Newbody

Paterson, NJ: I work on a neuro-tele medsurg/step down unit during the night shift. At night, the average ratio is 6:1 + 1 admission, so 7 by the morning. We recently lost two RNs, so now the ratio is 7:1 + 1 admission. These patients are generally immobile, requiring complete care and a mass of charting (shift assessments, rounding every other hour, a neuro check every 2-4 hours, as well as free text nursing notes). All too frequently, we also have drug addicts / alcoholics on our unit for withdrawal, because of "seizures." We also get scolded if we're not out on time, despite having an over abundance of work to do. It feels extremely unsafe to be dealing with patients whom require such intensive care, and often I am unable to provide the care I feel they deserve because of the high patient:nurse ratio. I'll be looking for a new job soon. -_-

Hi all! Though I've been reading AllNurses posts since I was a student, this is my first post. It's doubling as a rant and a plea for some advice from my colleagues! I've been dating my girlfriend for four years now and have had serious thoughts about marrying her (this goes both ways). We rarely ever fight or argue, but when we do it's often about the same things. One of those that comes up the most is how I "never take her anywhere" and more recently how "I'm always too tired to do anything." We started dating when I had just become a nursing student. On top of all the work/study required at school, I also held a part time nights & weekend job at a large scale catering facility wherein we served anywhere from 150-1,000 guests depending on the occasion. It was exhausting work! Fast forward a couple years later, we were both excited and happy when I finally got a job offer to work as a full time RN. Now a year into it, I usually feel absolutely miserable. I work the 12 (usually 13+) hour night shift on a neuro-tele unit where we're always understaffed and the usual patient load is 6 + an admission. Over the past year, I've never felt more stressed out in my entire life and I've never hated working anywhere more than I do now. I love what I do as a nurse, but I hate the environment in which I do it. After work, I'm completely exhausted and drained. If I have work the following night, I'm usually in bed right after I shower, getting ready for the night ahead. On my days off, I'm still exhausted, but excited that I'll get to do the things I enjoy. I stay up until 10-11 playing games or reading or doing other low-energy activities, then I wake up late around 6-7. Obviously, I feel more active at night due to my completely reversed schedule: 7:00 pm is my 7:00 am - 2:00 pm is like 2:00 am to me. My girlfriend is a college student wrapping up her bachelor's degree in biology and other than that she really has no responsibilities. She hasn't had a steady job since we started dating - working temporarily during the summer as a babysitter, or pet store assistant, or volunteering at a vet office - and the only "friends" she has are guys who want to get in her pants. She doesn't get along well with girls because she's a bit of a tomboy, but that's an entirely different rant/story. Because of this, unless she's going out with me she doesn't get out much, and because of my working hours and sleep schedule there's not much for us to do during my "normal waking hours." Everything closes at 9-10pm, but that's just when my day is getting started! On top of my sleep-schedule issues, I recently went to get my back checked out due to this often incredible pain I've been having and found out I have a herniated disc as well as a vertebral fracture in my lumbar spine which will require surgical repair. This further adds to my lack of desire to go out to do anything physical. My girlfriend and I recently got in an argument, wherein she tells me that I'm always sleepy, that I'm so lazy and never feel like doing anything, that we never go anywhere (apparently going to stores/the movies doesn't count?), and that she's always bored and she's sick of it. She said she misses the way I used to be when we first started dating. I told her that I like doing what she wants to do - going for walks in the park, going to the museum, etc. - but she never tells me when she wants to do these things and when I ask if she wants to do anything she'll reply with "I don't know", "what do you wanna do?", or something of that nature. I told her I'm not a mind reader and that she needs to tell me that she wants to do these things when we're together... But then again, it's usually dark out by the time I'm feeling active. Part of me feels that she has way too much free time on her hands and that she needs a job to preoccupy her time so that she can sympathize with how I feel and my desire to relax when I'm not at work. Part of me feels like these 12+ hour night shifts, the stress of my work environment, and my inverse sleeping schedule is causing me to be overly-lazy or not allowing me to spend any quality time with her, which is unfair to her. That's the rant. Now I need some advice... What can I do to improve my life? So far, the only thing I can think of is finding a different job with more normal hours - maybe home health care: 8-4:30, 5 days a week. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time!