Experienced Nurses Only

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Oct 6, 2006

No replies from students please!
Nurses, are you frustrated with trying to read theses forums only to find that most of the posts are from students or nurse wanna-be's looking for medical advice? You can usually tell them by the poor grammer.
Can we have a forum created for experienced nurses only to post?
No flames, let's just be honest here.

Nope, not frustrated at all. I don't find that most of the posts are from students looking for advice, nor would I mind if they were. I like students and I like helping them. You were a student with questions once and so was I. So I do my bit for those who did it for me. Give and take, and all that.

The people looking for medical advice are brought up to speed pretty quickly with the fact that we don't give medical advice, and those threads are locked.

You could read threads all day on these forums if you wanted to. Just keep going back further and further. I really like that because you have a wide variety of posts to choose to read and answer. I would suggest that you try that.

Or if there are a lot of threads that you consider boring--start your own! :)

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Oct 6, 2006

I like the variety personally! Doesn't bother me one bit. I simply choose which post I wish to read, read it, answer if I wish to...and I feel that is what a forum is all about.

I have had no probelms with people other than RN's on here...different point of views help me to be more broad minded. And the students...heck, I like helping them out and reminds me that not that very long ago I was feeling just like them...and give them support and encouragement! That makes me feel good to help where I can!

I don't mind it at all.

DaFreak71 · Oct 6, 2006

I still would like to see a forum specifically for PRACTICING RN's, a safe place to vent and bounce things off each other.
But, as I see already from responses on this thread, students can't seem to follow directions and not post where they're not asked to.
So, as with everything in nursing, another good idea down the drain due to lack of support. Nothing will ever change in this profession.
Signing off.

Welcome to the internet where you don't get to dictate whether or not someone posts to a PUBLIC forum. As for having a private forum to vent, give the general nursing forum a try. From what I've seen it's a good place to get support. If you're feeling as defeatist as your post sounds, I hope you'll give it a shot soon. I'm sure many people can relate to how you are feeling. Sometimes even writing down what you're upset about can be helpful in and of itself.

Hope you feel better soon :blushkiss

Editorial Team / Admin · Oct 6, 2006

the heading found in the general nursing forum:

general nursing discussion use this forum for all discussions that dont fit into any specialty nursing forums. or if it's nursing related, and you dont know where to post it, post it here.

this is an open invitation for students and the seasoned nurse if it is nursing-related.

those seeking medical advice come from all walks of life; student, seasoned nurse, firefighters, plumbers, computer experts, sahm, grand fathers, sisters, obs, and on and on and on.....

we at allnurses.com welcome suggestions to improve the website. anyone can post here:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f247/

and, you may post via administration feedback. only viewed by the administrators should you require a more private discussion:

https://allnurses.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=128

contrary to popular belief, this is not a public forum. per the tos of the site:

freedom of speech?
although the constitution of the us guarantees that “congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech”, allnurses.com is not congress. freedom of speech rights do not extend to this privately owned website. the tos/guidelines of this website governs the behaviors and activities of the members...

terms of service - all users please read and follow

and, the grammar police are usually not invited to these threads.....

P_RN, ADN, RN · Oct 6, 2006

Thanks to Brian we HAVE these forums. He has devoted a lot of time and energy keeping this as the BEST and LARGEST Nursing forum in the world.

SO, dear hearts and gentle people, let's debate topics and not the poster. If you don't want to respond to particular posters or their topics there is a feature named IGNORE.

As far as I see most people here get along just fine. I myself LOVE students and all the new questions they post. How on earth can one become experienced if not by learning from those who have gone before?

And I am (I confess) a grammar police captain, but I really try to hold in flinching to the best of my ability.

P

Melina · Oct 6, 2006

grammar

:rotfl:

Holly27 · Oct 6, 2006

"Many posters (I am one) pull up the BB by looking at threads with new activity. As such, I often do not note the forum. If I have something to add, I add it. If not, I don't."

"I believe that you will find many of us do this."

Exactly! Thats what I do. (The last 24 hours). I was a student till june and now Im a "For Real" Nurse. So only 4 months, I hope that counts to post on this thread. LOL Kidding! Gawd ! I see nothing wrong with having a "seasoned" nurse forum. Go for it. Why not? But I have a question. I know that there is a Nurse's Lounge and I assume that's for paying people right? Or am I wrong? And would it be a safe assumption that most students don't pay a yearly rate to post and just do the freebie thing?

OH ! OH! One more thing..... Since becoming a nurse,I think I have more questions now then I did then! LOL:monkeydance:

Agatha · Oct 6, 2006

... slipping in to add my vote: yea.

It would be an interesting read.

