justmanda

Our hospital has started deliberately understaffing the floors. No secretary. Only one tech for 18 patients. No phlebotomy department. This is not because we don't have enough staff...they actually send techs home all the time because they have redesigned the staffing grid. As a result, the nurses are now the secretaries, the lab, the tech, etc. We usually work one to two hours over our shift. The management is getting tired of the nurses clocking out late and attached a note to our pay checks that said we must clock out on time. If we don't, we must fill out a form that says "why" we didn't and then have the charge nurse sign it. Of course, the charge nurse has six patients of her own. We are always so swamped, that we are not in the position to help one another. We never take lunch and usually don't even have time to pee. We are encouraged NOT to fill out a missed lunch form because we must also list all the reasons why we did not take lunch. We must also have this "approved" by the charge nurse. The management thinks we are so dense that we don't realize they are hoping we won't have the time to fill out these forms and, as a result, won't get paid for these extra hours. One manager says she doesn't understand why we can't get our work done. It took everything in me not to look at her and say, after my 14 hour shift, "You are a horrible human being. How dare you treat your employees this way." I have been a nurse for ten years and I can't believe how bad it has become. I am seriously thinking about a different career. Am I wrong to assume that satisfied employees make satisfied patients? Our management cares NOTHING about the patients. If they did, they would make sure they had enough staff to take care of them.

A nurse's heart is covered with a thick black shell but when you peel the black away, uhhh....more black. I am only half kidding here. Maybe because we deal with such serious issues we lack the sentimentality that most people have. But I don't quite get why we are so mean to one another. It's the only career I can think of where it seems you get a job performance evaluation at the end of every shift (during report). You don't know how many times I have heard "so-and-so left me a bad IV and a lab he didn't draw" So many nurses refuse to just pick up the slack and move on with their shift. They blame everything bad that happens during their shift on the shift before them. What's the hardest part of nursing? NURSES ARE!!!! Sometimes, they make me want to chuck it all and go work at McDonalds.

This morning, after a twelve hour shift, I found out that my relief was just getting out of bed and wouldn't be at work until 9am. I was expected to stay, without complaint, until my relief arrived. When I dared to mention that my young children were going to be two hours late for school if I stayed, the manager of the floor called me a "whiner". I don't mind staying a little late every now and then, but this frequently happens and the powers that be actually seem surprised and irritated when nurses have other responsibilities they have to tend to. The manager finally took report from me at 8am, seething the entire time. I don't blame her for the person not showing up. It wasn't her fault, and I thanked her for taking report. Her attitude though, made me furious! Just a rant....ahhh. I feel much better now.

Just the other night at my facility a nurse was sick and wanted to go home. The supervisor could not find a replacement and we each GLADLY took one of her patients on. We ended up with one more patient than our max load a peice, but the poor girl was sick. Was there nobody on your unit that could pick up the slack considering your family emergency? Did you not hand your patients off to someone on your unit, the charge nurse maybe? If so, that isn't abandonment. It sounds like your Supervisor is a heartless sweat shop matron. Nice choice you were given there...your job or your kid. You made the right one dude. I know our job is supposed to be this thankless contribution to society, but if my child needed emergency assistance and my Supervisor refused to let me leave, I would report HER to her boss. Find a hospital that doesn't treat its staff like cattle.

I think the nursing profession is the only field in which a promotion means less money. The director of our unit makes only about 60,000/year. The nursing supervisor doesn't make much more than that. I'm an ADN and made 90,000 last year. Granted, that is with some overtime mixed in, but the salaried administrative nurses get paid the same regardless of the overtime they put in. Less money....more headache. I'll stick with my little 2year degree.

I am an RN in Florida and made 100,000$ last year. This is with overtime though. Most hospitals give you overtime pay plus incentives to work extra shifts, so it is easy to make 100k as a nurse. Well, I shouldn't say EASY because you have to put in all the extra time...but do-able. I work 60 hours one week and 48 the next (two weeks on each paycheck). Sometimes I only work the three days (so I can have four days off in a row) and then I make it up on the next week. I am the bread winner in my family, so I have no choice. But if you just want to do it long enough to pay off some bills, it is definitely possible.

I agree. Whenever I see a forgotten prescription pad lying around I cringe. Like you said, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

What happened to computer testing? I took a computer exam for my boards. You guys have to sit for paper tests now? How long does it take now? Mine took an hour.

Sometimes correctional facilities contract out for nurses. I know they started doing that in Florida. Try calling the facility and asking them if they do this and if they do ask for the company's info.

The only problem with being slow but thorough is the patient population. You can't be slow in a crisis, even if you are being thorough. You have to be quick and thorough. Quick thinking, quick acting. Not saying that is me...but I do understand the importance of efficiency.

Go ADN....more money, more autonomy and you can get a job anywhere.

Major problem in the nursing field? How about Nurses! I speak of the grumpy self-righteous,backbiting type who make your job a living hell. It may be the poor staffing, poor funding, and poor management listed above that turns someone into this kind of co-worker, but it IS one of the major complaints I have with our profession.

I cried my first two weeks as a nurse. Thought it was the worst mistake of my life. Nursing is a hard profession. You will be worked like a dog. But, after awhile, you'll get used to the workload and will be more comfortable with the environment, the people, the procedures, etc. After you reach a certain level of comfort, you will think more clearly and be more efficient. I work at two hospitals (just started a new one) and still cringe and sigh before I clock into the new place. I have said "I hate being a nurse" at least ten times to my husband in the last month. (btw, he pointed out that I always say it before I go in to the new place for a shift). So, in a way, I'm a new nurse again with all the insecurities that go along with being in an unfamiliar environment. I do see it getting better as I am getting more accustomed to the new hospital. It will get better for you with time. Unless your place is awful, I would stick it out long enough to see if the comfort factor is what is making you unhappy. If that's all it is, time will cure it.

Don't forget to DRINK and PEE....you could throw a rock in a crowd and hit at least 10 nurses who have had a kidney stone.