chrys243

I currently work at upmc. The population there is very sick and while I have learned a lot, the pay is poor, and the politics aggravating. It is true all prescheduled overtime was taken away unannounced right before Christmas, leaving most nurses in an uproar and some positions were also eliminated (not direct patient care positions). I understand that every hospital has its problems but the nurses are considered a dime a dozen with all the nursing schools in the area which is probably why we get paid so little. There are no incentives for retention of already hired staff. Over the past few years I have seen hospital morale at an all time low. Instead of work being a happy professional place most shifts are spent hearing fellow coworkers complain. I have no idea why I still work here as most of the people I have loved working with quickly left after their sign ons expired.

On our unit some of the nurses did a research study using a peridex protocol for all intubated pts, we use chlorhexidine gluconate q12h, if they have teeth brush as usual followed by using the solution (which comes from pharmacy). the research they have does show a decreased in our units VAP rates.