Healthcare Workers Facing Burnout & Systemic Issues
12 posts across 3 communities since Jul 2026; 83% from r/nursing.
“Undocumented controlled meds in the hospital hr wants to talk to me. Will they fire me because of this”
“I took care of a patient who had just had a PICC line placed, spiked a fever the next night after surgery, and went home a few days later. I got an email that her cultures came back positive for a CLABSI. My patient had literally just had the PICC placed a few hours prior and…”
“I had a patient put on precautions for this halfway through my shift. I asked occupational health about it and they said unless IPAC notifies them they can’t tell me if he tested positive or if I should do the prophylactic treatment. Has anyone gone through something like this…”
Nurses and medical professionals are experiencing significant stress, including concerns about patient safety (PEP protocols), anti-union sentiment, administrative errors (ROI mishaps), and the pressure of demanding workloads. There's also a sense of frustration with hospital policies and potential career impacts.
SOURCES (12)
“Undocumented controlled meds in the hospital hr wants to talk to me. Will they fire me because of this submitted by /u/Marbm0623 [link] [comments]”
“I took care of a patient who had just had a PICC line placed, spiked a fever the next night after surgery, and went home a few days later. I got an email that her cultures came back positive for a CLABSI. My patient had literally just had the PICC placed a few hours prior and was a few months old. I disconnected the tubing to draw labs, at this hospital the policy is to draw labs from the cap most proximal to the line. When I disconnected the tubing, I didn’t realize that there was no cap on the”
“I had a patient put on precautions for this halfway through my shift. I asked occupational health about it and they said unless IPAC notifies them they can’t tell me if he tested positive or if I should do the prophylactic treatment. Has anyone gone through something like this before? Did your family doctor give you the medication??? submitted by /u/Vanillacaramelalmond [link] [comments]”
“I’m an RN here in houston, anyone here have any experience wherein you tested positive for cotinine before and after a year tried to re apply and always gets rejected by them? Context: I applied for a position 1 year ago and got accepted, was dumb enough to take the drug screen while on oral nicotine replacement for smoking cessation and voila positive for cotinine. So my application got rescinded. Currently trying to re apply to multiple positions at different Memorial Hermann locations and kee”
“The report states that sometimes last year I used Zofran from the hospital. Is that conveniently long enough in the past so that all evidence has long disappeared? Sounds like an empty accusation. Still, in the USA, they can fire you for no reason at all, so that is always a risk.”
“This is not a place to receive medical advice. For any diagnosis, prognosis, or similar question, speak to your doctor.”
“I got a needle stick from a known HIV+ pt with a high viral load. PEP made me feel like shit but im glad I did it.”
“I’m a medical social worker at a local hospital. Lately there have been a few young female patients presenting with signs/concerns of IPV- odd marks/bruising/ injury, unhoused, active substance use, etc. One young person, came in with vomiting. Mysterious injury, stating that they are “married” and living in their car with spouse. Just wondering what questions to ask or things to say that might be supportive in attempt to help patients open up when there may be a concern for safety. I did consul”
“Posting anonymous and also will be vague with details cause I do not know who in my hospital will see this. anyway my hospital is very lenient on everything. We have one coworker that gets away with everything. Said person has done surgeries in the past(other hospitals) but also killed a patient on a simple procedure not surgery. Very avoidable mistake if you know surgery. Also has gotten away with not listening to management on multiple occasions but "health" issues. Not trying to dow”
“Had a non intact skin exposure to edema exudate. Patient tested negative for HIV/Hep B/Hep C but I am worried about the window period. Does your hospital indicate PEP when the source is negative upon exposure? submitted by /u/CurrentYak3507 [link] [comments]”
“I am freaking out so badly about this. I very stupidly sent an already filled out release of information to another patient via a shared email. It has their name, address, email. Should I report myself? Will this affect me in the future as a future nurse? Will I get fired? I feel so dumb submitted by /u/curlygurlies [link] [comments]”
“Hello, I recently had a home health patient who is 97 years old with a terminal illness and in hospice care. The hospice company prescribed the patient a box of medications, which would include methadone and Ativan. The hospice nurse stated that the methadone was able to be used for severe pain and if the patient feels short of breath. Side note, patient also has allergies to morphine and hydromorphone. The patient woke up and stated she felt short of breath although oxygen saturation was >96”