Staffing Issues. (rant)

[WittySarcasm]

Recently I had 10 patients. I mean I used to have them at the nursing home. But at an acute care hospital. This is just crazy. And our manager is a no call, no help when we call drowning. And we get no help from her. Staff are leaving fast because staffing will short us by pulling our staff but heaven forbid we need a staff member it's not ever going to happen. Argh. If I'm going to deal with these staffing ratios I should have just stayed in the nursing home, where they were at least the patients were stable.

[daetor2012]

So, despite all of the unsafe working conditions, do you guys/gals still enjoy your job as a Nurse? Do you not feel burnt out yet? I keep hearing this is one of the worst aspects of being a Nurse. I'm applying for Nursing schools this fall, so I enjoy reading work experiences from respectable nurses on here.

[Dranger]

Yup, same with my hospital. The worst part is management tries to construe it like our staffing grid is better and makes statements like "nurses prefer total care nursing rather than having a CNA or secretary so they can see whats going on with their patient's at all times" LOLWUT. Yeah I love putting together charts and getting vitals when I have ETOH patients scoring 20+ and another on a cardiac drip....Might as well mop the floors too!

[LifesAJourney]

Do we work together? Things suck so bad right now that the travel nurses hired to come in & ease some of the burden all quit after a couple shifts. Our mgmt actually puts out schedules with only one RN for noc & keeps fingers crossed that other depts will be able to float or some of us will be willing to come in. It's insane!

Back when I was a CNA on a med/surg floor, my manager signed off on a schedule where one night there were only 3 RN scheduled for a 40 something bed floor that was constantly full/receiving the most admits!

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

When you consider the large numbers of nurses, especially new grads, who can't find jobs, there's really no excuse for constant understaffing.

Administration won't cite lack of applications, or qualified applicants. They instead will tell you how insurance reimbursments keep falling, how Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements are a fraction of the actual cost of care (usually true) and that's why you can now expect staff to do more with less. Less money coming into the hospital = less money for staff.

CEOs, however, still receive nice fat bonuses....

Ah, nursing.

[guest64485]

So, despite all of the unsafe working conditions, do you guys/gals still enjoy your job as a Nurse? Do you not feel burnt out yet? I keep hearing this is one of the worst aspects of being a Nurse. I'm applying for Nursing schools this fall, so I enjoy reading work experiences from respectable nurses on here.

Unfortunately many hospitals staff inappropriately. While things will get better after a year due to your increasing expertise/familiarity with how to handle situations with more ease/efficiency, the poor staffing is something that is felt with nurses of all experience levels. Unless you happen to find a hospital/floor with decent staffing, you will need to resolve the internal frustration in one of several ways. Some nurses do what they can and feel that as long as they've tried their best, they are satisfied with what they do, despite the poor working conditions/heavy patient loads. Some nurses take varying degrees of shortcuts to get things done to a level they feel somewhat comfortable with. Others routinely skip lunch/work off the clock(usually charting)/forgo even bathroom breaks to satisfy the level of care they want to give. Others leave the hospital setting and work in other types of nursing.

Personally I loved the actual work of being a hospital nurse, however, I felt the poor staffing/work conditions prevented me from being the nurse I wanted to be, (as well as being a detriment to my own health). In the hospital I saw patients who were in need - I knew how to help them more, but I just didn't have the time. I found my peace outside of the hospital in a specialty area, where I had more control over the time I could spend with patients and feel more confident that I was giving each patient what they needed.

[RescueNinjaKy]

Administration won't cite lack of applications, or qualified applicants. They instead will tell you how insurance reimbursments keep falling, how Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements are a fraction of the actual cost of care (usually true) and that's why you can now expect staff to do more with less. Less money coming into the hospital = less money for staff.

CEOs, however, still receive nice fat bonuses....

Ah, nursing.

It's ridiculous! Especially because of how insurance companies refuse to pay when patients are dissatisfied or develop hospital acquired infections, or pressure ulcers. Well I say hire more nurses so they can perform a more thorough care and have more time with each patient to prevent these problems. Honestly when they cut staffing they're just making it worse for patients and claiming insurance.