bubbles64

Thanks, She will not break me I will go to work today as a professional, I know i do a good job i have many who tell me that including, doctors, hospital supervisors and other unit managers. With this person it is how much she can manipulate you and unfortunately she does not like the way i do things, if she wants to talk further to me it will be out in the open in front of others as i have not done anything wrong.

I don't know about killing her with kindness won't she think i'm sucking up, what i said was just the tip of the ice burg if i metioned everything she has done and not only to me it would be pages and pages, unfortunately she is a close friend of DON. So today i go to work and i will be professional, strong and kind, i have 99% of the hospital backing me so I know i do a good job it is just not recognised by those who need to know it most.

Thanks, Today i have to go to work and i will be courtious, kind, cheerful and professional she will not break me.

Thanks, I have to go to work this afternoon and i will be bright cheerful and professional she may have broken me last week but she won't do it anymore. Bubbles64

Hi collegues, I really would like some advice please. My unit Manager is going out of her way to be nasty and bullying, I don't know what i should do, should i leave it and try my best to ignore her or should i tell the director of nursing that if she continues i will file a harrassment and bullying suit against her, baring in mind that the unit manager will retire in 8 weeks but may come back to do supervising roles. Last evening she pulled me aside and told me that i did not get the role as unit manager because i'm not apart of the ward, i do not attend ward meetings and if i do attend i do not have any input. This is all untrue, if anyone read the minutes of the ward meetings they would see my name is there as present at all meetings except when they are held on a monday as i work elsewhere, the last meeting i tiold her earlier in the day that i had to leave no later than 3.10 pm to pick my children up from school as my husband was away and i had no other way of getting them home. I usually have something to say at a meeting (eg: there were three issues that i wanted to discuss) and the time before that what i wanted to say was brought up by someone else. She made me very upset and i could not stop crying, she just sat there looking at me and then got up and walked out put on her coat and left for the night. So what should i do, i'm dreading facing her next week.

I don't know if it is too late to give advice, but i would say hang in there even if it means pleading remind them you have only been out for a short time and yes some of the things you have done may have been silly but these have not in any way placed any danger to the patient. Feeding tubes go into the gut and we do not use a sterile technique to prepare any medications or formula's, you should suggest to your superiors that you have a supervision period if this is allowed in the US, where you have a preceptor who helps. In Australia we have preceptors, if they have a problem then it is usually addressed with the student and if not resolved to the clinical educator, so the grad nurse can have a bit more support. Only once in my career so far have we had a grad nurse who was so terrible she was a danger to her patients and had a great attitude to go with it, she was not fired but with the assistance of the clinical educator and director of nursing they found an area that she was more suited to and assited getting her a grad year in mental health. Ask for forgivness and assistance. I wish you the best of luck:D

To all my fellow collegues i need some advice please. I work in melbourne australia, and i have been the associate unit manager of the medical ward for 5 years, 18 months ago the Director of Nursing persuaded me to move over to the surgical ward to further my career. i then became the associate unit manager of the surgical ward (for all my international collegues this means I'm the charge sister for my shift) Anyway we had several staff off on sick leave and maternity leave and the Unit manager on long service leave and i was asked to fill this position, this was a big challenge as it is a 35 bed very busy surgical ward at the end of my fill in position i was told i had done a wonderful job and everyone was happy including staff and doctors, i was told i had a calming effect on everyone especially when it was out of control. The current unit manager would be retiring in June 2009 and would i consider taking her position. This was a big opportunity as well as a challenge i think i would be capable of doing, having had several meetings with the director of nursing she suggested for me to go ahead and try this position, I said i would like to know what was fully involved eg: what reports i had to write, rosters any other things that needed to be done in my time. The D.O.N said she would speak with the current unit manager and get her to train me to take over after several attempts this was not successful due to the current unit manager not wanting to hand over her role (even though retirement had been planned) and would not show me anything. It has now come time for applications to be submitted for this role and asked if i would apply, my response was i do not think Mary wants me to do it because she won't allow me to know what is involved. Last night i was told the position had been filled by a girl who is 18 months out of her grad year and has not had any experience of running the ward and had full support of the current unit manager. I'm devestated, very upset and angry and i'm now told i need to go to work and be calm, and give this girl my full support and help her in the role as she gains experience please tell me how can i do this, my 8 years of experience meant nothing, i do not even think i can face her. So many of the staff last night were crying with me and many came to give me a hug and say they were sorry, should i stay or should i go. Bubbles:cry:

I have to side with Grace Oz here. For a short time our internet acess was cut off and so it should have been, I would see so many playing games, looking up websites for holidays, real estate ect. These are the same nurses who would sit on the phone for ages calling home or friends and ignoring buzzers. We are at work and unless it is an emergency or you need to quickly check to see if children have made it home safely there should be no need to use the phone or the computer do this in your own time. A couple of months ago when i was working on the medical ward there was my self in charge and three on the floor, one patient had just passed away, I was on the phone to the doctor and relatives etc, two nurse were in the room with the deaseased patinet getting him ready for family to come in and see him and the third nurs was to busy having a great chat on the phone to a friend, when i pointed out the fact that buzzers were going off and patients needed assistance she stated they were not her patients, this is when i saw red, but she did not care. I think she is still a very lazy nurse she comes for the money and not for the caring side of it, so yes Grace oz i agree with you the employer provides internet access for work reaseons not pleasure. To those who do use the internet at work to look up medical items, it is your lazy collegues who are runing it for the rest.

