THESE NURSES SUCK!!!

SUBQ · Jan 28, 2001

I'm talking about trying to tell me that I have to take a safe load of pts.

MY BAD, I MEANT AN UN SAFE LOAD!!!

IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE IF THEY APPRECIATED NURSES ENOUGH TO GIVE US PROPER PT -- NURSE LOADS!

chili2641 · Jan 28, 2001

I am sorry you are so upset. Hospitals and nursing homes are businesses. When you keep the beds filled you make a profit. People with business degrees are there to save the company money. I have seen what you are talking about the one thing that bothers me the most is when my nurse is mandated to work over. They get sloppy because they are exausted. They leave used needles by the bedside and on breakfast trays. I would personally rather see myself worked to death than my nurse. I never wanted to be a nurse.

I went to college for four years to do something else. I have decided to work as A CNA through my Masters degree because it allows me to work so many hours on the weekends. I have a lot of respect for the nurses out there and the CNA's. The system makes me furious however! I do not know the answer I come in and do my best. If I was a

professional nurse I would have left by now.

------------------

Nursing assistant

Genista, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2001

SUBQ-

I know where you are coming from. Though, I guess you would call me a nurse who "sucks" because sometimes I have charted on my lunch break so that I can get off work on time. And yes, that's wrong, that we don't have enough staff so I can take a "real" break. But as you know, most hospitals don't staff by acuities (though we fill out all this paperwork for it).They staff by bodies in beds.

When the situation merits, nurses where I work will fill out an assignment under protest, and we almost always get the extra help we need. Even if we merely "threaten to fill out" an assignment under protest (I work at a union hospital, and the staffing ratios are usually pretty safe), that usually gets an extra nurse to the floor.

Not all nurses are spineless doormats.I am one of many nurses in our state (Calif) who has HAD IT w/ unsafe staffing! We aggressively supported a safe staffing bill that passed into law recently, and are currently arguing against the hospital industry over what the maximum safe nurse patient ratios should be. Our new safe staffing law will go into effect in 2002, and will cover all the main acute care floors.

It's still an uphill battle, b/c like you said, even here in CA, many nurses would rather complain than lift a finger to write a letter to government, or attend a rally/meeting to support the safe ratios.And the public still has images of nurses from several decades ago. I think many people have no clue of what a nurse "really does." We need to enlighten the public and voice our opinions. It's definately a frustrating situation.

The California Nurses Association (largest nursing union in our state) has tons of great info about AB394 (safe staffing bill, that now will be law).CNA is a strong force in our state, and has some great info on their website. Here's the Calif. Nurses Association website:

www.calnurse.org

Here's the address to a recent news article about the struggle to implement the new safer CA ratios(It's called, "State, Nurses Scrap on Staffing):

http://www.calnurse.org/cna/news/coco12000.html

The comment (in the article above) from Jan Emerson of the Hospital Association really made my blood boil! I'd love for her to work as a staff nurse on the floors for just one shift & she's change her tune fast!

SUBQ, you are not alone in your anger. If we want to make nursing better, we have to FIGHT!

~Kona

SUBQ · Jan 28, 2001

KONA:

I agree. That was a very good response and I appreciate the info about what is going on in California.

I just quit my job and I am hacked off because everyone is so damn indifferent.

Nobody seems to care! It's almost like I work in a industry where nurses, who are so smart, are foolish enough to put up this crap.

Later,

SUBQ!

fergus51 · Jan 28, 2001

If I have to do it to get off on time I do chart during my breaks, but I get PAID for it. I put in the extra time as OT and get time an a half for whatever time I lose. It's the only way they will ever staff us properly.

Mijourney · Jan 30, 2001

Hi. I agree with you SUBQ on most of the points you make about the problems in nursing. I acknowledge that I'm recovering from being one of the completely "spineless" nurses.

I think that the problem is more complex than nurses being passive in taking care of our needs and wants the way we should. Some of it has to do with the structure or lack thereof within nursing. Another poster alluded to our unstructured past. Nursing has never been independent of the medical model which is devised by.. medicine. We have been wrapped and completely engulfed by its blanket. Nursing has struggled to find its own identity to no avail. However, we should not confuse pursuing an identity with fighting for safe working conditions, quality patient care, and more wages.

Nurses need not fear to assert ourselves when it comes to protecting our patients and ourselves. We need to learn and know our jobs well and discern when and how far to push the envelope with management. We need to temper this with presenting viable solutions.

I have wrote this before, but after much personal trial and error over the years, I think its encumbent upon us to put more effort in the job search when we're seeking employment. It's as important for us to thoroughly screen a potential employer as it is for them to screen us. I've had more job satisfaction and longer stays when working for an employer who was not only recommended but was screened by me to determine if that employer would be a good fit. I've also been able to get more concessions from the employers I've researched.

