Mass exodus of staff

[beeker]

Our morale is at an all time low. New administration took over and now they are reducing staffing to the point where you really just cannot do a good job. We are stretched so thin we are all ready to snap. Half of our floor has given notice or quit. No one is being hired. All of the higher paid (well seasoned and EXPERIENCED) nurses are being let go for various bogus reasons. One entire floor now is all new grads. I love new grads, but there needs to be SOMEONE to go to when you have a question! Their charge has been there less than 6 months. It is all about the almighty dollar. You would think that having so many nurses quit or get let go and leaving the hospital SO UNDERSTAFFED would make the administration nervous, but they seem to be moving forward with the whole "take more patients" and hope no one dies route. So discouraged.

[Nurseadam]

That's sad. You can't do anything about it though...

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Sadly we have been going through the same thing for over a year now. No new admin, but new "ideas". Like cutting our benefits, but the docs, managers, and admin all still get their bonuses. We are also cutting staff, firing anyone with 10+ years of experience, etc. Patient satisfaction scores are down, patients are leaving our facility and going elsewhere. It doesn't seem to matter. .

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

The Canadian economy is lukewarm at best. Many of our facilities are understaffed, and more budget cuts coming. Instead of staffing accordingly, some facilities are opting not to fill positions when someone goes on leave or retires, and many positions are PRN. No guaranteed schedule, no benefits. Unfortunately, nursing is still at a low point.

[Nurse_]

Unless the patient care and quality is pretty much unchanged, there's really nothing to do.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Was your hospital purchased by a new organization? If so, which one? Some of them have a 'cutthroat' reputation & slash-and-burn mentality. Decreasing cost is their highest priority. In this type of situation, the only thing you can do is 'vote with your feet' and according to your comments it seems like that is what is going on.

I know it is not much comfort, but in the long run this is all going to come back to bite admin. New legislation has linked reimbursement to quality outcomes & patient satisfaction... neither of which are sustainable in the type of climate you have described. So - these chickens will come home to roost, and have a very negative effect on the administrators who made those decisions. But, they'll probably be long gone by then, after having been awarded massive executive bonuses for such a 'dramatic turnaround'.

[Chisca, RN]

Being short staffed means there is some care/treatments that are not being done. So what's not getting done? Document, document, document. It sounds as if the staff is being forced to ration and I'd want to know who is making those decisions. Throw it back to management as to what has priority and what can be omitted. If they refuse, document and take it to the medical director. Call each attending and let them know. It is beyond your scope of practice to decide what care a patient will or will not receive. Don't get caught in that trap.

[bsnanat2]

Don't jeopardize your license, your health or sanity. A new job is easier to get than a new license. The only thing the lawyers and admin will say is "if x no. of patients was too many, why did you accept them?"

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

It sucks. There isn't much you can do but look for a new job. Soon all the current employees will know is a time like this. Mass turnover are pretty comman where i work. Sometimes, the nurse with 6 months experience is by far the most experienced. Ask questions of the supervisor, drs, pharmacy, if unable to find a policy, in some cases, I have called one of the ICUs and talked to the charge nurse there . Everyone will be forced to learn pretty fast. It is awful when you are in the middle of an emergency and no one else knows how to do anything usefull or just stands there. Lately I have felt pretty overwhelmed at all the nightmare shifts of being charge and most experienced , with a couple fo years, and not really being able to count on most of my coworkers as they are all new grads. This was expressed to managment by other more "senior" nurses and they don't care or see the problem.

[beeker]

I am trapped right now. I am pregnant and it is not a good time to look for a new job. I had planned on working as long as I could before the baby arrives, but I am not going to make it. Working short is killing me physically. There WERE 3 of us pregnant on my floor, the other 2 have quit.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

By the time my body gave out and I had to retire, there were 7 others who for some reason or other (ageism) who suddenly started getting write-ups and out the door invitations. I sued..they didn't. I got a quarter of a million which did noting to pay off my surgeries and bills but it did light a fire under some of my friends. Within 3 months the nurses manager who had started the perfect storm of firings was herself escorted out the door by security. Some went back at their old rate of pay. Some retired WITH bennies. This was 15 years ago and it's sad I see it still going on across the country.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

I'm sorry. I hope you can make to til the baby comes and then quit. I worked at a facility much like that, and I had to quit to regain my sanity.