Hi all! It’s been awhile since I was on this site(long enough for me to forget my account info so I had to create a new one) I need advice.
Back ground:I work on a large(80 bed)surgical trauma unit at big hospital. I’ve been a nurse for 5 years and this last year I’ve been a relief charge nurse on my floor. I typically do about 4-5 shifts as charge a month. I work 12 hr shifts 3 days a week, but my unit has many different shifts. I’m pretty easy to get along with and am generally well liked. My reviews from my manager have always been exceeds. I’m definitely not perfect but I show up on time and have minimal sick calls. I’m a big team player. I was asked to be charge and I thought why not? I have no management aspirations and do it simply to be helpful on my unit.
Situation: over the last two months being charge has been soooo stressful. We are short staffed everyday d/t vacations and people being out in quarantine from covid exposure. We are having night nurses stay over until 11 with no relief scheduled to take over, so if we don’t really push discharges or get staff floated in we are left to absorb the pts from night shift with unsafe staffing ratios and Me as charge having to take an assignment. (Of note this is a Union hospital for RNs and we have defined ratios, which we are exceeding) it has just been so stressful to manage this situation.
Upper management and hospital leaders are aware of the problem but seem to be doing very little about it. After 3 shifts like this a couple weeks ago another nurseoffered (I didn’t ask) to switch the next shift so that I would be in the floor and she would be charge. She loves being charge and seemed to really want to do it so I switched.
Fast forward to yesterday (I was charge over the weekend)that same Nurse told me she’s not allowed to switch Shifts anymore with me because one of my managers told her I need to “suck it up”. I was a little offended because, up until switching that one time I have never asked to not be charge and have often came in to charge when not scheduled when asked ifsomeone was sick or unavailable. But I just figured I’d bring up with that manager the next time we worked together and clear the air, get some feedback because maybe I’m missing something.
Fast forward to the end of that shift the manager that was working with me that day came over to my side of the unit(we normally split it in two and have a charge in each side since it’s a big unit) to go over staffing numbers. This weekend we we were actually fully staffed and I made acomment about how nice that was and he started saying that I only want to be charge when it’s easy and I disagreed and said it’s rarely easy but I’m always here doing it. He then said well you weren’t here doing it last Sunday (the day we switched shifts) and that he thought I needed to suck it upbecause this is the way it is. A lot more was said but it was a little heated and I had to walk away because I was getting upset (I always cry when I’m angry ugh)
But the way he said some things made me think that it’s not just his opinion but that it’s shared by the other managers, whom I always thought I had a good relationshipwith. So now I’m hurt that I go in and give my all and ONE time I asked for a break and now I’m thought of as the girl that only wants to be charge when it’s easy and I need to suck it up. I want to stop being charge at all over this. I mean, I’m only doing it to be a team player but now I don’t feel supported by the team and feel ridiculed. Am I overreacting? I was crying over this at work and that has only ever happened 1 other time when I was a new grad and a Dr yelled at me LOL. I just feelhurt and angry.
thank you if you made it though this verylong winded post!
