This is the future of nursing. Hospitals are never going to start treating nurses with respect. Someone in my family who used to be a bedside nurse is an administrator now and she told me she thinks bedside nurses are trash. That’s how they feel about us. Unfortunately I can’t travel because of my family so I’m stuck. However I’m not upset with travel nurses. I would do it if I could.
I know a travel RN who travels with her husband, and kids. Her husband is a stay at home dad and homeschooling their kids. They live in AirBnBs and are seeing the country -- loving it. Totally understand not everyone can do that, but she earns more than enough to support them all with travel nurse pay.
It’s funny how administration sees bedside nurses as trash but yet we are held responsible for any mistakes other hospital employees make with the patient. They think of us as trash as they do not want to admit how badly they need us. Study after study shows patient outcomes are affect the most by the bedside nurse to patient ratio. We have more of an effect on patient outcomes then doctors.
@@vsheehan5928 right. I think it has to do with their compensation being tied to productivity and “quality metrics” that are tied to government reimbursement. The standards have reached a ridiculous level over the years since they left the bedside ( if they ever worked at the bedside or touched a patient ). They are so detached from what bedside nurses are going through that they truly look down their noses at us. Meanwhile we are constantly going through moral injury because we can’t meet the standards under these conditions. We are clicking boxes all day long on the EHR so the hospital can collect and not connecting with our patients.
@@brittanydexter9284 yes, I am looking into either that or agency so I can at least make more money. I haven’t gotten a raise in over a year and my hospital will only give the staff a retention bonus if we sign a two year agreement. Most of the money is dependent on h chap scores, too which are very bad at my hospital. So my only hope for earning more money is to leave or get an advanced degree. I still love being a nurse, I just hate working in horrible conditions in this current environment.
Like most employees these days, corporations treat them as easily replaceable and if they aren’t, they have no problem dumping the extra load on those that are still there
One year of experience and in charge of an ICU is what happens when hospitals systematically get rid of their older, more experienced nurses because they didn't want to have to pay for all that knowledge and experience.
A nurse some dozen plus years ago told me that the hospital she was working at was systematically getting rid of the older nurses like herself & that her job was in jeapordy. She would listen in on what the othe nurses who spoke other languages were saying; to indicate to them ' I know, what you are saying about me if you cause me trouble I'll cause you trouble'; b/c it was a real fear of her's that these nurses would go tell admin lies about her to get her fired.
it's a system wide issue. It makes no sense to be a staff nurse unless you have family responsibilities that requires consistency & to be closer in proximity.
For reference; My girlfriend who worked as a staff nurse for under 50k per year in 2020 is now making over 9k per week as a travel nurse across the US. What we thought was just one lucky contract has turned into 3 similar contracts with multiple extensions out of pure desperation of these hospitals.
It’s all about money. Good Nursing has gone. Try Real Nurses from 70,80, 90’s that cared about their Patients not the money. I first hand recently saw how bad in ethics of Nursing had become and I am a Retired NURSE
@@pamelaguevara3399 I agree! Some nurses are downright mean to their patients. I've had to advocate for my own family members in the hospital because the nurses were not responsive when we asked for help or they just had really bad attitudes.
Thirty-seven year RN here. Nursing leaders had already projected a nursing shortage by 2025 due to retirement and people not entering the profession. Covid-19 pandemic just exasperated the problem. It is not just about the money, it is about respect. Many hospitals are offering sign-on bonuses to new hires and nothing to current staff. I am glad to be retiring soon.
I have been working for 4 years and have a BSN and ICU experience. A coworker who was a cna for medsurge came back as an ASN and his start rate was higher than my current and he got a bonus. Yeah this does not feel nice. Glad for my friend but it's a slap in the face.
Sounds like many corporations who are now realizing people won’t work under those same conditions. People are living with extended family now and sharing cars. Honestly, the cost of living is up now but people are saving by doing those things, and they have more freedom to refuse jobs at bad companies.
In the end I blame the hospitals and the administration at the top. If they weren't so concerned about the bottom line, and going to extremes to get there (cutting wages, INTENTIONALLY having units worked short staffed, paying nursed below their market value) this wouldnt be an issue! Pay nurses fairly, give them the right environments (non-toxic) to work in, and this would not be an issue! Its crazy to me that these hospitals are trying to cut down cost with their own in-house staff, and they are paying out the nose for non-inhouse staff
@@jacobjohnson2714 I'd want more nurses with an appropriate, fair market wage for the high level of demand and short supply of nurses. I'd want more nurses because it ensures better staffing and therefore better clinical outcomes for my patients. I'm willing to stop traveling and take a pay cut if I can work at a hospital with appropriate staffing and fair wages. As are many of my fellow travel nurses of which I have spoken to many. Getting paid $25/HR to be paired with a sick CRRT whose line is in danger of clotting and a sick fresh post-operative aortic with an IABP who coded in OR is not appropriate staffing or appropriate wages. Getting tripled with an EKOS, a Day 0 Post-Op CABG that's still intubated and on pressors, and a tele patient two weeks fresh off orientation is not safe. Administration across the nation staunchly refuses to anything about situations like these. If I'm going to be put in these situations regardless due to their inaction and poor wages, I might as well be put in this situation and get paid better for it until such time that they decide to give appropriate wages to their staff nurses.
I worked with Chris in the ER in the heights and he’s a good nurse. I’m glad ur speaking up cuz days before COVID things were crazy busy even in RME lol
Hospitals are willing to pay more to travel nurses instead of just hiring enough people. They could easily save money if they just invested more in their own staff.
I am happy for the travel nurses. But my daughter will constantly be the only regular on her telemetry ward, surrounded by travel nurses, and she is exhausted carrying her full patient load, being charge, and having so many travelers needing her help. Minnesota nurses at Mayo Clinic facilities are demanding triple pay for the hours when they are working with travelers. Seems logical.
@@mandimcrae9681 this is a fictitious statement. Many travelers have even more experience than regular staff. Stop being jealous and travel too.Problem solved.
@@supertenor561 lately the need for travel nurses has increased so much agencies are giving contracts to nurses with lone year experience on a small community hospital measure floor. Many do have a lot experience but just as many do not.
