NurseK93

Hi All, I recently switched hospitals about 4 months ago, and let’s just say I have been less then overjoyed at my new facility, and it just seems to be getting worse. I know in Canada it has been a problem for quite some time with ‘hallway’ nursing. But I cannot believe my eyes with some of the things I am seeing. Keep in mind this is a large regional health care centre. The hospital has done a new “hallway medicine” rollout where every single day, they are sending 2 patients by 10am up to all the medicine floors to get people out of emerg. No report is given. No transfer of accountability is done. The patient just rolls onto the unit with a porter and chart and are parked in the hallway in a stretcher until a bed becomes available on the unit (whenever that may be). There is no washroom. No emergency equipment, suction etc. It is the nurses responsibility when the patient arrives to go onto the computer a ‘read’ the consult note and flip through the chart to put the pieces together. Keep in mind this is on a very high acuity medical floor where there are a million other things going on, sick patients, people going for tests etc already, and then now patients just lined up in stretchers down the hallway receiving world class ‘healthcare’. I am starting to feel like I am the one loosing my mind. I can’t believe the things I am seeing and the patient safety and ethical issues. As well as nurse safety and the fact it’s our license on the line. Is it this really bad everywhere else? Is this really what health care and nursing has become? I am starting to feel like I am doing more harm then good when I am at work.

Hi all, I have been working acute care in the hospital for the past 3 years. I worked in a large city hospital for about 2.5 years, before moving and switching hospitals a few months ago in my new town. I hate it. The hospital is so unorganized and poorly run to the point of being dangerous and unsafe. It’s horrible to its staff, morale is extremely low, and as I said, I find it very unsafe for the patients too. So long story short, I am still very young in my career, but I do not see myself being happy working here long term. But my options are limited. So now I have started to consider what different ideas may be. LTC, home care, clinic setting etc. I only have experience working in the hospital in acute care so my knowledge of what is like to work in these other settings is sporifice. I am open minded to a change, I also don’t think working in the hospital is as cracked up as people make it out to be. I am open to trying different areas of nursing, for me it is most important that I actually enjoy my job and feel I am actually making a difference and helping. So, have any of you made the switch out of hospital to other areas? Any experience moving from hospital to a long term care setting? Any thoughts and experiences are appreciated!

Wow that is horrible! The worst interview I ever had was for an ortho unit. A lady from HR and the units educator. Neither of them even introduced themselves. I actually had to ask the HR women what her name was. The HR women then sits down and starts ripping apart my resume how I should have this and that on there. Educator was sitting on her cell phone. Needless to say it put a very bad taste in my mouth about that hospital. It was a horrible feeling when you are already stressed and nervous.

Thank your for all of your replies. As I had mentioned in a previous comment reply, yes I 100% agree that I did not handle this in the best way I could have. But that is also a lot of what I am trying to say. I am tired, stressed and feel worn thin being at the bedside. And I do think in the end it is having a negative result on the care I am able to provide from my patients. No one likes to admit that, but even though we are nurses, we are still all human. And this was just the instance that really got to me and felt like 'sent me over the edge'. Of course there are a million other things that have been piling up to that moment. Working short, pts getting more and more acute. Trying to take of said acute pts mixed with extremely confused/combative patients. No PSWs where I work. No unit clerk after 7pm. Budget cuts. I commend you all who seem to have no issue maintaining your patience and professionalism all 12 hours of your shifts every single day. Truly.

I agree 100%. I’m not going to sit here and say that I handled that the best way I could have. But that’s a lot of the thing that has been frustrating/bothering me as well. I see my patience wearing thinner and thinner. Am I proud to admit that? No. Of course not. But I’m just being honest. I’m only human too and the anxiety and frustration is very real.

I don’t recall saying that anyone, or my patients should care about my “personal troubles”. But as you said, they are ‘personal’ and what I feel about me and my life. I also enjoyed how you edited your original comment where you started off by saying no one should care about my personal troubles, but then continued on about how premarital sex is ungodly and I should not be living with my fiancée as if that was the bigger issue here. Thanks for your input.

Sorry Sue Demonas - no it was the patient who called me insubordinate to the charge. And the charge nurse just said should could provide the contact information to the manager and wrote a nursing note about it.

