I'm a new nurse, in my job for just a year now working on a med/surg floor. Being older than my co-workers and having previous work history, I tend to be more adamant about some of the rules and ways things should run.
My most experienced co-worker ( on this shift) has 20 months experience due to the high turnover here: 100% at 2 years is the current according to recruitment.
Anyway, I was made charge a couple nights ago and things were just insane as usual. We were running short 1 nurse and we were getting slammed with admits. 5 in the first hour plus an AMA and an irate family to deal with because day shift had neglected to tell them they could'nt leave until the pt urinated - pulled their cath @ 1900.
I had 5 patients: one with SaO2 @ 63%, one getting 2 units PRBC's with Lasix and fluid overload and one with 9/10 pain and we were out of meds as usual.
My co-workers were in a similar bind with their crazy night.
The Unit secretary calls and says I'm getting an admit. I said it was wrong and the assignment sheet was made up differently, she told me that too bad I was getting it anyway the House Supervisor wanted that room.
I called the House Sup and refused saying we were completely overwhelmed and would not accept the pt. His response was to tell ER to put the pt in the room and I would call later for report.
In other words they dumped the pt and left! Further they never even told me the pt was there. I got really pissed and I even called the NM at home. Understand, Admin is only on duty here 0730- 1530 , we have NO admin here on nights weekends or holidays.
The NM's answer was I don't have enough time management and everybody runs short and we all have to deal with it.
As to having no meds from pharmacy - a regular issue here - she said that I need to address the issue and I should also confront the Unit Secretary to tell them they don't assign duties.
It's always the answer here: Deal with it & You do something about it.
The last year has been entirely like this: 5 & 6 hours to get meds from pharmacy, no stock of different doses so we have to give 6 or 12 pills for a dose, we spent two days over memorial days with no tylenol because we were out of stock and the always standard answer from Admin that we need to deal with it.
Anyway, I'm bad, I got really mad and threw a chart at the desk and was rude to the house supervisor.
Now I'm not afraid of firing, after all they've had staffers threaten homicide and they don't get dismissed, but I am afraid for my licence and the likelihood of bad references for a new job.
Recently they gave poor reviews to two staffers to keep them here and they were very blunt to them saying that they didn't need to leave so they would not get positive evals.
I do have a foot in the door at an agency for various PRN & contract work. Should I cut and run? Give notice and go?
Is it like this everywhere? The hospitals I did clinicals at in school sure seemed better.
I quit without notice after dealing with similar issues--- and worse. I've never left a job without notice before, and I hope never to have to do so again. It made an impact, because I'd worked for the hospital for 17 years. HR stood up and took notice when I did this (and at all the other long term staff who had quit or transferred off the unit). I called them about my PTO time, and the guy was really concerned. Asked me why, after working there for so long, was I leaving so abruptly. My response was, "have you got about an hour to talk?". I told him everything. He was stunned. And he promised to follow up even though I told him I could not consider staying or working out a notice.
The nurse manager was gone within the month. Had I known that would happen, I WOULD have found a way to hang in there, even if it meant taking a leave, because I truly miss it (no, not the way it had become during the two years of hell this "manager" put us through, but the way it had been before and I knew it could be again).
Not everywhere has work loads like what you describe but you may well end up working very hard even with a smaller case load. I would just for the sake of your sanity consider moving jobs after all you have given it a reasonable length of time and it is time for a change regardless of the workload. Good luck in what ever you decide.
Uh, that's just what I said... The OP stated that her friend gave her medication that had been wasted at his place of employment, but that the medication was still sealed in it's original package.
Pocketing medication that is supposed to be wasted is not being thrifty, it's stealing.
Oops. Sorry.
But I still don't care if someone wants to keep a non-controlled med that fell on the floor.
Specializes in ER, Occupational Health, Cardiology.
For heaven's sake, get out of Dodge! Don't walk, run! :uhoh21:It is not worth your sanity to continue to go through what is/are the obvious reason(s) for the high turnover low retention rate for staff there. I would want no part of it.
But I see enough. Get a new job this coming week. Then quit. Yeah, give the required amount of notice and write a really nice, courteous, totally professional letter of resignation. Don't be rude, mention absolute nothing being wrong. Just say you regret to have to resign but you are resigning, in order to accept a new opportunity that will help you grow professionally. Say what a wonderful growth and learning experience you have had with St. Hell Hospital and that your last day of work will be ____.
Puke, turn it in, call off sick as much as possible during your notice time. Report them anonymously to JCAHO and CMS. Get on with your life. At the appropriate time, lie on the exit interview, turn in your keys, badge, whatever, and get your last check. Make sure they pay you for unused vacation, holidays, comp time, etc.