@@vsheehan5928 The hospitals have the final say. The agency has to run their credentials through the hospitals. I know many of them are greedy and will do their best to hire people without the skills. Last year I worked at a Covid quarantine hotel. The requirement was nurses must have med-surg experience. One of the nurses was new he told me he has never worked in a hospital. He has zero med-surg experience. He probably got the job because NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation that hire thru the agencies is desperate for nurses.
Ahh, traveler usually don't need charge help lol. We have 10x more experience than the regular staff. Travel nurses bring a plethora of experience having worked at multiple facilities. Before I started traveling, I was as frustrated your daughter, but think of the increased cost of living, student loans etc, we can't continue making peanuts as these bill won't pay for themselves.
@Elisheval when I started, before Covid, the hospital I worked in let all the experienced nurse leave. Then hired new grads. I just have 1.5 experience and I'm already a senior nurse in a level 2 trauma ER. They want to train me for charge RN. I said hell no. Don't need the stress as it is.
@@mokong4427 I used to work in a BMT unit, You couldn't be charge unless you have a specified oncohematology/icu certification- and that takes at least a year. They only send you to that when you've been around for at least 2 years.... so basically you can only be charge after minimum 3yrs experience.
@@Sarah78888 it took me a while too. A lot of patience. Once I found the opportunity to leave, I took it. I feel empowered; I feel free. I hope the day you get out that you feel these things too.
I would get out, but where can you find a job that can make 6 figures working half the year? I literally only work the winter season. I spend all summer camping and fishing lol.
Nurse for 20 years, we belong to a broken, unsustainable system. I'm glad to see people pleased with what they're getting paid, but it's short term people and at the expense of small communities are often harmed by travel nurses who make a buck and then move on. Universal Healthcare is the only long term solution. Healthcare is a basic human right.
There's so much propaganda to prevent universal healthcare in america, and it's working. There's always the argument that you can't just copy other countries, but I actually counter... what if you can just copy systems that work?
@@ayoCC I really appreciate your reply. It sounds like such a simple solution. (Norway's model is outstanding; however, they rely upon Oil money). You see, our capitalistic system allows big business to lobby Washington. Insurance companies drive sick-care in this country, not MDs. Economic wealth and Personal health are tightly bound together. Under the current system, the flames of disparity between rich and poor can only be fanned. Government must institute universal healthcare, everyone deserves care. When big businesses, including Pharma, have their fingers in the pot, somebody gets kicked to the curb in the name of making the rich richer. I'm shocked that the American public puts up with it. Then again, our political track record paints the picture of everyone in a large jar of ether.......comfortably numb and completely unaware....anesthetized...
@@thatguy9051 I actually live in Germany so I've never experienced the american health system. Generally I just feel peace of mind that no matter what happens i'll be fine, whether I lose my job or get a health accident, I'm not ruined. From a philosophical view, if law is supposed to embody the guidelines by which to create the greatest good, it should probably be almost a constitutional amendment that the governments duty is to ensure its citizens health.
If you are going to pay travel nurses $70 + /hr why not pay staff the same. Then all the energy spent in a constant shift of staff could go toward retention & PATIENT CARE. I’m an ICU nurse for 28yrs. The current situation is absolute insanity!! We shouldn’t have to be constantly changing jobs to be paid our worth. It’s stressful & not everyone can do it. Why not get a good solid staff & pay them gain staff retention & people that become invested in the facility. It will translate into better patient care & outcomes. I think administration has completely forgotten about the PATIENT.
@@milianamack506 check out the rates on a company you’re interested in. I’ve been making $50-$90/ hr depending on the assignment not including any stipends.
Without nurses survival rates fall and complication rates soar for all things, not just covid. That was long ago documented. I did 39 yrs . Hospital, clinic, fulltime, part time, per diem, agency and travel. I worked sick, injured, miscarrying, overtime, holidays all the while struggling to give the best care, learn more and somehow felt it was my fault... TX is only state with safe harbor and it is right royal pain to invoke. just saying.
Not really. There may be a few differences in protocol, but most of nursing is pretty much the same. A big factor that will determine if you get good care is the experience of the nurse.
Worked in the ER for 4.5 years. Now at pharmacy giving vaccinations , this is the only time I felt that I'm paid fairly. And I mean fair, not asking for an outrageous amount, but I'm doing transport for PTs, I clean rooms and trash. Then of course also do Nursing work.
I feel so sad hearing this. I live in Sweden, and have an education as a district nurse. Which means I did 4,5 years of university studies to get my license. Everything they talk about in this video is spot on in my country to. And we get paid $hi#. My 20 year old nephew, had better salary than me straight out of high school!
One of the downsides of traveling though is, at least when I did it, there was no sick pay and no PTO. Nurses across the country need to demand higher pay and also fight for ratios. It’s ridiculous to care for six or seven patients.
The problem is everywhere…… Geriatric, pediatric, home health, hospice and healthcare in the school system working with special needs kids. No more…. Too many chiefs not enough Indians.
Peace Health in OR produced a “shortage” of nursing hours b4 the pandemic; then they put about 100 nurses on permanent leave because they refused to be “fully vaccinated.” Other hospitals in OR did essentially the same.
Sounds like a bunch of nurses were rightfully weeded out for declining to follow well established safety precautions that have been in place for decades.
@@ellakruz You don’t know what you’re talking about. Let me guess you’re overweight and/or smoke. We can all see your attitude is toxic. Fear is poison and you’re full of it. Personal responsibility is lost on people like you.
I can't blame any nurse for becoming a traveler. Some of these traveling nurses resign at a hospital then go to work in that same hospital as a traveler and earn the big money! Why not! I don't think as a nurse I am asking too much to be paid what I am worth and given the respect we deserve. In my Midwest small town hospital it was once said by the administrator that nurses are a dime a dozen. This was way back in the 70's. That man has since died but his words are still remembered today in the hospital I work. The pandemic has amplified what was already happening--a shortage of nurses. So no matter how we are out there caring for our patients, travelers or not, good for us. We will do our best.
Y’all feel safe when hospitals run these folks ragged for the sack of their own profits?! 10-12 per Nurse is a floor of patients jeez Some states and a lot of countries limit it to 3-4 ppl per nurse
Do you think that you are the only Nurses that suffer with staffing shortages and large patient ratio??? I became a staff nurse in a Hospital in 1984. Our ratio on a surgical floor was 13 patients to 1 nurse and if we were caught trying to get a union started you would be fired!!!!!!!!!!!
