mamason

Memorial in Belleville does hire new grads. I believe they too have a residency program . Magnet status basically just means more paper work as far as I'm concerned. But, Memorial's standard of care far exceeds St. Elizabeth's. I know, I have worked at both. St. E's has a serious issue with understaffing. Which is setting someone up for failure. Memorial, on the other hand, has tons of employees that stay and stay for a very long period of time. Nurse/Patient ratios are pretty good and they try to keep that in mind to promote safe care.These are things that should be considered when applying as a new grad. Just because they promise you a sign on bonus and tell you that the residency program is "hard to get into" doesn't mean it's true. Those are tactics to get you to sign on. I heard Granite City is no walk in the park to work at...And East St. Louis basically is just an unsafe area to drive into to go to work. Mind you these are just my opinions.

We all make mistakes...It's the "perfect" nurse that scares me the most. They are just better at covering those mistakes up...

Please don't take this the wrong way..But, maybe it's the way you approach it? Or it could be that the nurse is terrified they may be in trouble over it? We have some over zealous writer uppers that I work with.

SOme very informative responses...SOme like it and others don't... Like I said, I'm willing to try it. And I too am concerned with getting out in a timely manner. That hardly ever happens now with the acuity of our pts, transfers out of ICU, and trainwrecks that the ER sends us...I have a feeling that management will start coming down on us for costing them money in pay for not being able to get out on time. LOL.

That's inappropriate. Getting suspended for telling the truth...What did they want you to do? Tell them you could save her? Crazy!

I think the best thing you could do in a situation like that would be to document fully what the pt, family, doc, and nurse manager said...I gave up fighting a useless battle a long time ago.. I now cover my butt as best as possible. I also make sure that the pt is safe to the best of my ability. That's all you can really do when no one else cares about what is actually going on at the beside. My facility has turned into a HOliday Inn. Press gainey scores out weigh everything else as of late. So it seems. My philosophey is this....I go in, give the best care I can and then be done with it. I am the one who has to live with myself. So, I know that if I gave 110% with my pts...then, that's all I can do. We are not whipping boys to be treated poorly so the pencil pushers can make a buck...It's really a shame that nursing has come to this because there are many of us out there who still actually give $hit about what we do and how we give care to these sick people...

It seems to be very common as of late where I work. I shouldn't be happening..but, when supervisors and managers don't care and are only concerned with numbers, then, that's what happens.SO, I've decided that I will not bust my butt anymore to appease a facility that works like a machine and treats their employees like cattle that can be replaced. It's not fair to me or my pts...SO, I do what I can, protect my license, and stand up for myself...Yes, I'm a trouble maker.

Our facility is starting to dinge employees for calling in. So, if i'm sick, I'll be there...my family had the swine and I got a point for it. Even though our medical director told us not to come to work sick..I laughed and thought whatever..Doesn't make much sense. But, hey, if they want me to come in and spread my germs..so be it..

I was just wondering if your facility utilizes bedside shift reporting. Is it working well? What do you feel are the pros and cons with it? Our facility is going to start to use this method of report very soon. I'm willing to try it..But, don't see how it's really going to work high acuity pts and admissions late in the shift etc...Any thoughts?

I once had a woman disconnect her dad's chest tube so he could get up and go to the bathroom. He was on bedrest and confused, mind you. She was a nursing student and knew "everything." Yeah....that was a really fun day!

We are doing peer reviews at my facility. I haven't gotten mine yet or have been asked to do one. But, from what I'm hearing from other staff members is making me very uncomfortable. Some of the feedback is malicious. I'm concerned because I don't understand how this could be a positive thing for staff and promote good working relationships between staff members. They are suppose to be confidential. Meaning you don't know who wrote what about about a person. I also heard that they have day shift RN's reviewing nighshift RN's.And vice versa. Now, can somebody please tell me how this is fair? The shifts are seperate! I find this very disturbing. ANy thoughts? Also, I was told the reviews are taken into consideration when obtaining our raises. Pretty scary.:sofahider

I totally agree. Perfect answer!

I have just few that really irke me. 1) The all hateful malicious gossipers. Gotta love them! 2) Not being able to find a place to sit and chart because people are unwilling to get up because they are in the middle of gossiping and talking about others. (Come on people! I just want to chart and get out of here!) 3) Drowning with a very heavy team and glancing over at staff members who have time to read books, play on the computer, and of course gossip! LOL. 4) Drug seekers. Yes, I love them. They just make my day. "No, I can't give 5 hydrocodones at once." "I understand that's how you take them at home, but it's not ordered here that way." " What?" "You are allergic to Motrin, Tylenol, Tramadol, and ASA?" "Oh....I see, Morphine works the best for you." Yes, people, I love spending the majority of my shift dealing with junkies. Because I just have all this extra time on my hands! 5) And of course, the constipated pt who's been here for 6 days, hasn't pooped in 6 days, but, all of sudden, you want me to fix it? Sure! no problem! 6) And my favorite! The doc who yells at you for calling him/her concerning their pt who may be starting to go down the tubes. "Yes, I know it's late." "Why am I bothering you?" "Ummmm, I don't know, probably because this pt helps pay for that new Porsch you park outside the hospital everyday?" "Thanks for the help, pal." Sorry......rough last couple of days at work. I really feel better now.

