How Many More Demands Can Be Placed On Nurses?

How much more can we handle? The number of demands on nurses is increasing at a rapid rate. This is a serious issue that seems to be swept under the rug. Does anyone even care that we are turning into Target cashiers that are also responsible for keeping people alive at the same time? Log in… Scan… Beep… “Oops it didn’t recognize your bracelet, let me scan it again”… “There it took it now.”… Scan fluids… beep… scan IV pump… beep back to the computer screen again… type in some info… “Where is the call light?” … Beep… “Can I get another nurse in here to witness my Magnesium?” …. beep… “There is no nurses at the nurses station, I will send someone in as soon as I can!” …beep…beep…beep. (hold on, have I even looked at my patient in the eyes?). I mean seriously WTF?

This is the modern day world of nursing that we are currently dealing with on a day to day basis. Oh how I miss the simpler days. The days when you had time to look at your patient in the eyes. The days when your back wasn’t turned away from your patient 90 percent of the day because you have to stare at the glaring lights of the computer screen. Don’t get me wrong. I realize that there are advantages to all of this new technology. I know about patient safety and how this has helped reduce medication errors. I also love the fact that you don’t have to wait 10 hours for medical records to send you a chart anymore. These improvements are amazing. But when is it enough? Where do we draw the line that these new demands on nurses are too much?

I am tired of all of it. I am burnt out. How much more can they add to my workload? Just when I think that I can’t handle one more new task, (and trust me I can’t), they add something else. I have had family members say to me “Just don’t do it.. Do it the old way and take care of your patient”. Oh how I wish it was that simple. The fear of being written up is always lurking in the back of you mind. Or the weekly chart audits catching you. So you can’t. You can’t relax or even breathe anymore. The fear of management and possibly losing your job crushes your soul. So you scan…beep… beep…beep… because you have to. All the while, day after day, you lose a little bit more of your self.

I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times that I have gone into my managers office to let her know how near impossible this all is. How at any moment we are going to implode and crumble to pieces. I have had days where there are tears in my eyes, my neck in knots and I have been meet with a soulless stare from the higher ups. The answer is always the same. “I am sorry you feel that way. but…” I know what the but means. The but means that making money and meeting quotas is what is the most important factor. I am replaceable. I am a cashier. I am a number. Will anyone ever hear us? So for now I continue to scan. beep… beep.. beep.