab floor. 1st shift I was assigned 8 patients, 2nd shift and 3rd shift we were just so short staffed that we had no set assignments! We just ran the floor answering call bells while 1 nurse handed out meds to 33 patients . We were snowed in , I couldn't even leave if I shoveled my car out bc someones car was stuck in front of my car in the parking lot hahaha.
But anyway , my 1st and 2nd shift went smoothly , but that 3rd shift may have really pushed me over the edge and I don't know if it's burn out or if I genuinely mean what I'm saying when I say that nursing is the worst profession anyone could sign themselves up for.
3rd shift was 630am-230pm , I literally never had a chance to sit and eat... Many nurses actually snuck out so that made us even more short staffed. I personally could never do that to my team or patients but some people think their lives are more important than ours so they are more entitled to go home during a emergency mandated snow storm. But anyway , I hated everything about today. Call bells were non stop, patients complaining about EVERYTHING regardless of how many times I explained the situation and apologized. I just felt like the patients especially were ticking me off. I found myself crashing, chills, and body shaking. It was a feeling I don't think I've ever had. Soon after that i got to go home , meanwhile another nurse stayed for her 4th shift in a row (mandated ) .. But after a few hours sleep I'm still really angry about today and just in a overall bad mood. Everything upsets me even the slightest little thing i start crying lol
I do have to go to work tomorrow and the next day. I'm dreading it but hoping when I wake up tomorrow ill feel better.
..... Is this burn out? ? Well either way how do you guys handle it when you have feelings like this? And what can nurses really do when they are put in such horrible working conditions ? Legally? I feel like I was just emotionally and physically abused. So much so I'm a emotional train wreck !
