seriously guys, maybe it is just me, but when i hear other nurses nonchalantly claiming to take care of 5+ med-surg type patients and it's no big deal, i am starting to freak out!!! i think even 4 pts is too many!! what's wrong with me?! maybe i don't have a goood rhythm/organization going, but i feel trying to juggle 4 pts on telemetry and numerous ivpb abx or meds, several ngtube meds and numerous doctor orders is too much!! especially on day shift
half the time by the time i get to try to do assessments, the doctors and residents are rounding with the patients, or ot/pt is working with them, and then i have delays in assessing and passing meds and it seems i dont' get time to do nursing 'care'.. i have too much charting to do and too many new orders, and sending patients to procedures..... yikes...
do you guys ever feel overwhelmed with this stuff? do u ever feel scared of losing your license due to missing something in the midst of all this running around and juggling many patients and meds?
i feel awful that some patient is begging for a backrub or for me to listen to them talk and i dont' have time!! id on't have time to pee, for chrissake :)
i think 2or 3 patients would be okay,, 4, maybe but 5 or more.. that's asking for trouble i think... especially when 2 of them are ngtube meds.. and all of them get numerous ivpiggyback meds and they are all on telemetry....not to mention watching labs and checking for new orders and adjuting heparin nomograms..... and admitting/discharging/transferring pts all day long.. how do y'all do it?!!!! and that's just basic medical 'tasks' .. not including fetching things for the pt/family..... or an unexpected turn for the worse,, or answering bells and walking pts to the bathroom or having a pt pull an iv out......
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
I'm reading your post mjlrn97 and realizing how right you are. Sigh! It's almost like working in the hospital is doing duty in the military on the front lines. Everything from there on is cake compared to that. Big sigh!
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
I'm reading your post mjlrn97 and realizing how right you are. Sigh! It's almost like working in the hospital is doing duty in the military on the front lines. Everything from there on is cake compared to that. Big sigh!
Well, I've never been a soldier so I don't know much about what it's like on the front lines, but I do know that med/surg was becoming more of an endurance contest than a job, and THAT'S when it's time to get the hell out and do something else.
Trouble is, what's going to happen when the powers that be make the job so difficult that no one in their right mind will want to work on a med/surg floor? Nurses are not commodities, they are not pack animals, and there is not an endless supply of them to replace the ones whose bodies and spirits are breaking down. Who will care for the patients when the job becomes impossible?
LPNtoRN-I'm not sure if you're in a big city/university hospital, but I think that in suburban hospitals the patient acuity is lower a lot of times. In school, all we really heard about were the big university hospitals in the city. They would always be at our job fairs, and of course, they were always hiring for their telemetry units. If you're really unhappy, you might want to try a hospital in a different setting like suburbia if you're not already in a a hospital like that, and of course, if things don't feel right for you, don't be afraid to try another floor. Chances are a general med-surg floor, oncology unit, or something like a post-partum unit would be lower intensity than a tele floor. I know a few people who found their niche in the ICU and they're very happy with their two patients who are very sick, but they feel like they can give the good care. Good luck to you and hang in there!
Worked 7a-7p yesterday and they whopped my a***. At least the patients and their family members were nice for a change. I started out with 5 patients, discharged 3 of them late in the day and got 4 direct admits after 1500. Whew! I ran my legs off. I got paged 3 times while trying to eat lunch which is nothing new. Today I did home health. Started at 1330 done by 1730. Saw 5 patients x $60 = $300. I made in 4 hours what I make in 12 on the floor working my a** off. I want to stay with med/surg because of my friends/doctors and keep my skills sharp but if I have many more bad days I'll drop med/surg completely. I agree, if there's a nursing shortage now it's going to be really bad if administration doesn't wake up !!!