Pre-pandemic, I got to work with a travel nurse during a hospital clinical when I was a nursing student. This should absolutely NOT be the standard for nurses and nursing. The money is decent but the quality of care absolutely suffered. At that time, the hospital did not train travel nurses how to use their system to document. She had to learn on the fly. Guess what -- she did a very minimal job documenting and the patients lamented the entire shift, where is my nurse? Because she was not only over-worked but burdened with learning on the spot that hospital's resources and policies for the week she was there. It was hard to find her at times. This is a risk to patients and if hospitals think they can exploit travel nursing to provide care, that's scary. Nursing schools need to hire more faculty -- they charge exorbitantly high tuition and fail too many students or make them drop out for problems the school actually causes but shifts onto students because blame-games work and they just want the money. They should be more concerned about training quality healthcare professionals. Hospitals will then try to import foreign nurses. Americans should not do their nursing ed in the US -- go to the Philippines or wherever, pay a fraction of the cost for your ed and dont go into debt. You can get your transcripts easily translated and go right into a hospital job. American schools have themselves to blame with the poor education process and high tuitions. Look there and fix this if you want to know all the reasons why there are nursing shortages in our country.
Philippines uses English as standard teaching these courses. One of my friends just completed a caregiver course; their reading lectures were all in English. I even sent her one of my old Basic Nursing Skills book on skills such as walking with crutches, GT Feeding, bedside bath, etc. Yes, the cost is really affordable than what goes on here. And some schools find ways to fail people especially Excelsior College who been sued at least two times in federal Eastern District Court in Brooklyn for ripping people off. They are still doing it.
@@ontheroad5555 It's a crisis that both burdens Americans with debt and absolutely contributes to shortages of nursing. Many schools have a high fail rate. Mine had a fail rate of 70%. That's outrageous. And the faculty boast and blame students that it is the fault of the student. At least half the time -- it certainly is not the blame of the student. I lost many smart, diligent classmates who had their gpas and credit wrecked. The testing process often had nothing to do with what we learned in class or had to read in chapters. They were written off as not able to cut it but its the teaching and the testing practices are horrible. It's an open secret faculty will throw out select test questions so their favourite students can pass after failing. There is no quality control over testing and standardized testing is really big business -- death from medical error is No. 3 cause of death in the US. Well, you can't blame the students you pushed out of school. It concerns the ones who passed. The instructors often have two jobs -- teaching and nurses -- and they don't want to be bothered with work at the college. Whatever is going on -- the wrong people are eliminated. This is happening in traditional, so-called not-profit institutions as well as for profit. It is better to do your education in the Philippines. Don't waste your money in the US
The AIDES are in the room the most! Stop forgetting all the other hospital support staff you NEED to make your hospital run. It's not all about the nurses!
Now that is the truth!!!!!! Patients are lucky if they see their nurse once a day! Just because someone has RN after their name, does not make them a good nurse. A lot of it gets to their heads!
Not every unit has aides.. all Icus I've worked in either have 1 aid for the entire unit or none at all. And nurses have to draw all the blood too. I've also worked med surg for 2 years. My aids were in there for blood sugar and vitals and If I needed help cleaning a patient, that's really it
So this is crazy! They say that becoming a travel nurse is somehow “empowering” Are you serious?? Such a paid advertisement for Big Hospitals. So basically they think people are stupid to believe that trading a full time W2 job with predictable schedule, benefits, pension, possibly unions - for a on demand, part time, 1099 contractor (where you have to pay all taxes by yourself) role without any guarantee of future employment or pay is better???? Are you serious?????
Yeah its better. Work is always there. I have 3rd party health ins.. if I need time off, I simply don't work. Travel pays enough that you can do that. It's better in almost every way
Correct the pandemic didn't cause the issues but it did amplify the issues. Nurses are like everyone else...we are taking stock of our lives and the options available. I opted to travel since quitting all together wasn't an option for me. Doing what I need to for my family and still keep myself sane in the profession
So much of this is baloney. All of us working our butts off in hospitals are PISSED that the hospitals are forced to hire these very highly paid travel nurses to help provide patient care. And the gist of it is that they're paying the travel nurses so much money that the hospitals can't afford to compensate their own nurses more fairly. It's a vicious circle: the more overworked the staff nurses are, the more of them leave for travel nursing. And the more travel nurses are used by the hospital, the less money the hospital has to compensate their own nurses. Travel nurses are HATED by the staff nurses who are trying to stick it out because travelers make so much more money than they do. The healthcare system will eventually break and the Federal government will have to step in and take over.
Thank you for speaking the truth. I’m very resentful these travel nurses make so much more money than we do as staff. And the majority of the travel nurses I’ve encountered have zero commitment to the institution they are working at.
No just stop. You're speaking out of jealousy. Calm your tits. If the hospitals would have paid their employees more from the get-go we wouldn't be so bad off. BEFORE the pandemic. It's so disgusting to see other healthcare professionals hating and showing their ugly.
"Travel nurses make so much more than we do..." No, staff nurses are underpaid, making less than travel nurses are. This is administration's fault - not the travel nurses.
Even though I understand your sentiment, in the end I blame the hospitals and the administration at the top. If they weren't so concerned about the bottom line, and going to extremes to get there (cutting wages, INTENTIONALLY having units worked short staffed, paying nursed below their market value) this wouldnt be an issue! Pay nurses fairly, give them the right environments (non-toxic) to work in, and this would not be an issue! Its crazy to me that these hospitals are trying to cut down cost with their own in-house staff, and they are paying out the nose for non-inhouse staff
All the Hospitals have to do is offer more pay to the existing staff and they’d keep them. Or improve the healthcare plans and benefits offered to full time teammates. In the end travel nurses are a symptom of low wages and awful staffing ratios. Eventually all the RN’s who can will be travelers, and hospitals will have to offer competitive market rates to their staff nurses. Hospitals are just hoping to avoid permanently raising nurse pay. We’ll see who blinks first. Don’t be surprised if Hospitals try to buy legislation outlawing travel nurses or capping their pay, which will ultimately hurt all bedside nurses. Either way save the hate, the job is too stressful to let bitterness eat you at the same time as dealing with all the death we’ve seen.
