Live data from Hacker News

Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets, morale

text.npr.org

91–97 of 97 posts

Re: Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets, morale

#91
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canadian speaking, wife is ICU RN. Everything you've said is spot on, but there's always more to add. Nurses get assaulted pretty much daily. It's such a problem, management basically said it's not worth reporting because nothing is going to be done. The largest issue is the chronically understaffed units. The burnout that results from having double the normal patient load makes everyone cranky and the team atmospher…

> management basically said it's not worth reporting because nothing is going to be done. Just call the police directly. > She was out of school working casual shifts for 5 years before getting a temporary position, and longer after to get the permanent job Sounds like there's too much nurses on the market if that's what the job market looks like.

>Sounds like there's too much nurses on the market if that's what the job market looks like.

Uhhh... that's a weird take. I already talked about the chronically understaffed units.

The issue is the system doesn't hire enough nurses to cover the needs of our healthcare system. They'd prefer to run understaffed and burn out their workers than hire more nurses and overstaff the units so there's some cushion

Re: Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets, morale

#92
post #33

There are a few things I've learned from the nurses I know... - Nurses, the primary caregivers in Hospitals, have been treated pretty poorly for a long time. Some of it is pay, some of it is expectations, some of it is just the way the people around them treat them (e.g., the way surgeons often talk to them). - Some management has gotten down right mean. I know one hospital that has dictated that refusing to work a m…

> (e.g., the way surgeons often talk to them) To be fair, surgeons talk to everyone that way. I haven’t met a surgeon who didn’t talk down to other people. My theory is that you have to have a huge fucking ego to cut someone open and believe you’re going to make them better.

How many surgeons do you know?

Re: Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets, morale

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vaccines as a job requirement are nothing new and I have no pity for people who have been fired as a result. Cry me a fucking river, you’ve had to have them for decades to send your kid to public school. Honestly if they don’t believe in vaccines, I question their competency as a nurse and do not want them touching me. I as a patient should have the choice to manage my own risk level. These nurses can go find another…

There's a difference between "believing" in vaccines and not trusting an individual vaccine. It's not an all or nothing position.

It’s not an individual vaccine; there are dozens of individual vaccines across the world and they have all been proven safe. People are just scared of a needle and the sniffles (if your body reacts to the vaccine by getting sick, congrats! You probably avoided a trip to the ICU).

Re: Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets, morale

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surgeon here, always try to treat nurses with respect and work with them as a team member to accomplish the best care for the patient. Maybe it’s a midwest thing.

Independent of the medical profession, there is definitely a midwest thing. I have traveled a fair amount, and the culture in the US midwest is infinitely more polite, respectful, and helpful that that of the east or west coasts.

You don’t fully understand Midwest culture then. You never say anything negative to someone’s face. You say it behind their back. Midwesterners are some of the most passive-aggressive people in the country. They’ll help you out of a sense of obligation then resent you for it.

I much prefer the coasts where you know where you stand.

Re: Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets, morale

#95
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> management basically said it's not worth reporting because nothing is going to be done. Just call the police directly. > She was out of school working casual shifts for 5 years before getting a temporary position, and longer after to get the permanent job Sounds like there's too much nurses on the market if that's what the job market looks like.

>Sounds like there's too much nurses on the market if that's what the job market looks like. Uhhh... that's a weird take. I already talked about the chronically understaffed units. The issue is the system doesn't hire enough nurses to cover the needs of our healthcare system. They'd prefer to run understaffed and burn out their workers than hire more nurses and overstaff the units so there's some cushion

I guess that's what you get with a single employer situation; hospital can act in a cartel-like fashion and decide not to hire.

Re: Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets, morale

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (e.g., the way surgeons often talk to them) To be fair, surgeons talk to everyone that way. I haven’t met a surgeon who didn’t talk down to other people. My theory is that you have to have a huge fucking ego to cut someone open and believe you’re going to make them better.

Ego plays a part, but I think med school and residency play a bigger part. Surgery residency is ultra competitive and freaking grueling. Basically putting 10+ years of your life into being a surgeon ends up playing a big part in your core mindset and approach to life. You don't really end up being a surgeon without being fully committed to it.

Residency... honestly sounds like legalized hazing.

I can't grasp how it's the most efficient/better way to teach someone something. Many doctors tried to explain it to me but so far nobody could.

Re: Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets, morale

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Independent of the medical profession, there is definitely a midwest thing. I have traveled a fair amount, and the culture in the US midwest is infinitely more polite, respectful, and helpful that that of the east or west coasts.

You don’t fully understand Midwest culture then. You never say anything negative to someone’s face. You say it behind their back. Midwesterners are some of the most passive-aggressive people in the country. They’ll help you out of a sense of obligation then resent you for it. I much prefer the coasts where you know where you stand.

You must be using a definition of Midwest that primarily encompasses states east of the Mississippi where snow plows are rare.
Post reply on HN