What do you hate most about your job?

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

-90% staff attrition in one year
-3 managers within 1 year
-Most of staff consists of travelers who either half ass everything or are inept
-Upper management was all fired and the interim people are terrible too
-Patient population in the ICU is mostly drug addicts or people who abused themselves since President Carter
-Half our equipment like Dopplers, train of four, ultrasounds, bladders scanners, dobhoff placers etc are missing or broken.
-Our union contract is still in limbo and it was supposed to be finalized 6 months ago. Garbage system just wants to make it as unappealing as possible to work here.
In essence everything, if I wasn't in grad school and only part time I would be looking for another job.
Your guy's problems sound like paradise

Hi Dranger,

What the ....(?) That *cannot* possibly be a safe place for patients.

But back to you, who are the reason for my inquiry.

If you're willing to offer your thoughts on a couple of other things, I'd be very interested to know:

1) When you walk in the doors for work each shift, what are the prominent feelings (i.e. resentment, irritation, gratitude, helplessness, happiness, hope, etc.)?

2) What keeps you sane in this eff-ed up environment?

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

Constant short staffing, mandatory on call, flex scheduling where you have to work a certain percentage of day and night shifts in a 6 week period. I enjoy my job but it gets challenging with frequent staff shortages and crazy work schedules.

Hi scoope23,

Thank you for your input! If everybody's answers were a horse race I'd be seeing Lucky Short Staffing in the lead by a long ways.

What kind of impact (if any) does the short staffing, mandatory on call, and flex scheduling have on you? (for example, impact on your sleep, relationships, mood, etc.)

Thanks again!

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

People showing up late to work: all the time

Hey Ellie G,

What's the consequence for showing up late?

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

Mandatory assignments. Not only to fill call-ins but holes left in the schedule due to vacations and LOA.
Over 70 open shifts in the upcoming pay period.

Hi Cruella (which I'm sure you are not!) :)

How often would you say you think about or feel the impact of these aspects of your job?

And, pardon my ignorance but, what's a mandatory assignment? I looked it up online and nothing fits this context.

Thanks for your thoughts!

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

This! And...groin cream

Ew.

What is it about the "customer is always right" attitude that gets under your skin the most, Malamud69?

Thanks for sharing!

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

Non nurses, business and marketing people trying to decide what is best for nurses. We've been telling you for years: Staff us properly.

Hi Farawyn,

Poor staffing problem couldn't be more obvious in this thread.

I'm going a little deeper with this follow up question if you're up for it:

When you think about the short-staffed problem at your place of employment, what explanation do you give yourself for why this happens? (for example: they don't care, there's no funding, the powers that be don't understand what a big problem it is, etc.)

Thanks for your response, and for answering the follow up if you're willing!

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

Poor staffing/unsafe patient-nurse ratios (and I feel like I am lucky based on some of the ratios I see posted on this website), out of touch upper management

Hi SuzyQ!

Thanks so much for you response!

Can you share more about what you mean when you say "out of touch upper management"?

NursesRmofun, ASN, RN · May 27, 2016

Easily the same old story- uneven assignments that don't remotely take acuity into consideration. More the opposite. Assignments are made by a regular floor nurse- almost always to her/his benefit (he/she picks the best assignment for himself/herself and his/her buddies and leaves the rest for least liked or least known co-workers). Management does not give a fig.

