spencerma2

It is one thing to have episodes in the ER of 'the sh*t hitting and the flood gates open BUT what the heck is going on here???? Why is the staffing so poor that nurses are having to do the minimum to keep the patient alive and then not enough time to document what was done or even give a decent report to the receiving nurses? NURSES WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE??????????????????????????????????? Has it occurred to anyone that the current staffing levels are poor for the level of care the patients are needing? The situations you are describing used to the exception not the rule. Has anyone seen any CEOs or managers coming in to help when the unit is overrun with patients? Has anyone done any reality checks about who is earning the big bucks and who is doing all the work?????????? In years gone by, RNs have protested and gone on strike for poor working conditions and unsafe conditions for patient care. Dang is it any wonder, basic nursing care is not being followed and cross contamination is happening? What happened to 'charting with a jury in mind'? How would you like to explain what you wrote in your notes to a lawyer? Oh, wait, you did not have time to chart it all???? If you did not chart it, it did not get done even if it was done. Protect yourself, your license and your patients. Having to defend yourself could cost you everything you ever worked for just to pay the lawyer. Let alone the cost of reinstating your license and the stress of the whole thing.

It is one thing to have episodes in the ER of 'the sh*t hitting and the flood gates open BUT what the heck is going on here???? Why is the staffing so poor that nurses are having to do the minimum to keep the patient alive and then not enough time to document what was done or even give a decent report to the receiving nurses? I

I have read and heard verbally that new graduates are having a lot of problems being hired due to 'no experience'. What about older RNs who have a lot of experience and education? Is it difficult in some states but not others? Is the market flooded? Is it due to the current economic situation where the cost of living is making it harder to retire so there are fewer leaving and more working to assist other incomes? OR is it age discrimination????? ALSO, How does one get an interview after submitting an online application? Do those online applications go into cyber space? Is there any individualization of interviews for positions posted?

Very few new grad RN who have NOT worked as ER techs have the ability to do well for a long time.. why? EXPERIENCE. The RN's who have not worked ICU or Med Surg before ER are lacking basics nursing skills so use poor choices of techniques, do inappropriate short cuts with procedures, especially sterile ones, among a few of my observations of working for decades in ERs from NC to HI. Some cases in point: Med Surg and ICU don't start IV's in AC areas as first choices, they make sure they use the best sterile techniques for foley insertions. Two big problems with hospital acquired infections: urine and IV sites. I have other complaints about inexperienced nurses being used in ER, lack of maturity, professional and social, poor work ethics, too much socialization and fraternization ON THE JOB during work hours, lack of knowledge of where nursing was in the past, where is now and where it should be going. NURSES need to have med surg skills down to second nature first, then add ER skills.

Too often it is part of the money making situation of 'caring places'. They only listen to family and patients, not nurses. When everything is based on making a profit, guess what goes out the window???? I don't work SNF type due to a lot of things such as described. There are MANY more issues besides what is being described. It is a shame how much dishonesty is going on everywhere in USA. At times as bad as the 3rd world countries we go out to 'improve'.

Except for a few exceptions, OFFICERS in all branches have a bachelor's degree of some sort. I am now retired from US Army but started as Flight Nurse with Air Force Reserves as in the old days, single parents, married women were not allowed to serve active duty but could be in Reserves. Requirements change according to the needs of the service which also translate to war time versus peace time and who is President and who is Congress. There are big variables. With a decree in the number of forces in all branches there will be a decrease in the need for medical assets. Military nursing is NOT the same as civilian. I recently got a post card that the Army was giving some huge bonuses for about 5 specialties. DANG, even though I have 2-3 of those specialties, I am not eligible as I am retired. However, I was fortunate enough to spend my last 7 years in Special Operations Reserve Unit with deployment to Iraq 2003 where I used pretty much everything I ever learned in life. New grads have always been accepted as med surg nurses so not sure why Reserves would accept but Active would not unless: 1. there were no openings or 2. the pay was not what acceptable. New grad nurses in the Army do not make as much as in the civilian world. BUT later on, the advantages far out weigh civilian ones. The physical training is something that was a pain the butt but I was still passing for my age group at age 59 so it is not bad when I look at my civilian contemporaries. Military life is NOT for everyone. Joining the Reserves can give one a taste without being totally overwhelmed. During Viet Nam there was a waiting list of nurses wanting to go to Viet Nam. Nurse are hard workers. They need to stop the petty bickering, be honest and caring with everyone they come into contact, including other nurses, with and do the best job they know how. There is an old saying from the 1970s: Nurses eat their young. You don't see other professions acting that way. Wish I knew why. Take advantage of what is offered, whether civilian or military. Always treat others are you would want to be treated.

