Friday, December 8, 2006

So many points left, so little time

                         

   What a terrible dilemma to have.  So far today I have had my WW dinner last night, 4 points, my yogurt 3 points, 2 wheat cakes 2 points,  shredded cinnamon wheat  with no fat milk 3 points.  That leaves me 14 more points for the the rest of the day.  Supper is going to be a hamburger patty lean on the george foreman,  sweet potato fries, baked, Brussels sprouts and maybe a salad which gives me around 9 more points give or take.  Not bad.  If I have time I can even have a snack tonight but if work was like last night, well in 12 and a half hours I didn't even get one break.

   Hit the floor running last night, some nights are like that.  One of our new nurses was overwhelmed and started to cry.  We have all been there before.  So I tried to help her out and give her some TLC.  Its bad on a night like last night as we were all so busy we couldn't give her the support she needed.  Unfortunately that happens.  They say we eat our young in nursing but sometimes it is simply because we are all just trying to keep our head above water.  Some sink and some swim. 

  The latest at my job is they are making us do mandatory extra shifts every pay period again.  That way they don't have to hire the help we need.  We have a new CEO who is really cutting us to the bones.  We get in trouble for the overtime, we no longer get a aide and are doing total patient care again and get talked to about how long it takes to get the lights answered. 

   When will these desk people ever figure it out.  They want perfect patient care on a shoe string budget by killing the help they have.  Then the nurses quit and go to greener pastures where they are treated better, we get shorter and shorter on the floors, and then they make the already stressed out and overworked nurses work extra and mandate double shifts.  Since the management rarely peeks their heads out of the offices and spend most of their time in meetings talking about how to cut costs without actually seeing the results of what their cost cutting is causing, it is a stressful situation.  I have been through this before quite a few times.  Our only hope is the next CEO has a different agenda.  We go through CEO's about every 3 to 5 years.  Wouldn't it be great if patient care was really their top priority!  I mean things have to be getting pretty bad for me to be looking around for something better.  Sigh. 

   I know they have a huge problem with trying to get in the black.  We bite the bills of soooooo many patients who never pay and Medicare pays around 1 pennie for every dollar spent.  I don't believe in socialized medicine either but that is what we are coming to.  What happened here is we took a system that had a few problems and created one with alot of huge problems.  Starting the day they went to letting the insurance companies have control.  If the government gets their hands in the mess it will only get worse.  We need to go back in time, 30 years ago, health care most everyone could afford.  Get rid of the huge uncaring doctor clinics, back to the family doctor, get rid of unnecessary law suits and put a cap on what lawyers can get.  They have caused so may problems everywhere.  It is time to make them accountable for the mess they have caused.  Rant and rave.  Tripping off my soap box here.  Once again I seem to be such an angry old toot.

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   Sorry everyone, I must not have gotten enough sleep,  Whine and witch.  Tonight will be a better night and actually since the doctor bills are piling up the extra money from BEING FORCED TO WORK ON MY DAY OFF, will be nice.  Off to work Hi Ho Hi Ho, its off to work I go.......

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said Julie!  An angry old toot? Naw...you're a nurse!  Maybe nursing does that to us??
Pam

Anonymous said...

I am a great admirer of nurses.  I wanted to be one when I was younger, but, well, it never happened.  I know how hard nurses work.  They are the ones who are the caregivers to the patients...not the doctors!  I can imagine that the poor young ones do get completely overwhelmed!  

The whole medical system is a joke....insurance, patient care, cost cutting.  It's like the public schools.  There has GOT to be a better way!

((hugs))
Jeanne

Anonymous said...

Not eating enough points is almost as bad as going over.  Even if its with little filler stuff...gotta eat, girlie!!  Jobs, gotta have 'em, but hate 'em.  Hope things get better for you, but know that they probably won't very quickly...take care..
xoxo ~Myra

Anonymous said...

Nurses rock!  Hugs and GBU, Shelly

Anonymous said...

Julie, you have some extremely valid points here.  I have many friends who are nurses and have expressed the same frustrations.   They simply do not feel they can do their job properly and prevent safe care with super extended shifts all in the name of cutting costs.  You are also so right on about the HMO's and patient factories they are creating.  It is a total mess....patient quota's for doctor's to see each day while short cutting on the care for lack of time.  I could get on a podium with this one.  Bless you for the job you do and for helping the young nurses adjust.  HUGS  Chris

Anonymous said...

It's so weird.  I have done every diet on earth, including doctor supervised stuff to the tune of thousands of $$.  I have NEVER done WW though.  From my research, probably the best diet plan out there.