If soooooo many Americans weren't so fat and unhealthy, maybe we wouldn't be at capacity all the time, and need so much care. Even before the pandemic, we'd have 100 patients in a 60 bed ER. I work it everyday in the er, just like everyone else here. Most people end up in the ER for issues related to their weight and eating habits. Hardcore truths that Americans need to hear.
@@midnull6009 Hardcore facts. At the current rate of our growing fatness, we're legit going to be the people from WALL-E in 20 years. #1 cause of death in America is heart disease, and the leading factor for that: obesity. Obesity is a factor for like the remaining leading causes of death too. Maybe I'm especially sensitive of it, since I work in the Midwest. Most on my patients on a nightly basis are heavy set people with heart pain, can't breath, CHF, diabetes, AFib, lower leg edema etc. Due to their size they're even more vulnerable to falls in the winter, because theyve lost so much agility...because they're 5'4" and 240+ Covid even snatches up the fat people multiple times more than the thin ones. I feel like this is the pandemic we're ignoring, and it's a big problem in regards to healthcare burn out. I live in a city with a major auto manufacturing plant...and ONE of the 2-3 hospitals systems we have, alone, is the areas largest employer.
@@Faq-ubeach no truer words have been spoken fun fact: you don't hear about these kind of metrics in covid cases...not anymore. You heard it for like a week at the beginning of the pandemic but that info was pushed into the backburner. It's a very important demographic! Very important! I keep telling ppl that his is the pandemic of the obese...and that we've been in the "obesity pandemic" for years before covid... I'm not very popular person...
@@midnull6009 oh I'm sure you're not popular lol. I'm not popular for the same reason. Americans, of which I am one of course, just don't want to hear about their weight.
Wait until you have children and a spouse and see how advantageous it is to be constantly traveling. This is another situation where you have winners and losers. What a sad, capitalist system this is.
Thank goodness we don't have travel nurses where I come from! As a charge nurse, I can't even begin to imagine the headache of having a new nurse (no matter their age and experience) that doesn't know the staff, doctors, hospital computer system - and having to teach them and having to do it all again for the next one. Floating nurses also suck - but at least they're familiar with the hospital!
I’m charge on my unit and we have travelers all the time, I’ve had some with bad attitudes, but other than that I only ever have to show them where things are or answer basic questions. I’d rather have to do that than be short staffed any day
I was a travel nurse for 6 years. The things you mentioned, a decent travel nurse can pick up in a few days. It’s not expected that you hold a travel nurses hand. They simply need to know the basic functioning of your unit.
@@will_the_don I agree..... When I have bad attitudes... I dis-miss them because Im not going to pay you to complain and act dumb founded. Go somewhere else. I have ended many contract.. I have a great team now. Basically weed them out off your unit.
Oh Come on, all about the money. Everything else is an excuse to justify the reasoning of why they quiting . What's not cool the amount of nurses quitting to go travel by and leaving the local hospitals empty.
This doesn’t even make sense. Who wants to be worked like a dog and make less when you could be doing the same thing, make more money, and maybe even be treated better? If management listened to nurses and curated SAFE environments for us work in, nurses wouldn’t be leaving! Traveling gives us more autonomy to set our own conditions and find an assignment we like. It’s not up to nurses to keep hospitals staffed.
This is the future of nursing. Hospitals are never going to start treating nurses with respect. Someone in my family who used to be a bedside nurse is an administrator now and she told me she thinks bedside nurses are trash. That’s how they feel about us. Unfortunately I can’t travel because of my family so I’m stuck. However I’m not upset with travel nurses. I would do it if I could.
I know a travel RN who travels with her husband, and kids. Her husband is a stay at home dad and homeschooling their kids. They live in AirBnBs and are seeing the country -- loving it. Totally understand not everyone can do that, but she earns more than enough to support them all with travel nurse pay.
It’s funny how administration sees bedside nurses as trash but yet we are held responsible for any mistakes other hospital employees make with the patient. They think of us as trash as they do not want to admit how badly they need us. Study after study shows patient outcomes are affect the most by the bedside nurse to patient ratio. We have more of an effect on patient outcomes then doctors.
@@vsheehan5928 right. I think it has to do with their compensation being tied to productivity and “quality metrics” that are tied to government reimbursement. The standards have reached a ridiculous level over the years since they left the bedside ( if they ever worked at the bedside or touched a patient ). They are so detached from what bedside nurses are going through that they truly look down their noses at us. Meanwhile we are constantly going through moral injury because we can’t meet the standards under these conditions. We are clicking boxes all day long on the EHR so the hospital can collect and not connecting with our patients.
I read you can be a travel nurse in your area, you might have to drive a little but I think it could be done
@@brittanydexter9284 yes, I am looking into either that or agency so I can at least make more money. I haven’t gotten a raise in over a year and my hospital will only give the staff a retention bonus if we sign a two year agreement. Most of the money is dependent on h chap scores, too which are very bad at my hospital. So my only hope for earning more money is to leave or get an advanced degree. I still love being a nurse, I just hate working in horrible conditions in this current environment.
Like most employees these days, corporations treat them as easily replaceable and if they aren’t, they have no problem dumping the extra load on those that are still there
3:25 he said it. Someone had to say it. It’s ok nurses, your job is still noble. There’s no shame in also wanting to make good money doing it.
Agreed. There's nothing wrong with demanding to be paid what you are worth.
One year of experience and in charge of an ICU is what happens when hospitals systematically get rid of their older, more experienced nurses because they didn't want to have to pay for all that knowledge and experience.
Facts!!
A nurse some dozen plus years ago told me that the hospital she was working at was systematically getting rid of the older nurses like herself & that her job was in jeapordy. She would listen in on what the othe nurses who spoke other languages were saying; to indicate to them ' I know, what you are saying about me if you cause me trouble I'll cause you trouble'; b/c it was a real fear of her's that these nurses would go tell admin lies about her to get her fired.
Citation?
it's a system wide issue. It makes no sense to be a staff nurse unless you have family responsibilities that requires consistency & to be closer in proximity.
For reference; My girlfriend who worked as a staff nurse for under 50k per year in 2020 is now making over 9k per week as a travel nurse across the US. What we thought was just one lucky contract has turned into 3 similar contracts with multiple extensions out of pure desperation of these hospitals.
