It's a bad time for nursing and the economy as evidenced by so many looking for work BUT I CAN'T STAND MY JOB ANYMORE! During the past 5 years we have had 5 management groups, ridiculous increases in patients, no increase in staff, higher acuities, and our current situation involves a team who have absolutely no clue as to what is happening on the floor every day! We work in danger, our patients are in danger, and I am just sick of being there. My once great ER is on the brink....and I worry every day if it will be me or my neighbor nurse who misses something and causes a patient's demise.
I can't sleep, can't get up on work days (therefore late), drive my husband crazy with saying " I don't want to go to work tomorrow.", and overall just feel so down about what I do....I am so distressed and feel there is no one on our side or to be trusted. The environment is stifling and dangerous. If I didn't work with decent people I think I'd go stark raving mad! Why do nurses allow themselves to be treated this way?
When I got out of nursing school I was offered a ton of management jobs, but turned them down feeling that a good nurse manager was a working nurse who understood. The bumblers I work with were nurses who as managers just don't give a crap! I don't get it! They wouldn't know a management principle unless it was sent on a poster and hung in an office, and then perhaps if explained to them.
Even writing this I feel sick to my stomach...I know I am not the only one....sickcalls and lateness have been ridiculous! I think I have to leave for my own sanity, but am scared that somewhere else may be just as bad or even worse. I have actually considered taking a couple of per diem positions in an effort to get enough hours but am unsure if I will be able to do it.
I wish I knew what to do and could use a few ideas and maybe a kick in the butt. I don't know....
Here's an idea: Write a scathing (probably anonymous) letter to the editor of your local paper- or maybe contact a local TV news channel- and spill your guts about the conditions at your ER and the fear you have that these conditions have the real potential to cause harm to your patients. I know it'd be very risky, but can you imagine how management might react to that kind of PR nightmare? Maybe it'd scare them into actually changing their ways. And really, doesn't the public have the right to know that this is what's going on? Not that I would like to be the one to blow the whistle, but shouldn't it be blown?
i so agree with this, except make certain it is an anonymous letter.
i've written a letter of complaint to the editor, and boy, did it result in positive change.
just stick to the facts but adding a subtle element of drama, is always helpful.
maisy hon, you've gotten some good suggestions...
as long as you're not hopping from the pot into the kettle.
until you do find something that you're secure in, perhaps agcy/per diem is the way to go.
every workplace seems to be hitting crisis proportions.
I've worked 16 years--hospital nursing (BHU, ICU, ER, Med/surg). Each one, i left, because it had gotten "so bad". Surely somewhere else....some different kind of nursing, would be better. Each one was worse than the one before. Just a different kind of bad. Finally i decided i was going to try to get out of hospital nursing and try occupational nursing in a local warehouse. I've only been here 6 months and I've never been more miserable in my life. I'm stuck here until May until I'm off for maternity leave, which i'll be spending updating my resume and filling out applications. I would love to just drop nursing and do something else, but i've just been doing this so long, i dont even know what else to do. http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Article/Catered-Care-3.aspx This actually sounds like heavan.....maybe i'll move to california?
OP, you ask why nurses tolerate this stuff. Not to be mean, but why do you tolerate it?
I tolerate it because I need the money. I'm stuck financially. What about you?
Vito,
It's not mean to ask....We all need money....I've got kids in college, a mortgage and bills and have been going to school myself...not a cheap endeavor.
What I mean is that in my prior career you were given respect for your accomplishments, admired for "making it" with or without a degree and generally treated like a human being. I was downsized otherwise I may never have gone back to my original leaning of becoming a nurse. I never finished my first college degree and was able to work my way up through the ranks to making a good living as a manager. Thanks to off shoring and business consolidation I found myself along with other technical professionals without a job! That was 2002..when GW said there were no problems....my whole nursing class and all of the other health classes were made up of people exactly like me....no kids....no one else.
Nursing has opened my eyes to healthcare in a very unpleasant way....coworkers gripe about each other....managers don't mentor....everyone blames nursing for every little thing (budgets to customer service issues)....it just isn't pleasant.....and NOW THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS BEING ENCOURAGED TO BEAT US TOO!