The acuity system in Australalia is supposed to determine the amount of staff required for each shift depening on how sick your patients are so for example if you have patients who are day 3 or 4 post op there nurse may have 5 or 6 patients to look after as they are just basic care medications etc where if you have new post ops who have alot of pain issues and decrease vital signs you may only have one or two patients to look after. I suppose it works diffrently in other hospitals but that is the way i see it. bubbles64

I work in a private hospital in Melbourne Australia and would like to ask if any private hospital out there has an acuity system in place. I work on a 35 bed surgical ward as the Associate unit manager and feel the acuity system is justified however management do not seem to agree. There are usually 6 staff members on the floor this means most nurses have a 1:6 ratio they are extremly busy especially on some nights when we can expect upto 16 or more returning post op some nurses are allocated four post op patients this i feel is to much. I have spoken with management on an informal basis and as it is always suggested the girls have managed before why can't they manage now this i feel is because no one has spoken up. To get management to even look at a proposal I need some strong evidence that this is a priority not only for the staff but for the best interests of our patients, the current public hospitals have a 1:4 ratio and they sometimes complain about that work load. Any advice as to what i can do to get them to change there mind.

Hi, I need to ask my fellow collegues for some advice. I'm currently an Associate Unit manager just moved from the medical ward to the surgical ward (for my international collegues this means I'm in charge of the ward on my shift but still anwser to the unit manager) Anyway the unit manager on the ward is stepping down in June moving towards retirement at the end of the year. While the unit manager was away on long service leave i was thrown in to her position as i had no training it was a challenge but i did get through it although very exhausted at the end. I usually have excellent time management skills but found this position demanding and never had time for a break (morning tea, lunch or bathroom) due to the work load and ever increasing questions from fellow staff members. My dilema lies with management who are now i feel pushing me in to taking up this position when it becomes vacant and i do not know what to do. 1: I don't know if i have the skills as i have been on the medical ward for five years. 2: Is it for there convenience as management treat the unit manager on the medical ward appallingly and i'm not very assertive will they do the same to me. 3: I could never fit into to the UM's shoes and would like to run things diffrently. So should i apply or should i just sit back and continue on with my current position. Bubbles64:nurse:

We have a similar problem here in Australia. We have Division one nurses and Division two nurses both are registered by Nurses Board however different education. Division One nurse attends University and has a degree, Division Two nurse attends a course through a college (usually twelve months) The Division Two nurse where I work is not able to give medications as we are not a medication endorsed hospital. I'm a Charge Nurse and quite often have to do the meds for the Div two nurse, not a problem I like to do it and if i'm really busy the other Div one nurses chip in and help, however we have a few (and growing) Div 2 nurses who you can never find extend breaks instead of 10 mins for afternoon tea it is half an hour, when you are really busy and would like their help they have disappeared or we have the ones who think they can do what a Div one does and taks out I.V cannual's without checking, administering some meds and with attitude when you question them they become defensive however it is my job and my registration on the line as I'm the charge nurse. I do have a couple of Div 2 nurse's I work with and look forward to it as they are great with patient care and help with other things when I'm trying to do their meds and to those girls thanks to the others get off your butt and help.

I'm becoming more and more concerned with the state of our hospital system in Australia. There are always complaints about the long long waiting lists yet Doctors seem to admit patients with false diagnoses just to get them a bed and once there getting them out is another question. Most of these patients are admitted with things such as Urinary tract infections, shortness of breath, rest post fall. Once they are in the hospital every thing seems fine, observations are good, no problems with ambulation, voiding etc etc, but then they are on the buzzer every five minutes asking you to get a magazine, fluff the pillows, move their tray closer, am I a nurse or a waitress it can become frustrating. Then we have calls from the emergency department who require a bed which looks like a genuine case and we are full of patients who seem to be here on holiday. Doctors admit because they don't want to be sued if something goes wrong. However something needs to be done most of these patients never go home, they are discharged go straight to Casualty and get readmitted for another symptom, in the meantime hospital waiting lists continue to grow, those genuine cases get more and more frustrated. Anyone got any thoughts.:angryfire

Hi, There are many ads in our nursing magazines asking if you want to work overseas, I have listed a couple of websites below, maybe you could also try searching via the internet at your end to see what results you get, good luck in your quest. To answer your other question, I work mostly afternoon shift 2.30 to 10.30 pm but i also do in charge shifts some mornings it depends how i juggle my kids and whether I can work the morning shift or not. Regards Lynne. Pulse Agency- [email protected] www.ogradypeyton.com (O'Grady Peyton International) www.whe.co.uk (worldwide healthcare exchange) www.travelnurseregistry.com (Travel Nurse Registry) www.australiannursingsolutions.com.au

I'm a nurse who works in Australia, we have alot of nurses who come from other countries here to work mainly from Sth Africa and Nigeria and Asia, some don't stay around to long it is just a way of getting into the country. It can be tough sometimes but I'm sure it is nursing anywhere. Where i work we have 1 nurse to 5 sometimes 6 patients the shifts are 7am to 3pm, 2.30 pm to 10.30 pm, 10pm to 7.30 am. The pay can vary any where from around $23.00 upwards depending on what year you are, i currently get around $55.00 per hour but i do incharge shifts. There are companies in Australia that do exchange programs so maybe you could check these out and come over here to work for a while to see how you like it and then if you don't you can always go back without throwing anything away over there. Good luck in your decisssion making. :welcome: