Does anyone know how to start a revolution? I'd like to know because I think our profession is in serious need of a nationwide strike...quite possibly a global one. Of the 4 hospitals I've worked at 3 of them have awful working conditions....and I've worked in 4 hospitals in several states and different cities so I don't just think its the 'region' I'm in. From the horror stories I've read about nursing in the U.K., I guess I should feel lucky to have an 8:1 ratio, no aids, on a post op ortho floor.
I love caring for people...I became a nurse to care for people, but I'm just darn tired of our 'profession'. We are still treated like waitresses and ****** on severly by upper management and hospital administration in my opinion. There is very little professional respect given to us...there is a lot of talk about giving us respect, but it rarely happens. We mistake all the hot air about respect from our managers/hospital administrators for real respect, just because they talk about it a lot doesn't mean they are doing it.
What is worse is that I feel that it is horribly misleading to encourage ANYONE into our line of work. We talk about being fufilled by helping others and what not in our profession, or at least that's the line of bull I fell for when I decided to become a nurse. Hospitals (75% of them in my experience) don't want us to provide care to patients. You'll be lucky to see your patient again after assessment and med pass. I understand that medicine is a business, BUT here's the kicker: Don't ask me to be compassionate, caring, and customer serivce oriented if your bottom line is more important than my patients. I can't provide good service to 7,8, or 10 people at a time. There's a reason that research is showing that a basice med surg nurse should have no more than 4....you know why? Because that is the number of patients the RESEARCH is showing to be a safe and feesible. And to be frank I'm tired of being the hospital's scapegoat for unmet unreasonable expectations
Why do we allow are selves to put up with being gripped at for staying late but knowing we can't leave until we are done? I've seen nurses clock out on time just to stay for 2 more hours to finish up. THAT IS NOT OKAY! I've seen nurses clock out that they got to have a lunch when I know for certian that they didn't, just because they don't want to get in trouble with management. This is perpetuating false beliefs in what we are capable of!
We brow beat each other when other nurses are not willing to work like a dog and stand up for themselves. It's usually because then we get screwed into taking on the load that that nurse wouldn't take, but really what we should be doing is saying no too. We tell other people who have less loads but still high loads, that they are lucky and should quit complaning about their job. HELLO! We should ALL have reasonable loads and just because you are taking care of 8 people instead of 12 does not mean that either load is good!
We should all be able to go to work and on a regular basis (75% of the time) be able to have 2 breaks and a 30 minute lunch, do a through check of our patient's charts for errors and missed orders, have time to spend with our patients and know their needs, and leave ON TIME!! That shouldn't be a dream! That should be the average day! We should be complaining about missing a break, not missing urinating for 12 hours!
I do not, cannot, understand why there are nurses out there who stab us in the back with the ideal that they took care of 20 people back in the day so we need to shut up and quit complaining about our 8. Well the fact was you were getting screwed back in the day too, I'm sorry they treated you that way, but that doesn't make our current loads right.
We need a revolution. We need to say no, not just for our sakes but for our patients! And it isn't just nurses, this is for most of the people in medicine. 80 - 100 people for a doctor to see in a hospital in a 14 hour shift is crazy unreasonable too. I have a friend who is having to do this right now and I told that to a doctor I worked with and his response is that my friend was 'lucky'. Crazy!!! It's all maddness I tell you and we aren't helping anyone by not be more vocal about it!!!!!!
Wasn't FMLA applicable to this situation . If you qualified for FMLA they can't get rid of you like this .
Nicurn,
Well I was in my first 90 days as full time staff . I agree, it seems snarky. I have to work full time because I now have a medical bill to pay for that surgery because I did not have insurance yet. I really was shocked they told me to get well and come back to work no mention over phone about this and I was in contact with DNS and staffing continously during my time off. I just got ****** is all.
:yeah: I SO AGREE WITH YOU TOTALLY A 100%...MANAGEMENT AT ALL HOSPITALS ARE FOR MANAGEMENT NOT THE HARD WORKING NURSES.......:nurse: NOW JUST WAIT FOR OBAMACARE...
