I have my three days together. After the kids go to school I take a mild-sleep aid on Day 1...one time a week is not going to kill you. I take a children's version so it does not leave me groggy and I stay up until about 2:00 a.m. the night before...but will go to bed earlier if I feel I need to.
So I get up in the afternoon, get the kids from school, come home, make dinner, go to work. I do all my housework on my days off...I do NOTHING but dinner on the days I work.
Then I only sleep 1/2 a day after my third day and that is enough to turn my sleep around. I usually go to bed with the kids that night...but I wake up the next morning refreshed.
I had this happen one time at a physician's office about 6 months ago where I was greeted by a medical assistant...I assumed that she was a nurse, because the secretary called her one and she answered the phone in my presence earlier and told the patient she was Dr. So and So's nurse.
To make conversation, I started chit-chatting about some of my labs and realized that she seemed unusually clueless..so I asked her if she was an RN or an LPN, and she said that she "didn't HAVE TO go to school because Dr. So and So trained her."
So, as she was taking my vitals, I said calmly, "you know, you should really be careful about telling someone you are a nurse if you are not...you could get into a lot of legal trouble because it is a protected title."
She laughed and said, "Well, gosh, who is going to care enough to do that?"
Without missing a beat, I said, "Someone like me...who is."
I told the doctor when I saw him.
The next time I went to the office, they were making a really BIG DEAL out of calling her a medical assistant.
Really? With all due respect, I find it hard to believe that a transport team RN can tube a patient more proficiently than a CRNA/MDA. Intubating is a skill, just like starting an IV. The more you do, the better you become at it. If you are not intubating multiple people on a daily basis (And I find it really hard to believe that transport RN's are) then you simply cannot be as proficient as an anesthesia provider at managing an airway. This includes tubing newborns emergently as well as 430 pound pts. presenting for laparoscopic gastric sleeves; all of which are not uncommon during an average day for an anesthetist.
At our facility, RN's are never checked off for intubations...ever.
The only ones that are, work on transport teams and even then, you are with an RT, who will do it first.
Now, in that rare circumstance that there is a bona fide emergency, an NNP or MD is not available (b/c the one assigned may be on a delivery as well) and let's say that the RT that is assigned to your unit is also on a delivery, and a nurse from the transport team is not staffing that day, the most SENIOR nurse that is present attempts the intubation.
Now, you will NEVER find a nurse on our unit that will call a CRNA to intubate an infant..ever.
We intubate all of our kiddos prior to sending them to surgery...CRNA never does it.
The reason: CRNAs, for the most part (not all), do not seem to have a true appreciation for this particular patient population and will attempt multiple intubations if they fail (rather than allowing someone else to try) with the "I am a CRNA, and I can get this myself" mentality.
The reason for the decision, at least at our hospital...is that this has happened more than once and with more than one CRNA...intubations with 14, 15 attempts..with the RN begging the CRNA to call someone else...and he/she refusing....permanently damaged vocal cords, horrific gashes to the interiors of the mouth, huge slices to the gums or deep depressions.
You see that a few times and nope..you don't call the CRNA anymore.
I had this happen one time at a physician's office about 6 months ago where I was greeted by a medical assistant...I assumed that she was a nurse, because the secretary called her one and she answered the phone in my presence earlier and told the patient she was Dr. So and So's nurse.
To make conversation, I started chit-chatting about some of my labs and realized that she seemed unusually clueless..so I asked her if she was an RN or an LPN, and she said that she "didn't HAVE TO go to school because Dr. So and So trained her."
So, as she was taking my vitals, I said calmly, "you know, you should really be careful about telling someone you are a nurse if you are not...you could get into a lot of legal trouble because it is a protected title."
She laughed and said, "Well, gosh, who is going to care enough to do that?"
Without missing a beat, I said, "Someone like me...who is."
I told the doctor when I saw him.
The next time I went to the office, they were making a really BIG DEAL out of calling her a medical assistant.
She got her BSN, passed the NCLEX, went straight for her FNP and now works in a physician's office/General Practice.
She has never worked as a staff nurse.
