Solutions for Acutes?

[westieluv]

Our acutes department is really struggling. I don't know how many RNs have been hired, trained, and then quit, just in the past year or two, but it's at least eight. We are swamped with treatments and we are all going in to work everyday expecting nothing less than a twelve to fourteen hour day--and that's if we hustle and skip lunch. Then there's the on call. Work fourteen+ hours only to know that you could get called right back as soon as you get home...or before you even get home.

Does anyone here work for an acutes department that figured out a way to retain nurses and have as normal as possible work days, as in, eight to ten hours? Does anyone work in an acutes department where the on call problem has been eliminated, and if so, how did you do it? Almost every nurse that gets hired in our department hates the on call, and probably 75% of them quit because of it. Is there a solution? Anything? I am not that young anymore, and I just don't think that I can take working 50-60 hours a week anymore. I hate to throw in the towel like the others, but what can be done?

Any suggestions or shared experiences would be very welcome!

[SmilingBluEyes]

Not for me. Too many of my acquaintances have been worked to death and beyond in acutes. I for one, am SO over being on-call or having to work an unplanned 18 or more hour day to go home exhausted, hearing the phone ring 2 hours later. I am glad for those who love it, but for me, it would be a very fast ticket to burnout and exhaustion. Not going there! When I am done, I am done, which is the major advantage to clinic/outpatient hemo.

[westieluv]

Amen! With my new job, I can go home after a long day (with scheduled hours! What a perk!) and go to bed without having my phone next to my head. No more on call for me ever again! :)

[courtlynn4]

Acutes has the same problem everywhere I've been. I have always done chronic but we always hear about it or get the nurses/pct that are worn out from on call/short staffing. Companies need to find a way to manage staff on call time so that those hours aren't that ridiculous. When I worked other places if you were on call your regular hours were cut so that you weren't run thin.

[nurseteddy]

I work acutes in a teaching hospital, and the fellow has to come out in the middle of the night if they are consulted. I believed some fellows don't feel comfortable making the decision whether to dialyze or not, so they just call in the on-call nurse. Most of the time, the treatments could certainly wait until the am. I am actively seeking a position at an LTAC, where Nephrologists are running the show and the treatments are set on a TTS or MWF schedule. While there is an ICU, after hours treatments would be rare and necessary, and I have no issues with being called out for legitimate treatments. I actually feel good about being able to help.