Why aren't we presenting a united front in our workplaces, and in the Whitehouse? Someone asked about the newspaper...I have sent letters to not only my local newspaper but major ones like the NY Times! There are so many issues that need to be addressed involving patient safety, what constitutes use of the ER and what expectations should be along with "the good stuff". Not one letter has shown up....believe me it would be all over if it did! I have also written the White House and Oprah!
APATHY is the enemy....I am so disgusted that I spent time, money, and energy to become a nurse thinking it worthwhile...who would ever remember (except my workers and customers) what I did as a businesswoman....Nursing would leave a legacy of good....while I may touch some.....the toll on me....and now my husband and family is an UNHAPPY ME! I am questioning my decision daily....and feel awful!
While I am not a Pollyanna, I know what's right.....the things I see done every day are wrong.... treatment of staff is horrendous.....patient care is compromised....and worst of all is that no matter how much is piled on our plate or how much danger we(licenses) and are patients are placed in we just take it....
I have been tirelessly advocating and people have been happy to have a leader, but I am tired. It's time to stand up and be counted....this is the part I find so distressing....where are the backbones? I keep asking why? My husband says because people just don't give a damn....if that is true....then what a waste.
I read this and feel your demise but its hitting home. I presently work in same situation; however, my hospital has everything electronic and it allow them to see if we dont have time to brush a person teeth. Medicare demand it so we will get write up if not done. Three write up your fired. Staffing bare minumum and going on break is not happening. If your late off the floor no matter what happens they have you there also. Certain related people get easy assignment and other get all full care. I have come on shift to have a pt trying to code and a full assignment . I will not get additional help till 130 pm. This is way above protocol pt to nurse ratio. However , we still are acountable for all the care no matter what. Your late its incident report even when were coding a patient. Cant chart the accounts happening or were written up. It hard and tough . It definately a burn ou tissure these days. Im selecting only the best that treat nurses great if there is such a place. Travel maybe a option. Let me know if your interested. I may consider it with another nurse.
I think you should look into signing up with a couple of local agencies and doing agency work if your town is big enough to support this.
As I live in a major metropolitan area I can do this. In the last year I have done shifts at about 10 different places.
In the course of this I have found a couple of hospital ERs that I am happy working in and now only take hours at those locations.
If you can swing it travel nursing has worked out good for me too because I have worked in a couple of assignments that I really liked.
I hope you can find something that works for you soon. I know all too well the feeling that I am working in an unsafe place with toxic co-workers and bad management. Fortunately, working agency and travel has introduced me to some places that are okay.
All I can say is that there are nice ERs in the USA that "mostly" care about their patients and being safe, and have nice staff. They are just so hard to find.
Sounds like my floor -- the only pat on the back you get is if someone is looking for a place to stick the knife. Of all my rotations in school, LPN and RN, the two I liked best were ICU and hospice. I didn't think I'd like hospice -- but I absolutely loved it. That was nursing -- you were 100% there for 1 patient for the duration of the visit. The families were to the point where they weren't doing futile care anymore, and you could focus on making the patient comfortable. If a family is dangerous or unreceptive to hospice, they get discharged from hospice. You can use the time on the drive between patients to decompress and recharge (one nurse said she listened to heavy metal, another would listen to gospel and sing it at the top of her lungs when stressed, another would stop off at the elementary school and just stop in and see her kid for 5 minutes). Most of the hospice nurses at my hospital came from the ICU or the ER.
ICU might also be an option; your skills would be in use, but you don't have hordes of people hitting the door -- at least the admissions and discharges are things you get a heads up for and the people actually are sick.
Leaving and switching jobs because of all these nursing related issues has left me an old nurse who will always be new.
There are times when you really need to move on for the sake of your mental health but I have been in this path and
I am frankly not sure if what I did is right. I have over 10 yrs experience as RN, 2 of them in the critical care and all sort of
issues comes out where I felt as though I am being treated as new all the time and of course it is a pain in the neck because I have over 10 yrs nursing experience and I look young. It is tough to work and have fellow nurses eat you.
