Nurses and other staff refusing to Treat COVID patients

Mena2015, BSN · Dec 17, 2020

11 minutes ago, Nurse SMS said:

Part of me agrees, but part of me has seen what is being asked of us and completely understands that people are just....suffering. Staff is suffering. I don't think its terribly fair to call it selfish 8 months in. We can't magically create more healthcare workers in this short amount of time and it isn't the frontline staff's fault that "Lean" was the goal for the last 15-20 years. People are worn out, mentally and physically. That's not selfishness as much as a systemic issue that needs to be addressed.

I agree, all of us are worn out.. We are currently taking 5 patients each in my unit. Originally, we were told we would never have more then 3.. That lasted about a day during the first wave. Last shift I had 3 totals. We have an older patient population, so needless to say we get a lot of dementia patients who are confused and a high fall risk, most of our patients have multiple comorbidities. It´s just a really heavy work load and we kept being asked to do more...

JKL33 · Dec 17, 2020

3 hours ago, egg122 NP said:

We are definitely at the breaking point in our healthcare system where years of corporate mentality have resulted in inadequate systems and a "me, me, me" mindset.

I have been saying things along these lines all along. One of the first things I read here about new grad contracts, for example, was that they were necessary because of the huge investment that was being made into fickle new grads who have no sense of loyalty. The contracts were necessary in order to stem the losses from such irresponsible and ungrateful people.

That was never the case, never. This started with corporate BS. The reciprocal lack of loyalty followed, and is completely logical.

3 hours ago, Nurse SMS said:

it isn't the frontline staff's fault that "Lean" was the goal for the last 15-20 years.

I've never posted an article here but I prepared one a few weeks ago and decided it was just another one of my rants. But this is exactly what it was about....basically that I wonder if any "leader" anywhere has any regret whatsoever about they way they have destroyed things. Now here they are again flailing like a 2-year-old blaming every one in sight for the various difficulties they are experiencing like the example in this thread.

They themselves taught people to expect zero loyalty and in the last 10 years have managed to spite so many of the nurses who were loyal, making damn sure we all understood that they did not care about us or about nursing. I'm convinced there is mostly enough help out there, even for covid. But they have spent 10-20 years blowing up bridges and burning the remnants for good measure.

Where's that one chick when we need her? ?? You know who I'm talking about, the one who can turn these admins back to themselves to find their own answers instead of blaming everyone else and expecting others to solve their problems. ?

speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 17, 2020

On 12/13/2020 at 8:17 PM, Mena2015 said:

Are any of you experiencing this issue? Since the first wave hit, some of the nurses at work have refused to care for COVID patients. Management has allowed this and continues to do so.. My unit, Telemetry, became a makeshift COVID unit, with half available beds allocated to COVID patients. Last night all of the other nurses and techs scheduled to work with me refused to take COVID patients. Luckily an ER nurse, and a tech from another unit came to the rescue. However, this is so disheartening to see. Our patient ratio continues to increase -taking 5 patients each at the moment. Phlebotomists refuse to come to the COVID side to draw labs. It´s awful and heartbreaking...

I understand a part of this but what frustrates me is nearly everyone is at risk from something or another.....either a nurse with an autoimmune disease or recovering from cancer.....or a nurse who is healthy but has a family member who is immunocompromised.....a nurse who is pregnant and we still don’t always know the risks with that.....etc. It’s wrong for one side to shy away claiming their reasons why when many others keep working under the conditions and they are actually just as at risk.

plc19 · Dec 18, 2020

That's something to be fired over not because you don't want the vaccine.

Chronic Care Coordinator · Dec 18, 2020

Wow! The only time, I could refuse an assignment especially Covid pts is when I don't have the proper PPEs to safely take care of them. Refusing an assignment when on duty is grounds for termination at my place.

You can work under protest and fill a Protest Of Assignment (POA) if the pt load is overwhelming or you are understaffed. These POA are tracked by the union. As a nurse, I understand the burnout and the urge to take "mental health sick days" and get your bearings but doing it to get out of taking care of Covid pts is like the HIV scare! At the end of the day, follow infection control protocols and treat everyone like they could have asymptomatic covid and protect yourself using the proper PPEs and handwashing frequently. The only thing you want to take home is a paycheque!

In terms of "being the chick to get admin to do their work", I have learned to speak up for myself and my colleagues. You can be 'nice' and firm and make sure safety comes first! Do not be afraid to speak up or it will be the holocaust once again!

Martin Niemöller a German Lutheran pastor and theologian, famous confession states about Hitler

"First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me."

mi_dreamin, BSN · Dec 27, 2020

On 12/14/2020 at 2:42 PM, Kitiger said:

I fear you are right, although instead of "covidiots", I would say, "those who want what they want, and they don't care what anyone else says."

