flownosaj
Flashlight Enthusiast
Okay guys, I first need to vent and have a long rant--then I need advice.
I'm a registered nurse working on a cardiac floor at a local civilian hospital. For the most part, I like my job and I like the people I work with.
Unfortunately I have a problem.
Over the past two months, things have been getting progressively worse. I've had higher patient loads, the people are sicker, and since the hospital is a business, they're reducing costs by making due with less nurses for the same (or more) work.
It's not always bad--in fact 3 out of 4 nights go just fine, but some nights suck the life out of me.
The bad part is that we're moving into a new wing along with the ICU next month. We'll have more patients, they will be higher acuity, and we will do it with the same number of staff--just a worse version of what we have now.
Last night was a good example. I felt sick, but I didn't call off. I thought that since it was the first Monday after Christmas, I figured it would be busy and I would be needed. In fact, I've put 2 extra shifts in over the past two weeks. When I get there, they've taken our "extra" worker and put her on another floor. Then at 11pm, the charge nurse sent home the travel nurse that costs the hospital more money, even though she knew I felt terrible.
From 6:45 pm till 9 am I worked my @ss off. Emergency phone calls to doctors, prepping patients for STAT procedures, literally runing from room to room dealing with all kinds of patient problems. The kicker was that I had to put up with a PA this morning who never returned my STAT pages from the night before and feels fit to criticise me because I contacted the MD instead.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
I normally don't have a problem working hard, but when I have a more than full patient load and I feel that it's compromising my patient care, I get pissed. I think of it as taking advantage of both me and my patients. They're (or their insurance) is paying top dollar for care, and a lot of them are not getting it.
I've been thinking for a while about quitting. Nothing I say or do can change this 'business." I think back to when I worked in the ICU for the Veteran's hospital--so far it was my favorite place to work (unfortunately the nearest one is well over an hour way so I can't really work there). Care was given according to care needed and I could do my job without sacrifice.
Now advice time....
I keep thinking about my time in the Army and what my wife did in Iraq. She's still a Captian in the Army Nurse Corps and she really loves what she does.
Army nursing has many benifits.
Pro: Better pay (my wife makes twice what I do), student loan repayment, opportunities for advancement at a much faster rate, (she's a head nurse), lateral movement into various high-tech positions that will take years to move into in the civilian sector (flight nurse), knowing that I'm helping the people who are helping us, and govt. regulation.
Cons: I am told were to go and what to do, but that happens now. I also stand a very good chance of going to Iraq. I could be killed or worse.
What to do, what to do. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I'm a registered nurse working on a cardiac floor at a local civilian hospital. For the most part, I like my job and I like the people I work with.
Unfortunately I have a problem.
Over the past two months, things have been getting progressively worse. I've had higher patient loads, the people are sicker, and since the hospital is a business, they're reducing costs by making due with less nurses for the same (or more) work.
It's not always bad--in fact 3 out of 4 nights go just fine, but some nights suck the life out of me.
The bad part is that we're moving into a new wing along with the ICU next month. We'll have more patients, they will be higher acuity, and we will do it with the same number of staff--just a worse version of what we have now.
Last night was a good example. I felt sick, but I didn't call off. I thought that since it was the first Monday after Christmas, I figured it would be busy and I would be needed. In fact, I've put 2 extra shifts in over the past two weeks. When I get there, they've taken our "extra" worker and put her on another floor. Then at 11pm, the charge nurse sent home the travel nurse that costs the hospital more money, even though she knew I felt terrible.
From 6:45 pm till 9 am I worked my @ss off. Emergency phone calls to doctors, prepping patients for STAT procedures, literally runing from room to room dealing with all kinds of patient problems. The kicker was that I had to put up with a PA this morning who never returned my STAT pages from the night before and feels fit to criticise me because I contacted the MD instead.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
I normally don't have a problem working hard, but when I have a more than full patient load and I feel that it's compromising my patient care, I get pissed. I think of it as taking advantage of both me and my patients. They're (or their insurance) is paying top dollar for care, and a lot of them are not getting it.
I've been thinking for a while about quitting. Nothing I say or do can change this 'business." I think back to when I worked in the ICU for the Veteran's hospital--so far it was my favorite place to work (unfortunately the nearest one is well over an hour way so I can't really work there). Care was given according to care needed and I could do my job without sacrifice.
Now advice time....
I keep thinking about my time in the Army and what my wife did in Iraq. She's still a Captian in the Army Nurse Corps and she really loves what she does.
Army nursing has many benifits.
Pro: Better pay (my wife makes twice what I do), student loan repayment, opportunities for advancement at a much faster rate, (she's a head nurse), lateral movement into various high-tech positions that will take years to move into in the civilian sector (flight nurse), knowing that I'm helping the people who are helping us, and govt. regulation.
Cons: I am told were to go and what to do, but that happens now. I also stand a very good chance of going to Iraq. I could be killed or worse.
What to do, what to do. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif