I am a new grad.RN working in the OR.I am in South Carolina.I asked management if I could see the count policy,and was told they did not have one,but were working on it......since April.I had a few scrubs refuse to count,or said "We can count later",then they draped and handed the knife to the surgeon,even though the count had not been done.I also had a scrub who was going to draw up Narcan,she had the vial & syringe in her hand,and was inserting the needle into the vial when I caught it,I told her no,then took it from her.I also have scrubs who will take the safety strap off the patient,then walk away from the bedside.I have talked with management,the reaction I got was,"What is wrong with them helping " ?. And everyday I have scrubs telling me how to do my job.The scrubs will open a pack for the backtable,then scrub in,and have me or other nurses run and get supplies they should have gathered for the case.The manager's response was,"Well,they just don't care because they do not have a license to lose". That was all I got,she has never taken action to address these issues.I was also told," We have had no luck in hiring good scrubs and we would like to keep the ones we have".I am on edge everyday,and nothing is being addressed by management.The scrubs also tend to disappear between cases,so I am ready to bring the next patient back and I have no scrub,and no supplies are open.I would appreciate some advice.
I'm actually relieved for you. Every time you posted it seemed like the situation was worse and worse. Sometimes it's just not worth the battle. The best you can do is learn from the situation and move on. I know times are tough out there as far as finding a job is concerned, but at least you still have your license to move on with!
Argo,thank you,I did not know that.An interesting point is,it was common for employee's to express that they would not have surgery at the same hospital they worked in,because everyone knows the problems are major.Nothing is in writing,so accountability goes out the window.I am not the first nurse to leave because of questionable practices,but I am the first to question the practices.I'm just glad that people responded here,gave me good advice,and I left before something happened that would impact my career.
TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN
1,018 Posts
I'm actually relieved for you. Every time you posted it seemed like the situation was worse and worse. Sometimes it's just not worth the battle. The best you can do is learn from the situation and move on. I know times are tough out there as far as finding a job is concerned, but at least you still have your license to move on with!