OMG HE IS SO RIGHT. As a retired E.R./Critical Care Nurse I have been watching and realize that there is a lot of: CLOSING THE CURTAIN. Then you go on to the patients who can be hopefully saved. Anyone who doesn't think this is happening is naïve!! It is so sad but true. You can only go so far w/a patient and then "close the curtain" and go on. You out there know what i'm saying.

Your article is well thought out and rings true on so many levels. Without bedside nurses hospitals would cease to exist. Administrators should be asking your opinion on how to care for the critically ill in this era of health care crisis. Unfortunately, all they care about is the bottom line and they tell their professional nurses to do the best they can with what’s given them to provide safe patient care. It’s a joke to any seasoned nurse. Thank you fo your service and saving the lives of our nation’s best. And please consider collective bargaining as part of your solution to continue caring for us and about us.

I am an inpatient hospice RN and I want to share the article "Our Health System Is Stealing A Free Ride On The Broken Backs Of The Nurses" on my Facebook page, but fear the risk of being fired if I do post it. It is exactly what my co-workers and I feel about nursing during this pandemic. Well said.

Finally, someone has said it! I have been a nurse for 25 years. I left bedside (acute care) nursing (PCU/tele) because I felt morally distressed in that I wasn’t truly giving the care I was trained to give and that the patients deserved. We as nurses were expected to care for 5/6 patients with numerous meds and critical issues while being responsible for an extraordinary/excessive amount of documentation. Pushing a medication cart and putting out fires is not nursing/caring for someone. We are responsible for their lives! We are ran in to the ground. The system has done nothing but continue to load more and more responsibility on to us without taking into consideration patient safety and the impact it has on nurses both mentally and physically. I left floor nursing approximately 10 years ago to work in a cardiopulmonary rehab. Stark contrast to working the floors, but noticed more of the same, “must keep the volume up” without regard to the acuity your dealing with! During the pandemic I returned to floor nursing to help out, I missed bedside nursing, but was quickly reminded why I left. I experienced morale distress again and felt powerless when I realized I couldn’t give each patient the time they deserved. I was forced right back in to rushing to get assessments done, documentation, and giving meds, while putting out fires! I actually considered leaving nursing, if this was to be my future. It saddens me to see the lack of care, basic needs, such as bathing, mouth care, and patient teaching being difficult to accomplish in a shift. We need to come together to put an end to this and decrease patient loads while also increasing the amount of aides to help with some of these very basic needs. Showing up to take care of people should never leave an individual feeling drained or traumatized, and that is exactly what we have been allowing for a very long time. Thank you for your article, Sincerely, Joanne

Great post, I can’t agree more with everything said here! We are missing a very important topic: patients are being brought to the floors without prior testing. When nursing homes request a COVID 19 test in order to DC the patients they test positive. Those providers that took care of these patients for days were completely exposed with a simple surgical mask that is thinner than paper toilet. Those providers are not even informed by Administrators. I personally feel that my rights as a human being and a caring nurse are being violated. But again we have no control. I also choose to stay and care for my patients to the cost of my health and my loved ones. What a tough decision to make, we have no right now days.

Hello Rachael, I am a 70 year old RN who spent her whole life nursing. I was a staff nurse, a charge nurse, a head nurse and then became a nursing supervisor in a small hospital in Pembroke Pines, Florida. It wasn't long in to my nursing career that I realized that a corporately run hospital was all about the bottom line/bottom dollar. That is a bitter realization for good nurses who want to give, to properly care for their patients, to bond, and to always be helpful, caring, and sometimes loving. The truth is that people will take advantage of nurses like us. We say yes to a double shift, low pay, increased work load, missed breaks and days off, and will put ourselves in danger to save others. The truth is that some of the people at the top do not see you. Maybe one day you could get recognized and promoted to nursing supervisor or DON. Even that is a disappointment because they will put you on a salary which is not always fair because you are then expected to work many more hours and to come in for all shifts. In those positions, you are at fault for everything. I left the hospital for good after two things occurred. One was that they gave me a budget. That was big. I had to stand there and charge for a bandaid before I could take it out of the closet. My patient was bleeding. Everything became about the money. We were the "deplorables." so to speak. Without us nurses, there would be no hospital. Secondly, they put me on a floor with fifty patients by myself on the 11-7 shift. By myself! They could not find staff and I was not allowed to refuse. I did not leave until I finished my notes by 5 PM the next day. The good news is that I found home health. I have two agencies now. The more I give away, the more comes back to me. I can be a nurse and be blessed at the same time. The lesson learned for me is to forget about the bottom line. Your bottom line will always come back to you. When you take care of your employees and patients and give them more than they need to do their jobs money will never be an issue. Acknowledge and bonus them when they go beyond what is expected and be there with them as part of the team. APPRECIATION is key. Believe me when I say that you are blessed! You are also a hero! You are wonderful! You have put in your time and have worked very hard. My heart goes out to you, especially now. My thought is that things have not changed; working in the hospital environment. The reality is that most nurses would work some time in your environment but then there comes a time to move on. You have done a great job and should be proud of yourself...forever. Nurses have a hard time putting themselves first. Then there comes a time when you need to put yourself and your family first. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Good Luck and THANK YOU for you! Brenda O'Leary RN