Overworked and Underpaid

I have come to the conclusion that too many people are becoming nurses for the wrong reason.  They think it’s easy and you will make a lot of money.  Now don’t get me wrong they make more than working at Wal-Mart.  However I really get tired of hearing about how much money I am making now that I am an RN.  Give me a break between the 45 min drive which helps suck up extra money and the fact that this area is over populated with “new” nurses the rate of pay is much less than in most areas.  My husband works for a popular soda franchise and makes just as much as I do.  No college education required how’s that for making the big bucks?  Not to mention you don’t get paid for the amount of work you put into to it.  Did you know all the job roles a nurse plays?  So before you think about becoming a nurse or treating a nurse rudely or pushing your call light for the 100th time let me tell you what your nurse is:

1. A mother-  Between disciplining those that are misbehaving or trying to teach those why smoking is causing your breathing difficulties.  To using my eyes in the back of my head to watch you try to “sneak a smoke”
2. Teacher-  every time I discharge a person I teach the correct way to change their dressing, how to take their medication and how important it is to follow up with their doctor.  It’s amazing just how many people will take a suppository by mouth.
3. Janitor-  There have been times when I had to get out the ole plunger because some idiot flushed the non flushable wipes down the commode.
4. Housekeeper- working nights we have no housekeeping after midnight.  So we get to empty trash, clean the rooms, and take out the over flowing trash
5. Counselor-  You always have to listen to your patients problems and sometimes not that you want to you might get dragged into the family member’s problems.  Hard to get away while you are sticking a patient.  Actually had a family member tell me a lot of personal information.  When I really wanted to tell them to shut up.  I am trying to focus on the lady who can’t breathe right now.  Any other time I wouldn’t care. 
6. Babysitter-  You would think this has to do with kids.  When we have to help each other hold pediatric patients down so we can stick them or cath them.  But there are the drunks or the suicidal patients that need babysitting so that they don’t escape.  Or take their clothes off and walk down the hall butt naked.  Your welcome. 
7. Lab tech- yep you come in you are going to get stuck.  We don’t have a lab that sticks our patients for us unless they are doing a type and cross.
8. Forensic nurse-  for those DUI idiots we get to draw their blood and then get subpoenaed to court to prove we know what we are doing.  Fun.  Usually occurs on our day off or when we should be sleeping for those night shift nurses
9. Referee-  usually due to some idiot who decided to pretend to have a heart attack to avoid his wife busting him from cheating on him.  Hey dumb ass don’t invite the girlfriend the wife will show at some point and time.
10. Pharmacist.- since the nurse is the last person  to be giving the medication you better take the time to double check the med.  Because it’s your license on the line.  I have found calculation errors by the pharmacy or the fact a patient didn’t mention they were allergic to it.  Always tell the patient what your giving and ask do you have any allergies.  That has saved my ass more than once.
11. Computer tech-  not always one of my specialties.  However I know my charge nurse has fixed my computer a time of two.  Especially when it locks up.
12. Human resources-  this is where you try to help you patient who cannot afford the follow care.  So you direct them to doctors that take sliding scale.  Also to dentist’s that have reduced fees.  You also need to know the 4 dollar medication list for Wal-Mart.  Because you will be asked that a lot.  Is this med on the 4 dollar list?  Luckily someone made us a list to look at.
13. Waitress-  this is wear I get warm blankets, straws, drinks, snacks,  reposition your bed, pillow etc. etc.  I never get any tips either.
14. Police officer-  nope no matter what game you play you will not be leaving if I gave you a narcotic medication.  It is against the law to use and drive.  If you try to leave my dept. I will have security escort you back to your room.  I also have no problem taking your keys from you either.
15. Secretary/ Receptionist-  ER….this is….how can I help you?  Not to mention filing away the discharge papers. Whoops sorry didn’t mean to hang up on you while I was transferring you.
16. Judge, Jury and Executioner -Yup I am going to judge you when you come in you stupid frequent flyer. I am also going to decided just how much bullshit we are going to tolerate from you. Then as your executioner I am going to convince the doctor to send you home with Motrin.

Yea there is probably more…but I am tired just thinking about them all. So before you jump into nursing make sure you are ready to do all these jobs.  Too bad we don’t get paid for them all.  Then we might get the recognition we deserve.