Brag about it more
@@msheehandub I think it's not bragging.
That's awesome! If she does this for a year or more, you guys can buy/pay off a house and really fund the retirement.. Is she ever home, though?
It’s all about money. Good Nursing has gone. Try Real Nurses from 70,80, 90’s that cared about their Patients not the money. I first hand recently saw how bad in ethics of Nursing had become and I am a Retired NURSE
@@pamelaguevara3399 I agree! Some nurses are downright mean to their patients. I've had to advocate for my own family members in the hospital because the nurses were not responsive when we asked for help or they just had really bad attitudes.
Thirty-seven year RN here. Nursing leaders had already projected a nursing shortage by 2025 due to retirement and people not entering the profession. Covid-19 pandemic just exasperated the problem. It is not just about the money, it is about respect. Many hospitals are offering sign-on bonuses to new hires and nothing to current staff. I am glad to be retiring soon.
I have been working for 4 years and have a BSN and ICU experience. A coworker who was a cna for medsurge came back as an ASN and his start rate was higher than my current and he got a bonus. Yeah this does not feel nice. Glad for my friend but it's a slap in the face.
Sounds like many corporations who are now realizing people won’t work under those same conditions. People are living with extended family now and sharing cars. Honestly, the cost of living is up now but people are saving by doing those things, and they have more freedom to refuse jobs at bad companies.
In the end I blame the hospitals and the administration at the top. If they weren't so concerned about the bottom line, and going to extremes to get there (cutting wages, INTENTIONALLY having units worked short staffed, paying nursed below their market value) this wouldnt be an issue! Pay nurses fairly, give them the right environments (non-toxic) to work in, and this would not be an issue! Its crazy to me that these hospitals are trying to cut down cost with their own in-house staff, and they are paying out the nose for non-inhouse staff
Would you want more nurses with a reduced wage?
That seems to be the tradeoff.
@@jacobjohnson2714 I'd want more nurses with an appropriate, fair market wage for the high level of demand and short supply of nurses. I'd want more nurses because it ensures better staffing and therefore better clinical outcomes for my patients. I'm willing to stop traveling and take a pay cut if I can work at a hospital with appropriate staffing and fair wages. As are many of my fellow travel nurses of which I have spoken to many.
Getting paid $25/HR to be paired with a sick CRRT whose line is in danger of clotting and a sick fresh post-operative aortic with an IABP who coded in OR is not appropriate staffing or appropriate wages. Getting tripled with an EKOS, a Day 0 Post-Op CABG that's still intubated and on pressors, and a tele patient two weeks fresh off orientation is not safe. Administration across the nation staunchly refuses to anything about situations like these. If I'm going to be put in these situations regardless due to their inaction and poor wages, I might as well be put in this situation and get paid better for it until such time that they decide to give appropriate wages to their staff nurses.
@@kathrynschoon7148 where the heck is an RN being paid 25/hr?! ...
@@a.r.8987 Texas...
All the pandemic did was highlight & exacerbate an already existing problem.
Greedy hospitals who pay poorly to these nurses and at same time maximum profit from patient, sucking blood from both side.
Yep. HCA hospitals are one of these greedy hospitals. Will NEVER work for HCA again.
I worked with Chris in the ER in the heights and he’s a good nurse. I’m glad ur speaking up cuz days before COVID things were crazy busy even in RME lol
Hospitals are willing to pay more to travel nurses instead of just hiring enough people. They could easily save money if they just invested more in their own staff.
Aren’t they cheaper still because they don’t have to pay benefits ? The agency does right
@@todoldtrafford Good question. I don't know!
I am happy for the travel nurses. But my daughter will constantly be the only regular on her telemetry ward, surrounded by travel nurses, and she is exhausted carrying her full patient load, being charge, and having so many travelers needing her help. Minnesota nurses at Mayo Clinic facilities are demanding triple pay for the hours when they are working with travelers. Seems logical.
I’m in the same situation…charging with 6-7 patients and working with all travel RNs.
@@mandimcrae9681 this is a fictitious statement. Many travelers have even more experience than regular staff. Stop being jealous and travel too.Problem solved.
@@supertenor561 lately the need for travel nurses has increased so much agencies are giving contracts to nurses with lone year experience on a small community hospital measure floor. Many do have a lot experience but just as many do not.
@@vsheehan5928 The hospitals have the final say. The agency has to run their credentials through the hospitals. I know many of them are greedy and will do their best to hire people without the skills. Last year I worked at a Covid quarantine hotel. The requirement was nurses must have med-surg experience. One of the nurses was new he told me he has never worked in a hospital. He has zero med-surg experience. He probably got the job because NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation that hire thru the agencies is desperate for nurses.
Ahh, traveler usually don't need charge help lol. We have 10x more experience than the regular staff. Travel nurses bring a plethora of experience having worked at multiple facilities. Before I started traveling, I was as frustrated your daughter, but think of the increased cost of living, student loans etc, we can't continue making peanuts as these bill won't pay for themselves.
Green Icu nurse playing charge nurse in the first year of his career. What could go wrong 🤦♂️
When I saw that I was flabbergasted. What kind of podunk ICU allows a nurse with under 1 year experience to be charge?!
@Elisheval when I started, before Covid, the hospital I worked in let all the experienced nurse leave. Then hired new grads. I just have 1.5 experience and I'm already a senior nurse in a level 2 trauma ER. They want to train me for charge RN. I said hell no. Don't need the stress as it is.
@@mokong4427 I used to work in a BMT unit, You couldn't be charge unless you have a specified oncohematology/icu certification- and that takes at least a year. They only send you to that when you've been around for at least 2 years.... so basically you can only be charge after minimum 3yrs experience.
@@Elisheval One with a cardiovascular ICU. Hardly a Podunk
As he said that proudly, I was mortified. Things are going to hell in a hand basket
I can’t wait to get out of nursing. I love doing traveling nursing for now, but I’m so over the entire profession.
RN here. I’m over the profession too. It’s been a month since I left the bedside and I won’t be going back. 🕊
@@amedori18 Good! I can’t wait until my day comes.
@@Sarah78888 it took me a while too. A lot of patience. Once I found the opportunity to leave, I took it. I feel empowered; I feel free. I hope the day you get out that you feel these things too.
