Unhappy

[blondie7280]

I am a new nurse I graduated nsg school in december of 2007 worked as a GN and passed boards in April (yay). I decided to stay at the place I trained as a GN after I passed my boards because I figured I would benefit from being somewhat comfortable there. I currently have a night position however I am sooo unhappy with the situation at this hospital. The floor is a med/surg/oncology floor, with a full house we have 36 beds. At night there are only 3 nurses so we have 12 patients each. Even if I come on shift and have 6 patients with 6 empty beds, the er will keep rolling up patients one after another to fill us each up to 12 a piece. It is so frustrating. We have nursing assistants but sometimes we only have 2 or 1 for all 36 patients, many of whom are complete care so we RNs spend a lot of time helping the nursing assistants move patients and turn them etc. taking away time from our meds and the ******* 6 admissions they send one after another. Plus, we have to do chart checks and go through each of 12 charts checking orders for 24 hours to make sure they are all picked up and manage to write 12 notes. I never worked anywhere else, but to me this whole situation seems like it is bs and I could find a better one. Management tells us, oh its no better anywhere else you may go but i know that isnt true. Also, the hospital isnt doing so well and we often spend half the night looking for supplies etc. Its sooooo ridiculous. I actually already interviewed at another hospital and will take a job there in January (because by January I will have a full year experience). I am trying to hold out but each night i have to go to work (like tonight) i ******* cry lol. The management wants us to be perfect and nitpicks about little insignificant things that we would be more able to do if we had less pts and more staff. They dont seem to care though. Its funny cuz I can name a handful of others who plan on leaving as well. Please tell me if you think this is a crappy situation, cuz i sure do and I am counting down the days till i can goooo. The only thing I say is that each day i go into work is one day closer to January lol. Im sorry for the long post but i need to vent soooo bad! Thanks for listening

[BelleKat, BSN, RN]

Twelve pt apiece with only 1-2 aids for 36 pts? Those are unsafe staffing levels,if something happens,your license is on the line and the hospital will not back you up. That's bad.The hospital must be doing really poorly,I'm pretty surprised and that acuity and those staffing levels.

I would give them two weeks notice and try to get in that other hospital earlier or something.

[KaliNurse]

Hey!

I agree with BelleKat! That's simply nuts! It's actually a liability. Maybe if the community in which you live was aware of the potentially dangerous situation you and your co-workers are in on a daily basis, they would be less inclined to go there for treatment. I'm not sure how your administration is, but I would definitely recommend an "exit interview" when you quit. Tell your manager exactly what you told us. I would even say that "I would never recommend the hospital to anyone". The more people that know, the less likely they are to go there.

Unfortunately, our healthcare administrators aren't interested in how overworked or underpaid your are. It is all about the NUMBERS!!!!! They may even say that their priority is "safe patient care". However, there actions tell us different each and everyday! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE and GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE!!!

~ Kali

[NurseBrittney]

this is absurd and not the norm

My max patient load is 6. my average is 3-4

[nurse494]

you need to leave that position before you make a med error or worse.

[gaylordfocker2002]

i have 4, 5 tops during day shift. we are short staffed with CNA's, so we give total care alot of times, but no way would i work at your hopital lol. no way.

[ansley12]

Dude, I think you have my old job! Comfort Zones are so easy to stick with, you at least know your demons. I stayed at the same facility for 7 years c crappy admin (and especially for nights PCCs)- We worked our butts off to give real quality care but we staffed by the NUMBERS (HCA)..

[dorselm]

I hope you find something better because it's messed up to go to school and dedicate all of that time and money only to get out of school and be disappointed by "the real world" that nursing never prepares you for or tells you about.

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

WHOA. There *IS* something better than that out there for you. That's what's great about nursing. Your situation sounds REALLY stressful and unsafe and I'd be getting outta dodge.

[RNBelle]

12???? really????? treat yourself to a new job. that is unsafe and i would never accept such a ridiculous assignment. i wouldnt even wait til January to switch jobs. your sanity and your license are on the line.

[Snowranger19, MSN, APRN]

I feel you. I am a new nurse (graduated in may, passed boards in july). I work on a telemetry/post-cath lab floor and we have the same problem you do. I also feel like crying each time work comes around. We typically have 6-8 patients a peice and our floor is maxed out at 41. Usually we have 2 cna's but recently 1 has been the norm. Also our hospital has the policy that "acute/critical" patients must have the vitals taken by the nurse q4h so of course that makes it even worse. The other night I swear I thought one of the nurses was going to quit...she had 2 admissions and a sheath that needed to be pulled at 7pm (it was 7:15). And of course.. it being cardiac care.. sometimes patients have drips going, we of course have codes, etc.

It is easy to say get a new job.. I don't know if you have looked but I haven't had much luck getting another job in this area. Everyone either wants experience or aren't hiring.

Best of luck to you!!

[Future1980]

I am in third semester of my nursing program. I am a student in Master entry program(CNL) at University of San Francisco,CA. The program is not good because teachers don't want to teach. What should I do Any advice!!!