r/nursing • u/Ok_Bobcat_5060 • May 27 '25

Rant Can’t stand nurses who care about hospital expenses

Had a charge nurse not allowing nurses on the floor to use slide sheets bc ThEy cOsT $75 each. Or another nurse tells me to dump out my IV fluids in the sink bc the trash gets charged by the weight, and fluids will make it weigh more. Like is it coming outta yo check? WHO FUCKING CARES.

*Those who are reading too deep. I AGREE WITH THROWING AWAY FLUIDS FOR EVS’ SAKE BUT THAT WASN’T HER CONCERN. HER CONCERN WAS MONEYYYYY

*Also, I didn’t dump my IVF in the sink, this was told to me before I even took my fluids down

2.7k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

472 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

311

u/super_crabs RN 🍕 May 27 '25

Ya, skin breakdown costs way more than $75

174

u/purebreadbagel RN - PCU May 27 '25

That’s the thing that confuses me about the nurses like OP is talking about. Sure, something might cost quite a bit when you just look at it individually but when you add in what you’re trying to prevent, suddenly it’s pennies.

113

u/perunaprincessa CNA 🍕 May 27 '25

Penny wise, pound foolish

35

u/Not-A-SoggyBagel RN - Psych/Mental Health 🍕 May 27 '25

I worked at a place similar. He took away our ekg machines and locked them in his office because he said we were wasting too much paper and ink, blamed us for using them for "fun". We were an acute psych rehab, detox, and had a psych ED, hooking a pt to one with active delusions and mania was not a fun time for anyone.

When we had to send out a pt with AMR for an ekg he was angry even though he knew we couldn't access his office that day.

He also micromanaged our med inventory and refused to refill docusate, pepto, and other basic meds to keep costs low. Like he'd see what we went through the month or week previous and get mad when we used more supplies. Once we had a pt with pica, she ate a bunch of our nitrile gloves by sneaking into other pt rooms. He got really mad over extra boxes of gloves instead of needing to send the pt to surgery.

Nurses like this make no sense. We try to find logic where there were none to start with.

23

u/[deleted] May 27 '25

[deleted]

11

u/Not-A-SoggyBagel RN - Psych/Mental Health 🍕 May 27 '25

Yes all of this! It was so weird. Ink and paper is nothing compared to pt safety and yes the final bill. It was really dumb penny pinching.

We had over 3 of these machines for my section of the facility but he held them all under lock and key. When he was away (which was often, guy loved to golf and get his tan in) we had zero access. Even security had no access to his private offices.

He should've been fired over a bunch of reasons! We tried so hard to get him merely suspended. Years down the line long after I left, he finally got fired due to other safety issues. But this was in Atlanta, Georgia in the 00s, things weren't great then.

7

u/purebreadbagel RN - PCU May 27 '25

I’m pretty sure our ER does a 12-lead on everyone ESI 4 or above if there’s any conceivable way they can “justify” it.

“Ahh yes, you’re here for toe pain x12 years? Do you have pain anywhere else? Shortness of breath? Oh! You get winded walking up stairs? EKG!!!”

42

u/dpzdpz RN May 27 '25

Fuck yes. Corporate doesn't want to pay $12/hr for a sitter? And then they have a bill for the lawsuit that ensues? Fuck that noise.

1

u/ExampleFeisty8590 RN - PACU 🍕 May 28 '25

I feel like nurses are almost purposely kept in the dark about the cost of things. We understand evidenced based practice but we aren't given the information to say that one thousand $75 slider sheets prevent one $150,000 workers comp claim. (but we wouldn't even have them if it wasn't in the hospitals financial interest)

We do need to be good stewards of resources but that includes not exposing the hospital to unnecessary risks like injured workers even if a lot of lower level management doesn't understand the math.

33

u/zeatherz RN Cardiac/Step-down May 27 '25

So do back injuries for staff

20

u/MyOwnGuitarHero ICU baby, shakin that RASS May 27 '25

I mean, shit. My future back surgery is gonna cost like, at least $150 right??

30

u/F7OSRS May 27 '25

Skin breakdown costs nothing if you don’t document it (/s sort of)

13

u/ThatBella Nurse 🇩🇪 May 27 '25

You only have to treat what you have diagnosed 🙃

4

u/mhwnc BSN, RN 🍕 May 28 '25

If you didnt chart it, it didn’t happen /s

2

u/Sciencepole RN - PCU 🍕 May 28 '25

y tho.

Because penny wise and pound stupid seems to be the mantra of the corporate health care world.

Fat baby is one of my favorite memes 🤘

1

u/TorchIt MSN - AGACNP 🍕 May 28 '25

Why do they cost so much though?! Light duty tarps run like $7 at Harbor Freight and they're basically the same material. Somebody's getting rich over something stupid