Like the other night, my a-line is constantly alarming because the pt is moving his hand as he is dominant on that hand despite the arm board. I have tried all sorts of action from changing the whole dressing, taping and retaping the arm board, angling the hand and taping it, ensuring no bubbles , length of tubing, etc but the wave will dampened as soon as I come out of room after fixing it and the bp drops which is inaccurate . Then this travel RN talks about how my patient has been alarming all night and I am not doing anything about it. She doesn't know a thing about what I did and yet she has the nerve to talk like that. I asked her to see if she can work her magic into it and of course she was boasting and teaching things I already know at the bedside ( I used to work in CCU where we handled multiple swans and a- lines) and boasted she fixed it bec. the wave is excellent so I said ok as soon as you sit down it will dampened, lets see...and lo! and behold it did dampened after she came out of room. This pt needs his a line for a q1 hr blood draw and she is talking about discontinuing it . If this is not enough she is not done making my otherwise nice night a living hell, by complaining about my 2nd pt who is alarming because of sats of 89-91% on a 70% fio2. This pt has bad lungs and the doctor accepts a low 02 sats of >88% and to think she has had this pt the previous night, she boasts "not on my watch". She was a military RN and I do not know how they do it there but she sure is upsetting. Now, how best do you handle this kind of person who thinks she is the only high and mighty RN on the unit???? In my younger days I would leave and find a different job as these kind of upsetting things piles up but I do not think this is an option to my best interest at this point in my career.
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
What kind of hospital do you work in? Is it a for profit or a not for profit hospital? Is it an HCA hospital? Where is the hospital located? How large is your facility? Are you union or non union?
i could have wrote this note also. i feel for you op. just today we had a bad staffing day. and i got to repeat to myself" why am i doing this?" cause im stupid and poor enough to stay in it , thats why. I feel daily that I am just waiting for the ball to drop- i feel i have no control over anything at work anymore. And now they are mandating OT at our place. Again- I guess its my own fault that I am stupid enough t o stay there. we're not registered nurses, we're registered scapegoats.
Op I hope you find something else soon. I'm sorry.
As for other comments though- how is working agency any different? Dont they get the same crappy assignments? I know our in house agency doesnt get any better treatment- sometimes worse! With the customer service focus, how can an agency nurse do anything else different than a regukar employee? Am i missing something?
I see that the only way out is to get out of nursing completely. Since I cant do that financially, I get everything I deserve- including getting sued for things beyond my control, I guess. So nice to have that hovering over your head on a daily basis.
I'd be willing to bet that just about any nurse could write what you have just written and it's sad. I've only been a nurse for 4 years, and I already am looking for a career change. It's unfortunate, but the people that control the way that nursing is "run" have no clue what we as nurses do for a living, and how we function on a daily basis. I don't work in an ER, I work on a med-surg floor, but our management is horrible, from the facility DON all the way down to our charge nurses, we are one for ourselves each and everyday because we don't have the time to stop and pee, let alone stop to ask if someone else needs help. Along with the fact that if our documentation is not complete, we get written up, if we don't smile we get written up. Press Gainey rules our lives, there is no paying of overtime if we aren't finished giving report by 730, and heaven help you if you don't address every patient and family member (yes all 40 something of them, even the one's that don't belong to you) by name...because they expect that too. The way I look at it, you came to the hospital because you were sick or hurt and needed help, if you decided to stay here, that means you wanted the help, so let me help you--if you don't want my help; go home so I can help someone else...and do NOT complain if I'm saving your life and I'm not smiling while I'm doing it--if you come out alive, then that should be good enough, I shouldn't have to be Martha Stewart while I'm on top of you doing CPR!
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leslie :-D
11,191 Posts
i so agree with this, except make certain it is an anonymous letter.
i've written a letter of complaint to the editor, and boy, did it result in positive change.
just stick to the facts but adding a subtle element of drama, is always helpful.
maisy hon, you've gotten some good suggestions...
as long as you're not hopping from the pot into the kettle.
until you do find something that you're secure in, perhaps agcy/per diem is the way to go.
every workplace seems to be hitting crisis proportions.
leslie