Working with Poor Management

expatnurse · Mar 1, 2005

So....I assume this will be a touchy subject, but I needed somewhere to vent as well as ask for some advice. I am a floor nurse on a busy med/surg/renal floor. The hospital i work in has the largest ED in NC....and not enough staff in the hospital to efficiently care for all of these patients it brings. It was so bad last friday that we had 750 beds full and holding around 50 patients. So this is the issue...we have lots of turnover on our floor cause it is very hard, very busy, and the renal patients can be very demanding. We usually have 6 nurses with a charge nurse who doesn't have a patient load but is a resource for us and does labs, IV, etc. On this particular day we were already one nurse short so the charge nurse had to take a team of patients and at 3pm we were going to give us 8-9 patients. We have a nurse manager and a head nurse who never want to help us take care of the patients. They stay in there office with the door shut, despite the fact that we are out on the floor drowning. So on this particular day, she again refused to take a patient assignement. She called a meeting in the conference room with all the nurses that were there that day. All of us voiced our opinion that we didn't think it was a wise choice in management for her not to help us. She basically told us that she had too much paper work to do..blah blah blah. I explained to her that we are all tired of being overworked and always working short with no support from management. :angryfire I also told her that if she didn't start making her staff a priority instead of her paperwork ...that she was going to be in worse shape with staff than she is now. So needless to say...she left crying and took the entire next week off and left us there to 'fend' for ourselves still working 2 nurses short. Needless to say I have been looking for other places to work because it is making me hate my profession....and I went to school too long to already be getting burnt out. Any comments or advice?? Thanks for listening!!

Just hang in there and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. You will find something better soon there are to many places that need nurses. Just keep in mind that when you are the nurse manager not to be like this one. I really miss the south so what is the wheather like over there here in the UK it is really cold. Also after every shift give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.

stidget99 · Mar 1, 2005

Are you sure you don't work in Morganton, NC???? Sounds like the same exact situation. I think managers get so full of their "position" that they forget what it is to be a "peon" and work the floor. I understand that managers have their work to do also. Just like as RNs, we can't be responsible for our job AND the aide jobs. However.......seems to me that it would be a lot higher morale and understanding if there was some degree of understanding for our situation.

Nesher, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2005

The OP entitled this thread "poor management", but I have to wonder if they see the solution in the manager emerging from the office to take patients. The odds are that type of scenerio wouldn't help but would actually hinder. Think about it - how long has it been since these folks did bedside nursing? Believe me it isn't something you can just pick up again like riding a bike. It would potentially be a diaster for the patients and the rest of the staff.

Now granted it sounds like this manager isn't doing a great job, is probably in over their head, scared and seemingly without a clue how to handle the situation. I feel for you as I have a manager who should think about retirement also.

The odds are unless this person resigns soon, you should get on the internet and start a job search. You know what to look out for in the future in terms of management styles, floor setups and patient ratios.

Good luck!

laurakoko · Mar 1, 2005

WOW, it is like this everywhere isn't it?!?!????????????????????????

Sorry for you, just keep trying to do the best you can for your patients....

it's what I do, or try to do.

Thunderwolf, MSN, RN · Mar 1, 2005

I feel for you. In that type of situation, I agree, the nurse manager would probably be a hinderance....as evidenced by her need to take a week vacation of sorts. No, she wouldn't have been a help I'm afraid. It is too bad that you yourself can not get out of there....Hmmmm. The place doesn't sound nice at all. Start looking.

BETSRN · Mar 1, 2005

So....I assume this will be a touchy subject, but I needed somewhere to vent as well as ask for some advice. I am a floor nurse on a busy med/surg/renal floor. The hospital i work in has the largest ED in NC....and not enough staff in the hospital to efficiently care for all of these patients it brings. It was so bad last friday that we had 750 beds full and holding around 50 patients. So this is the issue...we have lots of turnover on our floor cause it is very hard, very busy, and the renal patients can be very demanding. We usually have 6 nurses with a charge nurse who doesn't have a patient load but is a resource for us and does labs, IV, etc. On this particular day we were already one nurse short so the charge nurse had to take a team of patients and at 3pm we were going to give us 8-9 patients. We have a nurse manager and a head nurse who never want to help us take care of the patients. They stay in there office with the door shut, despite the fact that we are out on the floor drowning. So on this particular day, she again refused to take a patient assignement. She called a meeting in the conference room with all the nurses that were there that day. All of us voiced our opinion that we didn't think it was a wise choice in management for her not to help us. She basically told us that she had too much paper work to do..blah blah blah. I explained to her that we are all tired of being overworked and always working short with no support from management. :angryfire I also told her that if she didn't start making her staff a priority instead of her paperwork ...that she was going to be in worse shape with staff than she is now. So needless to say...she left crying and took the entire next week off and left us there to 'fend' for ourselves still working 2 nurses short. Needless to say I have been looking for other places to work because it is making me hate my profession....and I went to school too long to already be getting burnt out. Any comments or advice?? Thanks for listening!!

Unfortunately, there are lots of managers out there like that: all talk and no action. Now I know that management requires other responsibilities as well, but you'd think that these managers would see how much they could accomplish 9even with morale) if they came down and out of the ivory tower just long enough to act interested.

There is probably NOTHING you cana do with your manager. You're probably better to get out and at your exit intervoew, make SURE you tell the HR department WHY you are leaving. Then after, I would write a e letter to the VP of nursing and tell him/her exactly the same thing. Upper level administration needs to hear from those of us on the floors if we are ever going to make any positive steps for ourselves!