Please help...

Re: Please help...

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:21:06 GMT

Just someone playing childish wee games

Re: Please help...

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:15:36 GMT

sounds complicated

Re: Please help...

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:06:35 GMT

Cheers for that spud, and btw my bottom rant was not directed at you...... lets just say I have had some randoms pm ing me with random clinical questions that they can get answered on a thread or even better ask their vet.

STRVN

Re: Please help...

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:54:20 GMT

hello strvn

I have no idea who potatoe is. i am called spud after my dog who yes did come from scotland as a rescue some 9 yrs ago.

i do not have enough time to have 2 profileson this or any other web site and also as you can see i say what i think so do not feel the need to have a second identity. hope this answers your questian.

spud

Re: Please help...

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:33:09 GMT

[quote user="spud x"]

i would like to ask all the nurses who have called potato a door matt etc what you think she should do. what if she is the only nurse who can check the animlas, are you saying she should leave them all night without pain meds etc etc

i do think some of you are not looking at these prob from an objective point of view and should take a step back and take a moment to think about the situation and the welfare of the animlas before calling people door matts..

worried nurse do you get to go to bed or do you have to stay up? do you go to bed and get up to give meds. how does it work?

[/quote]

Just a wee question.......... but are you and potato one and the same????? just that spud is Scottish for potato an all....... plus you both seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet!!!!!!!! and seeing as we have many on here is "disguise".... yes you know who you are... and so do I an others and thats all fair and well if its done in a content of anonimity for reasons within work......... but when it is done to either compromise another nurses position within her/his worklife or worse still to try and trip them up to their detriment...... then that is not on........ ever!!!!!!!!!!!! this may seem random to peeps on here . but the "pretenders" will know where I am coming from. in fact I had one tonight p'ming me....... yes I am not that stupid.........as I said I have your number!!!!

Re: Please help...

Laura Ringsell — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:52:09 GMT

I would just like to point out that employment law states that you have to have 3 months notice of a change of contract - which i presume this is - hoping that you have a contract. This should give you enough time to review the situation and give you the chance to have a llok around. It is always difficult when the goal posts are moved especially regarding working hours but you need to think carefully about the impact it will have on you and your training if you move.

I would also like to point out that when people feel the need to be on here annonymously and have genuine worries and concerns then they should only be replied to in a constructive manner.

Re: Please help...

Minnow — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:47:15 GMT

Oh my god! Have any of you heard of the working time directive. There are laws out there to help you. Slave labour is supposed to be banished and don't give me that oh but the poor animals! What about you poor nurses!

You have to stop this now. Use the BVNA legal help line and get your rights. Look at the Working time directive and see how many hours you are allowed to work over a period. There are rules for breaks within 24hrs, week and month.

If most of the time you do not stay in practice the rules are somewhat more relaxed. However, if you are officially on duty and have to stay on the end of the phone ready to be called at any time the rules become more clear.

If you work more than one night in a row including days then you MUST have compensatory time off within a certain period. I know this is difficult with one or two man practices when people are on holiday but we didn't go into this job to kill ourselves.

I work 2 or 3 nights a month, sleep in ( rarely sleeping as we regularly have full wards) but we can sleep between 2 hourly checks if we are able. We do a full weekend Friday morning to Monday morning, every 8 weeks, which potentially can be without sleep too. We are in the process of changing this because the workload was not like this even a year ago and its now knackering. We know people make mistakes if they do not get appropriate breaks and are putting in 2nd on call to take over once the 1st has gone over her max hours. How many staff do you have?

Re: Please help...

Avril Louise Jackson RVN — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:59:46 GMT

Couldn't agree more. A tired, stressed vn is more likely to compromise patient care. Suddenly changing a working routine can seriously affect people's lives and psyche. Comments like "i've got it worse than you" are unhelpful and suggest that the person who has made them is not for improving and forwarding the vet nursing profession. Yes it is a difficult job and it is not a 9-5 job but we are all entitled to a quality of life and a fair amount of time away from work.