Thank you :D
I would get out, but where can you find a job that can make 6 figures working half the year? I literally only work the winter season. I spend all summer camping and fishing lol.
Nurse for 20 years, we belong to a broken, unsustainable system. I'm glad to see people pleased with what they're getting paid, but it's short term people and at the expense of small communities are often harmed by travel nurses who make a buck and then move on. Universal Healthcare is the only long term solution. Healthcare is a basic human right.
There's so much propaganda to prevent universal healthcare in america, and it's working. There's always the argument that you can't just copy other countries, but I actually counter... what if you can just copy systems that work?
@@ayoCC I really appreciate your reply. It sounds like such a simple solution. (Norway's model is outstanding; however, they rely upon Oil money). You see, our capitalistic system allows big business to lobby Washington. Insurance companies drive sick-care in this country, not MDs. Economic wealth and Personal health are tightly bound together. Under the current system, the flames of disparity between rich and poor can only be fanned. Government must institute universal healthcare, everyone deserves care. When big businesses, including Pharma, have their fingers in the pot, somebody gets kicked to the curb in the name of making the rich richer. I'm shocked that the American public puts up with it. Then again, our political track record paints the picture of everyone in a large jar of ether.......comfortably numb and completely unaware....anesthetized...
@@thatguy9051 I actually live in Germany so I've never experienced the american health system. Generally I just feel peace of mind that no matter what happens i'll be fine, whether I lose my job or get a health accident, I'm not ruined.
From a philosophical view, if law is supposed to embody the guidelines by which to create the greatest good, it should probably be almost a constitutional amendment that the governments duty is to ensure its citizens health.
I’m getting out. I have had it.
I will never go back to full time staffing again even if I have to quit nursing once for all.
If you are going to pay travel nurses $70 + /hr why not pay staff the same. Then all the energy spent in a constant shift of staff could go toward retention & PATIENT CARE. I’m an ICU nurse for 28yrs. The current situation is absolute insanity!! We shouldn’t have to be constantly changing jobs to be paid our worth. It’s stressful & not everyone can do it. Why not get a good solid staff & pay them gain staff retention & people that become invested in the facility. It will translate into better patient care & outcomes. I think administration has completely forgotten about the PATIENT.
I work in a pre post/Pacu setting and we’re losing staff all the time. Travelers have been a godsend.
Nurses are my favorite people at any healthcare facility. My family appreciate all of you!
I’m a travel RN and love it.
Do you make as much money as the internet says?
@@milianamack506 check out the rates on a company you’re interested in. I’ve been making $50-$90/ hr depending on the assignment not including any stipends.
@@milianamack506
Lol ohhh the internet
We are proud of our Nurses! Thank you RobZ Vancouver Island✌
Yeah they pay us crap so we're doing what we gotta do
Without nurses survival rates fall and complication rates soar for all things, not just covid. That was long ago documented. I did 39 yrs . Hospital, clinic, fulltime, part time, per diem, agency and travel. I worked sick, injured, miscarrying, overtime, holidays all the while struggling to give the best care, learn more and somehow felt it was my fault... TX is only state with safe harbor and it is right royal pain to invoke. just saying.
They should get better treatment, but having the nursing staff on short term contract only that doesnt know the facility and staff is scary.
Not really. There may be a few differences in protocol, but most of nursing is pretty much the same. A big factor that will determine if you get good care is the experience of the nurse.
This is where less govt regulations have hurt hospitals along with equity and hedge funds buying hospitals cause of no control on capitalism.
You have no idea what you're talking about. Sad
Regulations are a double edged sword. Excessive charting that eats an extraordinary amount of a nurse's time can be attributed to regulations.
@@pugilist102 We need regulations that address ratios.
Most hospitals are non profit
Worked in the ER for 4.5 years. Now at pharmacy giving vaccinations , this is the only time I felt that I'm paid fairly. And I mean fair, not asking for an outrageous amount, but I'm doing transport for PTs, I clean rooms and trash. Then of course also do Nursing work.
I also loved giving vaccinations too.
I feel so sad hearing this. I live in Sweden, and have an education as a district nurse. Which means I did 4,5 years of university studies to get my license. Everything they talk about in this video is spot on in my country to. And we get paid $hi#. My 20 year old nephew, had better salary than me straight out of high school!
What? Sweden? With universal healthcare?
One of the downsides of traveling though is, at least when I did it, there was no sick pay and no PTO. Nurses across the country need to demand higher pay and also fight for ratios. It’s ridiculous to care for six or seven patients.
Not true. I work for a travel agency and we accrue pto. The ratios on the other hand are insane.
@@zeuspagan5946 that’s great news. I have not traveled for five years and I realize things change. I’m glad to hear that.
Also most travel companies have no 401K
Honestly, i don’t really mind no pto when I’m making 4k/wk. I can actually take time off with peace of mind!
The problem is everywhere…… Geriatric, pediatric, home health, hospice and healthcare in the school system working with special needs kids. No more…. Too many chiefs not enough Indians.
Careers with the direct responsibility for human lives.
Peace Health in OR produced a “shortage” of nursing hours b4 the pandemic; then they put about 100 nurses on permanent leave because they refused to be “fully vaccinated.” Other hospitals in OR did essentially the same.
Sounds like a bunch of nurses were rightfully weeded out for declining to follow well established safety precautions that have been in place for decades.
@@ellakruz You don’t know what you’re talking about. Let me guess you’re overweight and/or smoke. We can all see your attitude is toxic. Fear is poison and you’re full of it. Personal responsibility is lost on people like you.
@@ellakruz yea because Covid has been around for decades. Fool
I can't blame any nurse for becoming a traveler. Some of these traveling nurses resign at a hospital then go to work in that same hospital as a traveler and earn the big money! Why not! I don't think as a nurse I am asking too much to be paid what I am worth and given the respect we deserve. In my Midwest small town hospital it was once said by the administrator that nurses are a dime a dozen. This was way back in the 70's. That man has since died but his words are still remembered today in the hospital I work. The pandemic has amplified what was already happening--a shortage of nurses. So no matter how we are out there caring for our patients, travelers or not, good for us. We will do our best.
Y’all feel safe when hospitals run these folks ragged for the sack of their own profits?!
10-12 per Nurse is a floor of patients jeez
Some states and a lot of countries limit it to 3-4 ppl per nurse
I left a staff RT position in lieu of travel/contract RT. Best decision I’ve ever made.
