very low morale

[sophie09]

hi- i work in a large LTC facility where morale is very low among nurses. Policies seem to change on daily basis, and what was the right way to do something last week will get you a talking to this week. Families are out of control, CNAs are out of control, and the nurses don't feel like administration, including DON, care, or know what they are doing. All authority has been taken away from supervisors. Last week the DON tried to have one of the unit managers apologize to a nurse for "berating him" because he did not know the whereabouts of one of his patients for the entire shift! What can I do to improve the situation? Other than look for another job:confused:

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

If the owners are accessible then contact them. Otherwise, look for another job as this sounds too ingrained. Culture begins at the top. If the "top" is not willing to change then nothing you do will make a difference

[NaKcl, BSN, RN]

That sounds very similar to my workplace.

employees are encouraged to "detect" and "report" other co-workers' mistakes.

Lazy, no work ethic employees are making worng acusations to diligent, hard working employees who are trying to things right.

The morale is very low.

Nursing itself is hard and stressful as you all know. This type of bull craps certainly discourage work spirits.

I am planning to move out.

[Good Morning, Gil]

Sounds like you can either put up with it or just get a new job. You can try to change things and speak up, but beware of the bite. You may find yourself without a job. It's kinda the way it is, though, in certain places; speaking up gets you in trouble, and it sounds like your facility might be one of those places. Better just to find another job, keep quiet about how you really feel, give your notice, and leave on good terms.

[prettymica, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN, APRN, NP]

look for another job.. it wont get better. I spent 2.5 yrs in LTC and it never got any better. I was going through exactly what you described and this LTC was bought out by another company and things got even worse than before.

[Chrissy Lou]

Frustrating isn't it? I also work in LTC, our building was private-owned and a pretty good place to work- until about a year ago when we were purchased by a large corporation. It really has been downhill ever since. Our morale in the building is awful. We had many many long term staff members (15 years +) in our facility, and now they are moving on. I have often commented on the "snitch" mentality that has crept into the building, instead of working together, it seems it has become "divide and conquer". Speaking up would get us into trouble as well, as the management company who swoops in and changes our policies and procedures every couple of weeks (which certainly makes matters even worse) really doesn't care at all! They are "results oriented" only, and will tell you that they don't care how it gets done, just so it gets done. For the first time in years, my own outlook has soured to the point that I don't want my job much anymore either. The only thing that keeps me up and running is that I know our long-term residents need some kind of an advocate- the powers that be feel that these people are better "out of the way"- offensive to people who visit, or who come in for rehab. I have thought of leaving, but then I wonder is any other corporation better to work for or all they all the same?? Cut staff to a bare minimum, overwork them, cut their perks....what's to be done?

[Poi Dog]

Are you in a position to implement change(s)?