PULEAZE , Not OBAMACARE again !!! , the action taken against this nurse was taken by a MANAGEMENT that feels it can treat its staff as a disposable resource . That attitude is based upon a management ethos created in the USA that a managment can do whatever it likes to protect the bottom Finacial line .Scr.w the staff , scr.w the patients etc.!! Obamacare as you call it will be a convenient excuse for management to continue this type of behaviour in the future .
Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS.
:yeah: I SO AGREE WITH YOU TOTALLY A 100%...MANAGEMENT AT ALL HOSPITALS ARE FOR MANAGEMENT NOT THE HARD WORKING NURSES.......:nurse: NOW JUST WAIT FOR OBAMACARE...
ok... and how does a change in payment systems mean that management is any more or less likely to take liberties with staff ... and given that the US government is seen as one of the better employers where it employs direct and the power of the unions in the UK NHS ...
the issue with Unions in the USA is as i pointed out before because it's all about workplaces being closed shop or no union you get the following
1. no clear voice across the profession - you don't have a union or professional association that can stand up and say " we represent x hundred thousand Nurses in all settings across the nation - which the RCN can and does in the UK ( where x =4 )
2. you end up paying high amounts in the closed shops for union 'representation' but they know that even if you leave the union you'll still be bound to pay the dues else have to change workplaces ...
The main goal of of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. "Obamacare") is to contain costs, not improve access or provide excellent service to patients.
In that respect, I think it's clear where the axe will fall first - worker's and the poor. The management of Medicaid was recently privatized in my state. There will be four companies in charge of the management. At least two of them have been involved in lawsuits; one regarding embezzlement and another involving the with-holding of services to Medicaid recipients.
This is the future of health care in the USA. Care will be rationed for the vast majority of us while the upper middle class and the ruling class will enjoy the greatest of health care privileges.
And just a few thoughts on Unions - they no longer play a progressive role for workers. If we examine the function of a union (any union), we find that it can only go so far as to gain concession from the employer. The trouble is, employers are unwilling to give concessions because they understand that giving concessions to their labor force cuts the bottom line.
The world economic system is objectively imperialist, and in this age of transnational corporations, competition is at such frenzied pace that the ruling class (i.e. CEO's of the Fortune 400) and the financial oligarchy (banks) are unable and unwilling to budge an inch to provide better pay, benefits, and working conditions for their employees.
What is to be done in such dire circumstances? I would propose the expropriation and democratization of the large banks and financial firms. Furthermore, I would suggest that all privately owned manufacturing and information technology corporations valued at over $10 billion be transferred to publicly owned enterprises - with safeguards in place for small investors. Also, telecommunications, agriculture, education, health care and transportation - must also be subject to public ownership and democratic control.
These things will never happen unless the working class (including nurses) are imbued with a socialist consciousness and collectively fight for it.
PULEAZE , Not OBAMACARE again !!! , the action taken against this nurse was taken by a MANAGEMENT that feels it can treat its staff as a disposable resource . That attitude is based upon a management ethos created in the USA that a managment can do whatever it likes to protect the bottom Finacial line .Scr.w the staff , scr.w the patients etc.!! Obamacare as you call it will be a convenient excuse for management to continue this type of behaviour in the future .
Nicurn,
I agree Obamacare has nothing to do with this. Its about the bottom line or bad management. This place told me they were glad to have me when I started because I had years of experience and they had been hiring new grads and other nurses and they weren't staying. I think it was due somewhat to the patient load . I unfortunately am used to that but I liked it there but I am not driving 40 miles round trip for a once in a while shift to keep working there. I have bills to pay. If I was management there I would have put the new hire on call until I came back but I think they thought I might not and they made bad choices for a period that I wasnt gone even two weeks. I feel like its just like you are never supposed to have a health problem or a family emergency or anything. My surgeon told me that stress wears down the body and he sees many nurses in their 40s having to have their gallbladder removed. I didnt have stones. I had inflammation and it needed removed. I have actually in the last year lost weight due to stress . I am just mad they lied to me over my recovery period. I have decided I am never having any loyalty to a company again they never have it for me or any other nurse .
