InnocentRN

I know that in the last hospital I worked for, my unit manager's bonus at the end of the year was tied to staffing efficiency, so if I was laboring under a six patient load, I could at least console myself that she was going to profit. Cold hard cash for overworking staff.

Why is the hospital thermostat controlled by the one or two people who are NOT hurrying, lifting patients and dragging computer carts everywhere they go? You know what I mean. You arrive on the floor at 0630 and before you've even logged onto your computer, a sweat has broken out across the back of your neck. Now, I understand the challenges facing the night staff. They're fighting their diurnal rhythms. Of course they get cold, but they should throw on a scrub jacket. They should pull on a t shirt under their scrub top. Hell, they should pull on wool tights before they turn up that thermostat. Why? Because our patients sleep better when it's cool. Sleep is essential to the function of the immune system. Rest is essential to seriously ill people who have to try to muster the strength to get back on their feet. I have seen patients sweating off their NG tube tape. Shedding their IV securement and tegaderm. Stat locks on Foleys fall off. And IV tubing in a warm room becomes soft, folds over and occludes, setting off all the alarms. Delirious, confused patients pull at all these things because when they're sweating, tape itches. When it's warm enough, they pull off their gowns, too. There's no hope of hiding an IV up a patient's sleeve when they feel too hot to keep that sleeve on. I cannot help but wonder if the use of restraints goes up with the ambient temperature. Now, I worked the night shift for 18 months as a new nurse, so I'm not unsympathetic…and I know some places have policies limiting the type of jacket people are allowed to wear. And I know the day shift also harbors staff members who spend more time at their desk than a nurse or a CNA, people who take a chill, say, after lunch every day. But we all have other options open to us, and we should think twice before turning up the thermostat for either staff or visitors' comfort. Don't our patient's come first?

I hope you weren't understaffed. We were taught that every patient over 4 (day shift, med surg) DOUBLES your chance of making a med error. That said, everybody makes mistakes. Make sure you take every opportunity to learn from this error. That's how you get to be an experienced nurse.

I think as nurses we all need to research potential employers before there is a problem. Some places foster a culture of bullying and some do not. I lost my job of almost eight years med/surg due to purely personal conflicts with my horrible Rumplestiltskin of a boss. I chose not to file a suit, but took a job as a travel nurse where I met a woman who told a story almost exactly like mine EXCEPT she was not "fired for cause" like I was, because her company had an ombudsman who mediated cases like ours. They ruled that her boss could not fire her "for cause" without legitimate reasons. I wish I had cared about looking into that sort of thing when I was a new nurse.

Purple_roses, honey, I think its time for marriage counseling. I only had to wake up my family once for them to get the message. Your guy has no empathy. My guy didn't either, but the thought of me waking him up at 3 am consistently made him call a truce.