Charles S. Smith, RN, MS

Charles S. Smith, RN, MS

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About Charles S. Smith, RN, MS

An RN for many years who transitioned from employement to self-employment. I am a practicing personal and professional life coach helping others, especially nurses, get everything they want out of life. Email me for details.

Latest Activity

  1. Mandatory Overtime

    I think i clicked the wrong button and started a new thread by accident. This response is to the Staff Development Person who posted about Mandatory OT. Mandatory overtime is an abused system. While it can work for very short term fixes, with a se...
  2. Nursing organizations

    you will get out of it what you put into it...i find it is worth it to belong to my professional org, my clinical org and the honor society best chas
  3. healthcare experience prior to nursing

    Jay..thought I was the only one who even remembered orderlies, much less was one! Started in '68 as an orderly, then swithched hospitals and actually was promoted to nursing assistant all thru school until my senior year, became a nurse tech (same j...
  4. Just curious; Would this pt be one-on-one in your ICU?

    Nope..not 1:1 unless very unstable..could even be a triple with 2 transfers or step down patients waiting for a bed... But...given your experience level, I question what resource you had to back you up, supervise you with unfamiliar skills, etc. A...
  5. merit based salary increases

    This is just about square on the nose George. As a nursing administrator I knew first hand just how much funding went in to the merit system. The caveat from the CEO and CFO was...if you give a 7.5% (max) then you have to give a 0% to someone else ...
  6. Team Work?

    The real problem is we have so few real teams in nursing. We have work groups made up of folks with personal and sometimes competing agendas, not teams. For a complete discussion on what teams really do look like, see "The Wisdom of Teams" by Katze...
  7. Pot Smoking and Nursing

    Thank you George for putting it simply! Marijuana use is illegal and is cause for license revocation in every state of this country. If you need to be high to work, or high to forget work, get help period. And fyi..look at your practice regulations...
  8. Saving the hospital

    A true warrior for doing the right thing even at the risk of your own livelihood! You are an inspiration. I hope others learn from your commitment and gutz! chas
  9. Straight pay for 12 hour shifts?

    OT depends on how your facility manages the federal requirements or collective bargaining requirements for OT....1) OT after 40 hours/week or 2) the 8/80 rule..anything over 8 hours and anything over 80 hrs/2 weeks... chas
  10. Question about Paxil???

    Depression is ubiquitous and sometimes often misdiagnosed. A former poster suggested thyroid testing...get a physical and get a counselor/therapist. Talk to your MD. Paxil, Zoloft and others similar are SSRIs and help to keep your seratonin levels...
  11. High Fail Rate for new Grads on Boards

    There is mounting political and social pressure to increase the numbers of students in nursing programs regardless of the type. Unfortunately the mounting pressure may be leading to the acceptance of marginal candidates for nursing education. The e...
  12. Responsibility for other nurses?

    Lever, again...just know what your hospital requires and what your nurse practice act allows. You asked the original question about responsibility for others. We do when we know that a patient is getting substandard care. it is a matter of ethics ...
  13. Responsibility for other nurses?

    In a word....yes. The reporting mechanisms of any hospital should clearly indicate that any/all unresolved issues or issues of risk are reported immediately to a manager (unit or house supervisior). This protects the patient, the nurse and the hosp...
  14. Responsibility for other nurses?

    The sad fact is that the charge nurse is responsible for whatever the hospital says she/he is responsible for. Get a clear definition of what the charge duties are and get some basic management/people education to make sure you can handle the job. ...
  15. Wasteful use of Emerg

    Hogon...I too am disturbed about the packed conditions in the ED and yes, they get very unsafe. The person you described is taking advantage of a dysfunctional system that is open to this kind of abuse. I dont judge his motives, they are clear. Th...