I have been a victim to a lot of these things in my 5 years as a RN. Unfortunatley, I'm a fighter. And a I refuse to take any crap off of a coworker. This is not really good thing. I know. I've never been known to be diplomatic. But, I find that no one messes with my schedule and when I come to work I'm treated fair. I also expect everyone else to be treated fair while working the same shift as me. It doesn't take much for me to speak up for the person that isn't there that is being ridiculed by other staff. I just can't stand the back stabbing of nursing. If they do talk, it's not around me, and I can just go about my business. If they want to talk smack about me, I could really care less. They aren't the people I would want to hang around with outside of my job. I guess it's just a mind set. For the most part, I get along with whoever I'm working with that shift. What they say afterwards, I don't really give a rat's butt!

Overly confident nurses scare me the most. When a nurse stops questioning things......I don't know...kinda makes me a little nervous for the pt.

As a staff nurse, I came here to see how you, as a manager, ensure that assignments are fair when assigning teams to your floor nurses. I have noticed, that I tend to always get to the worse assignment on the floor. I'm really getting tired of this and need to find a way to approach my manager, whom I like very much, about my frustration. Please don't say I'm whining. I don't mind taking my fair share of the work. I'm just wondering if there are any solutions to this where buddy's can't set up their buddy's anymore so that they get the easier assignments? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

They are all our pts. It shouldn't matter if you get along with a certain nurse or not. It's not about the staff. It's about the pts. If the pt needs help, you just do it. That should be a given.

I think letting your manager know that VS and blood sugars was right on the money. THos things are crucial on my floor and determine if I give a med or not, or if I have to call the doc about low sugar or low bp. That is very unsafe practice on their part. I understand that if the pt is off the floor, etc. But, upon return, vs need to be taken. I must be very lucky where I work. Our CNA's are very good about taking sugars and VS in a timely matter. They also, immediatley, alert you of a critical value. They have extensive inhouse training in order to work on our unit.

"Oh......What's that?" "You don't know how to take a team?" "You've never been a floor nurse?" "Then I think you should come and take a team at least twice a month." "This way, you'll understand why those blue sheets never get done." "You know....The one's that we"re are getting written up on and then they are thrown away?" "Apparently you have no clue what we are doing to keep YOUR unit running smoothly." In response to the never ending nit picky paper work she keeps adding, and adding, and adding, and adding..............We are required to fill out these blue sheets upon admission of pt. You initial if the IV was checked, if you did the Braden scale, etc. We fill them out, only to have them thrown away upon discharge. Stupid basically, because all of these things are documented on in the Medi Tech system. Double charting. Apparently, she things we have tons of time on our hands. Yet, has never worked as a floor nurse and doesn't have a clue as to how to manage time and take a team. Cracks me up!

We ar Magnet. They still insist on on our last names bring displayed on our badges. I was told that if I tried to cover it up, that I would have to answer to the almighty powers. My response," really?" Cracks me up every time I think about it:smokin:P.S. I'm still there!!!!!

Well, granted, I'm just a little old diploma nurse. I only have the title of "RN" behind my name. But, I am very proud of it. I do believe that if a person goes on to further their training and education, they should be able to display as such on their name tag. It's not easy to earn those degrees. And, if I did decide to further my education, I would also want people to know that I did so. I don't think it has anything to do with who is better than who. I only believe that people should be recoginized for their dicipline, their will to succeed, and their accomplishments. Just remember, what we do as CNA's, LPN's, and RN's is a very specialized field. Not everyone can do it. Or should I say do it with compassion and intelligence. For that, I am extremely proud of my diploma and of those who choose to work in the same field as I do. We all come from different walks of life and we chose our profession for different meanings. Still, we need to be recognized for our desire to improve, not only for ourselves, but for the healthcare system as a whole. Just my 2 cents. God love you all who go into work everyday knowing that your day if probably going to be chaotic. And thank you, for sticking it out.

I think everyone goes through this at one time or another. I work on a cardiac intervention unit. We need to be able to get those things in no matter what. And sometimes, no matter how good those veins are, it just doesn't work out. There are times when 3 other nurses have tried on one pt with no success and I go in and hit it the first or second time. Then, there are the pt's with beautiful garden hose veins who I couldn't get an IV in if my life depended on it. It's odd and frustrating at times. So, I understand your situation.

I can only speak about what I experience on my unit. We have this problem also with the ongoing call light. Our unit secretary is so overwhelmed with trying to put in orders with 20 charts in front of her. They are always overloaded with work. Our NA's and other nurses on the floor are always overloaded with pt care. THis is basically due to our manager trying to stay on budget and by doing so, has cut hours for the NA's, RN's and unit secretaries. The all mighty dollar has a lot to do with staffing and this is the result that is given because of putting the dollar before quality care. And they wonder why pt's are soooooo dissatified with their experience at our place. So, maybe staffing is the real issue at your place of work and not the secretary? Administration wants us to think that it's something we are doing that is not correct. When in all actuality, it is the higher ups who make these decisions so that they can get their quarterly bonus. Cracks me up everytime I think of it.

Yes, I understand that. But, I would argue the point that our first priority is to administer care to the inpatient's that we are responsiblefor. That bed change would have only taken a few extra minutes. If administration doesn't like it, then they should start to staff accordingly. A pt up walking does not want to go back to a wet bed. Therefor, is at an increased fall risk for trying not to sit in pee by moving herself while unattended. The discharged pt was safe, in a wheelchair and well enough to go home.

Just an after thought. If a hospital is truly serious about reducing falls and increasing pt satisfaction, then, they will staff accordingly. If a nurse has too many high acuity pts, then this in itself increases the risk of falls, errors, and dissatified "customers." Administration knows this. It's not rocket science. The all mighty dollar plays a huge role in this decision making. Until they realize that they are going to have to spend the money on proper staffing ,nothing is going to change except that a bunch of burned out nurses are going to throw the towel in and move on.