Nurse Diary

Hang in there!! We all have frustrating shifts that make you question your choice of profession. It sounds like you are a caring professional nurse and this is what is required to make the difference for our clients. Continue to keep your standard high. Our patients need quality care from caring professionals!

This weekend was exceptionally crappy. Its bad enough im just over being in school (8 weeks left till i graduate), but I actually put a voice to my emotions a few days prior... i secretly am not sure i can tough enough to be a nurse in 2019 standards. Friday night had a patient whose blood pressure was 67/30 and I had to scramble around trying to fix it. STAT labs--Ran NS bolus without success, albumin without success and midodrine STAT. All without success. Results came back hgb 6.5--- two units of blood later. Patient stabilized but i am beyond frustrated with my coworker for not paying attention to this all day. Saturday night I had this patient 450+ pounds w/ +4 edema on a ventilator and some other issues. This patient had so much edema it was incredible. IV bumex has been initiated for a few days now but without improvement. I feel like there is so much that can be done to help this patient that has not been done. This is incredibly frustrating for me. I only work a few days a month but everytime i come to work i see just a lack of work ethic and compassion its truly amazing. This is my nurse diary. I feel so much better venting

@kbrn2002 That sounds like an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to speak with someone a while ago that use to write questions for the NCLEX and the little bit she was able to share about the processes sounded pretty intense. The trips to Chicago definitely sound like an added bonus.

Not much to share for me either. I use to have big ideas of where I would go with my nursing career, but after trying some of those things, I quickly learned those aren't the areas for me. I will most likely be a bedside RN for life and I'm okay with that.

A big nursing success for me besides just some longevity in the career is my participation on various NCLEX writing/review panels. It's been several years since I started doing this, I was initially recruited somehow by the NCSBN and have been going to Chicago for various panels about once a year or so. I can only participate on a writing/review panel once every two years but it's usually been the case that I've gone down for different studies on the opposite years. It's been a very rewarding experience. I've met nurses from all over the country plus a few from Canada now that the NCLEX is being implemented there. I've talked to nurses in every specialty imaginable. I've learned a ton both from the actual panel process and from interacting with my fellow nurses. Trust me Pearson Vue takes the process of overseeing the test very seriously! The steps a question goes through before it's accepted as a test item is a long process with several check points along the way. Plus there are regular reviews of active test questions to ensure they remain relevant to current practice. I can't say a lot about the actual process due to the multiple nondisclosure agreements I have to sign but it is ok to talk about the generalities. I did ask once about the validity of the dreaded (at least on this site) PVT and not too surprisingly they did say it doesn't work that way without really giving me too much detail. Being accepted into what I consider an elite group of nurses that are able to participate in the process of bringing the NCLEX to prospective nurses around the world is quite an honor and I am proud to be in that group. Plus going to Chicago is just an added bonus! It's a fun city with a ton of things to do. I've learned to always leave extra room in my luggage as I know I'll be shopping while I'm there. The Joffrey Ballet and the Chicago theater are within a block of where we stay so I've been to a couple of Broadway productions as well as the ballet. Millennium Park and Navy Pier are also within easy walking distance when weather permits. I'm not a big cold weather fan so I skipped that this last trip, Chicago in January is a little chilly to say the least! There is plenty of free time to get some sight seeing in while I am there. I am always happy when I get notification that I was accepted for a panel and am looking forward to the next one!

Overtime, you learn that people love sharing their feelings, their thoughts, and their successes. What most people don't like to do is talk about their mistakes. I get it. The thing is - it helps you grow. It's therapeutic. Use this opportunity to celebrate your successes, events, and your failures as a professional. This Club is for nursing related diary entries. Share but keep in mind your privacy as well as others.