Thats really crazy how we paid so much on hospital but they dont hire more people
It's heartbreaking how true this is.
Do you think that you are the only Nurses that suffer with staffing shortages and large patient ratio??? I became a staff nurse in a Hospital in 1984. Our ratio on a surgical floor was 13 patients to 1 nurse and if we were caught trying to get a union started you would be fired!!!!!!!!!!!
Where in our history did we start firing our medical staff in a pandemic...where???? Even in wars it was ALL HANDS ON DECK...
maybe ....just maybe ........ if doctors use their skills to work as part time nurses
LMFAO
Pre-pandemic, I got to work with a travel nurse during a hospital clinical when I was a nursing student. This should absolutely NOT be the standard for nurses and nursing. The money is decent but the quality of care absolutely suffered. At that time, the hospital did not train travel nurses how to use their system to document. She had to learn on the fly. Guess what -- she did a very minimal job documenting and the patients lamented the entire shift, where is my nurse? Because she was not only over-worked but burdened with learning on the spot that hospital's resources and policies for the week she was there. It was hard to find her at times. This is a risk to patients and if hospitals think they can exploit travel nursing to provide care, that's scary.
Nursing schools need to hire more faculty -- they charge exorbitantly high tuition and fail too many students or make them drop out for problems the school actually causes but shifts onto students because blame-games work and they just want the money. They should be more concerned about training quality healthcare professionals. Hospitals will then try to import foreign nurses. Americans should not do their nursing ed in the US -- go to the Philippines or wherever, pay a fraction of the cost for your ed and dont go into debt. You can get your transcripts easily translated and go right into a hospital job. American schools have themselves to blame with the poor education process and high tuitions. Look there and fix this if you want to know all the reasons why there are nursing shortages in our country.
Philippines uses English as standard teaching these courses. One of my friends just completed a caregiver course; their reading lectures were all in English. I even sent her one of my old Basic Nursing Skills book on skills such as walking with crutches, GT Feeding, bedside bath, etc. Yes, the cost is really affordable than what goes on here. And some schools find ways to fail people especially Excelsior College who been sued at least two times in federal Eastern District Court in Brooklyn for ripping people off. They are still doing it.
@@ontheroad5555 It's a crisis that both burdens Americans with debt and absolutely contributes to shortages of nursing. Many schools have a high fail rate. Mine had a fail rate of 70%. That's outrageous. And the faculty boast and blame students that it is the fault of the student. At least half the time -- it certainly is not the blame of the student. I lost many smart, diligent classmates who had their gpas and credit wrecked. The testing process often had nothing to do with what we learned in class or had to read in chapters. They were written off as not able to cut it but its the teaching and the testing practices are horrible. It's an open secret faculty will throw out select test questions so their favourite students can pass after failing. There is no quality control over testing and standardized testing is really big business -- death from medical error is No. 3 cause of death in the US. Well, you can't blame the students you pushed out of school. It concerns the ones who passed. The instructors often have two jobs -- teaching and nurses -- and they don't want to be bothered with work at the college. Whatever is going on -- the wrong people are eliminated. This is happening in traditional, so-called not-profit institutions as well as for profit. It is better to do your education in the Philippines. Don't waste your money in the US
The last sentence said it all
I'm doing the job of three nurses, I should be paid the salary of three nurses. Hit the nail on the head.
The AIDES are in the room the most! Stop forgetting all the other hospital support staff you NEED to make your hospital run. It's not all about the nurses!
Now that is the truth!!!!!! Patients are lucky if they see their nurse once a day! Just because someone has RN after their name, does not make them a good nurse. A lot of it gets to their heads!
Not every unit has aides.. all Icus I've worked in either have 1 aid for the entire unit or none at all. And nurses have to draw all the blood too. I've also worked med surg for 2 years. My aids were in there for blood sugar and vitals and If I needed help cleaning a patient, that's really it
I can do your job. Can you do mine?
So this is crazy! They say that becoming a travel nurse is somehow “empowering”
Are you serious?? Such a paid advertisement for Big Hospitals.
So basically they think people are stupid to believe that trading a full time W2 job with predictable schedule, benefits, pension, possibly unions - for a on demand, part time, 1099 contractor (where you have to pay all taxes by yourself) role without any guarantee of future employment or pay is better????
Are you serious?????
Yeah its better. Work is always there. I have 3rd party health ins.. if I need time off, I simply don't work. Travel pays enough that you can do that. It's better in almost every way
@@late_apexx thanks for your insight! 🙌🏻
Opened a new perspective for me
The less you stay in one spot. The less you will see long term corruption. Hmmmmm
Correct the pandemic didn't cause the issues but it did amplify the issues. Nurses are like everyone else...we are taking stock of our lives and the options available. I opted to travel since quitting all together wasn't an option for me. Doing what I need to for my family and still keep myself sane in the profession
I make more money selling my home grown organic marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms.
@@austingoomba - 🤘
Where you located???
@@KarsynsFamily -Are you law enforcement and/or associated with Big tech in any way? If this is entrapment, you have to tell me.
@@ricardodsavant2965 absolutely not
@@KarsynsFamily - Have a nice day...🙂
I love you everyone forgets about nursing homes it’s way worst than hospitals
So much of this is baloney. All of us working our butts off in hospitals are PISSED that the hospitals are forced to hire these very highly paid travel nurses to help provide patient care. And the gist of it is that they're paying the travel nurses so much money that the hospitals can't afford to compensate their own nurses more fairly. It's a vicious circle: the more overworked the staff nurses are, the more of them leave for travel nursing. And the more travel nurses are used by the hospital, the less money the hospital has to compensate their own nurses. Travel nurses are HATED by the staff nurses who are trying to stick it out because travelers make so much more money than they do. The healthcare system will eventually break and the Federal government will have to step in and take over.
Thank you for speaking the truth. I’m very resentful these travel nurses make so much more money than we do as staff. And the majority of the travel nurses I’ve encountered have zero commitment to the institution they are working at.
No just stop. You're speaking out of jealousy. Calm your tits.
If the hospitals would have paid their employees more from the get-go we wouldn't be so bad off. BEFORE the pandemic.
It's so disgusting to see other healthcare professionals hating and showing their ugly.
