BIG hospital talk

midwestRN · Sep 17, 2002

My advise is to leave for the cafeteria early. It's a half-mile walk from where I work. Don't have medical students. From what I hear, they're a pretty tired bunch which is just asking for mistakes. Good luck!!

sjoe · Sep 17, 2002

If you mean Vancouver, BC, it is the most beautiful city I've ever lived in. Great people, good transportation, great parks, excellent weather. A bit expensive, of course.

fergus51 · Sep 17, 2002

It is Vancouver BC, and I actually have never really liked it but I am going for the experience. I am not a huge fan of the traffic, but I figure Stanley park will make up for it:) I am just a little nervous because I have never lived in a city of more than

100 000 people before and have never worked in such a large hospital. It will be nice not to have to transfer patients out to a larger center like we do in my hospital now though...

adrienurse, LPN · Sep 17, 2002

I LOVE Vancouver. I don't know Fergus. I worked in our huge tertiary care facility on a casual basis for about a year. I really didn't like working in a place that huge. Only good thing was the relative anonymity -- we all know that our workplaces can be hotbeds for gossip. Oh, also like the fact that the main cafeteria served FOOD in the middle of the night.

fergus51 · Sep 17, 2002

A cafeteria open at night will be SWEET!!! I just did a locum in the summer in a rural place where the cafeteria was only open 2 hours a day 4 days a week!!!

nimbex, RN · Sep 17, 2002

okay, you mentioned residents so I have to jump on it.....

I call them "yahoo's". you spend two years teaching them skills from Iv's to meds to "there gonna die if you don't do ..."

then they finish and look down their noses at you with in the first year.

Hell, they flock to codes with their ACLS books in hand and you are shouting "EPI....EPI.... forget it, I just gave the epi!!!!!

You're favorite saying may be "sh*t or get off the pot before I'm forced to call the attending on you"

Second saying "hey, I'm the one who has spent the last 10 hours with this patient, do you really want to continue to argue his baseline status or are you ready to treat him?"

Third saying "YOU WANT TO DO WWWHHHAAAATTTTT???", no!

fourth saying "If you want that med given, you'll give it yourself, preferably after you've consulted the PDR".

last saying" you've had your chance at this central line, in fact you've taken 20 chances and you're hurting my patient.... do not dare to stick him again... get your head resident"

FINALLY, "YOU MAY BE HERE TO LEARN, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF MY PATIENT... "

God bless all nurses with residents and interns... having someone there is a wonderful mixed blessing.... you just need to know whether to say thank you or begin blessing yourself!

carol:chuckle

globalRN · Sep 17, 2002

I worked at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Center for 10 years. Since then I have worked at many other institutions.....and been in many more as staff, a nursing instructor or family member of the patient. Vancouver Hospital is very good compared to others. A smaller hospital in the area was really scary when my Dad had day surgery there this summer. Where I used to work, the staff were superb and I think it was the best of its kind in providing holistic, patient centered care.

If you are working in VH, they have a lot of experienced nurses and great resource people.

pebbles, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2002

I love the residents I work with. The only people on the medical team that treat me as anything BUT a highly qualified professional are the Med Students..... (THey have the playing god complex down to a fine art after having it taught to them for four years!)

Most of the time, this big hospital is great. Cafeteria open 24 hrs, more staff such as physios and RT's around to help with care. I haven't worked in a small hospital, but I truly appreciate the conveniences of working at a place where there are more supports and people on call 24 hrs. The residents I work most with are the trauma team, and they have someone on cal in house 24 hours a day... nice.

Also -it isn't like getting swallowed up by a big whale.... you DO get to know people. I could walk around in that place saying nothing but good morning.... you may not know people well enough to talk about personal details, but you soon know people to say hello to. And I guess, as Adrienurse said -if you don't want to know people, the size of the place lets you "not" say hello and keep your anonymity as well.