I completely understand where you are coming from. I feel that way almost everyday. I work on a Surgical floor of a small hospital so we get every type of surgery including outpatients. Our hospital is trying to initiate team nursing and they are phasing out the nurses aides. We have been so short staffed lately that sometimes each nurse will have 7-8 patients with absolutely no support staff. Our nurse manager and director have worked the floor and given baths on those days. I hate days like that because I do feel like a serious mistake is going to happen and I feel like I am not giving good care. I have been a nurse for 25 years so I thought it was just that I was getting too old but maybe it's just nursing. My day usually starts out with 4-5 patients and then we have surgeries coming back, there are always discharges and admissions in your group so by the end of the day you many have 10 patients who have rotated through your group that you have to chart on. If I have 5-6 patients and an LPN or CNA working with me then I can pretty much handle it but it also depends on the type of patients you have that day etc. Just wanted to tell you, you aren't alone!
Thanks for posting and WELCOME to all nurses. I'm 50 y/o so I'm no spring chicken either. Many of the younger nurses have the same thoughts. Our floor has Telemetry, Surgery, Ortho, Peds, Medical etc.....When you get patients coming and going you feel like you're stuck in a revolving door! I may have 5-6 patients but can have up to 10 to chart on. At the end of the shift we get patients from same day because they don't want to stay past 1800 :angryfire and throughout the shift heart caths come up to recover, that's alot of vital signs, and then alot of patients get blood and that's alot of vital signs also. I don't think I could do my job without the help of the Tech. My hat's off to you! Our LPN's do exactly the same job as the RN's. We've tried team nursing several times but it didn't work.
seriously guys, maybe it is just me, but when i hear other nurses nonchalantly claiming to take care of 5+ med-surg type patients and it's no big deal, i am starting to freak out!!! i think even 4 pts is too many!! what's wrong with me?! maybe i don't have a goood rhythm/organization going, but i feel trying to juggle 4 pts on telemetry and numerous ivpb abx or meds, several ngtube meds and numerous doctor orders is too much!! especially on day shift
half the time by the time i get to try to do assessments, the doctors and residents are rounding with the patients, or ot/pt is working with them, and then i have delays in assessing and passing meds and it seems i dont' get time to do nursing 'care'.. i have too much charting to do and too many new orders, and sending patients to procedures..... yikes...
do you guys ever feel overwhelmed with this stuff? do u ever feel scared of losing your license due to missing something in the midst of all this running around and juggling many patients and meds?
i feel awful that some patient is begging for a backrub or for me to listen to them talk and i dont' have time!! id on't have time to pee, for chrissake :)
i think 2or 3 patients would be okay,, 4, maybe but 5 or more.. that's asking for trouble i think... especially when 2 of them are ngtube meds.. and all of them get numerous ivpiggyback meds and they are all on telemetry....not to mention watching labs and checking for new orders and adjuting heparin nomograms..... and admitting/discharging/transferring pts all day long.. how do y'all do it?!!!! and that's just basic medical 'tasks' .. not including fetching things for the pt/family..... or an unexpected turn for the worse,, or answering bells and walking pts to the bathroom or having a pt pull an iv out......
maybe i am in the wrong field....
does anyone else understand this?
I could have written this myself as this is how I've often felt as a nurse, especially when I re-entered the nursing field a few years ago. It just keeps getting worse - IMPO.
You aren't in the wrong field. I'm not in the wrong field. We are both being abused as human beings. We're expected to perform like robots today in the hospitals. It's next to impossible to offer "good customer service" with nursing being what it has become all for the "almighty dollar".
When I used to get really frazzled and stressed and felt like I could never catch up, I would stop what I was doing for 5-10 minutes and make a list of what needed to be done. It really helped me organize and prioritize and put me back on track, so I wasn't just running around like a chicken. I seemed to accomplish everything much quicker when I did this.
Of course I always started off with a list like someone else mentioned. But just like everyone else, got tons of discharges, transfers, and admits and would have to stop and make new lists throughout my shift.