Most of the people I know who have tested positive did "all the right things" and still got it. You cannot stop a virus.

Kitiger, RN · Dec 27, 2020

12 hours ago, mi_dreamin said:

Most of the people I know who have tested positive did "all the right things" and still got it. You cannot stop a virus.

The size of the loading dose counts. If you get a smaller dose, you won't get as sick.

You cannot stop a virus, but you can slow it down. Flatten the curve.

Give our nurses in the hard-hit hospitals a chance.

mi_dreamin, BSN · Dec 27, 2020

7 hours ago, Kitiger said:

The size of the loading dose counts. If you get a smaller dose, you won't get as sick.

You cannot stop a virus, but you can slow it down. Flatten the curve.

Give our nurses in the hard-hit hospitals a chance.

I was addressing the sentiment that people who test positive somehow don't care about anyone or anything but themselves.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 30, 2020

On 12/17/2020 at 11:29 AM, JKL33 said:

I have been saying things along these lines all along. One of the first things I read here about new grad contracts, for example, was that they were necessary because of the huge investment that was being made into fickle new grads who have no sense of loyalty. The contracts were necessary in order to stem the losses from such irresponsible and ungrateful people.

That was never the case, never. This started with corporate BS. The reciprocal lack of loyalty followed, and is completely logical.

I've never posted an article here but I prepared one a few weeks ago and decided it was just another one of my rants. But this is exactly what it was about....basically that I wonder if any "leader" anywhere has any regret whatsoever about they way they have destroyed things. Now here they are again flailing like a 2-year-old blaming every one in sight for the various difficulties they are experiencing like the example in this thread.

They themselves taught people to expect zero loyalty and in the last 10 years have managed to spite so many of the nurses who were loyal, making damn sure we all understood that they did not care about us or about nursing. I'm convinced there is mostly enough help out there, even for covid. But they have spent 10-20 years blowing up bridges and burning the remnants for good measure.

Where's that one chick when we need her? ?? You know who I'm talking about, the one who can turn these admins back to themselves to find their own answers instead of blaming everyone else and expecting others to solve their problems. ?

MAYBE they will regret it when it personally affects them. But then again, you have the VIP experience at some hospitals, so those people will be fine. I personally would love to see karma come to full fruition and they be on the receiving end of less-than-adequate care d/t their decisions decades ago.

neuron · Dec 30, 2020

On 12/13/2020 at 7:17 PM, Mena2015 said:

Are any of you experiencing this issue? Since the first wave hit, some of the nurses at work have refused to care for COVID patients. Management has allowed this and continues to do so.. My unit, Telemetry, became a makeshift COVID unit, with half available beds allocated to COVID patients. Last night all of the other nurses and techs scheduled to work with me refused to take COVID patients. Luckily an ER nurse, and a tech from another unit came to the rescue. However, this is so disheartening to see. Our patient ratio continues to increase -taking 5 patients each at the moment. Phlebotomists refuse to come to the COVID side to draw labs. It´s awful and heartbreaking...

I worked the COVID unit at my facility but decided against it after it was apparent that there was no set ground how many patients I would get. I was told that I would only have at most 4 patients, that unit is now over 16 patients and any COVID positive patient is put there. It's not the COVID+ state that prevents me from working there, it's the b/s falls, psych patients, acuity with no additional staff to help if the patient declines. Who will be responsible? With state and the health department so involved with this pandemic, when push comes to shove it's the nurse that's going to be thrown under the bus. The work piles on the to the point nurses can't give good care. No thanks.

neuron · Dec 30, 2020

56 minutes ago, fibroblast said:

..

gere7404, BSN, RN · Dec 30, 2020

5 hours ago, fibroblast said:

I worked the COVID unit at my facility but decided against it after it was apparent that there was no set ground how many patients I would get. I was told that I would only have at most 4 patients, that unit is now over 16 patients and any COVID positive patient is put there. It's not the COVID+ state that prevents me from working there, it's the b/s falls, psych patients, acuity with no additional staff to help if the patient declines. Who will be responsible? With state and the health department so involved with this pandemic, when push comes to shove it's the nurse that's going to be thrown under the bus. The work piles on the to the point nurses can't give good care. No thanks.

Yeah our covid unit is a grab bag, a lot of the memory care facilities got it bad so it’s like herding cats who die when they fall in PPE all night.

I’d take a 6:1 ratio assignment of good, alert and ambulatory covid pts any day though. I love the covid people who only need Tylenol and o2 I’m the ER, super easy.