Not trying to start a war but I'm tired of pretending this isn't happening. Three travelers on our ICU right now and every single shift they get the stable patients while staff gets the double drips and the family that's yelling at everyone. Charge says it's because they don't know the unit yet. One of them has been here 9 months.
I get it, I really do. They're making double what I make and they can walk at the end of the contract, so management doesn't want to scare them off. And honestly the ones we have are good nurses. It's not their fault.
But I'm the one who's been here 5 years getting the hardest assignment every night for less than half the money and I'm starting to resent people who never did anything to me. Which feels gross.
Is this a thing on your unit too or did I just land somewhere weird? And travelers, I actually want to hear from you. Do you notice it?
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Post replyHas anyone actually asked charge to look at the assignments over a few weeks? Like with the acuity scores written down, not just a feeling? I'm not doubting you. I'm asking because that's the only thing that got our manager to move.
Honestly I'm more mad that they can't offer staff a retention bonus that's even a fraction of what they're paying the agency. Five years of loyalty gets you a 2% raise and the patient whose family is threatening to call a lawyer.
The resentment feeling gross part is real. I worked next to a traveler I genuinely liked for 6 months and still caught myself being short with her on bad nights. The anger belongs with whoever writes the schedule, but she was the one standing in front of me.
Traveler here. Yes, I notice it, and it happens at maybe half my contracts. The flip side nobody talks about is that at the other half I'm the one getting floated every single shift, and to units I've never set foot on. I'm not saying that makes it even, just that it isn't always cushy on our end either.
One of them has been here 9 months. That line did all the work. At some point they know the unit better than the new grads we keep throwing on CRRT.
Our unit went through this in 2022. Staff started tracking acuity on a shared sheet for a month and brought it to the unit council. Turned out staff were carrying the higher-acuity pairs about 70% of the time. Charge rotation changed pretty fast after that. Data gets a response that complaining in the break room never will.