Med-Surg floor sucks, and nursing unions

Specialties Med-Surg

Published

You are reading page 3 of Med-Surg floor sucks, and nursing unions

Cougar1113

42 Posts

Specializes in Psych.
I went back to a Med-Surg floor after a long time, I had previously worked on a med-surg unit once years ago and dont remember it being this bad. There are no unions in this part of the country and I would like to hear from some union nurses to see if things are better. I work night **** 7p-7a and we have usually 6 nurses at night and take 6 and rarely 7 pts. each. Except for newer nurses, RN's take turns being charge nurse and do added chores such as staffing and paperwork and still take 6 pts. We are regularly slammed from the ER with admissions, some coming up before we even get report on new patients and got 9 admissions the other night and no one got any breaks or lunch because they were to busy, every left about 10am next morning. The nurses dont really help each other out because they are all to busy. We do not have a ward clerk to answer phones and put in orders except one who may stay until 11pm or the house clerk who is pulled to all floors to put in orders and leaves at 5am. Nurses are pulled to every floor in the hospital except ER and ICU, labor laws state you are to have breaks and lunch, no one seems to care. For all our trouble this system pays new RN's 18.00-19.00hr, nurses with experience 23.00-24.00 hr. and 3.45 night premium (which is only reason I work nights). We have many new grads in ER and ICU. There are only 2 hospital systems here and they are both about the same, what is it like working for union hospitals? Why are nurses worked like dogs now and paid so little? I have done home heath, OR, geriatrics, med-surg and OR was the best, every place else worked you like dogs, I would like to go to Calif., any info on unions would be helpful.

Well, I work in WV (do NOT move here unless you want to retire). I have been an RN for 7 years, currently work per diem on a skilled floor and make a measly $22.50 an hour. Sad. There have been times when I have been mandated to stay over on the 11p - 7a shift due to staff call offs and had as many as 17 patients with only a CNA to help me (on 3 - 11 I normally have up to 12 patients). I have complained to hospital admin and been told if I don't like it I can find another job .. well, jobs around here are very difficult to find because I have tried and continue to try. Nursing shortage my butt more like hiring shortage. All of the facilities want to make a profit and unfortunately its at the nurses and patients behalf. I asked if the hospital would back me up if ever need be for any medical/legal concerns and was plainly told "NO". I recently completed my ACLS certification (paid out of my own pocket because I do not qualify for reimbursement due to per diem status) and received a whole 0.23 cent an hour raise. It is horrible that we have to work in conditions like this. WV does not have unions for nurses, only CNAs. And before you say move please note that I have no choice but to stay in this area due to my husband refusing to move and the fact that I have a child still in school. I truely wish I had majored in just about anything but nursing in college.

Specializes in MICU - CCRN, IR, Vascular Surgery.
Good gawd.

$36K a year gross base pay? In 2012? Are you serious?

That's insanity for our education, preparation, responsibility, stress, and scope of knowledge in today's economy.

It sucks really bad, but until my husband finds a job in his degree field, we're stuck here :( At least I'm night shift and have 11% differential at night, and $4/hour extra on weekends.

Specializes in LTC, Acute care.

I think I've said it here before, nothing depresses me more than my paycheck. Every time I look at it, I remember all I went through to be able to get my degree and I just get very sad...No nurse should be paid only $20/hr.

nvsmom

127 Posts

wow, several nursing grads shared with a nursing program I was in that they are starting out at $46 per hour plus shift differential, etc. This is in Cali.

A lot of RNs with ADNs are making almost 100k a year! Many in their first year!

Miss Kitty00

85 Posts

Specializes in Med_Surg, Renal, intermediate care.

The original poster sound like she works at my hospital. In Oklahoma, new grads in the hospital usually make anywhere from $18.50 to $21.

Nmo2

1 Post

8 years ago I moved from a non-union state to a union state and what a difference! First, I make almost twice as much per hour. I work on a general surgery unit. Day shift usually 4-5 pts, never more than 5. Other shifts take 5 pts. Being in charge is optional, and the charge nurse never takes pts, but help as needed. We also have a "flex" nurse from 0900 to 1930 who assist with admits and discharges and whatever else is needed. It is very rare to miss a break or stay overtime to chart. I would never be without a union again!In Arizona, no union, I would have 6-7 pts and no one cared if I had a break or not. And the pay was very low.

