What Should A Nursing Supervisor Do?

[Uptoherern]

We used to have a nursing supervisor 24/7 in our tele/ ms-surg/ortho hospital. with company changes, the role was reduced to 1700-?0600. Now, with further reductions, the supervisor has to carry keys to the pharmacy after 2100; because pharmacy staff was cut off. The supervisor is called upon to go to pharmacy, and issue drugs "needed that night" ie: critical drugs that the patient can not go without until the morning when pharmacy staff returns. Our supervisor has been asked by ICU to make up epidural gtts! The latest scam is that the supervisor is being made to take an ICU assignment, be nursing supervisor (difficult iv starts, PR, extra food from kitchen, retrieving old charts from medical records, alleviating patient complaints, etc) , and also be the "pharmicist" Would YOU want to be his ICU patient in this hospital? I, for one, would not.! I want to know what other hospitals do with nursing supervisory people. This seems catamount to a disaster in the making.

"they never cease to amaze me!..." I should also include that the one GOOD supervisor that we had just quit, and the reason she gave was that the situation is unsafe...fell on deaf ears.... they only hear the ca-ching of $$$ anyway.

[JillR]

I am charge nurse on the night shift in our hospital. I get the pleasure of running to the pharmacy for meds for ER and the floor all the time. Yes, I mix meds. Some meds. We do not have pharmacy in house during these hours, but we do have a pharmacist on call. If I have a question, I do not hesitate to call them, and if I do not feel comfortable mixing a medication, I will ask them to come and do it (this has never happened), and they are required to come per my request. While I would rather have pharmacy in house 24/7 it is just not an option, so this is just one of the neccisary evils that go along with my job.

[oramar]

Dear Best Blond RN, thank you for taking a stand. One of the problems at the little hospital I worked was that managers and supervisors just kept going a long with the cutbacks. I agree with mother/baby RN, I heard rumors that our DON got a % of the amount we came in under budget. This is a despicable practice and caused many of the problems we experienced. When the unsafe conditions produced accidents and injuries this same DON responded by blaming the nearest licensed person to the incident. Somehow she never thought she was responsible for what went on. I am no longer a working nurse I should add.

[RNforLongTime]

At my hospital, due to dire financial straits, they cut the day shift Nursing Supervisor position. Each Head Nurse from all of the units take turns being the "contact person" during daytime hours 7am to 3pm plus they are still expected to do their regualr job as well. And they each have to take turns being the day shift supervisor on the weekends! The nursing sups frequently go into the "documed" and get meds. There is a pharmacists on call during the times that the pharmacy is not open and they have cut their hours as well. Nursing sups at my hospital have to run a call list to cover sick calls, too, in addition to running to the kitchen, starting difficult IV"s, arguing with the ER docs and telling them yet again that there are no beds in the whole place, etc. That is one job that I would never want!

[prn nurse]

Good

grief !!!

Canoehead !! How looooooooooooooonnngggggggggggg have you been a nurse? That sounds 1930's. I 'd feel safe in your care though. :)

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I graduated in 1989 but from a hospital that was quite a bit behind so it probably sounds like about 10 years earlier than that. They still had the bedpan sterilizers in each dirty utility room, and IV pumps were just starting to be used in the ICU and maybe one pt out of 20 would be sick enough to get one. The nurses had huge antibiotic vials in the fridge and would each calculate and withdraw the dose for their pt and put the vial back in the fridge. I also remember the really high beds that required a step stool for anyone to rach the pt. Apparently when they bought those beds no one in the hospital got up...bedrest all the way. They had semi private labor rooms and the delivery room was basically an OR- to do a C section they didn't even have to move the patient. There was no rooming in on the peds floor except on very "earthy" Mom who was breastfeeding (gasp) and that scandalized most on the nurses who had worked there since Noah was a boy.

Funny how things change.

[Lulu]

A hospital is a 24/7 business. My husband works in a large paper mill, they would NEVER EVEN CONSIDER shutting down one of the machines for even one shift!!!!!!!!!!! Who makes up these rules? They need to be spoken to.