Marylou1102

Welcome to the group

We had an elderly woman in our Alzheimers unit who was German to the core. She was never fully dressed until she had her apron on. One winter morning after she was dressed for the day, she was rummaging in her things and came across some unwrapped chocolate candy she had received for Christmas. She filled her denture cup with the chocolates and then tried to pass out the candy from her "Easter Basket".

. precepting is a tough enough job without being accused of being evil everytime you try to help someone to do better! being a new person is difficult, too -- but please try to look at what you contribute to the problem rather than just blaming the seasoned nurses you work with! well said!

I always wear solid colors but I let my lab jackets express my personality. Personally I don't care to wear cartoon scrubs but I see nothing wrong with them. It just isn't my personality. I have heard a lot of patients coment favorably on the cartoon scrubs. I have never heard any patient or visitor be critical of them. If you do wear white here is a hint...Wash them with just a little dish soap, the kind that cuts grease. Your uniforms will never get dingy. Don't use to much because you don't want all the suds in the washer.

I always offer pain meds when I am doing the med pass, especially at HS. It saves a lot of running later.

$3.25 in 1970 :smackingf

Your welcome!

My ex husband was diagnosed with a grade4 Astrocytoma this past June. He underwent surgery and had about 60% of the tumor removed. That was followed with 7 weeks of radiation and chemo. He took Temodar 140mg daily while on radiation. Afterwards he started Temodar 300mg 5 days in a row every 28 days. The first cycle was Oct 9-13. When the next cycle came around his counts were ok and we were told to start the meds again. Two days into that cycle he had another CBC done and his counts had plummeted. The Temodar was disc. His counts are just now approaching the low side of normal. He has had two MRIs since finishing radiation and there is no visible evidence of the tumor. One Oncologist wants to restart the Temodar to see if it happens again. Another says absolutely not. He says in all of his years of practice he has never seen this happen to such a severe degree when there were no other mitigating factors. He is going to consult with a specialist at a large teaching/research hospital. We were told at the very beginning that this would not be cureable. We were hoping to buy some time but in light of the recent events I'm wondering if that will be possible.

I usually call for references but occasionally a facility will not respond to a phone call. They want proof you are who you say you are. I have never had a facility give me anything more than dates of employment. There is to much of a chance of legal action if they give a negative review. As to the question of will they rehire you, only a few facilities ever answered that. There was a time when it was still legal to ask those questions. Unfortunately some facilities have never updated their letters. Maybe they hope some one will be dumb enough to answer the questions.

I used to work at a place that used the heavy metal crushers. One night another nurse was trying to pulverize some meds. After she got done pounding I heard a frail elderly voice call out "Come in". The Silent Knight is a great improvement. I have one of those twisty pulverizers, never thought about taking it to work. Sounds like a good idea though.

QUOTE "I remember being in the ER during nursing school and a guy came in who had overdosed. He was unconscious and in restraints, and these nurses were making fun of him. It still hurts my heart to think about it. They were laughing about the contents of his stomach, which he almost aspirated on (ohhh yeah..that's sooo funny). They were saying he ate a big mac, or something like that. The whole thing made me sick. They thought he was a big looser, because he was an addict. When I looked down I saw a human being who was in pain (emotionally, spiritually) who was coping the best he knew how. The weirdest thing was, he had on an inexpensive ring and I couldn't stop staring at it. It made him so real...so human. It reminded me that we are all the same, and even someone "in the gutter" may want to wear something that makes them feel good about themselves. I'll never forget that guy or the ring he had on. I know people joke around, because it's how they cope, but I think it's important to always remain professional, and remember that it is a fellow human being entrusted to our care. You never know when you may be lying on that table, and you'd want the same grace shown to you." Thank you RN mom of two, That was beautiful.

I love what I do and I do what I love.

jojotoo is right. Thats what I do. I'm the only non-smoker on my unit. I cover for them when they leave the floor and they do the same for me on my non-smoke breaks. A lot of times I will sit with the smokers and just socialize. I does wonders to just get away from the floor for a while and decompress.

First job 10 years, 2nd job 5 years, 3rd job 14 years, 4th job 3 years. From then on it gets spotty. I've held and lost several positions (6) with companies that have closed due to bankruptcy or cash flow problems. I have been downsized and "reorganized". It has played havoc with my resume. There is no recent extended employment and no way to check many of my most recent references. My resume makes me look like a job-hopper. I have found that 36 years of nursing experience doesn't count for much. Whats more, companies want less experienced nurses that they can hire for less money.

I am a first born. My family made growing up a wonderful experience. There was no alcohol abuse in our family.