Originally Posted by Nurse Valium
Okay, I'll bite - my ideal job, being "free to be as creative as I want", is one that allows me to stay home all day, everyday, hanging out with my two year old and pick my paycheck up from the mailbox every Friday
(It's so ironic that being a stay-at-home mom nearly drove me nuts, which is why I went to nursing school.)
My ideal job would be to move to day shift. With day shift getting a better salary and less patient load.
I'd also like computerized charting, but each nurse would have her/his own personal PDA (left at work of course) and you'd set it up to your liking. For instance, I would choose a certain color code for meds that are given at a certain time, or for those that need a lab beforehand, with a reminder bell for each patient so I can get their IV meds flushed and their other timed stuff done--like frequent vitals and such.
Icons would be good too. That'd separate the wound care stuff from the meds.
And a call the doc icon would also be cool, with ability to access a contact list and dial from the PDA.
(Now I'm drooling.)
I can imagine myself running through the halls with a PDA that's voice activated and takes notes on the fly (with a time/date stamp) for assessments, AND THEN CONVERTS IT TO TEXT, like some of the voice-graphic programs that are available. Then I'd just double-check the spelling
and insert in the appropriate parts of the chart.
It'd free me up to do more interactive care with the patients.
Also, I would like it if they would stop shoving clerical duties off on nurses, and let nurses be nurses, instead of all the ancillary staff. I do way too much paperwork compared to patient care.
I cannot monitor my patients while I'm at the desk entering orders that should've been entered by the US on a different shift.
I would also like cheaper benefits and get more medical and dental. I think our dental insurance is terrible. It doesn't include much and it's certainly not affordable care, even with insurance. Our medical insurance is way too expensive regardless. I really don't enjoy looking around a gorgeous, marbled lobby to get up to a patient room that has no sink in the bathroom (that HAD to be designed by a man!) and no room for the equipment and no place to store supplies that would make our jobs more efficient.
Oh, and PLEASE! let us keep the thermostat at a level that we can work in for gawd's sake without wanting to die from heat exhaustion.
I can handle an 8-hour shift, but not a 12, so I wish that there was a shift for those of us who want to work 4 ten-hour days a week. I have no idea how that would work IRL, and it looks like it would certainly up the insanity level for the schedulers, but you said anything goes, so I offered it up.
Would you like to comment?
What Is Your Ideal Job?
), managing care and resources in an assisted-living community is like Heaven to me. I also have a good deal of control over my work hours and days, take breaks when I want to, go to the bathroom when I need to, get up and walk around when I feel like it, and I can close the door to my office when I've got something I really need to concentrate on. 
) Enjoy!
The ONLY part of it I don't like is I'm not paid quite well enough, afterall I am not only a nurse but a holistic practitioner, but the doctor I work for just bought a new building and is struggling to pay the bills, so...... since I love my job so much it's worth it. However, I may end up finding another source of income on the side to make up the difference. I have come up with some minor home care ideas (with the help of my nurse mom) so I am going to put those into action in the coming weeks 