Psychtrish I agree, no loyalty. It does not matter. The bottom line is $. But, in your case, I understand the 90 day waiting period is pretty standard in most nursing positions except in your case it appears that there may be something that they did not like about you? (do not intend for this to be mean). As awful as business is, I just have a hard time seeing how someone could be let go during a probationary period when they had a medical issue. Maybe a lawyer is what you need, but then of course, that is so expensive. If this hospital is that uncaring, I hope you get a job elsewhere where you are treated better. How do these places expect us to treat patients so well when they do not treat their employees with respect?
Psychtrish I agree, no loyalty. It does not matter. The bottom line is $. But, in your case, I understand the 90 day waiting period is pretty standard in most nursing positions except in your case it appears that there may be something that they did not like about you? (do not intend for this to be mean). As awful as business is, I just have a hard time seeing how someone could be let go during a probationary period when they had a medical issue. Maybe a lawyer is what you need, but then of course, that is so expensive. If this hospital is that uncaring, I hope you get a job elsewhere where you are treated better. How do these places expect us to treat patients so well when they do not treat their employees with respect?
NeedsHaldol,
May have been. I have seen many nursing management decisions handled by whether a new employee was liked or not and not on their skill level or capabilities . I was within my probation period too. I see it as a mixture of bad luck and bad timing and I wishing it did not happen with the surgery. I agree there are other jobs and it is true if they are that uncaring of staff then maybe they dont really care about their patients. When I say no loyalty to employers I dont mean to my patients and residents. I am always loyal to them . They didnt really want me to completely leave the facility I just really was cut in hours from 32 to whatever comes up. I was told by other long term staff they have high turnover because of patient load and hiring new nurses with no experience or nurses from home health that caring for large amounts of people terrified them and rightly so. I also think the staff development person didnt welcome new employees much because in orientation all she talked about was her personal wealth and hiding money from her spouse and that she was a tea party member definitely not a good new employee welcome. The new nurse with me needed to hear more health and safety things and not that as she is new to LTC and nursing. So maybe I will learn a lesson and find a better place. I am a good nurse and am competent I just had a medical issue before had benefits and been there long enough and I also live in at will state they can let you go at any time and I can let a job go at any time. They may not have liked me I dont know . You never do with these sorts of things and I talked with the DNS every few days during my time off to keep her updated. I just think she lacked the moral courage to be honest with me and that is not too great of a thing in a manager. I know there is a good job out there for me I just have to find it or maybe do travel nursing. Time will tell...
Remember......Karma. I am tired of "expecting to understand" that all the problems are just trickeling down from the top. Now the nursing supervisor is running around asking the charge nurse "will there be over time"? How the XXXX does the charge nurse know 4 hrs before end of shift? These issues are happening all over now. Why don't they just cut a bit of hours at the top? NEVER! As for travelers our hospital has not used them in years so I wonder if there is still a good market for them? If I was single and there were traveler jobs available I would love to do it. As for that gall bladder surgery, interesting, because I never had an issue with my gall bladder and I had it out also and there was NO connection to food or weight like they used to connect with ages ago.
The main goal of of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. "Obamacare") is to contain costs, not improve access or provide excellent service to patients.
In that respect, I think it's clear where the axe will fall first - worker's and the poor. The management of Medicaid was recently privatized in my state. There will be four companies in charge of the management. At least two of them have been involved in lawsuits; one regarding embezzlement and another involving the with-holding of services to Medicaid recipients.
This is the future of health care in the USA. Care will be rationed for the vast majority of us while the upper middle class and the ruling class will enjoy the greatest of health care privileges.
And just a few thoughts on Unions - they no longer play a progressive role for workers. If we examine the function of a union (any union), we find that it can only go so far as to gain concession from the employer. The trouble is, employers are unwilling to give concessions because they understand that giving concessions to their labor force cuts the bottom line.