She is an EXCELLENT FNP....she really cares about her patients and constantly works to keep up her skills. She has been practicing about 5 years now and has a very devoted list of patients.
its possible it was switched but i dont know i remember there was no name on the bottle i i had to put it down a shoot that she retrieved
Anytime I have taken a drug test, the urine/blood has been labeled in front of me...I even sign the label so that it never leaves me sight when it is labeled.
I work in the ED for a hospital in Michigan, and like many other hospitals these days, mine has been forcing nurses to work under-staffed for quite some time. Not every day, but often enough that I'm sick of letting it continue and I'm trying to figure out how to effectively protest while doing what I can to protect my license and my job.
I've been trying to get information about my rights to refuse an unsafe patient assignment, and what constitutes patient abandonment. If I worked on the floor I wouldn't have a problem, but working in the ED makes me less certain of how these two issues work.
I called the Bureau of Health Professions this morning, and the short version of my story is that since Michigan has no NPA, they couldn't help me. The person that I spoke with referred me to an individual that licenses hospitals, thinking that he could give me some answers, but I had to leave a VM for that person and haven't heard back from him yet.
Do any of you know the answers to my questions or where I can get this information?
Thanks.
Every state is different.
In my state, you are not legally responsible for a patient until you receive report or if it is a new patient, perform the triage for admission.
Until one or the other happens, if you refuse to take a patient, it is not abandonment.
Just TELLING you a patient is yours, should not constitute "accepting" of the patient.
If lawyers show their name for advertisement (to promote their business), I'm sure there are plenty of times they use only their first name to protect their self or their families....but again, the use their name to promote their paycheck. Same with real estate agents or insurance agents, they use their name to increase their paycheck.
Police officers and judges often take extra security to hide their identity (gates at homes, face masks, etc.) I wonder why? Ever hear of judges being shot in their home? I have. I've never heard of a nurse being shot in their home for being a nurse, maybe there is a reason.
I been involved with the child welfare system, often times the last name is not used. Yes, they generally have to have a name tag or id card of some kind, but they too take extra precautions to protect them self and their families, because people do get upset when kids are taken out of their home. They also work hand in hand with police and the legal system so they have a bit more protection close at hand.
Ever hear of a teacher or college professor getting shot or attacked for being a teacher or college professor? I have.
Yes, patients certainly have rights. I respect those rights and enjoy providing those rights to my patients. I have rights as a member of this country and above all my kids have rights. I'm a male nurse so I stick out, I'm 6'9", so I stick out, I'm 300 lbs., so I stick out, I run 1/2 marathons and jog all over town, so I stick out. My wife and I have a full size van to haul our large family (we don't fit in a mini-van) so we stick out. We live in a small town, so yes, we stick out. People know us, I know I'm listed on the state's professional license site, but if I'm treating a psych patient or intoxicated person or some other crazy situation and I don't want to share my last name...well, that is why at my facility first names work. If there is a complaint or concern by patients, well that is why there is administration.
Then you are a perfect example of why the profession of nursing is not more elevated than what it is.
We cannot claim to be professionals and then HIDE from the public when they have EVERY LEGAL RIGHT to know WHO is treating them and they shouldn't have to go through additional channels to find that information out.
Your paycheck example doesn't hold water...it is a matter of transparency to the general public.
So what if you get a psych patient or a drunk to take care of...ALL JOBS HAVE THEIR OWN RISKS!!!!...find another one if you are that paranoid about it.
I for one, am a true professional, wear my name badge proudly and would actively support any law supporting the first and last name being 100% available to the public and would actively oppose any law to the contrary.
Here is what I do:
I have my three days together. After the kids go to school I take a mild-sleep aid on Day 1...one time a week is not going to kill you. I take a children's version so it does not leave me groggy and I stay up until about 2:00 a.m. the night before...but will go to bed earlier if I feel I need to.
So I get up in the afternoon, get the kids from school, come home, make dinner, go to work. I do all my housework on my days off...I do NOTHING but dinner on the days I work.
