OK, OK, I know why. It's because it makes them feel unsafe, that they won't get good enough care, that they won't hit the callbell when they need to bc they don't want to be a "bother" because we're "already so busy."
But mgmt is SO ADAMANT about us never speaking to pts about staffing, it makes me feel as if they're protecting themselves from something. A bad reputation in the community, perhaps?
I don't normally say this. But if I'm late with something simple, like a ginger ale, I may say, "sorry, I had to grab it, we're short techs tonight." Sometimes a short, truthful explanation goes a long way toward pt satisfaction, as opposed to them just thinking I was lazy or Facebooking.
Other times someone else has said something to the pt before me, and they say to me, "I hear you're short staffed."
True, our hospital is a business and we shouldn't discuss business with clients. But a little nagging voice in the back of my head says to me that this may be one of the ways to effect change, if the community starts to hear about what goes on here instead of us just complaining to each other. (We are in a notoriously union-unfriendly state.)
No, I'm not going to start discussing staffing with pts or their families. Often a pt will say to me, "You must have a lot of pts," like a backdoor way to test staffing levels (these old people are savvy), and I will simply say, "I do have other pts, but you are my focus right now."
I always told people we were short-staffed. They'd ask why something took so long, and 9/10 times that was the reason. The 'regular' families and visitors know this anyway.
Specializes in Pulmonary, Lung Transplant, Med/Surg.
Same thing with home care. Patients don't get the number of visits they were told they'd get that week. I'm the one who gets blamed even though I don't make the visit schedule but the office makes no effort to get in contact to explain missed visits. All the while we're told at EVERY staff meeting to never tell the patients we're short or took on too many patients.
I don't think I've ever actually said that we are short staffed, but I will often say that it's very busy today when people ask me why I'm running around like a headless chicken. People are more understanding if you admit that you're busy. I don't know why we shouldn't be able to say we're short staffed - especially in places with a public health system (Australia, Canada, UK). The government that is cutting the funding for staffing should be held accountable by the patients and the staff!
It is hard. I have many patients staying overnight in the ER because they capped off beds in the med-surg units to save money, thus reducing staff. I don't tell this to my patients though. I simply tell them we are overflowing and I get them a hospital bed to sleep in the ER rather than a stretcher. I just try to make them as comfortable as possible until they get an actual hospital room.
If we are short staffed and a patient is mad about something taking too long, I absolutely let them know what's going on.
Someone should point out to management, that not allowing us to admit when we're short makes it look like they have an incompetent, lazy staff. Which to me, is much worse.
If we are short staffed and a patient is mad about something taking too long, I absolutely let them know what's going on.
Someone should point out to management, that not allowing us to admit when we're short makes it look like they have an incompetent, lazy staff. Which to me, is much worse.
True, but like as Commuter pointed out, there are ones looking for a lawsuit; and unfortunately, those are the ones that lead us to deposition, instead of reformation, doing NOTHINg to solve the problem.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
So you get deposed because the hospital was short staffed and something untoward happened.
It won't be the first time.
Can you imagine if the hospital thought it was okay to run an entire surgery schedule when they didn't have enough surgeons? So, they don't want patients to be alarmed and maybe litigate if something happens. No, they lie to the patients and everybody runs around with their heads cut off trying to work just as if they had a full compliment of surgeons. Everyone does what they can do outside of the actual surgery so that the remaining surgeons can cover that missing body. Surgeons are running from procedure to procedure as fast as they can so that the schedule can be maintained and the suites filled as that is how the hospital makes money.
Sounds like a wise strategy right? It works with nursing, right? The patients don't mind being shorted staff which are crucial to their health outcome, right? Heck the patient might not even know because the facilities lie to them to get them to "choose us" and then play roulette with their health and our licenses.
bah
I would love to see billboards advertising the hospital care that guarantees that they will share their nurse with no more than "X" other people while they are recuperating from that fancy new procedure they are marketing. Now the ads should have a disclaimer...come have this fancy shmancy procedure and "while you recover your nurse will try to provide care for you AND 9 of your ill neighbors while short one tech".
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
So......if the hospital is short but I can't say anything, *I* get deposed for incompetent care that doesn't meet the minimum standard and the onus is on me and my personal nursing practice. But if I say something and the patient is aware it is an issue with the facility and NOT with me as a nurse, the FACILITY is the focus of the investigation, I still get deposed, but the onus is on the institution. Hmmmmm. Interesting. Tell me again why I shouldn't say anything??
I never tell my patients we are short, but that is for THEIR benefit. I have no illusions that I have a responsibility to protect the hospital because "we are all in it together". Nonsense. If the hospital was worried about it, they would hire and train adequate staff for the job. The way things stand, nobody can argue that the hospital would not throw me and/or my colleagues under the bus in a heartbeat and, frankly, by the way some of them staff, already do every time we go to work.
I want my patients to feel safe and it is inappropriate to mention staffing concerns to people who are already unstable, anxious, sick and scared.
I do not want to put any added stress on them by implying that we are ill equipped to meet their needs in the ICU.
But if I were working with stable patients who make excessive demands then I might let them know that I will check on them hourly, ask is there anything else you need, I am going to be tied up elsewhere for a while, I do have six other people please be patient etc. we are very short staffed tonight. Depends on the type of unit.
True, but like as Commuter pointed out, there are ones looking for a lawsuit; and unfortunately, those are the ones that lead us to deposition, instead of reformation, doing NOTHINg to solve the problem.
If they're looking for a lawsuit, then whether I admit to poor staffing or not, they'll get to deposition anyway if they have a valid complaint. If they have a valid complaint, I'm perfectly happy with the blame being put on bad staffing rather than my being lazy and incompetent.
In fact, the only reason staffing will EVER improve, at least in our states without unions to push through legally mandated ratios, is if it costs hospitals more money to defend against lawsuits caused by unsafe staffing than it costs hospitals to staff safely.
If they're looking for a lawsuit, then whether I admit to poor staffing or not, they'll get to deposition anyway if they have a valid complaint. If they have a valid complaint, I'm perfectly happy with the blame being put on bad staffing rather than my being lazy and incompetent.
In fact, the only reason staffing will EVER improve, at least in our states without unions to push through legally mandated ratios, is if it costs hospitals more money to defend against lawsuits caused by unsafe staffing than it costs hospitals to staff safely.
I agree with wooh. The root cause is almost always understaffing or unqualified staff. Negligence and malpractice are not as common.
The cost of settling lawsuits out of court is factored into the budget.
I believe it is seen as the cost of doing business, vs paying labor costs which they can slash and control.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
I want my patients to feel safe and it is inappropriate to mention staffing concerns to people who are already unstable, anxious, sick and scared.
I do not want to put any added stress on them by implying that we are ill equipped to meet their needs in the ICU.
But if I were working with stable patients who make excessive demands then I might let them know that I will check on them hourly, ask is there anything else you need, I am going to be tied up elsewhere for a while, I do have six other people please be patient etc. we are very short staffed tonight. Depends on the type of unit.
I am not suggesting that we go into the room of an anxious patient and announce that the unit is short staffed etc. However, like your example, it should be easily out of our mouths if that is the reason you are not able to meet their needs in that moment.
We should NEVER take the heat for our employer's inability to provide adequate competent staff. Especially not in this day and age of patient satisfaction.
We won't get reform until it is financially expedient for the employers to add more staff. Lawsuits have a way of reforming those who are reluctant to reform.
ponymom
385 Posts
I always told people we were short-staffed. They'd ask why something took so long, and 9/10 times that was the reason. The 'regular' families and visitors know this anyway.