I don't know what the culture of nursing is in other states and cities, but I see a huge difference in how nurses are treated in Houston, as opposed to how they are treated in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

I really am appaled by how passive nurses are here and what they think they have to put up with. The other day, I had 5 pts assigned to me on a med-surg/rehab unit where I'm frequently assigned(I do agency). I was extremely busy, when a physician called the charge nurse and demanded thet I escort one of my patients to the OB unit on another floor and also get her a pelvic tray from central supply. She told the CN that she would call when she needed me, and expected me to drop everything and go to assit her.

First off, the CN has been and LVN for 6 yrs, and an RN for one year. This is not enough experience to put a nurse in charge(sorry). I was aggravated with the CN because she did not stand up to the physician and tell her that this was a difficult request, and make a suggestion to possibly do the exam in the pt's room(she was in a private room). Some may say, well get another nurse to watch your pt's. That would be all fine and well, but I could not find any of the other nurses, as they were as busy as I was.

The best part was, the doc called while I was in the middle of hanging 3 IVPB's on 3 different pt's. Of course, when I went in 2 of those 3 rooms , the pts requested pain meds. My spectra link phone rang while I was in the middle of all this. It was the CN insisting I leave immediately to assit the doc on the 4th floor. I told her what pending rquests I had from my other pt's and asked her to take those duties over, so I could leave. She said, "No, get that done first." I was infuriated. In the meantime, I was told the physician was getting upset and impatient. Are you kidding me? If physicians want this kinda of assistance, then hire your own nurse!

By then I felt overwhelmed and frustrated. When I was at he pyxis getting one of the meds for one of my pts, I loudly sated that I was overwhelmed and needed help. The CN approached me and said she wanted to speak to me in private. When we got to a private area she chastised me for saying what I said at the pyxis. Apparantly, the mother of the pt waiting on the pelvic exam was at he desk and overheard me. Oh, well. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see I needed help. All my pt's commented on how busy I was. I explaine to the CN that I was not getting any help and I could not be in 2 places at once.

She ended up taking the pt to the pelvic exam. This should have been offered and done in the first place. What I find about the younger ,less experienced CN's is they think they are there to boss and browbeat the floor nurses, rather tahn being a back-up and help out. Also, somebody needs to tell these docs taht the floor nurses are not there at a moments notice for demands that are unreasonable.

When I lived in LA., this never would have occurred, because the docs aren't treated like Gods, and nurses aren't treated like servants. Somebody(I don't know who) needs to make this clear to the docs here. Part of the reason I do agency, is I can keep a safe distance form most of this bullshit. Nursing in Texas sucks!