So, I own a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. It is my toy. It is fun to drive and super-fast. It has all the bells and whistles and is black on black with carbon fiber trim. I bought it used, on impulse when looking for a second vehicle to continue my travel nurse career. Before I test-drove it, I did not know such a vehicle existed.
I drove it exactly 104 miles and had catastrophic engine failure. At that time, I was pursuing my nurse practitioner degree and was informed by the medical director of the facility I was working at that he did not like me. I replaced the engine in my jeep and determined that that facility was not where I needed to be. I packed up my life in my jeep, found a travel contract and continued my journey.
Then the pandemic began. No one in healthcare knew what this new virus was but there was a tremendous amount of speculation by the media experts and the political parties. I was on a contract at a cath lab in South Dakota and was on call for Stemi for the weekend for the first time at that facility. I was called out at 0050 and had 30 minutes to get to the hospital and get the patient on the table. The nice officer asked me if I knew why he stopped me and I responded with, “because I let you”. He started to laugh, and I showed him my beeper and badge, explained why I was doing 55 in a 25, and he was kind enough to let me continue on my way. The patient had a good outcome and was discharged several days later.
Then the rules started coming out about appropriate PPE and the media decided that the virus came from China and was transmitted from bats. Government-appointed healthcare officials determined that healthcare staff was to wear surgical masks at all times, with N-95 masks and visors, plus gowns, gloves, and shoe covers when doing procedures or entering a patient’s room suspected of Covid-19.
Then the hours and staffing changed for the cath lab because it was determined that only emergency procedures were to take place because so many people were contracting the Covid virus. The contract ended and I packed up my Jeep and headed home to wait and see what was going to take place next.
New York City made the news for being overwhelmed with Covid patients and the lockdown truly began across many states. The lockdown affected every business in many ways. I waited for as long as I could before obtaining my next contract, packing my Jeep, and heading 1500 miles South. I chose to not work Covid contracts as there were still too many unknowns about the virus. The media was declaring that the virus was manmade in Wuhan, China and released into the general population on purpose.
Then there was the development of the PCR test for Covid-19. Now all patients were screened through the emergency rooms before permitting entrance into the hospital and family members’ visitation was limited. There was and continues to be a severe shortage of nurses and the government is funding and deploying nurses to where the shortages are critical. Masks were now required for the general populace when in public with restricted hours in bars and restaurants and essential shopping limited. Schools were closed, elective procedures curtailed, and “non-essential” businesses shuttered. People were becoming afraid as exemplified by the lady who snatched the loaf of bread from my hands while in the check-out line in the grocery store. I won’t even talk about the toilet paper shortage.
Next came the hints that the development of a vaccine was on the horizon. The media was continuing the fearmongering and hate-promoting while the political parties used the pandemic as a football to sway their constituency to one party or the other. I had arrived at my contract facility in record time because of my speedy SRT to recover open hearts as the restrictions for “elective” procedures were being lifted. These patients were much higher acuity as they had developed complications due to their surgeries having been postponed because of the restrictions imposed by the government secondary to the pandemic.
Fast forward a year while continuing to work with restrictions now being handed down related to mandates regarding the vaccine and encouragement for continued social distancing and masking while out in public. As a working nurse, I wear my mask for 12 to 14 hours a day, wash my hands continuously, wear appropriate PPE when caring for Covid patients and disinfect surfaces. I care for my Covid patients (vaccinated or not) as I would for any patient in my care with expertise, kindness, compassion, and empathy.
As I am finding less joy in driving the Jeep and have been offered a substantial amount of money for it, I think I will sell it as I leave the nursing profession. The divisions, animosity, anger, and hate that have been promoted in my “profession” have exhausted my emotional, mental, and physical resources. I’m finished hurrying from assignment to assignment and patient to patient.
Thank you so much for your kind words. If there is anything I wish to leave behind it is a positive impact on the nurses I worked with and the patients I cared for. The very best to you in your career.
Specializes in Dr of vet med, ER/ICU/Vet Anesthesia/Practice.
