shrinky

shrinky has 43 years experience and specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care, OB/GYN, Peds,.

Latest Activity

1. Older RN Student considering Hospice Nursing

   shrinky replied to Queen yaya's topic in Hospice

   Normally they like you to have one year of experience before going into Hospice because it is such and independent work environment. However you do have the life experience and feel the calling so if you are able to ride with a Hospice nurse to get ...

2. My Grown-Up (Nursing) Christmas List

   shrinky replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

   Dear Santa, my wish is for me to be able to retire real soon, I am tired. I like the tropical paradise idea too, without kids and grandkids; could I also have a rich hubby too? I don't think that I am asking for much.

3. Life, Death, and Other Matters of Consequence: Part I

   shrinky replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

   So many times we question our actions, but always try to do what is best for the patient and family. I am working with a family now helping them make a decision about removing their mom from the vent. They have realized that she did not want to be ...

4. How many would consider leaving nursing if they had a similar or slightly higher pay.

   shrinky replied to jean36's topic in General Nursing

   Absolutely not, I am near retirement and have been a nurse for a very long time. For me it was a calling and I am quite happy doing what I do now. My jobs have not always been easy nor fun and some have been downright cruel. However I know that th...

5. Should the H1N1 Vaccine be mandatory for Healthcare Professionals?

   shrinky replied to Brian's topic in COVID

   No I do not get yearly TB tests, I am allergic to them after all these years in nursing. If they promise me, which they can't, that I won't have an allergic reaction then maybe. But to make it mandatory, no way, I will retire first.

6. Palliative Care Specialty Questions

   shrinky replied to skinnedknees's topic in Hospice

   That pretty much says it. I am a Hospice nurse turned Palliative Care nurse, but I am on the Inpatient team. We also do Outpatient Palliative Care in the homes. We get most of our OP referrals from the Oncologist to assist with symptom management ...

7. Any advice / direction for a new Hospice DON

   shrinky replied to Camarillo's topic in Hospice

   I agree, having been on both sides of the team. I would not want to be a manager again, but I respect those who do want that job. Our team is like a family mostly, but you'll always have one or two who don't play fair. We have fun days every once ...

8. Discussing End of Life Issues Part 2 - Living to a Ripe Old Age

   shrinky replied to tnbutterfly - Mary's topic in Spirituality

   Amazing responses and it could not be answered better. I find the greatest barrier to referrals to our Palliative Care program are surgeons and cardiologists. Surprisingly the Nephrologists and Oncologist refer most often. It is difficult to even ...

9. A few questions for hospice nurses..........

   shrinky replied to Itshamrtym's topic in Hospice

   It is a very rewarding job for those who love itand as said can be emotionally difficult. Some nurses burn out quickly when they become too close to a patient and give so much of themselves. I wear scrubs because they wear well, are loose and comfo...

10. Passed CHPLN Certification Exam!!!

    shrinky replied to Ashera's topic in Hospice

    Congratulations on passing the exam. I have not taken it yet because of the cost, at present we do get some compensation once a year in the NERD program but next year it will help on the ladder program. I heard from others how hard it is and I am c...

11. Long Acting Morphine for Resp Distress in Hospice Pt

    shrinky replied to jsdrn's topic in Hospice

    Definitely agree with the other replies. If she is taking that much Roxanol she needs the MS Contin now in addition to Nebulized Morphine which will not be absorbed as much as oral. We have also used nebulized Lasix when none of the above help.

12. Feeling Guilty- Desperately Need Opinions

    shrinky replied to Sue Damonas's topic in Hospice

    Sorry for your loss, you did an excellent job caring for her. Some of our nurses give out their cell and home phone numbers to patients which is not my practice. There was one patient I gave my number to, but her caregiver did not call me after hou...

13. NEEDING Some HELP??

    shrinky replied to spoiled28's topic in Hospice

    First of all I need to know what she is on for pain medication already. There are a multitude of pain meds, some specific for bone pain, nerve pain, etc. Sha may need a combination of meds. Have you tried Lidoderm patches to the are rather than th...

14. Let me be clear there is NO nursing shortage!!!!!!!!! and now THIS????

    shrinky replied to JoblessRN's topic in General Nursing

    You may have to be wiiiling to relocate to find that first job.. I just looked at ouy RN job openings and found at least one in every department and we hire new grads. We are located in SC and there are a lot of sick people here and we did get raise...

15. Narcotic management in the home

    shrinky replied to gsstover's topic in Hospice

    We are also a hospital based Hospice but we get our meds from our Cancer Center where we have our outpatient pharmacy for Hospice. We also count all meds each visit as we have to reorder their meds for our next visit. We ask the family to keep a re...