LC'd

We have a "fun" term at my new hospital called "LC". It means I get to be on-call all night because there weren't enough babies for me to come into work, but they want me on stand-by just in case something comes up. Normally, they send out a text to see if anyone would prefer to take it. Tonight I got told.

I shouldn't complain, because it's nice to not have to worry about work for a night. However, I know lots of the girls who would love to have an LC night because they have kids and husbands and lives. Me, on the other hand, live to work right now. I have student loans coming up soon (like the next couple of weeks), and bills to pay... by myself. I don't have a spouse to cover me and working is not something that I do as a way to occupy myself or to gain accolades at various social gathering through the year.

No, I am blessed to be able to have a career that matches my desires to care for babies, but I also have to work in order to support myself. I live on a budget, and I have a dog who depends on me to give her food. Granted, I kinda forget to feed her occasionally, but she's not starving to death because I cannot afford to buy her food and she has a tendency to eat a lot of my food. She works it out.

Guys, I'm getting mildly frustrated with my new job. I love the work itself, it's just the politics of the new hospital that are going to kill me. Some days, I am convinced that I get the shitty assignments because I am a new employee and a baby nurse. I will take those with a smile, though I'm gritting my teeth. I suffer through the night and figure out a way to get all my work done without complaining because that is what they expect. Then, there are nights where I am almost certain I can see the rage in some nurse's eyes, and it's directed at me. Did I mention that I'm new? Did I also mention that many of the girls think the only reason I got the job is because my Mema is a NICU nurse at Small Town Hospital and her sister just so happens to be the Director of Nursing for our floor?...

So here I am, a newbie ripe for the hazing, with a target already on my back because my great-aunt gave me the job. Who cares that a HUGE hospital and university chain offered me an interview just after I had already accepted the job here? I didn't want to burn familial bridges by backing out all of a sudden. Who cares that I've been dreaming and working towards coming down here for THREE YEARS NOW!? What does it matter that I grit my teeth through all feedings being at the same time and being assigned three babies that should not be 1) assigned together and 2) each of them needs to be assigned alongside a super easy baby so that the nurse has any hope of getting through the day. I have had assignments all through orientation that the seasoned nurses refused to accept because they knew their day would suck and be impossible to make it through. The only reason I survived the day is because I was paired with a seasoned nurse that helped me through.

What happened to nurses not hazing the newbies? One of the blogs I read had a post about new nurses toughening up, not whining, and if life is so terrible at the hospital you are at, find another job. Thing is, they suckered me into signing a contract before I ever set foot on the floor... I'll know that next time, that's a trap. There's a reason they need nurses to sign on for a certain number of years and that is because their retention rates are CRAP!!! Why? Well, you've got 4 new nurses to the unit who are all thinking about quitting because the social aspect is complete shit. Charge nurses who will legitimately give you assignments out of spite and talk shit behind your back, only for other nurses to bring these awful details to your attention, to your face. That's just asking for trouble.

Yes, we are working with the DON on some of these issues. However, that brings up a whole new problem for me because if I go to her, they will think I'm being favorited and I will be completely screwed. So, I will stick to the method of sucking it up and dealing with it for 1-2 instances. Then, I will ask for a change of assignment and perhaps inform the other party that I feel I am being treated unfairly. Then, and only then, I will go to our manager. If it doesn't go anywhere by then, I'll go to my great-aunt.

Ugh, I'm fixin' to just call everybody out back and we can handle this like men. This middle school girl bullshit is enough to make a person move to another state.