Nursing is becoming stupid

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Aug 14, 2015

I have had a horrible week and I have figured something out.
The people who make the rules are stupid.
Yes, my friends, stupid.
I have only been a nurse for four years, but in these four years I have noticed some things that lead me to question the sanity and the IQ of the powers that be.
I am working for an unnamed healthcare system who is a very large employer and the people that run it are morons. The people that work in it aren't much better. And the nurses, well, they have been beaten down to the point that they just put up with it.
We have lots of hospitals in the region, but we don't have specialist coverage consistently. So, I got a patient a couple of weeks ago that had an emergent condition that needed to be treated by a specialist. But, that specialty is only covered every other week. This patient happened to come in during the wrong week. So, what did they do? EMTALA the patient? No, they put the patient in OBS with a BP that was consistently in the 80's over 40's. How is this safe?
Needless to say, I had this patient transferred to the ICU in the first 10 minutes of my shift and put a burr up the butt of the House Supervisor to get this patient transferred somewhere they could actually be treated.
Recently, I had a patient that needed a stat ultrasound. So, I put the order in. Ultrasound calls me back and tells me that I have to call the provider back and get a consult from a more acute specialty, because my doc's order isn't good enough for them to call the night U/S team in. So, I had to call a consult, completely unnecessarily. On the phone, the consultant decided to get a CT Angio instead and we cancelled the U/S. However, thinking that the consult was emergent and not just to satisfy policy, the consultant actually came to see the patient at 10:00 at night and decided the CT Angio was overkill and to do the U/S, but it could wait until morning. He was also super angry that we had called him and I got the "Why did you even call me?" angry spiel and butt-chew.
I was tempted to say, "Because we work for morons." But, I didn't.
Sometimes I really hate what nursing is turning into in the hospital. It's basically throw meds at a patient and try your darnedest to keep the hospital's policies from killing them before you can get them home. I have spent hours on the phone with docs, supervisors, consultants, managers, and family members from these FUBARs, and many more besides.
I really feel like the powers that be are out to kill the patients and make the nurses' lives hell because they are so so focused on turning a profit.
Am I just working in a bad system, or are the powers that be really putting in so many barriers that we can't care for patients anymore?

Not stupid, money hungry. I am not a religious person, but the love of money is the root of all evil. Nursing care is now a business, ruled by the corporate masters. The answer is supporting union and nursing associations.. that advocate for safe staffing ratios.

icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2015

Imaging should be calling the doctor, not you

That order was their responsibility, not yours. If you read ixchels thread from two days ago it contains numerous examples of ancillary diagnostic, therapeutic, and custodial services dumping their orders work and

responsibilities on the bedside

nurse. Some stories were downright appalling. It is not 1985. Nursing is not responsible for everyones' orders anymore.

It is perfectly legal and appropriate to give ancillary services a number to text page. They can have the MD do order entry remotely. They know order entry. They would rather play

dumb and tell the nurse to call. They get breaks and naps. You don't.

Your time is just as valuable if not more so than a pharmacist a rad tech, Resp care Speech OT Lab etc.

NuGuyNurse2b · Aug 14, 2015

I said this in the nursing students thread cause I witnessed it working as a secretary. if you go into nursing thinking you'll be that angel that saves lives, you're going to be sorely mistaken. there's a lot of bureaucracy and red tape that will be thrown at you. and those are the nurses whose dreams are shattered and end up leaving the profession. I remember days where prior to the 3-11 shift, the census just dropped. so the nurse manager cancelled a nurse (which btw they needed to do so 1 hr in advance of her shift start...which they did not adhere to). well later in the evening, bed control sends up patients because lo and behold, our unit had beds (duh...). it completely killed the safety ratio (posted on the wall btw) of nurse/patients, 3-11 got creamed. But the shift supervisor basically told the unit to suck it up, the 11-7 staffing will be appropriate, so you guys just deal with it for now.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2015

Bedside nursing entails a huge clerical component. In fact, I'd venture to say it is less about 'helping patients' and more about dotting your lowercase 'I' letters and crossing your 'T' letters to cover your behind.

As long as a costly and deadly sentinel event does not arise, I suspect that pleases the powers that be.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Aug 14, 2015

Bedside nursing entails a huge clerical component. In fact, I'd venture to say it is less about 'helping patients' and more about dotting your lowercase 'I' letters and crossing your 'T' letters to cover your behind.
As long as a costly and deadly sentinel event does not arise, I suspect that pleases the powers that be.

Dang! I thought I was jaded. :woot:

icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2015

Feel your pain. I just escaped from a place with a ceo that is crazy as a bedbug and an ICU director that could not speak or write in full sentences after 5 pm because he was drunk.

canigraduate · Aug 14, 2015

I worked with morons at my last hospital job, too, come to think of it. I had so many problems with the administrators, my unit management, the prima donna neurosurgeons... The only decent people were a couple of nurses, a few amazing CNAs, and the dude in the cafeteria who made my omelettes in the morning. Even housekeeping sucked at that place.

I think it's time to get out of acute care.

Anna S, RN · Aug 14, 2015

They are money hungry and stupid.

Chrissy Lou · Aug 14, 2015

It's not just hospitals, LTC is a mess also. I have worked in LTC for over 20 years, and what I have seen is very, very discouraging. Large Corporations buying up homes, cutting staff to the bone, the workload is insurmountable. I loved LTC because of my residents, I loved getting to know them, their families. There is no longer time for that, money is the bottom line, and the stupid decisions go with it. Still someone has to advocate and protect the patients/residents, and yours sound lucky to have had you! Nursing as it once was is dead. Now we are budgeteers, concierges, customer-service reps. I know I sound jaded. But I remember when things were different. I miss those days.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Aug 14, 2015

Bedside nursing entails a huge clerical component. In fact, I'd venture to say it is less about 'helping patients' and more about dotting your lowercase 'I' letters and crossing your 'T' letters to cover your behind.
As long as a costly and deadly sentinel event does not arise, I suspect that pleases the powers that be.

I learned quickly in nursing that TPTB care very little about the quality of care being given.

They care about satisfaction surveys and dazzling the public with fancy lobbies.

Nonyvole, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2015

And the minute you try to actually put your patient and their needs first, everybody jumps down your throat.