"Travel nurses make so much more than we do..."
No, staff nurses are underpaid, making less than travel nurses are. This is administration's fault - not the travel nurses.
Even though I understand your sentiment, in the end I blame the hospitals and the administration at the top. If they weren't so concerned about the bottom line, and going to extremes to get there (cutting wages, INTENTIONALLY having units worked short staffed, paying nursed below their market value) this wouldnt be an issue! Pay nurses fairly, give them the right environments (non-toxic) to work in, and this would not be an issue! Its crazy to me that these hospitals are trying to cut down cost with their own in-house staff, and they are paying out the nose for non-inhouse staff
All the Hospitals have to do is offer more pay to the existing staff and they’d keep them. Or improve the healthcare plans and benefits offered to full time teammates. In the end travel nurses are a symptom of low wages and awful staffing ratios. Eventually all the RN’s who can will be travelers, and hospitals will have to offer competitive market rates to their staff nurses. Hospitals are just hoping to avoid permanently raising nurse pay. We’ll see who blinks first. Don’t be surprised if Hospitals try to buy legislation outlawing travel nurses or capping their pay, which will ultimately hurt all bedside nurses. Either way save the hate, the job is too stressful to let bitterness eat you at the same time as dealing with all the death we’ve seen.
If soooooo many Americans weren't so fat and unhealthy, maybe we wouldn't be at capacity all the time, and need so much care. Even before the pandemic, we'd have 100 patients in a 60 bed ER.
I work it everyday in the er, just like everyone else here. Most people end up in the ER for issues related to their weight and eating habits. Hardcore truths that Americans need to hear.
Facts! Before covid 80% of the hospital was filled with ppl with these issues: obesity....
@@midnull6009
Hardcore facts. At the current rate of our growing fatness, we're legit going to be the people from WALL-E in 20 years.
#1 cause of death in America is heart disease, and the leading factor for that: obesity. Obesity is a factor for like the remaining leading causes of death too.
Maybe I'm especially sensitive of it, since I work in the Midwest. Most on my patients on a nightly basis are heavy set people with heart pain, can't breath, CHF, diabetes, AFib, lower leg edema etc.
Due to their size they're even more vulnerable to falls in the winter, because theyve lost so much agility...because they're 5'4" and 240+
Covid even snatches up the fat people multiple times more than the thin ones.
I feel like this is the pandemic we're ignoring, and it's a big problem in regards to healthcare burn out.
I live in a city with a major auto manufacturing plant...and ONE of the 2-3 hospitals systems we have, alone, is the areas largest employer.
@@Faq-ubeach no truer words have been spoken
fun fact: you don't hear about these kind of metrics in covid cases...not anymore. You heard it for like a week at the beginning of the pandemic but that info was pushed into the backburner. It's a very important demographic! Very important!
I keep telling ppl that his is the pandemic of the obese...and that we've been in the "obesity pandemic" for years before covid...
I'm not very popular person...
@@midnull6009 oh I'm sure you're not popular lol. I'm not popular for the same reason.
Americans, of which I am one of course, just don't want to hear about their weight.
I work in COVID testing, and yes my heart is heavy.
Who owns the travel nursing agencies? Im sure the CEOs create the problem and then they also benefit from the problem..
Love travel nursing!
There will be no shortage of nursing job in the next 50 yrs why be staff nurse if you can earn 3-4x as travel nurse ...
Something Must be done !
Enough is Enough!
people have been saying this for years...before covid :)
Wait until you have children and a spouse and see how advantageous it is to be constantly traveling. This is another situation where you have winners and losers. What a sad, capitalist system this is.
I have a spouse and a 2 year old. Still doing travel, I ain’t working for $25 an hour when I can make over $100/hr
Married here 🤚🏾
Just gotta have an understanding family
Alternatively, not everyone has kids. Or a spouse. Don't project your choices into someone else because you're bitter about it.
You can also “travel” within the state you live (even to nearby cities) and still get paid 3-5k/wk. it’s not as bad as you think.
Well to some, their souse is a software engineer that can work from anywhere and also take care of the kids 😝
Trave Nurse Life! YEEAAAHHHH!!!!
Very scary having New Nurses as charge Nurses. All about the money. Where is Patient Advocate???
Hire me, willing to work. 😁🙏
I want to be a travel nurse but I have to finish my degree first 😂
Most people are disposable trust me they can get Someone else to do the job i no
Thank goodness we don't have travel nurses where I come from! As a charge nurse, I can't even begin to imagine the headache of having a new nurse (no matter their age and experience) that doesn't know the staff, doctors, hospital computer system - and having to teach them and having to do it all again for the next one. Floating nurses also suck - but at least they're familiar with the hospital!
I’m charge on my unit and we have travelers all the time, I’ve had some with bad attitudes, but other than that I only ever have to show them where things are or answer basic questions. I’d rather have to do that than be short staffed any day
I was a travel nurse for 6 years. The things you mentioned, a decent travel nurse can pick up in a few days. It’s not expected that you hold a travel nurses hand. They simply need to know the basic functioning of your unit.
@@will_the_don I agree..... When I have bad attitudes... I dis-miss them because Im not going to pay you to complain and act dumb founded. Go somewhere else. I have ended many contract.. I have a great team now. Basically weed them out off your unit.
@@wamm1478You can write a check but can't form a coherent sentence.
Time to get out of the hospital. It’s business machine. You are replaceable.
What do you recommend?
@@prettylittlemissy
Not medicine.
@@mv2873 is that what you’ve done?
Oh Come on, all about the money. Everything else is an excuse to justify the reasoning of why they quiting . What's not cool the amount of nurses quitting to go travel by and leaving the local hospitals empty.
that seems like a problem for the administrators of the hospital to fix, not for the nurses to stay and be overworked and burnt out
This doesn’t even make sense. Who wants to be worked like a dog and make less when you could be doing the same thing, make more money, and maybe even be treated better? If management listened to nurses and curated SAFE environments for us work in, nurses wouldn’t be leaving! Traveling gives us more autonomy to set our own conditions and find an assignment we like. It’s not up to nurses to keep hospitals staffed.
TH-cam A prison earth Alien conspiracy Documentary. Aloha from Hawaii 😎👣👣👣👣🤙
Hit and run nursing "professionals".
stop killing for pay then