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

1. Three passwords that have to change every 3 months. One to log into your work computer. Two to log into the program to chart.
2. Redundancy - a simple example is I have to chart height/weight on patients who I see 3 times a week. There is nothing in the system to pull info forward into current charting.
3. No real class to teach the charting system. You learn on the go while taking care of patients.
4. Sometimes the computer is down and you lose ALL access to patient info whereas in the "olden days" there was a chart with your paper and pen notations, along with H&P, Labs, other tests, Dr. Orders, Dr. Progress Notes, etc., all in a neat and tidy place easily accessed regardless of whether your internet server was down or your facility lost electricity.
5. I hate check boxes because sometimes what you want to say isn't really there and you sort of have to fudge the truth a bit and then make a note clarifying things.
6. The most important thing is the time the computer takes away from the patient. It really bothers me to roll that COW . . . oh wait, you have to call it a WOW now . . .into the room with a patient. It becomes a barrier to good patient care. And that's not just me talking about it - it is in every medical journal nowadays regarding physicians and nurses rebelling and some quitting. We've had two NP's and two docs leave clinic work because of the mass of charting they have to do now.
The other thing I really dislike is now we have these name badges with a thinga-ma-bob on the back that we have to use for the copier (and computer, and Pyxis along with a fingerprint). So, we have to swipe our name badge, say yes to making a copy, then make the copy and if you are in a hurry this can drive you a bit crazy to make just one copy of something. So the powers-that-be can keep an eye on who makes the most copies.
I became a nurse at 40; 19 years ago. So I came at the beginning of all this computer-generated charting business. In our rural area we used paper charting up until Obamacare passed and we were forced into the 21st Century. I understand it but I'm a dinosaur in many ways and prefer to focus on my patient and not the computer.
Rant over . . . no worries though. We dinosaurs will all retire soon and the young whippersnappers will take over and since they live with their smart phones attached to their bodies, they'll do well.
:)

Thank you Spidey's Mom for this detailed response! It SO helpful, and gives me a clear picture of why computer charting's a problem!

Thanks!

And, whether "you dinosaurs" retire soon or not (ha!), I think your points from #6 indicate that, regardless of how comfortable one is/isn't with the computer stuff, it interferes with patient care. How comfortable one is with interfering with patient care seems irrelevant since -- it *interferes* with patient care!!

I'm going deeper with follow up questions today. Here's what I'd like to know from you:

When you're in the middle of the work day, experiencing any of the items you just listed in 1-6, what are you feeling? (For example, annoyed, hopeful, sad, resentful, angry, resigned....etc.)

Thanks if you're willing to give [even] more input after this nicely thought out reply!

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · May 27, 2016

Hi Farawyn,
Poor staffing problem couldn't be more obvious in this thread.
I'm going a little deeper with this follow up question if you're up for it:
When you think about the short-staffed problem at your place of employment, what explanation do you give yourself for why this happens? (for example: they don't care, there's no funding, the powers that be don't understand what a big problem it is, etc.)
Thanks for your response, and for answering the follow up if you're willing!

As poor staffing is in the lead by a long shot I feel pretty comfortable taking this one. Farawyn and I work in totally different areas of nursing, but the staffing issues seem to be pretty universal.

I work in SNF so there is no pulling of staff from another area if needed. After daytime hours there is nobody from management available to help and very few will answer a phone call. Those very few are NOT the DON or ADON by the way. God forbid they step up to the plate. It is an absolute nightmare scenario when a night nurse calls off because there is rarely anybody that can stay to cover the shift as the PM nurses are all already on doubles or PRN employees that can't be mandated to stay. I am beyond thankful for the two management nurses that usually do answer the phone and are willing to step in in these emergencies.

In my case the staffing issues are primarily because the company that employs me is not even close to competitive with wages. Their benefits package is very good, the health insurance in particular offers great coverage for the cost but not every prospective employee cares enough about that to make the lower wage acceptable. To further compound the problem raises are nonexistent so experienced staff is leaving in droves to go where the money is. Between current staff leaving and very few new staff coming in those of us that are so far sticking with it are getting pretty burnt out on the constant mandatory overtime and requests to pick up extras shifts on our already limited time off.

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

I haven't been angry.
I haven't been hurt.
Fleetingly annoyed with someone on the lower end of work ethic.
I have been stressed with balancing the work load of staff with company productivity expectations.
Then I come here and realize how good all of us have it where I work, at least in comparison.

Thanks, Libby1987!

If I can ask, what are all the ways you've tried for coping/dealing with the stress of balancing the work load of staff with co. productivity expectations?

PancakeSaturdays · May 27, 2016

Giving report to slow poke nurses who want me to go through each and every detail of the patient's chart and existence and keep me around longer than I need to be. However, when it comes time for these same nurses to give me report, their reports are inadequate and full of holes.

Hi vanessaem,

Thanks for sharing!

I can see how that'd be an annoying irony....

Out of curiousity, when the slow poke nurses ask you for every single detail, how do you typically handle the situation?

(For instance: give them the info they want and the annoyance goes away, give them the info they want and leave feeling annoyed, try to hint for them to pick up the pace, say something directly, etc.)

Thanks for your valuable input!