Guttercat, ASN, RN

1,353 Posts

Guttercat, what do you want aurora to do, pack up her belongings, family, and move to where, Cali? and rent a 1 br apartment for 1400 a month? or buy a house for 3/4 million? Like me here in upstate NY, I have a house thats mine, don't owe a dime on it. All my vehicles are paid for, so yeah I may be only making 25 dollars an hour, but I don't have any bills.. Other than gas, food, and gas&electric. I'm very comfortable. Moving to cali would put me in debt up to my eyeballs, I know many of my friends who made that move and came back with their tails behind their legs because they couldn't afford it

I'm not speaking of California.

I live in idyllic, mountain surroundings in the PNW, a moderate-sized community, very low utility costs, and where median home prices (for nicer ones) start in the $180-$200K range.

Starting hourly wages for new brand new RN's with no experience are well into mid to upper $20's. Those of us with 12 or more years are in the mid $30's-$40's.

Again, $17.00/hr anywhere in this country, are stagnant wages for RN's, dating back to 1995 even in the historically lowest paid states (Wyoming, Texas, Montana).

Take a look at some data and nursing is not the only middle income group to utterly stagnate over the last twenty years. Middle income gains in that time have practically come to a standstill.

beckyjRN

1 Post

I work in the Minneapolis area, on a med-surg floor at a union hospital. I started there after 11 months at a nursing home. As a one-year nurse I started at $30.29 and hour, with a $4 shift diff (I work straight nights). As far as I know, most of the hospitals in the area pay around the same, within a few dollars. My hospital also offers money each year for continuing education, and pays a bonus for up to 2 certifications you may hold. I like that they encourage us to remain educated.

I work on a busy 20 bed med/surg/ortho/neuro/tele floor. Days has 3-5 patients, along with one or two NAs. Eves is usually 4-5 with one or two NAs. Nights we usually have 4-6, but no aide, unless we're over 18 pts on the floor and aren't staffed up on the RN side. We usually have an NA flyer and an RN flyer on each shift that we can call for help with task-based stuff. It's very busy, because our pts are often sick, and/or complex surgical pts. I read about people working until 10 am and I'm thankful for a super crazy night meaning I might end up with an hour of OT.

nvsmom

127 Posts

There are houses in Cali that you can buy for 200k-300k. And there are places to rent starting at $600...and they aren't in the slums either. If you want to be able to afford living in Cali and working as a nurse...you can look for job in Northern California..where it is more affordable. And I'm talking about past the Bay area. Do you REALLY need a home that costs 750k? I mean, c'mon, really. Common sense...choose to live within your means.

Awesomepossum

26 Posts

I work in a city where if you say the word "union" the giant mega corp who owns the city (no really, they do!) will fire you and you never work in town again! I prefer nights...but at my "lovely" hospital we routinely have 7-10 fresh post surg patients and medical people who should be on the unit but aren't on nights, and on DAYs we may have 7-8! NOT SAFE! I had one night the other month where I had 12 people, by myself, at night AS A NEW GRAD! ****!

The surg part is fine but I hate medical, hate it so much, and hate this floor. We call it the 8th level of hell for a reason.

nvsmom

127 Posts

The med-surg floor and the hospital I worked at...same as my colleagues had a max of 4 patients. There is a law in CA that prohibits someone from taking more than 4 patients during a shift.

Specializes in Oncology.
There are houses in Cali that you can buy for 200k-300k. And there are places to rent starting at $600...and they aren't in the slums either. If you want to be able to afford living in Cali and working as a nurse...you can look for job in Northern California..where it is more affordable. And I'm talking about past the Bay area. Do you REALLY need a home that costs 750k? I mean, c'mon, really. Common sense...choose to live within your means.

I live in Northern California (Sacramento), and yes, nurses make a lot of money here, but there are NO jobs. Even experienced nurses have a hard time finding work because this area is saturated with nurses. Cost of living in Sacramento is also quite a bit higher than $600/month rent. The Bay area is ridiculously expensive cost-of-living wise, and Southern California, for all its high cost-of-living, pays a lot less than Sacramento. It doesn't make sense, but when I worked in SoCal, I started at $29 an hour, but my rent was $1300+, not to mention utilities and other bills. Good thing I didn't have student loans at that time, because I had no money left over.

The ratios in California are state mandated: 5:1 Med-Surg, 4:1 Tele. On my BMT unit, we had three on days and four on nights. That is a great benefit of California!

+ Add a Comment