Potatoe you come across as being very disatisfied in your own situation so maybe you should sort that out before commenting on other people's

Re: Please help...

Sal the 1st — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:35:08 GMT

spud - my exact comment was ' its called being a doormat' (and incidentally this was what the union described it as) I have not called anybody a doormat it relates to the behaviour compensating for somebody elses shortcomings and would just like to put the record straight regards that. I can empathise if Potatoe is the only nurse there - have been in this position myself and I can empathise that it is very difficult to complain to employers about this kind of situation and even harder when you 'live above the shop' and again have been in this position myself more than once. The point of my post was (which you have maybe missed) the more nurses are prepared to put up with this the more employers see this as the norm and it is then expected of everybody. ie the choice is taken away from nurses who dont want to work this way. If Potatoe chooses to work like this by continuing to do it - then that is their choice.

The reason I made my post was that the tone of Potatoes post was - I have to do it so everybody else should, and by implication anybody that doesnt want to work this way is a lesser person which I strongly disagree with.

I found Potatoes response quite sarcastic and not helpful. The person starting the thread called themselves 'worried nurse' and that should have been a big enough clue. I respect Potatoe may have a different opinion and I respect their right to comment but have to say their comment might have been worded a bit differently and caused less offense

I would also like to point out that the welfare of in patients is also down to the veterinary surgeon not just the nurse.

Ultimately Potatoe is registered as a locum - so it really is their choice to work these hours! and although receiving no extra pay for evening checks probably receives a much better daily rate than the regular staff.

Re: Please help...

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:10:56 GMT

worried nurse do you get to go to bed or do you have to stay up? do you go to bed and get up to give meds. how does it work?

Re: Please help...

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:18:56 GMT

Hiya worried nurse,

thought you might find the following website useful:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/EmploymentContractsAndConditions/DG_10037116

the directgov website has loads of stuff on your rights in terms of employment law which I found really useful when my boss was wanting to change my contract without my consent, just to know where I stood with things.

hope it all gets sorted out for you

Re: Please help...

sazzle — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:55:46 GMT

at our practice we now have fulltime night nurses who do 4 on 4 off between just the two and they stay on site. We USED to do it between 9 day staff with 1 night each per week for 7 weeks then 2 weeks with no nights. This would increase for hols/sick etc of everyone else.

I HATED the idea of nights and offered to the head nurse that i do 'branch cover' which involved covering hols of 5 other people thru'out the yr n i did that for 3 years (till this yr when i start dipavn and thats been removed from me)

Could you offer to do something like that instead of the nights...? Mine worked out really well tho you do have to rush to a branch 5 miles away at drop of a hat...tho does show you have versitility to cover this and willing to help in other was rather than nights

Does this help?

Re: Please help...

les punton — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:37:43 GMT

aw im sorry to hear this, my employers were in a similar attitude (its always the ones who dont do on call who think it will be fine).

we were on a 1:4 rota where you would do the whole week on call then work a week then the following friday you would get off. by the time the friday came i slept all day! then we went to a 1:3, all of us were knackered.

the rota has now changed and we do about 4-6 nights a month but they are spread out.

try not to be too sad about it, it may be the case of you guys will need to try it to prove to your employers that it will be too much. It may be worth getting some professional advice on this matter.

potatoe - although this is how a lot of people work (have done myself) i have relised that there is more to life than pleasing my employers and I dont feel that your advice helped. It will not make a less of a nurse for standing up to things - possibley a better one for being less tired and more focused.

Re: Please help...

Louise B — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:26:04 GMT

[quote user="sal the 1st"]

Potatoe - you may not have taken a job with those hours - and I appreciate you wouldnt want to leave sick animals unchecked but if you choose to check them out of hours it is totally different. I did this for a long time too no extra pay ..... and its called being a doormat. I wouldnt like to leave animals unchecked either but this does nothing to improve the standards of employment for all nurses. If employers know they can get away with this they expect all nurses to do it - and that isnt fair on those that choose not to for whatever reasons. All too often I have seen the emotional blackmail card played ' If you dont check on it nobody else will'. The practice I worked at I was doing at least 11hour days with half hour for lunch - the vets came in an hour after me and left at least an hour before and had a full lunch hour sometimes 2. I lived above the practice but the pair of them lived no more than 5 mins away. If they felt that much about their patients would it have harmed them to check them themselves just once in a while?