A general comment/blog: bear with me as some may be deeply offensive- how can a veterinarian post on this site? what does he really want ? (nothing/justice to nurses- yes there is a bell shaped curve to all.......however. most are very dedicated and I shake my head in disbelief what admin/society expects of these people- love to see society,doctors or admin last twenty seconds in their job..........theyd find out how insanely complicated it is).. in vet med we don't have nurses in large referal hospitals.......not when I was there- the last two years of clinics in vet school and two very intense mash like internships (5days without sleep common) and a residency in vet anesthesia make me more than sympathetic what nursses endure..........people tell them all kinds of advice..........no offense...........glib and academic- they havent been through these cruciables or the caseload or dealing wiht multiple doctors, the incredible responsibity of each**** patient.......not just the orders but while they are bound to moutains of records they are tryiing monotr cases that we all know can go south in a second.........the MARS and records is enouight to give anyone a migrane...........mountains of drugs, complications, living physiology not book, negative phsicology, the esp that many have that something is going south and no one will listen, having to do twelve confiicting jobs at once, or all shift.............u hire caring nurses, punish them for being with theri patients, punish them if they are, punish them for and have to live with anyitng that goes wrong as this is a human being not a bag of apples.......endless.........glib acadmeics talk about connecting and being positve yet that is the oopoisite of clinics- murphy rules and the clincial peopl eknow it..........but cant tell the cheerleadrs and admin.........your not coooperating ms nurse /your not listening (yes they are - this is stupid advice0 any anesthesia or nurses start with the worst that willl***** happen not pop psychocolgy..............connecting also means being devistated if something happens,,,,,,,,,nurses cant sleap because they are nurses and people tell them innanely just turn it off............u hire these caring decicated peole and then don't understand them or treat them like toasters..............they cant turn it off and stay on shift or worry about cases all night...............they are nurses..............they care are are inteliigent enough to be scared to death esp the new ones throw in to theri vietnam............
tip fo the iceburg...........
we...........get our rear ends chewed for defending nurses.......we have a partial
apprecaition for what they do...........partial and u counld not pay me 56 miillin a day to be a nurse.............each case is not a stat- is a human being and part of the nurses die with each one............no one listens, or belives them or cares........
u hire these peole for their talents, educate them and warn them about all things that can go wrong ADN then
punish them if they confront bad orders or need clarifcation or are concerned and wonder why they .................
id be terrrifed with one case let alone the caseload they have...........walking exhaustion but so dedicated whose going ot look after mrs henry or george or
highest walking BUN clinically is nurses........
again .....tip fo the iceburg.........
inhumane standards caseload and almost no support or worse...........
I debate whether to post.............a tiny tiny attempt to acknowledge the life and torture nurses go through...............fine to talk about connection and communication and the other side that writer isn't an nurse...........they do make and diffrernce and react and sense and feel people pain.............oh academic writeer..............try that after 20 ...30
300 cases................ull be a basket case...........
Specializes in Dr of vet med, ER/ICU/Vet Anesthesia/Practice.
Off topic- but I don't often have access to computer - and this persons dedication touches heart cords
we must*** protect nurses
why are there no signs? Please be kind to our nurses (how simple is this?)
Our nurses work very hard- please help us take care of our working staff- thank u.....
how about safety words- suggested this long ago but no one listens-
people come into hosopitals or ER- have safety words to convey to the working staff they are safe...........work out some code word and pass it to the community.............shouldnt be hard for nurses who can educate the masses already...........I don't understand what the problem is......
(im a large man- fit.........I work with 1200 pound to 2000 pound animals- how scary to a nurse or anyone to have me walk in the door............oh hi Henry how are the other Sasquaches doing these days? translation : poor nurses (in stupid cowboy horseman code)........
why cant we have code words? safety words or an honor code - something
so nurses who already have an insame job................they MUST NOT- have to worry about their safety...............they have enough to worry about
(well doubt it will go anywhere but cant blame a guy for trying)...
love to see the doctors or admin try............just try to do nursing for 40 seconds.........same ol same ol..............want things to change............have the boss walk in your shoes............
(every nurse knows this but they would get fired if they say it............so ill be the bad guy- leave our nurses alone...........they have familes to go home to.............once a month)
I got rid of my jeep and now have a more dependable 4 Runner. The media that I consume didn't engage in fear mongering or hate promotion. I don't understand why people want to make such media a foundation for their information.
I wonder where nursing will be in another year or two given so many who are leaving. I too am one of them. Though I am unable to leave the profession completely (and did not prepare as I should have for retirement so I am stuck) I am moving as far to the periphery of the nursing profession as I can while being able to still make a livable wage. Not a wage that allows for frills but one that allows for low stress and my bills to be paid. I am too tired and uninterested to return to school for another career and don't have the money for tuition anyway.
The very people (I.e. companies/corporations) that publicly profess to love nurses, value nurses are the very ones who, privately, are screwing us. I have never, truly seen in my 29 yrs as a nurse, more pressure, more (mostly) useless documentation, politics and lack of support for nurses than I have in the past 10 years with it becoming exponentially worse. It borders on abuse in some situations.
