6 years and I'm nearly ready to 'retire'.

[IKnowYouRider]

I've been a nurse for 6 years. Three years LTAC, three years IMCU. I have a strong work ethic, and really commit myself to serving my patients for the 12.5 hours I'm at work. When I start my day, I ask, "How can I best help my patient progress towards a safe and healthy discharge?"

This being said, I checked my email this evening and there's a message addressed to all RN staff about how we need to solve people staying over late. He expresses in the email that this is not a matter of staffing shortages. The hospital has cut positions left and right since I started 3 years ago. It IS a staffing issue and I'm simply done with being a pawn to these hospital systems. I love my work, and do it well, but I love myself and my life more.

//rant

[RNperdiem, RN]

I would skim the email, roll my eyes, and then hit the delete button, and go about my day.

[TriciaJ, RN]

What would the corporate side of nursing be?

This is where you keep going to school for the sole purpose of adding alphabet soup to your name. Then you claw your way up the food chain. Once there, you work to impress the even bigger-wigs by seeing how many straws you can keep piling on the camel's back.

Here's how it works: you continually rearrange work flow to make it "better". Some people do find it better because they have less work to do. Then their position is eliminated. Ta-dah! The only problem with eliminating staff positions is that the pesky overtime will start to add up. No worries! You treat overtime as a separate entity, not as a result of your previous policies. You can start harassing conscientious nurses about their time-management.

If they miss their breaks, say "We never told you to skip your break!" If they take overtime "We are not approving overtime!" If they work off the clock "It's not okay to work off the clock!" If some item of work gets missed or an error happens, you counsel the individual nurse as though the problem is with him or her!

Staff turnover? No problem. Replace seasoned nurses with new grads. They're cheaper, usually unassertive and just grateful to have a job. Worried they may jump ship? Make them sign a contract agreeing to reimburse the hospital for the cost of their orientation. Now you have indentured servitude. Genius!

[NurseBlaq]

I would skim the email, roll my eyes, and then hit the delete button, and go about my day.

This sounds exactly like something I would do.

OP you can only do what one nurse can do. This has been a thing for years. They're counting money, not patient acuity or outcomes. I would tend to my patients, do the best I can charting and whatnot, and do tasks per usual. If you stay late, oh well. If they complain, politely explain you stay late to take care of patients and protect your license while saving them from malpractice suits. If they can't accept it, oh well.

[NurseBlaq]

This is where you keep going to school for the sole purpose of adding alphabet soup to your name. Then you claw your way up the food chain. Once there, you work to impress the even bigger-wigs by seeing how many straws you can keep piling on the camel's back.

Here's how it works: you continually rearrange work flow to make it "better". Some people do find it better because they have less work to do. Then their position is eliminated. Ta-dah! The only problem with eliminating staff positions is that the pesky overtime will start to add up. No worries! You treat overtime as a separate entity, not as a result of your previous policies. You can start harassing conscientious nurses about their time-management.

If they miss their breaks, say "We never told you to skip your break!" If they take overtime "We are not approving overtime!" If they work off the clock "It's not okay to work off the clock!" If some item of work gets missed or an error happens, you counsel the individual nurse as though the problem is with him or her!

Staff turnover? No problem. Replace seasoned nurses with new grads. They're cheaper, usually unassertive and just grateful to have a job. Worried they may jump ship? Make them sign a contract agreeing to reimburse the hospital for the cost of their orientation. Now you have indentured servitude. Genius!

LMAO!

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

This is where you keep going to school for the sole purpose of adding alphabet soup to your name. Then you claw your way up the food chain. Once there, you work to impress the even bigger-wigs by seeing how many straws you can keep piling on the camel's back.

Here's how it works: you continually rearrange work flow to make it "better". Some people do find it better because they have less work to do. Then their position is eliminated. Ta-dah! The only problem with eliminating staff positions is that the pesky overtime will start to add up. No worries! You treat overtime as a separate entity, not as a result of your previous policies. You can start harassing conscientious nurses about their time-management.

If they miss their breaks, say "We never told you to skip your break!" If they take overtime "We are not approving overtime!" If they work off the clock "It's not okay to work off the clock!" If some item of work gets missed or an error happens, you counsel the individual nurse as though the problem is with him or her!

Staff turnover? No problem. Replace seasoned nurses with new grads. They're cheaper, usually unassertive and just grateful to have a job. Worried they may jump ship? Make them sign a contract agreeing to reimburse the hospital for the cost of their orientation. Now you have indentured servitude. Genius!

Triciaj, I read the reason you had to edit your post was "Missed a word". I would agree that you should have written: Absolute Genius!

[Nunya, BSN]

So send that response right back to the pig. You're a licensed medical professional. Giving your professional response.

And then be prepared for management to start finding all sorts of problems with your work, your charting, your interaction with patients and families....