Vent: at a crossroads

Specialties Educators

Published

I work in staff development. I am so bummed out right now. I have done this for almost two years. I have been hoping for improvement, but things are only getting worse. There is a big part of me that longs to return to staff nursing. Really I do love education. My problem is that I go into work never knowing if I will be staff or educator that day. I work almost 10 hours a day, five days a week and sometimes more. My salary is set and I do not earn overtime, but can take another day off if it is not busy, which it usually is. I have one large unit I work with and two smaller ones. The nursing staff on the smaller units often float back and forth between the areas. The larger unit staffs itself. I came from the larger unit as a staff person of almost 15 years at the facility. In my job description, I do not do patient care. In reality, I do it all of the time mostly on the larger unit. Now I am being pressured to act as charge nurse on one of the smaller units, when there is a callout or shortage. As I am not intimately familiar with this unit and have a great deal of education to catch up on, I do not feel as though I should have to do this. My goodness, I already am working as staff when I do not have to and still that is not enough. I feel like a hamster on a treadmill. I like patient care and am happy to help, but I am only one person. My phone often rings on the weekend and nights with a call for help when they cannot reach one of our managers. I suppose this is burnout. The fall is coming which I dread, since I am taking two classes and have two teens at home. That just makes all of these extra hours and work even harder. I know the staff is burnt out too. By the time they call me, everyone else has said no. ARRRRRGHH! Any suggestions anyone???

sounds like your employer does not really value staff development. That should be a full time role. I would have a heart-to-heart with the CNO. Let him/her know you are conflicted and feel you are spread too thin. Also, it is hard to accomplish dept goals that meet their business plan if you are staffing ( you DO have goals don't you???) I would also get a fix on the salary thing. Either you are, or you are not, salaried. Determine what you want to be, a staffer or an educator, then work towards that. Try to make it sound like YOUR goals can benefit the facility as much as you personally. Good luck.

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