Hi everyone. I’ve been working as a bedside RPN on a medical floor for the past three years. And I am starting to feel extreme burnout and overwhelmed. I feel more stressed now after three years with my feet on the floor then when I first started if that makes any sense at all. I have been feeling this way for a while, but have also just started at a new hospital which has made all my feelings 100x worse. Being at the bedside is really starting to take an emotional toll on me. For example, I just finished up a night shift where I was covering a nurse on break who had a patient alert/oriented who just kept hammering on the bell all night. She wanted her primary nurse, we explained to her she was on break but she’ll come see her when she’s back. Kept calling because she felt “bloated” (at 1am) her bed wasn’t as “comfortable” as at home etc. Finally after a time she had called, and I went back in and she was snoring just to call me 5 minutes later, I told her it was 2am try to use the call bell for urgent issues, I had just been in here and it’s very disruptive to all the other patients when the call bell is ringing in the hall. Well this lady becomes absolutely irate. Talking to me so condescendingly that she doesn’t care and she’s a patient I can’t talk to her like that, and that I’m incompetent, and that I’m “scolding her”. The charge nurse was in when this was happening and comes over and she started getting snippy with her telling her to mind her own business and why was she even in this conversation. Until she found out she was the nurse in charge of course. Then proceeds to tell her that I am “insubordinate” and wants the contact information of a manager that I have no business being in this profession and belittling me with every insult under the sun for the next 5 minutes. And it is times like these, when I’m standing here listening to this, not being able to defend myself at 2am while my fiancée is sleeping alone so I can come work these night shifts to “help people”. But really it’s me holding back tears for the rest of my shift as I’m condescended and verbally assaulted like a 2nd rate citizen. And then I stop and think what the actual f am I doing with my life?!?! NONE of my friends/fiancée EVER leave work with stories even CLOSE to that type of treatment/disrespect. And we all know that’s really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to abuse. That doesn’t even touch into the violence, management and safety issues on the floors everyday. Anyway, I guess I just needed to rant. Now I’m going to have a large glass of wine and stress until I have to go back and do it all over again ?

Hi everyone. I’ve been working as a bedside RPN on a medical floor for the past three years. And I am starting to feel extreme burnout and overwhelmed. I feel more stressed now after three years with my feet on the floor then when I first started if that makes any sense at all. I have been feeling this way for a while, but have also just started at a new hospital which has made all my feelings 100x worse. Being at the bedside is really starting to take an emotional toll on me. For example, I just finished up a night shift where I was covering a nurse on break who had a patient alert/oriented who just kept hammering on the bell all night. She wanted her primary nurse, we explained to her she was on break but she’ll come see her when she’s back. Kept calling because she felt “bloated” (at 1am) ? her bed wasn’t as “comfortable” as at home etc. Finally after a time she had called, and I went back in and she was snoring just to call me 5 minutes later, I told her it was 2am try to use the call bell for urgent issues, I had just been in here and it’s very disruptive to all the other patients when the call bell is ringing in the hall. Well this lady becomes absolutely irate. Talking to me so condescendingly that she doesn’t care and she’s a patient I can’t talk to her like that, and that I’m incompetent, and that I’m “scolding her”. The charge nurse was in when this was happening and comes over and she started getting snippy with her telling her to mind her own business and why was she even in this conversation. Until she found out she was the nurse in charge of course. then proceeds to tell her that I am “insubordinate” and wants the contact information of a manager that I have no business being in this profession and belittling me with every insult under the sun for the next 5 minutes. And it is times like these, when I’m standing here listening to this, not being able to defend myself at 2am while my fiancée is sleeping alone so I can come work these night shifts to “help people”. But really it’s me holding back tears for the rest of my shift as I’m condescended and verbally assaulted like a 2nd rate citizen. And then I stop and think what the actual f am I doing with my life?!?! NONE of my friends/fiancée EVER leave work with stories even CLOSE to that type of treatment/disrespect. And we all know that’s really just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to abuse. That doesn’t even touch into the violence, management and safety issues on the floors everyday. Anyway, I guess I just needed to rant. Now I’m going to have a large glass of wine and stress until I have to go back and do it all over again ?

Hi everyone. I’ve been working as a bedside RPN on a medical floor for the past three years. And I am starting to feel extreme burnout and overwhelmed. I feel more stressed now after three years with my feet on the floor then when I first started if that makes any sense at all. I have been feeling this way for a while, but have also just started at a new hospital which has made all my feelings 100x worse. Being at the bedside is really starting to take an emotional toll on me. For example, I just finished up a night shift where I was covering a nurse on break who had a patient alert/oriented who just kept hammering on the bell all night. She wanted her primary nurse, we explained to her she was on break but she’ll come see her when she’s back. Kept calling because she felt “bloated” (at 1am) ? her bed wasn’t as “comfortable” as at home etc. Finally after a time she had called, and I went back in and she was snoring just to call me 5 minutes later, I told her it was 2am try to use the call bell for urgent issues, I had just been in here and it’s very disruptive to all the other patients when the call bell is ringing in the hall. Well this lady becomes absolutely irate. Talking to me so condescendingly that she doesn’t care and she’s a patient I can’t talk to her like that, and that I’m incompetent, and that I’m “scolding her”. The charge nurse was in when this was happening and comes over and she started getting snippy with her telling her to mind her own business and why was she even in this conversation. Until she found out she was the nurse in charge of course. then proceeds to tell her that I am “insubordinate” and wants the contact information of a manager that I have no business being in this profession and belittling me with every insult under the sun for the next 5 minutes. And it is times like these, when I’m standing here listening to this, not being able to defend myself at 2am while my fiancée is sleeping alone so I can come work these night shifts to “help people”. But really it’s me holding back tears for the rest of my shift as I’m condescended and verbally assaulted like a 2nd rate citizen. And then I stop and think what the actual f am I doing with my life?!?! NONE of my friends/fiancée EVER leave work with stories even CLOSE to that type of treatment/disrespect. And we all know that’s really just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to abuse. That doesn’t even touch into the violence, management and safety issues on the floors everyday. Anyway, I guess I just needed to rant. Now I’m going to have a large glass of wine and stress until I have to go back and do it all over again ?