I completely understand where you are coming from. I feel that way almost everyday. I work on a Surgical floor of a small hospital so we get every type of surgery including outpatients. Our hospital is trying to initiate team nursing and they are phasing out the nurses aides. We have been so short staffed lately that sometimes each nurse will have 7-8 patients with absolutely no support staff. Our nurse manager and director have worked the floor and given baths on those days. I hate days like that because I do feel like a serious mistake is going to happen and I feel like I am not giving good care. I have been a nurse for 25 years so I thought it was just that I was getting too old but maybe it's just nursing. My day usually starts out with 4-5 patients and then we have surgeries coming back, there are always discharges and admissions in your group so by the end of the day you many have 10 patients who have rotated through your group that you have to chart on. If I have 5-6 patients and an LPN or CNA working with me then I can pretty much handle it but it also depends on the type of patients you have that day etc. Just wanted to tell you, you aren't alone!
I don't think it's your age. I think it's the nature of nursing. I am a new nurse, and I will tell you, I cannot see myself going at this pace for the longterm. I am planning 1 year at the most, on my current unit. 6 months if I can get away with it. I think I would like to transfer to ICU. I know the patients are sicker, but I also feel like I would have more time with them, and more time to actually provide good nursing care. Who knows, maybe I will end up loving where I'm at. But for now, I can't see that happening. I keep telling myself to give it time, etc. But when I look around, the majority of the 'seasoned' nurses have the same frustration. So, then I ask myself, "Is time really going to make that much of a difference?" I have to try to stick it out for at least one year though . I also keep telling myself to be more positive, but I can't seem to catch a ride on that bus.
We have 6-7 pt.s each shift. I work telemetry/med surge floor. Once you hit the floor, you're running all day long. I'm so tired when I get home. Very stressfull days. Usually we're understaffed with support. At least one CNA but some days no ward clerk. It's ridiculous really.
. . .i dont' get time to do nursing 'care'.. i have too much charting to do and too many new orders, and sending patients to procedures..... yikes...
i feel awful that some patient is begging for a backrub or for me to listen to them talk and i dont' have time!! id on't have time to pee, for chrissake :)
. . . numerous ivpiggyback meds . . . all on telemetry....not to mention watching labs and checking for new orders and adjuting heparin nomograms..... and admitting/discharging/transferring pts all day long.. .. not including fetching things for the pt/family..... or an unexpected turn for the worse,, or answering bells and walking pts to the bathroom or having a pt pull an iv out......
maybe i am in the wrong field....
does anyone else understand this?
OMG LPN2RNmommy--do you work on MY floor?! This is EXACTLY the kind of crap I'm dealing with. I've been off orientation for about 3 weeks, and I'm TOTALLY overwhelmed. Yesterday my 8-hour shift took 9.5 hours to complete--and that's WITHOUT taking even five minutes to eat. I couldn't figure out why the McDonald's across the street from the hospital is open 24/7. Now I know why!
I'm someone who has always been confident in my intelligence and my abilities. But by the end of a shift I always feel like an incompetent idiot. I work 3-11, and we're always getting new admits/discharges and people coming and going to procedures. I can handle STABLE patients whose orders are clear and reasonable. But when you throw in BPs over 160 with IV push labetalol, uncontrolled pain with no more meds available, unidentifiable heart rhythms, and funky psych-social issues, it's enough to put me in the nut house!
Last night I had a day-1 CABG patient who kept me in the room for 90% of my shift. She had tons of issues, and there was NOBODY ON CALL from cardio-thoracic. I was ready to walk off the floor.
. I also keep telling myself to be more positive, but I can't seem to catch a ride on that bus.
I was ready to walk off the floor. 
Daytonite, BSN, RN
1 Article; 14,604 Posts
I'm reading your post mjlrn97 and realizing how right you are. Sigh! It's almost like working in the hospital is doing duty in the military on the front lines. Everything from there on is cake compared to that. Big sigh!