Standing at the bedside of a patient today physically makes me sick. ISBAR has nothing on the overwhelming story of their illness, & the debilitating consideration I have to deliver care in a setting that has no comprehension of my impossible care targets. I seek equipment & dressings that do not exist or are ordered for delivery tomorrow. I answer calls for a pan that’s stuck in a sanitizer with a job fix request for a week ago. The next task is answering calls from the pt’s relatives -relaying multiple times the condition of “mum”. Then the manager doesn’t compliment me on forgetting to fill the hourly rounding, patient care board or fluid balance chart – yer it’s my problem hasn’t been touched for 24 hours ? The medication round is the tip of an avalanche that involves the patient, doctor, pharmacy & all before the patient has had breakfast!  I could go on …             No person except a nurse gets this or knows about our job! And if I care for patients then is it too much to ask that someone cares for nurses. We ask if people are OK- well nurses  are saying we are NOT OK!

Essential elements of our care are not being done and our patients are suffering the consequences of our inadequate nurse to patient ratios!