One nurse for three busy providers. This can't be safe, right?

Specialties Ambulatory

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As of today, I am temporarily the only nurse available in the clinic where I work for three providers, which altogether see over 100 pts. per day. The two Nurse Practitioners see on average about 24 each per day, and the MD sometimes sees over 50.

One nurse just lost her father yesterday and the other is out for the duration of her first trimester of pregnancy, so about another month.

I am still new and have not had to work the whole clinic by myself, but if the supervisor can't bring in a nurse from another clinic there is a possibility I will have to do so. I don't feel this is safe at all. I don't feel it is safe for the patients and definitely not for me or my license. I was thrown out on my own on day three and have been there for only five weeks.

So my question is, what would you fellow clinic nurses do? Especially being new to the clinic?

At least that was my personal experience but maybe your providers would hire some help or at least an assistant for you?

Okay one more post. I left the office for home health. LOVE D home health! Hoping it goes well for you! :)

Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.
Okay one more post. I left the office for home health. LOVE D home health! Hoping it goes well for you! :)

Thanks! I have decided I am most likely going to call in tomorrow. My provider will not be there until 1:00p.m. so at least one nurse won't be overwhelmed. There will be another nurse there to help as well, so I won't feel so bad about not going in. I need to mentally prepare for the interview.

P.S. We have to do our own prior authorizations as well and as you know, that can take a good while. I honestly do not think it's fair for the nurse to have to do those when there is so much more we have to do. For some reason, the patients think we do nothing but triage and sit by the phone waiting for them to call, then get mad if we can't immediately call them back :sarcastic:

Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.

As far as I could tell, the interview went very well. I ended up calling in at the clinic and just relaxing and getting my thoughts together before the interview, and I honestly believe it helped. I was relaxed and able to answer and ask questions with ease. I honestly hope I am offered the job. Although I will be seeing patients in "the hood" that doesn't bother me. I really want to get out of the clinic I am in because it is unsafe and everyone is miserable. I can't take it much more.

Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.

Just found out the lab tech was offered another job in a hospital, and I don't blame her for hightailing it out of there. What this means for the nurses is that instead of hiring another lab tech, they will have the nurses do their own labs to keep from having to pay another employee. I foresee a few walk-outs in the near future. It is not doable with everything else piled on us.

Oh my this is also what happened to our office. Let us know if you get the other position! Hoping you get it! :)

Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.
Oh my this is also what happened to our office. Let us know if you get the other position! Hoping you get it! :)

Thank you! The branch manager has a couple more interviews but I feel good about it. If I don't get the job it will sting, but I won't give up looking elsewhere.

You mentioned how you were thrown in with no training. That's exactly what happened to me. I had one day to learn the computer documentation and that was it. I was literally thrown in there to sink or swim. They do all their nurses that way, and also (understandably) have a very high turnover rate with nurses. I think the average length of stay is about 3-6 months. There is one nurse who has been there for 6 years. Otherwise it's a revolving door. I have had more patients than I can count tell me everytime they come for their 3-6 month check-up there is a new nurse.

When I called in this morning the manager did not answer his phone so I left him a message. I bet he is going to try to say I was a no call, no show. Or he will reprimand me for not calling him until he answered the phone.

Tell him you went back to bed with a migraine. Or you were hanging over the porcelain pony. Fingers are crossed for you with the HH job.

I would take a chill pill when you do go in. Be calm and set firm limits. Triage your own work. If it doesn't get done, then so be it. Document your time. If labs don't get drawn for hours the patients will complain. Send them to the supervisor. Put HIM on the spot. Do not call for labs. Do no prior auths. Be reasonable with your expectations and do what you can but this is an unbelievable situation.

Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.
Tell him you went back to bed with a migraine. Or you were hanging over the porcelain pony. Fingers are crossed for you with the HH job.

I would take a chill pill when you do go in. Be calm and set firm limits. Triage your own work. If it doesn't get done, then so be it. Document your time. If labs don't get drawn for hours the patients will complain. Send them to the supervisor. Put HIM on the spot. Do not call for labs. Do no prior auths. Be reasonable with your expectations and do what you can but this is an unbelievable situation.

Unbelievable is an understatement lol! Seriously, I have worked in some bad situations, but I honestly have to say this is hands down one of the worst places I have ever worked. My last job as MDS Nurse in a crappy facility was bad, but I can say without a doubt this is worse. It is unbelievable.

Some may think I am exaggerating but everything I have said is the absolute truth. I have never worked in a place so disorganized and where the nurses are not valued in any way, shape or form. I honestly believe they treat us like they do because they know jobs are so hard to come by these days so we have no choice but to stay and put up with it. There is a high rate of call ins because of the stress. One MA had a heart attack and a nurse had a stroke. They do not care.

It's so sad and despicable. The office I was at, the manager did not care at all for my concerns or myself. Her mother passed away and she took over 2 weeks off which I was so understanding of that. When my husband's mother passed away unexpectedly (months before our wedding) I had someone cover for me the next day because I was gonna be there for him. It was awful. However, that person(who has everyone at the office fooled) decided not to show for whatever reason. So the manager called me to tell me I needed to come in to work and I was "obligated" (even though they functioned several months without a nurse before me because they had no one to work the position). I told her I was not coming in and they would have to figure it out without me that day because my husband (now) was far more important and they should understand that. I put my notice in a few weeks later. I have never been treated so poorly. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Better days are ahead for you! I am so sorry and I truly do understand how you feel. You will be so much more appreciated soon! Hang in there!

Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Wow, OP, hoping you hear back soon so that you can tell your current employer that you're outta there!!!! I just went from rehab to clinic (ophthalmology) and the MD I'm assigned to gets FOUR RN's and a tech. Compared to your situation, I fully expect to hear angels sing when I walk through the door each morning!

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