But I see enough. Get a new job this coming week. Then quit. Yeah, give the required amount of notice and write a really nice, courteous, totally professional letter of resignation. Don't be rude, mention absolute nothing being wrong. Just say you regret to have to resign but you are resigning, in order to accept a new opportunity that will help you grow professionally. Say what a wonderful growth and learning experience you have had with St. Hell Hospital and that your last day of work will be ____.
Puke, turn it in, call off sick as much as possible during your notice time. Report them anonymously to JCAHO and CMS. Get on with your life. At the appropriate time, lie on the exit interview, turn in your keys, badge, whatever, and get your last check. Make sure they pay you for unused vacation, holidays, comp time, etc.
One time I got so fed up with the type of dumping you described, I actually got up the nerve (out of pure anger) to send the patient back in the same manner I rec'd him. I instructed the aide to leave him obviously at the nurses station, with the chart at his feet; and say that you were instructed bring him back where he came from. Of course, when I did this, I was already interviewing elsewhere. The end result of this was getting a speech, something to the effect of, I know what they did was unprofessional; but, 2 wrongs don't make a right. My response was that my responsibility doesn't begin until I accept the patient after report... The dumping did stop after that; but, I had already turned in my notice for a new job.
If not for the sake of your license, then just for your own sanity, start looking elsewhere.
One time I got so fed up with the type of dumping you described, I actually got up the nerve (out of pure anger) to send the patient back in the same manner I rec'd him. I instructed the aide to leave him obviously at the nurses station, with the chart at his feet; and say that you were instructed bring him back where he came from. Of course, when I did this, I was already interviewing elsewhere. The end result of this was getting a speech, something to the effect of, I know what they did was unprofessional; but, 2 wrongs don't make a right. My response was that my responsibility doesn't begin until I accept the patient after report... The dumping did stop after that; but, I had already turned in my notice for a new job.
If not for the sake of your license, then just for your own sanity, start looking elsewhere.
That is one of the most courageous things I have ever heard!! Good for you!!! May we all act with that much courage when we need to!!
One time I got so fed up with the type of dumping you described, I actually got up the nerve (out of pure anger) to send the patient back in the same manner I rec'd him. I instructed the aide to leave him obviously at the nurses station, with the chart at his feet; and say that you were instructed bring him back where he came from. Of course, when I did this, I was already interviewing elsewhere. The end result of this was getting a speech, something to the effect of, I know what they did was unprofessional; but, 2 wrongs don't make a right. My response was that my responsibility doesn't begin until I accept the patient after report... The dumping did stop after that; but, I had already turned in my notice for a new job.
If not for the sake of your license, then just for your own sanity, start looking elsewhere.
The last time this happened to me, I marched right down to the ER and asked the charge nurse "Who is Nurse X?" When she asked me why I wanted to know I said "I just thought I should see who you and Nurse X are personally before I report you both to the BON for abandonment of Pt. Y."
Talk about a free-for-all! Word spread across the hospital in less than an hour that I was about to report two nurses to the BON. The upstroke is that before I got off the next morning, the ER director and the DON asked me not to make the report, and that such would NEVER happen again.
I agreed but I told them that a) I was keeping a written account of the entire incident, including the current conversation; and b) future occurrences WOULD result in a BON complaint; and that c) if the facility would like to fire me or would like my resignation, I was sure that I could find another place to work that didn't condone obvious neglect and abandonment.
No problem since.....
The moral: people won't try to get away with shady dealings when they know it won't be tolerated and that there will be adverse consequences.
I must admit I was surprised to know your hospital lacks Tylenol...I am here in the Philippines, and my friend who's working in IL recently came home for a vacation and she dumped in my palms around 20 tablets of Tylenol because she said her hospital has too much of it that once it is accidentally dropped on the floor, it's considered a waste.
Oh, please don't tell me you are giving them Tylenol that has been on the floor.
.thumb.jpg.2605487e9a1cc011342d44bcf46e0b55.jpg){kind=small}
May we all act with that much courage when we need to!!.thumb.gif.fc0b5b00a77a1cf676541776e02de0f9.gif){kind=avatar}
EmmaG, RN
2,999 Posts
This sounds so familiar...
I quit without notice after dealing with similar issues--- and worse. I've never left a job without notice before, and I hope never to have to do so again. It made an impact, because I'd worked for the hospital for 17 years. HR stood up and took notice when I did this (and at all the other long term staff who had quit or transferred off the unit). I called them about my PTO time, and the guy was really concerned. Asked me why, after working there for so long, was I leaving so abruptly. My response was, "have you got about an hour to talk?". I told him everything. He was stunned. And he promised to follow up even though I told him I could not consider staying or working out a notice.
The nurse manager was gone within the month. Had I known that would happen, I WOULD have found a way to hang in there, even if it meant taking a leave, because I truly miss it (no, not the way it had become during the two years of hell this "manager" put us through, but the way it had been before and I knew it could be again).