Warning; Hospital rant ahead.
I just spent 3 days and no less than 10 employee shifts in hospital for lung surgery. I never saw the same caregiver twice in that time. WTH? The lack of skill, caring and (most of all communication between care givers) was totally unacceptable. Each shift supervisor seemed to want to do as they pleased when it came to giving which meds and when.These orders are from the doctor not the nurses.
Rotating care team
I had to continually watch what was given and when. A few times I would note an omission of a med and be told it wasn't on the list. After asking them to look again I would get "oh, here it is". A CMA would come in and take vitals then 10 minutes later a different one would come in and try to do the same thing. Nurse Becky would say Cathy will be in to do something. Norma would show up and do it instead. Later Becky would ask if Cathy came in. I would say no, but Norma did and Becky would say good that's who I asked to do it. WTF? None of the employees knew each other or the patient they were assigned to of course.
The doctors were always asking the nurses if they understood or were capable of following the orders given. At least they are aware of the problem. Some CNAs were not aware of how to take a manual BP due to the machine not working right. Many employees spoke English words but didn't know their meaning. English is a 2nd language now it seems. One African (Kenya) wore so much perfume i was choking 1 minute after her arrival.
Bad communication
As luck would have it a nurse administrator visited on the last day to perform a random survey. She said she had just had another all staff meeting/ notification about the wards being scent free zones! She cited employee shortage and covid as reasons for issues. She said many nurses are "traveling nurses" due to the issues mentioned. I think pure BS is more the cause. This ward was 8 rooms no more than half full and there was always enough employees but they were strictly following their own agenda and job descriptions. Not wanting to or needing / able to communicate in a standard language is the biggest problem i observed. I will be right there meant at least 20 minutes to them also. If you ask for orange juice and get hot tea because of lack of understanding something should be done! The administrator agreed and promised things would get better as time went by is totally unacceptable. This needs fixed and less attention to inclusion and politics needs to happen.
It's a jungle out there
It's a wonder anyone survives past the OR. Thank dog I have some past medical experience and common sense to be able to watch them like a hawk and advocate for myself.
Rant over. Thank you folks for reading. Be careful out there it's a jungle full of predators! Most are wearing masks albeit incorrectly.
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