New hospital: New headaches

erI know I have been in the new hospital now for awhile.  I should have put the post up months ago but I was just hoping it would get better.   So here goes.  We went from a 15 bed ER to a 30 bed ER.  With no more staff…well let me rephrase that with staff in waiting.  Meaning techs that are waiting to take their boards.  Now I am all for new grads since I was one of them but I think we have had enough time to know when the move was going to be.  But its taken forever for them to get new nurses.  I just don’t understand the facility was being built for at least a year why haven’t we trained our new staff?  Because this place is ass backwards.  So now we are in the new hospital were we have 4-7 patients a piece.  When we had 3-4 patients a piece.  Our charge nurse never had patients unless covering for a lunch but now have to take rooms.  Meaning there is no one to bail you out if your drowning. Heaven forbid if you call in sick or take a vacation.  You feel bad leaving your fellow nurses shorter.
There are 32 inch TV’s in everyone of the rooms but there are only 16 monitors in the entire ER.  WTF?  Okay I understand that you are going to put the less critical patients in those rooms but for those of you that are nurses…what do you give ankle breaks or migraine patients???  Narcotics!  Hello how many have given narcotics to those that don’t usually get strong medications?  So when their O2 sats drop from 97 to 82 there will be no way to monitor it.  So you have to drag a vital signs machine in to check them every so often….hmmm more patients less help more work for the nurse.  Does it sound like I have the time to freaking do that?  Of course not.  The tech is even more stretched with all the EKG’s and other commands that the doctors are barking out.
I Actually admitted a patient that had the initial vital signs and then the vital signs before they went up.  Why?  because that nurse didn’t have time to go back around to do it.  Their was a chest pain and a shortness of breath patient that was a little more pressing.  How safe is that? The boss knows but he has his hands tied.  Apparently we aren’t seeing 7 more patients a day than from the old ER.  Even though most of those people were waiting in the ER waiting.  Now they are sticking their heads out of the rooms and barking orders as we run by.  I need a warm blanket, can I have a drink, where is the bathroom, is the doctor ever going to see us?  Sure your tooth ache is my major concern asshole.
Try working night shift where you suppose to stock these 30 rooms.  Yea whatever.  We use to have 2 hours of no patients.  And now we have 20 or more at 3am.  Why?  Because we are located right off the interstate where any traveler can just stop on by.  Yippee!
I use to love my job.  Don’t get me wrong my long weekend sucked but now I dread everyday.  What sucks is we are so short they beg you to come in on your day off on the other rotation.  You are so tired from you shift you don’t want to even think about coming in on your day off.  On the long week you worked 3 12’s and a 8 or  2- 12’s a 10 hour and an 8 hour shift.  But now on our long week its mandatory to work 4 –12’s on your long week.  The government sucks because when you work your ass off and get overtime, they tax the hell out of you.  So it’s not even worth the overtime. GRRR.
I am so aggravated.  They keep telling us it will slow down once the new wears off.  Its been 2 months.  NO CHANGE PEOPLE!  Took make matters worse…I found out that we are the 2 busiest ER in the company and the least paid.  Everyone else makes critical care pay.  Which is 3 dollars more an hour…talk about feeling under appreciated!  So that’s my new hospital rant.  More stories to follow I am sure!

Nursing shortage Rant

It’s not like every nurse hasn’t blog, bitched or mentioned the nursing shortage.  But the sad thing is a lot of it has nothing to do with the need of nurses.  More of the almighty buck is more important than staffing nurses.  I understand that it’s a business but if you make the floors to short there are more chances of human error.  The hospital is being redone and our ER is expanding to a 28 bed ER from a 18 bed one.  They were nice to hire new nurses for day shift but nights will no be receiving any more help.  Nothing new because day shift always has plenty of nurse while nights gets to run around with their head cut off.  Now don’t get me wrong there are nights that we are dead.  Doesn’t happen often.  There have been nights where we are completely full and some in the waiting.  So now we are going to be bigger with 28 rooms and 4 nurses.  I hate to say it you know everyone and their mama are going to come to the ER just to check out all the new rooms and stuff.  We will be slammed for at least the next couple of months…ugh I dread it. And don’t even get me started on the new layout.  Where you can’t see half the patients and everything is spread out.  Plus the room won’t be able to hold the stock it use to have.  Which means we will have to carry more crap in our pockets.  Not like I don’t get stabbed when my fat ass sits down..ugh Oh yea we are right off the interstate now…more critical patients and less help.  WHOO HOO!  I wish I could take vacation for the next couple months…

10 signs you have a nursing shortage

Top 10 signs you have a nursing shortage

10. Your boss comes up with synonyms like staff challenge to try to fool the patients
9. You have the bladder capacity of five people or have a leg bag catheter
8. You think that caffeine should be available in IV form
7. You're no longer allowed to call in sick only as dead
6. You're willing to pick up hitchhikers to give them on the job training as a CNA
5. If you're not a smoker, you're on some type of anti-depressant
4. You go to sleep at night and dream that you're still at work
3. Its shower day for the pts, you think hmm local car wash might get everyone done faster.
2. You're wondering why you ever gave up that pie job at Wal-Mart
1. Not only are you the nurse, you're a doctor, CNA, plumber, teacher, parent, psychiatrist, electrician, telephone operator, file clerk, and still underpaid for them all!
okay this is not as good as my other ones but then again i made it up myself. just trying to find the humor in our shortage