What "if"...

For years the nurses in the USA have tried to convince the administration of the poor working conditions, short staffing and general dissatifaction of the nursing population. MONEY and hospital profits are what they notice. When managed health care entered the scene, the hospitals were determined to keep collecting the SAME revenue and the only way to do that was to up the nurse/patient ratio thereby paying less staff wages.

To this date I haven't heard of much changing even with the lack of new nurses willing to enter the work force. The management now will offer NCLEX to overseas nursing students to get them into the USA..and I'm wondering what that will do to our chances to improve our work conditions?

WHAT IF..."we all stood in the parking lot of the hospital and refused to clock in'?

Do you think it would get the same results that the police officers got when they called in with the "blue flu"..or the NYC garbage collectors got when they went on "strike"????

We continue to complain..they continue NOT To listen.....and we trundle off to the hospital every day for the same treatment...

Whats wrong with this picture?

[nimbex, RN]

We did have one night where we NEEDED the 5 RN's for 10 ICU patients... acuity out the roof, some nights we can do 4 RN's safely... this was not the night. Manager decided to float a nurse to the sister unit... leaving 4 RN's.

Was very unsafe... staff refused to clock in

Got the nurse, but why must nsg. be forced to goto such extremes? And why does it take such extremes for management to act?

[FTell001]

I'm sure every war in our history was fought for a reason......because nobody would listen? maybe?