Over the years, we have heard nurses crying out about their working conditions and the way they are treated. Yes, we chose this profession, and we love this profession, but this profession is draining us.
The sisters who believe that hospital coverage is management, yet they themselves can’t do the work. For example, if a sister comes and takes over a ward, they would call the admin office to ask them to send help. Their belt is black, mine is blue, yet you expect me to manage a ward alone as an SN, but you can’t.
Many of these sisters forget that they were once staff nurses. Meet your staff halfway. Understand that they are humans too and therefore have families who also need them at home. Stop acting like the colour of your belt gives you the superpower to bully, control, demand, or look down on anyone. Show some empathy.
There are many issues that we as nurses are facing and, as my grandmother would say, “only those in the kitchen will feel the true heat.” We as nurses work 36+ hours per week because we often work beyond our shifts without being paid for it. We are not paid for holidays or weekends either.
When we work a holiday, nurses are expected to receive an extra day off, and that is rarely the case. Even when we do get the extra day, the sisters would give it without even asking if we need it.
There is also a request book where nurses usually place their upcoming requests before the duty roster is set, yet supervisors tell you that the request book is only for emergencies. How can I predict the emergency that is going to happen next week? Am I supposed to request a day off next week for an unforeseen emergency?
We are entitled to our weekends off, yet months can pass before we get one. Now tell me, how can I be working Friday night and going home Saturday morning, and that counts as me being off for the weekend, when Sunday is counted as your first day off for the upcoming work week? Or working Friday night, going home Saturday morning, and then resuming work Sunday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.?
There are many supervisors who sit in their offices and do nothing for the entire shift. Now tell me why it would take a supervisor six hours to prepare a duty roster. Sometimes setting the duty isn’t even the excuse for not being active on the ward. They come to the ward and decide they are going to clean and organise the office for the entire shift.
Management is so concerned about nurses’ personal business that they cannot see that, at night, there may only be one nurse and one nursing assistant running a ward with more than 30 patients.
You wear scrubs, and they make it an issue. At least the nurse showed up; he or she could have stayed home. They are more concerned about your eyelashes, hair, caps, nails, and uniform than the fact that they are making nurses uncomfortable because every time you go to work, there is another issue.
The four uniforms they give every few years are not enough. Every Monday morning the heads have meetings, yet no changes are made, so what is the point?
They need to look at the poor-quality beds, the potholes and mould in the roofs located on the wards, the chairs nurses have to rest on whenever they get a small chance, the fact that some wards have no fans and are extremely hot most of the time, the limited resources nurses have to work with while still being expected to perform miracles, and the fact that by the time some supplies arrive, they are no longer good because they have been stored in hot containers for so long.
They also need to address the fact that nurses come to work and have nowhere to park, yet parking spots remain reserved for nursing managers even when they are not on duty, and nurses are told they cannot park there.
Look at the area where Daddy Shop formerly stood and turn it into something that would benefit nurses, like a parking space.
Let’s also talk about the fact that nurses are entitled to a certain number of sick days, yet when they go on sick leave, it becomes a problem. Instead of calling the nurse and wishing them a speedy recovery, they sit down and talk about the nurse.
We are also entitled to our vacation days, yet when it is time for us to take them, we are told how much we can take and when we can take them.
Minister of Health, please shake up this healthcare system. Let those who have done their time go home and give young minds a chance. Stop blocking growth. Ensure that nurses are properly compensated for the work they do.
Let ward managers play an active role in patient care. They are not there only to evaluate staff, and I believe staff should also be allowed to evaluate their supervisors.
Nursing managers, please do better, or the time will come when you will see that office marked “Nursing Administration” and not be able to go there because you will have to manage the wards alone.
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