The world economic system is objectively imperialist, and in this age of transnational corporations, competition is at such frenzied pace that the ruling class (i.e. CEO's of the Fortune 400) and the financial oligarchy (banks) are unable and unwilling to budge an inch to provide better pay, benefits, and working conditions for their employees.
What is to be done in such dire circumstances? I would propose the expropriation and democratization of the large banks and financial firms. Furthermore, I would suggest that all privately owned manufacturing and information technology corporations valued at over $10 billion be transferred to publicly owned enterprises - with safeguards in place for small investors. Also, telecommunications, agriculture, education, health care and transportation - must also be subject to public ownership and democratic control.
These things will never happen unless the working class (including nurses) are imbued with a socialist consciousness and collectively fight for it.
I am so sorry to tell you this....I am a retired nurse after 40 years of active employment, Your
complaints are the same I had all those years ago. Nurses are the most abused, overworked, underpaid,
and generally "used", until they are burned out, or like me....all used up.
The caregiver personality we all have, sets us up for no self love, when it comes to our patients.
The employers know this and will never stop taking advantage of it.
Find your happiness in all the good you are doing, not from better working conditions!
Good Luck
Judy
Judy,
Thank you for your input, but this opinion is the sort I detest the most. In my opinion it is difficult to be happy with what I'm doing because it is NOT helping anyone. I feel as though we end up hurting more patients due to neglect and under education prior to discharge than helping the patients I swore to care for. Thus your sentiment is truely an oxymoron to me. Nurses can't find happiness in all the 'good' we are doing because we aren't doing the 'good' we swore to due because of working conditions.
The idea that we should find contientment in what we have and not fight for what is best is like saying that African Americans should have been happy when they won their freedom and not continued to fight for true equality.
I think we all realize how horrible our society would be if just settled for what was offered all the time.
What I would be interested to know from your pont of view, Judy, is that if in your 40 years of practice do you think that ratios and staffing has improved from when you started? Or do you think that while the numbers may have decreased the acuity is more intense and thus staffing really hasn't improved at all?
This sort of abuse has to stop. For our sakes as well as our patients. I'm very aware that we (nurses) are not the only ones in medicine that feel streached beyond our abilities. I truly feel there is a way to make a decent profit, give excellent care and education to patients, and allow caregivers to have a great work enviornment. I think it has to start with all of us (MD's, CNAs, LVNs, and RNs) refusing to work like dogs.
If you can't pee and sit down to rest for a full uninterupted 30 minutes to eat in a 12 hour shfit, nevermind another two 15 minute breaks in there somewhere, then you are being abused. If you can't get to work on time (instead of an hour early), take accurate and through care of your patients, and leave on time the majority of days you work then you are being abused.
I don't care how bad it's been in the past. I don't care to much if it's better than it was, it's not how it SHOULD be yet and that is all that really matters.
I'm not saying we start dissing our hospitals and the government. I really don't think that blaming any one particular part of this mess on one institution or another is going to fix it. I do believe that us saying 'no' to being treated like crap will. I'm not saying no out of anger or bitterness, but just because it needs to be said. Because it is the right thing to do.
God, I can't wait to get a job outside of medicine because once I do I'm going to start campaigning for what is right as hard as I can.
Two recent studies trace disturbing trends in patient care in hospitals nationally and internationally. The research highlights the relationship between poor nurse staffing in hospitals and long-term care facilities and the increased likelihood of adverse patient outcomes and nurse burnout.
The article is worth the read. The author also conducted interviews with three RN's. A lot of their complaints mirror what has been written on this thread.
:yeah:
:nurse:
Psychtrish39, BSN, RN
290 Posts
Nicurn,
Well I was in my first 90 days as full time staff . I agree, it seems snarky. I have to work full time because I now have a medical bill to pay for that surgery because I did not have insurance yet. I really was shocked they told me to get well and come back to work no mention over phone about this and I was in contact with DNS and staffing continously during my time off. I just got ****** is all.