Management expects you to be like a dead fish in a river and go along with the flow.
Globally, nurses face discrimination and victimization in the workplace.
In Saint Lucia, nurses encounter injustice daily and are called “insubordinate” if they do not comply with management. These “insubordinate nurses” are targeted and blacklisted.
There are many issues plaguing nurses in Saint Lucia.
Nurses remain silent and nothing is being done to alleviate the issues due to poor representation and lack of respect from the relevant bodies.
Nurse managers
A manager is supposed to be someone you could report issues to without fear or backlash and with hopes of anonymity and confidentiality.
Imagine being unable to openly speak to your manager because you know the outcome.
The manager will go back to report the exact thing you said to the exact person you made the complaint against.
Backward mentality
Managers make way for their friends with or without the qualifications, experience and years of service.
Basically, the nurses who support management become managers or positions are created to place them.
Nursing has not evolved in Saint Lucia because of the same culture and mindset.
One set of nurses run the show and are stuck in the same “long time ago mentality and era.”
Management feels like whatever happened to them in the past should continue and happen to the oncoming nurses.
No one tries to be different. Surprisingly, the one who is different or at least attempts to be, is not liked.
Rivals and division
Managers are against managers, managers are against nurses, nurses are against managers and nurses are against nurses.
Nurses carry tales on each other and there is a “never-ending reporting.”
No disciplinary action is taken if a nurse report one of the manager’s favorite nurses.
If the manager likes you then you might be defended.
However, if the manager does not like you then you might be “pulled up” and taken to higher authority.
Unfairness or heartlessness
Gifts and tokens of appreciation received from high-end establishments are not evenly distributed.
The deserving nurses who take the brunt of the manual labor receive nothing whereas management keep the perks to themselves.
Many times, nurses “drown” as they work alone or with skeleton staff.
Nurses battle to provide quality care given the high nurse to patient ratio, workload and the patient’s acuity and category.
Management would not lift a finger or raise a leg to assist.
Yes, the nurse suffers but the patient suffers more.
A therapeutic nurse to patient relationship is not developed. A thorough physical assessment is not done and quality care is not rendered to the best of the nurse’s ability.
Favoritism
Managers give their favorite nurses preferential treatment and do not care how visible it is.
Managers openly say all nurses are free to leave the establishment and seek employment elsewhere.
Yet, they try everything to prevent nurses from leaving when the opportunity presents itself.
Management and “liked and unliked nurses”
The “liked” nurses are pampered and thoroughly trained for certain positions even without knowledge, qualifications and experience. These nurses bypass everyone who started working before them.
The “liked” nurses get a day owning when they do not report to work. Whereas the “disliked” nurses get NOD- not on duty and are scolded.
The “liked” nurses get whatever request they want. The “disliked” nurses must beg for their request and sometimes do not get it.
The “liked” nurses get weekends and holidays off even without requesting whereas the “disliked” nurses would not.
The “liked” nurses know every detail about scholarships whereas the “disliked” nurses are told close to the deadline.
The “liked” nurses get opportunities to learn new skills, go to workshops and get available sessions. The “disliked” nurses do not share the same fate.
Overtime, the “liked” nurses are promoted and the “disliked” nurses are transferred to another ward as a form of punishment.
Frustrated nurses
Minus their nurse peers and family, nurses have nobody to express their concerns to.
When nurses air their views to management, they are said to be complainers and get bad appraisals.
There are multiple managers and everybody wants to be in charge so there lacks structure and unity.
Rules are bent for some nurses and not all.
Management plays a significant role in the reasons nurses migrate. There is no one to manage management.
Then again. Who cares, right?
Reems Sonson
Our Tropical Living
Come live and love island life
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This is not a paid or sponsored blog post but based on discussion with a few nurses.