[This message has been edited by Mijourney (edited January 29, 2001).]

laurier · Mar 15, 2001

Amen to "Texas"!!!!!

Unfortunately, what you said is true.

The answer is: UNIONIZE!!!

What would happen if ALL THE NURSES IN THE US STOOD TOGETHER?????

That's a LOT of nurses!!!!

Until the day we can do that, the same thing will continue to happen. No one will rescue us. WE have to be the ones. The pinheads will sure not do it for us.

There will be those who disagree. That's OK.

But you have to admit-"Texas" has a point.

So instead of knocking him/her around-stand up with them.

Standing together will be the ONLY way we can make something of this crazy profession.

Sniping among ourselves will just perpetuate the misery.....

Choice is yours........

123lisa · Mar 16, 2001

well, that was well put. And are you angry. I see all of your points. I have worked with the Benz drivers and they do not have a clue what the workload is like on the floors. They do crunch numbers and money is everything. I worked side by side with these people and with corporate. I know what they do. You are right.

Most nurses do get walked on. If you did a poll, you would find that most of them lived with an alcoholic and/or doing so now. They are co-dependants. And they should make a stand! You nursed do not deserve it! This person is right. If you take a stand we can conquer the big cheeses! And if you work through your lunch break you are making yourself a worse nurse bacause you are not providing yourself with the normally needed stress relief. And you cant argue with me that nursing is not highly stressful............Now do something before your life passes you by and you end up with cancer of chronic illness related to stress. One of my nurses just DIED.....she worked hard......she kept saying she needed more stress relief.......and she go it!!!

SMARTEN UP YOU NURSES AND TRY CARING FOR YOURSELF!!!

Originally posted by SUBQ:
I'm talking about trying to tell me that I have to take a safe load of pts.

MY BAD, I MEANT AN UN SAFE LOAD!!!

IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE IF THEY APPRECIATED NURSES ENOUGH TO GIVE US PROPER PT -- NURSE LOADS!

123lisa · Mar 16, 2001

well, that was well put. And are you angry. I see all of your points. I have worked with the Benz drivers and they do not have a clue what the workload is like on the floors. They do crunch numbers and money is everything. I worked side by side with these people and with corporate. I know what they do. You are right.

Most nurses do get walked on. If you did a poll, you would find that most of them lived with an alcoholic as a child and/or doing so now. They are co-dependants. And they should take a stand! You nurses do not deserve it! This person is right. If you take a stand we can conquer the big cheeses! And if you work through your lunch break you are making yourself a worse nurse because you are not providing yourself with the normally needed stress relief. And you can't argue with me that nursing is not highly stressful............Now do something before your life passes you by and you end up with cancer or chronic illness related to stress. One of my nurses just DIED.....she worked hard......she kept saying she needed more stress relief.......and she go it!!!

SMARTEN UP YOU NURSES AND TRY CARING FOR YOURSELF!!!

Originally posted by SUBQ:
I'm talking about trying to tell me that I have to take a safe load of pts.

MY BAD, I MEANT AN UN SAFE LOAD!!!

IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE IF THEY APPRECIATED NURSES ENOUGH TO GIVE US PROPER PT -- NURSE LOADS!

OLSKL · Mar 20, 2001

Originally posted by kona2:
SUBQ-
I know where you are coming from. Though, I guess you would call me a nurse who "sucks" because sometimes I have charted on my lunch break so that I can get off work on time. And yes, that's wrong, that we don't have enough staff so I can take a "real" break. But as you know, most hospitals don't staff by acuities (though we fill out all this paperwork for it).They staff by bodies in beds.

When the situation merits, nurses where I work will fill out an assignment under protest, and we almost always get the extra help we need. Even if we merely "threaten to fill out" an assignment under protest (I work at a union hospital, and the staffing ratios are usually pretty safe), that usually gets an extra nurse to the floor.

Not all nurses are spineless doormats.I am one of many nurses in our state (Calif) who has HAD IT w/ unsafe staffing! We aggressively supported a safe staffing bill that passed into law recently, and are currently arguing against the hospital industry over what the maximum safe nurse patient ratios should be. Our new safe staffing law will go into effect in 2002, and will cover all the main acute care floors.

It's still an uphill battle, b/c like you said, even here in CA, many nurses would rather complain than lift a finger to write a letter to government, or attend a rally/meeting to support the safe ratios.And the public still has images of nurses from several decades ago. I think many people have no clue of what a nurse "really does." We need to enlighten the public and voice our opinions. It's definately a frustrating situation.

The California Nurses Association (largest nursing union in our state) has tons of great info about AB394 (safe staffing bill, that now will be law).CNA is a strong force in our state, and has some great info on their website. Here's the Calif. Nurses Association website:
www.calnurse.org

Here's the address to a recent news article about the struggle to implement the new safer CA ratios(It's called, "State, Nurses Scrap on Staffing):
http://www.calnurse.org/cna/news/coco12000.html

The comment (in the article above) from Jan Emerson of the Hospital Association really made my blood boil! I'd love for her to work as a staff nurse on the floors for just one shift & she's change her tune fast!