Hospitals, home health agencies, etc. (not all of course) seem to feel nurses are "a dime a dozen" with new grads desperate for jobs so those with a little (or a lot) of experience who balk at the unfairness/unsafe staffing issues, etc are easily replaceable. Then the new grads end up overwhelmed, disenchanted and the cycle repeats itself.
I worry about what healthcare is going to be like in the near and distant future, wonder if the "powers that be" within the hospitals/facilities/home health care agencies will ever see the light, but right now, like with many on here, it's down to emotional, physical and mental survival and no job is worth losing all that over.
I have a 15 minute commute to work, about 3 exits up the highway. Both ways there is a long straight entrance ramp. That 5 seconds of the drive to work starts my day with a grin and that 5 seconds of the drive on the way home leaves most of the stress behind.
I wonder where nursing will be in another year or two given so many who are leaving. I too am one of them. Though I am unable to leave the profession completely (and did not prepare as I should have for retirement so I am stuck) I am moving as far to the periphery of the nursing profession as I can while being able to still make a livable wage. Not a wage that allows for frills but one that allows for low stress and my bills to be paid. I am too tired and uninterested to return to school for another career and don't have the money for tuition anyway.
The very people (I.e. companies/corporations) that publicly profess to love nurses, value nurses are the very ones who, privately, are screwing us. I have never, truly seen in my 29 yrs as a nurse, more pressure, more (mostly) useless documentation, politics and lack of support for nurses than I have in the past 10 years with it becoming exponentially worse. It borders on abuse in some situations.
Hospitals, home health agencies, etc. (not all of course) seem to feel nurses are "a dime a dozen" with new grads desperate for jobs so those with a little (or a lot) of experience who balk at the unfairness/unsafe staffing issues, etc are easily replaceable. Then the new grads end up overwhelmed, disenchanted and the cycle repeats itself.
I worry about what healthcare is going to be like in the near and distant future, wonder if the "powers that be" within the hospitals/facilities/home health care agencies will ever see the light, but right now, like with many on here, it's down to emotional, physical and mental survival and no job is worth losing all that over.
I totally understand what you are feeling. Here is an example:
Me: So I don't see the 8 hours of overtime for Thanksgiving week. I worked 48 hours so should have 12 hours of holiday pay for the 12 I worked on Thanksgiving and 8 hours of OT for the extra 8 I worked for the 48.
Them: No. The 12 hours you worked on Thanksgiving don't count to add up to the 48. So you just get the 12 hours of holiday pay but no OT.
Jeep owning nurses unite! I traded in a 2008 Ford Escape this Summer that I had bought in 2010 because the transmission was starting to slip and no way was I sinking that kind of money into a 13 year old vehicle with 130,000+ miles on it. Bought a used 2017 Jeep Renegade for a good price and I love it. All the bells and whistles except the heated seats. Looking forward to seeing how the 4 wheel drive is when we get some significant snowfall, which will definitely happen sooner rather than later where I live.
Jeep owning nurses unite! I traded in a 2008 Ford Escape this Summer that I had bought in 2010 because the transmission was starting to slip and no way was I sinking that kind of money into a 13 year old vehicle with 130,000+ miles on it. Bought a used 2017 Jeep Renegade for a good price and I love it. All the bells and whistles except the heated seats. Looking forward to seeing how the 4 wheel drive is when we get some significant snowfall, which will definitely happen sooner rather than later where I live.
Yessss!! My husband got a 2016 Cherokee TrailHawk, I drove it and loved it. 2 weeks later traded my Tucson in for the same Jeep. Then we both traded those in last year for 2020 Grand Cherokee TrailHawk. Absolutely love that trim. All the bells and whistles one could want. ❤️
I totally understand what you are feeling. Here is an example:
Me: So I don't see the 8 hours of overtime for Thanksgiving week. I worked 48 hours so should have 12 hours of holiday pay for the 12 I worked on Thanksgiving and 8 hours of OT for the extra 8 I worked for the 48.
Them: No. The 12 hours you worked on Thanksgiving don't count to add up to the 48. So you just get the 12 hours of holiday pay but no OT.
Me: What??? Gaslighting at it's finest.
And they wonder why we are leaving....
I would check with the Dept of Labor because I don't think that is legal. If you work over 40 hours in a pay period they must pay you overtime. I would fight this!
Therese Pingatore, RN
1 Article; 10 Posts
Thank you so much for your kind words. If there is anything I wish to leave behind it is a positive impact on the nurses I worked with and the patients I cared for. The very best to you in your career.