Whilst I applaud your compassion towards your in patients, looking at the bigger picture I have to question just who it helps. Sorry if this offends but I feel it does need to be said

[/quote]

I second that. Well said!

Re: Please help...

Mac Feather — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:05:28 GMT

Yes Id be worried that if staff are tired then its difficult to function, etc and that to me is a disservice to clients n pets.

Re: Please help...

Vicky RVN — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:02:26 GMT

Thanks guys. It's nice to have some replies from people who see things realistically and are being supportive rather than critical of my feelings, i agree i wouldn't want a sick animal to be left. But like has been said, i am not a doormat, i have to live my life not just exist. As much as i love my job and wouldn't want to change it for the world, i work to live not live to work. If i carried on doing too many nights i'd be like a burnt out candle. In fact, that is how i'm feeling today cos this week i've had to do a lot of nights (just a one off with the rota the way it is now).

Re: Please help...

Vicky RVN — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:58:48 GMT

You've hit the nail on the head Emma, it's going to be shared between less people! At the moment we have some night nurses who work elsewhere in the day. With the proposed changes it will just be between the day nurses!

Re: Please help...

Vicky RVN — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:57:12 GMT

[quote user="sal the 1st"]

worried nurse - how does all this fit in with your current contract - are there any changes that will need to be made?

[/quote]

Yep changes will need to be made by the looks of it. I'll send you a pm.

Re: Please help...

Emma Clark — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:56:11 GMT

Can i ask what has changed to make your nights go up from 5 a month to 20 over 3 months. If you now have your ooh covered and they take your weekend inpatients then would you not still have the same amoutn of nights or less?? Or is it now shared out among less people??

Re: Please help...

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:46:18 GMT

[quote user="sal the 1st"]

Whilst I applaud your compassion towards your in patients, looking at the bigger picture I have to question just who it helps. Sorry if this offends but I feel it does need to be said

[/quote]

Well said. At the end of the day we can't be expected to drop and do anything. If we did we would crash one day when it was really important. Moderation and care with our hours is the best way to manage it. poor staffing and lack of scheduling that meets the workers needs is when it all goes *** up in the end. We all have passion for our jobs and for our patients but that doesn't mean we have to break our backs and comprimise our family time because out management can't get their act together and hire the require number for happy working environments. If we didn't all care so much about the animals we wouldn't be here full stop. I really hope you find something that works for you Worried Nurse. You're not alone we're here if you need us, at least some of us are.

Re: Please help...

Sal the 1st — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:43:14 GMT

Whilst I applaud your compassion towards your in patients, looking at the bigger picture I have to question just who it helps. Sorry if this offends but I feel it does need to be said

Re: Please help...

Sal the 1st — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:29:02 GMT

worried nurse - how does all this fit in with your current contract - are there any changes that will need to be made?

Re: Please help...

Vicky RVN — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:56:38 GMT

I am thinking of looking for a job elsewhere. Just don't want to rush into things and end up in a worse situation.

Mrs Mac, that is what we did today. Made sod all difference. The PM is in agreement with a lot of what we say. But doesn't really get much say herself.

Re: Please help...

Mac Feather — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:52:57 GMT

Is it possible for you and other nurses to write down your points of concern and dicuss them with practice principal and the practice manager?

Re: Please help...

Potatoe — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:52:33 GMT

i live at the practice so never get to go home!

and no i did not take the job with these hours but can not exactly leave ill animals on their own over night

i also know students that have worked on call taking the phones and they would do 7 - 8 nights a month and have to go to work after sleeping on the floor next to post gdv surgery dogs and they did this for 7k a yr.

if you feel that strongly may be you should look for a new job with no ooh.