Member Blog (Page 6)

nurse protest

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In: Home, Member Blog, Nurse education, Nurses, overtime, Patient Safety, Patient Safety Standards

By Diane Scott

MNA Member

 

It was a beautiful fall day. The oak trees were breathtaking. That was outside… Inside the hospital, chaos ensued. We were short staffed. Yep, plain-old short-staffing, once again.

The charge nurse asked the nurses working their eight-hour day shifts to stay and also work the evening shift. All five of these nurses said no. They were too tired, and, in their professional judgment, it would be unsafe for their patients. Then, the nurse manager approached one of those nurses and said, “you have to stay or I am going to report you for abandoning your patients.” The nurse said, “but, but…,” put her head down, got teary-eyed, and called home to tell her kids she would be home about midnight.
… Read more about: BOOM! (Bunch of Outrageous Malarkey)  »

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In: Home, Hospitals, Member Blog, Patient Safety, Standards of Care

By Juli Uzlik, RN

MNA Member

It’s amazing how just the smallest change can have the biggest effects on registered nurses and their patients.  At my hospital, Fairview Southdale in Edina, a temporary nursing consultant came in and decreased the staffing in the Heart Center by one nurse per shift. The hospital has taken away one charge nurse where there have been two since the inception of the unit.

Not a big deal, right?  Still have a charge nurse.  Not really.  The Heart Center is laid out in two separate sections with literally a wall and a hallway between the two sections. 
… Read more about: Brain Drain  »