Then I only sleep 1/2 a day after my third day and that is enough to turn my sleep around. I usually go to bed with the kids that night...but I wake up the next morning refreshed.
That is how I do it.
I had this happen one time at a physician's office about 6 months ago where I was greeted by a medical assistant...I assumed that she was a nurse, because the secretary called her one and she answered the phone in my presence earlier and told the patient she was Dr. So and So's nurse.
To make conversation, I started chit-chatting about some of my labs and realized that she seemed unusually clueless..so I asked her if she was an RN or an LPN, and she said that she "didn't HAVE TO go to school because Dr. So and So trained her."
So, as she was taking my vitals, I said calmly, "you know, you should really be careful about telling someone you are a nurse if you are not...you could get into a lot of legal trouble because it is a protected title."
She laughed and said, "Well, gosh, who is going to care enough to do that?"
Without missing a beat, I said, "Someone like me...who is."
I told the doctor when I saw him.
The next time I went to the office, they were making a really BIG DEAL out of calling her a medical assistant.
The only ones that are, work on transport teams and even then, you are with an RT, who will do it first.
Now, in that rare circumstance that there is a bona fide emergency, an NNP or MD is not available (b/c the one assigned may be on a delivery as well) and let's say that the RT that is assigned to your unit is also on a delivery, and a nurse from the transport team is not staffing that day, the most SENIOR nurse that is present attempts the intubation.
Now, you will NEVER find a nurse on our unit that will call a CRNA to intubate an infant..ever.
We intubate all of our kiddos prior to sending them to surgery...CRNA never does it.
The reason: CRNAs, for the most part (not all), do not seem to have a true appreciation for this particular patient population and will attempt multiple intubations if they fail (rather than allowing someone else to try) with the "I am a CRNA, and I can get this myself" mentality.
The reason for the decision, at least at our hospital...is that this has happened more than once and with more than one CRNA...intubations with 14, 15 attempts..with the RN begging the CRNA to call someone else...and he/she refusing....permanently damaged vocal cords, horrific gashes to the interiors of the mouth, huge slices to the gums or deep depressions.
You see that a few times and nope..you don't call the CRNA anymore.
I had this happen one time at a physician's office about 6 months ago where I was greeted by a medical assistant...I assumed that she was a nurse, because the secretary called her one and she answered the phone in my presence earlier and told the patient she was Dr. So and So's nurse.
To make conversation, I started chit-chatting about some of my labs and realized that she seemed unusually clueless..so I asked her if she was an RN or an LPN, and she said that she "didn't HAVE TO go to school because Dr. So and So trained her."
So, as she was taking my vitals, I said calmly, "you know, you should really be careful about telling someone you are a nurse if you are not...you could get into a lot of legal trouble because it is a protected title."
She laughed and said, "Well, gosh, who is going to care enough to do that?"
Without missing a beat, I said, "Someone like me...who is."
I told the doctor when I saw him.
The next time I went to the office, they were making a really BIG DEAL out of calling her a medical assistant.
I have a close friend who is an FNP.
She got her BSN, passed the NCLEX, went straight for her FNP and now works in a physician's office/General Practice.
She has never worked as a staff nurse.
She is an EXCELLENT FNP....she really cares about her patients and constantly works to keep up her skills. She has been practicing about 5 years now and has a very devoted list of patients.
In my state, you are not legally responsible for a patient until you receive report or if it is a new patient, perform the triage for admission.
Until one or the other happens, if you refuse to take a patient, it is not abandonment.
Just TELLING you a patient is yours, should not constitute "accepting" of the patient.
We cannot claim to be professionals and then HIDE from the public when they have EVERY LEGAL RIGHT to know WHO is treating them and they shouldn't have to go through additional channels to find that information out.
Your paycheck example doesn't hold water...it is a matter of transparency to the general public.
So what if you get a psych patient or a drunk to take care of...ALL JOBS HAVE THEIR OWN RISKS!!!!...find another one if you are that paranoid about it.
I for one, am a true professional, wear my name badge proudly and would actively support any law supporting the first and last name being 100% available to the public and would actively oppose any law to the contrary.