Who is responsible?
The registered nurses recognized they were experiencing a challenging and contentious situation.
Finally, one of the members on the night shift realized that it was time to stop and think about
the situation before "something terrible happens." She spoke to a colleague and shared her worries
and her analysis of the situation. They realized that something had to be done to change the situation. But what?
Initially, their discussions of the situation resulted in feelings of frustration; they wondered if they could do anything about the problem. It seemed so complex and besides, it wasn't really their concern, it was the manager's problem. They decided to talk to their manager and together they sat down and looked at the situation.
After hearing their stories of frustration and burn out, the Patient Care Manager of Surgical Services agreed that something had to be done to address the situation. She knew that morale was low, the lowest she had ever seen in all of her years of registered nursing practice. She knew that because of the conditions they were working under, they were not always capable of meeting CRNBC's Standards.
Reflections on the Case Study