Historically, NURSES DID IT ALL> But with increased education of nurses, it was deemed that work not needing advanced education could be done by non nurses. HOWEVER, when the Sh*t hits the whatever, it is the nurse who is there and must take necessary actions. Discussions of pay should be made by the individual to their respective managers. If RT wants more money, they can go back to school. CNA work just as hard as everyone else but are paid according to their education and skills. RNs can, and often do, everything a respiratory tech or CNA does. Staff needs to quit quarreling and take a look at the big picture of how our medical system is going.... I am really noticing that Managers seem to only manage complaints instead of assisting staff to improve staff to avoid those complaints, supporting staff instead of being paid off by the CEO who is making a ton of money by saving the money of salaries by working with short staffing levels. I am severely disappointed in the skills and quality of work that I have been witnessing the past few years. More like the Dollar Store versus a nice department store. In my opinion from working in several states over the years it is nation wide. There are way more important things to be discussed than whether or not RT makes less money than RNs.

I am in the process of retiring. Back in the 60s it was discussed how nurses could really be seen as PROFESSIONAL. Sounds like this has not happened. BUT I call it THE UGLY STEP SISTER SYNDROME. Seems way too many are more concerned about someone else getting more pay for less work and they constantly have nasty attitudes about pretty much everything except when the 'manager' is there. Way too many nurses have NOT matured past high school. Think about it... are they there to get the job done and be pleasant or ??? Sounds more like ???? Nurse are so darn ready to do the 'tattle tale' thing but there are also too many nurses who are sucking it up and living a professional life of misery. Too often it is whoever reports blah blah to the manager first is right!!! Besides being a product of our society as a whole, this is absurd behavior. What happened to 'team'? Why are nurses so much like MEAN GIRLS but yet have placed themselves into a caring profession but treat each other so poorly? Who is doing evaluations? What are the evaluations based on? I have notice the past few years a trend that I am very concerned about. It is that the nurse is now a hostess instead of a professional who has specific knowledge and skills to assist others in the process of getting well. Seems all the things that were fought for in past decades to be improved on have only gone backward. It is now more important to smile than to have good IV skills.... especially now that most IV are started in the antecubital space. Sterile technique has been lacking..... and if one says something the response is a bad attitude.. like 'oh whatever'. I am shocked at seeing so many nurses have poor skills in the areas that are so important to patient comfort. Ijust part of IMHO!!! I could on but the good, team oriented professional nurses will know what I mean. I worked hard to attain my skills and try to keep the patient comfort in mind. Rudeness and unprofessional behavior any where on the job should NEVER be tolerated. Too many tolerate it in the guise of: just trying to not rock the boat. Where are the managers who do the evaluations? Where are the parents who don't teach their children basic politeness with honesty and caring for others? I am tired of being overworked and under paid let alone putting up with other adults who just never figured out how to play nicely in the sand box!!!

I am agnostic. I tried to work in Catholic hospital in ER thinking it would be 'reasonable' BUT all are under Catholic laws when they enter. I got into trouble teaching a pt about using rubbers and foam. I now avoid ALL catholic hospitals. I am currently at an Episcopal hospital and it is fine. If I am not into religion I avoid ALL religiously run hospitals. They are there for religion FIRST!!! Mary Ann Spencer, RN, BSN 1973, US Army Retired.

Those who constantly as questions that are not directly related to the subject are basically rude and uneducated. They interfere with the learning of others and make learning frustrating to others in the class. However, a well stated question related to the subject can be helpful to all the students, especially those too shy to ask. It seems a good idea for the instructor to get those who ask 'too many' to simply write them down for after class. I would like to hear more about the reference to nurses being rude and having ganglike behavior. There is a saying: nurses eat their young. Many places actually do have 'cliques' that act more like high school girls than educated and trained professionals. It has greatly added to the current shortage of nurses. Why tolerate professional abuse when there are other ways to earn a living???

You could try taking a travel contract. Pay in TX is not as much as many other states but when you do a travel contract you are only obligated usually for 13 weeks and then you can make a better decision later on. The pay is MUCH better in the cities than in the country and many nurses communte to the big cities for more pay and hence few hours needed to work. Unfortunately, many of the 'country' areas are not as friendly as the larger cities. good luck.

There is a problem nation wide about nurses joining the nurse associations. I am close to retirement. I have RARELY joined any of the 'nurse' associations because: 1. cost and what u get for the price and 2. the same issues that were supposed to have been addressed in the 1970's are still being 'discussed'. The best thing to happen to nurses is thtat the shortages has given much better wages and more mobility without starting at the bottom of the wage scale. I work as travel RN and often leave TX. Perhaps if the 'girls' would grow up to be real professional women, then real solutions can happen and the back stabbing and lies would be much reduced and the work place would be nicer. It is a set up for failure when nurses are expected to be everything to all at all times of the day and night and do this without coffee breaks, lunch breaks, etc. Then add the 'crap' that OSHA comes up with 'no drinks/food' in the work area.....but yet we serve patients THEIR food in the same area.... and oh, we ware to work 8-12 or more hours with little or nothing to drink or eat and they wonder why there is a shortage of people who want to be nurses???? DUH!!!