Healthcare benefits are subpar. There are no sick days (some other local hospitals have "sick banks," vacation time must be used, and usually not without penalty). The hospital has continuously decreased leave accumulation (CLB), as well as differentials. However, I'm sure that this sort of thing is common amongst area hospitals. If I was a nurse seeking new employment, I would likely select a different hospital because some nursing floors have done away with nursing assistants (PCTs). Such units include high acuity units, where you may only have 2-3 patients, but they are total care patients who may be upwards of 350+ pounds, and have a lot of needs. Many nurses are experiencing back pain. Management will say "but you have ceiling lifts." True, but how do you visualize the patients posterior skin? Nurses are reliant on neighbor nurses in a poorly constructed floor plan, and it is not uncommon for you and/or your neighbor nurses to have high acuity assignments of their own. I have never seen or heard of a hospital eliminating an entire discipline, risking both patient and staff safety for the sake of budget. It is a complete divergence from evidence based practice. However, the hospital hired several physicians and nurse practitioners on this particular floor. It's wonderful that medical staff is being increased, but who is going to bathe the patients, turn the patients, take vitals, draw labs, transport the patients to testing, and more? The support staff of course, and the hospital has eliminated many. If you are considering employment on a floor such as the one described, please know that you will be dietary, housekeeping, stocking staff, as well as be expected to care for high acuity patients. It should also be known that this hospital has MAGNET status, and primarily hires BSN prepared nurses.