SUBQ, you are not alone in your anger. If we want to make nursing better, we have to FIGHT!
~Kona

I am from California but now working in Arizona & I recall the form about accepting an assignment under protest. I mentioned it to our DON & she looked at me as if I were from outter space. If you have a generic copy of the form I would sure love to have a copy of it. Is there anywhere it is posted or should anyone like to give me an email adress to send my home fax number to I would sure appreciate it. Time is of the essence because the staffing in this small town is so frequently inadequate I will be leaving here for the Las Vegas area at the end of June 2001. Thanx for your time. Peace out.

------------------

You can't erase the spoken word.

Ray · Mar 22, 2001

Originally posted by SUBQ:
What I am about to describe is the real problem in nursing it is:

#1: It's the nurse who charts on their lunch break.(why? Because they cave into upper mgt. to be more efficient.)

#2: The nurse who takes more patients that is safe to handle. (Why? Once again, they cave into those pin heads who have the big bucks--the smucks who make all the $$$ and drive nice cars and tell you and I how to be more RESOURCEFUL when taking on extra responsibility.)

Why am I so hacked off at these people?

The answer is simple. These people cave into the pin heads who know absolutely nothing about the jobs that we do.

These people don't have a license to lose. If they lose their job or get fired, they can find some rat infested nursing home and skim funds from that place and do the same thing all over again.

Yeah, these are the leeches that have reshaped my whole out look about the profession.

My question is: why did they not tell us in nursing school that these pecker woods would infest the industry that I work in?

Does it sound like I'm pissed?

You betcha!

It makes me wanna puke when I think about how these MBA's-- SHAFT my patients out of QUALITY nursing care!

How they brain wash everyone into "we'll get you some help, just hang in there."

That's baloney, they never hire or when they do, you people don't help 'em out. I watch you nurses who ***** and complain and gossip about each other left in right. You can't wait till the hospital hires someone new to talk bad about!

You know what?

Screw 'em all! And to all the nurses who cave into these bone heads, you don't deserve the crap that these idiots are slinging!!!

It's a dad-gum shame that this industry is so S C R E W E D UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm looking 4 a new job and it probably won't be nursing.

You can't convince me enough that the license that I worked so hard to get is worth:

LAWSUIT

I'm sorry, but like Dee Snider said " We're not gonna take it"

I'm sure the hell not! I'll walk on any shift and on any hospital before I compromise saftey and the health of my patients.

I'm talking about trying to tell me that I have to take a safe load of pts.

I won't do it!!!

Go ahead you Florence Nightengail types:

Tell me how selfish that I'm being for wanting a safe patient to nurse ratio.

Tell me that I'm selfish because I don't give a rats a$$ about charting on my lunch break.

You nurses who chart on YOUR lunch breaks are fools. You need that 30 mins to yourself to refuel; not be more efficient for some Benz driving bone head.

And you nurses who continue to work out of ratio, your the ones who are really makig the pts. suffer; yeah your the ones who are doing it! The more that you keep on letting these upper mgt pin heads get away by not allowing you to be staffed properly the more you keep biting the hand that feeds you.

IF & I MEAN IF:
yOU SHOW UP TOMORROW AND SAY NOT NO BUT HELL NO TOO BEING UNDERSTAFFED AND NOT ACCEPT PTS UNTILL YOU ARE STAFFED PROPERLY, THEN YOU WOULD PUT A STOP TO GETTING THE SHAFT FOR YOU AND YOUR PTS.

THESE PIN HEADS W/ THE MBA'S WOULD NOT HAVE A POT TO PISS IN OR A WINDOW TO THROW IT OUT, IF YOU NURSES WOULD PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN.

BUT THAT AINT GONNA HAPPEN. THIS INDUSTRY IS LINED W/ PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE MENTALITY OF SOMEONE WHO WOULD RATHER BE WALKED ON THAN WALK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YADDA, YADDA, YADDA,

I'll come back later and make a better argument. However, I'll get the ball rolling.

I think you're trying to call the problems what they are but your anger seems to be getting in the way a bit. When the administrative "pinheads" force us into this or that mode we are being bullied, pure and simple. In America, the cart is pulling the horse. Nurses need to remeber that they are the only saving grace between comfort and isery for physicians and administratiors. I've seen nurses bust their buns insanely nightly to make sure every jot and tittle has been covered so that the "brass"...the oncoming "chage nurse"...or someone else with perceived authority don't raise hell and make life more difficult than it is. All too many nurses are caught up in the same malstrom as children and spouses of substance abusers. Being put and kept down allows the abuser the privilage of thinking he or she is in a position to lessen others. We hold the power to initiate change the problem is that we just haven't learned along the way how to use that power effectively.