(Oh, does this vote count, I'm not even an official student yet, just working on my NA certification.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 6, 2006

if i'm understanding you correctly, this is how i'm interpreting it:
you had a horrid day at work or something unusual happened, and you just want to vent or find out if the same thing happens to other nurses in other units/hospitals, and want input/advice from others who've been there or just want some understanding and support and need to vent......
then a student pops in with a "oh my god, i'm about to graduate and this post is scaring me-did i make a mistake to enter nursing?" or "do all nurses get bitter/burned out or have bad attitudes like that?" when all you want to do is vent or get some input from people who've been where you are.
if that is where you are going with this, then yes, i see it happen to threads and i really don't like seeing the topics turn into consoling/counseling nervous students or comments about "bad attitudes" because they are still in a very idealistic stage of the profession and lack the experience to really understand where you're coming from but.......
.

exactly! it would be lovely to have a thread where we can vent without being told we have bad attitudes, or shouldn't be precepting anymore or are old dogs or burnt out or any of the above by someone without enough experience to understand. i'm not sure how we'd go about keeping those kinds of posts out of our forum, though. still, if it could work, i'd love it!

Mulan · Oct 6, 2006

exactly! it would be lovely to have a thread where we can vent without being told we have bad attitudes, or shouldn't be precepting anymore or are old dogs or burnt out or any of the above by someone without enough experience to understand. i'm not sure how we'd go about keeping those kinds of posts out of our forum, though. still, if it could work, i'd love it!

:yeahthat:

barbie90210 · Oct 6, 2006

i agree with the original post. when nurses in the battlefield want to vent or state their true opinions they are often met with the idealistic "you're just burnt out", "maybe you need to leave the profession if you are unhappy", etc. it may be very hard to enforce this as how would you really know who is a nurse with an active license? people lined up to slice and dice you for your suggestion but i felt it was totally reasonable. there are plenty of forums in allnurses and one more won't hurt. i might add that some of the comments made were quite nasty. you weren't nasty in what you presented. you just want to talk specifically to and with experienced nurses about some topics. what's wrong with that? :innerconf

rn/writer, RN · Oct 6, 2006

Here are a few suggestions to handle some of the above complaints.

Instead of clicking on the "Last 24 Hours" option, go instead to "All Forums." Then select an area of interest. If you do choose to go the Last 24 Hours route, pay attention to the forum as well as the subject header. I don't usually go to the NCLEX forums and I visit the student and International areas only when the title post intrigues me.

If you are starting a thread and you want only the opinions of experienced nurses, you may state that in your initial post. Try to be kind. Focus on what you need rather than fault others. It's much easier to hear (and understand) "I need to vent right now and would primarily like to hear from nurses who have worked this specialty or who have been around the block a few times," than to read about the flaws and deficiencies of students or wanna-bes.

Learn to ignore things that do not interest you. This forum is like a giant mall. Feel free to browse. Select what attracts you. Leave the rest behind. And recognize that, while this is a privately-owned forum, there are few restrictions regarding who can have access to specific threads.

Report objectionable posts. That little red triangle in the lower left corner of each post is there for you to click on when you encounter a problem. After you click the button, you will be taken to a screen that asks the reason you're reporting. This can range from violations of the Terms of Service (bad language, flaming, inappropriate comments, etc.) to posts which are fine in themselves but which are off topic or which clearly belong in a different forum.

The moderating team will decide if the post needs to be edited, deleted, moved, or left alone. We usually PM those involved to explain whatever action was or wasn't taken. This is so much more effective than launching counter-measures of your own and helps to prevent the kind of escalating conflict that results in a thread having to be shut down.

Feel free to PM members whose opinions and communication skills you respect. The longer you hang around, the more you'll discover kindred spirits. These are the folks you can turn to when you're feeling low. And they'll likely do the same with you. Sometimes a conversation with one or two trusted individuals is more comforting and restorative than ten pages on a high-traffic thread. This is especially true and wise when revealing the particulars of a situation could make you too easily identifiable on the regular board.

For the most part, overlook spelling, grammar and usage complaints. If there is a significant lapse--all caps, every word capitalized, text-message English, many foreign words and phrases--use the good ol' report button and we will address the problem. Correcting others publicly is a dicey business and opens you up to far more scrutiny than most of us can withstand. If you think an error has been made and it has an impact on the meaning of the post, PM'ing is usually viewed as being less aggressive and will probably yield a better result.

Anytime you have the urge to disagree with someone, PLEASE, concentrate on the particular statement or behavior you take issue with. DO NOT focus on the other member's age, gender, nursing credentials, political background, religious stance, race, or any other personal attribute. All that does is invite flaming. And almost always, the real point is lost in the ensuing chaos.

Try not to take offense. In this case, my impression is that the OP just wants a safe place to vent and unwind without having to deal with the comments of people who haven't yet "been there." Seems reasonable enough to me. You don't have to be anti-student to grow impatient at times with unchallenged idealism or the burden of having to protect tender feelings, especially when you're having a bad day and want someone to look out for YOU.

Try not to give offense. Once again, report bad posts rather than take up arms against the poster. Focus on issues, not personalities. Remember sarcasm doesn't travel well via the written word. Give the benefit of the doubt whenever possible (I don't think you meant to be insulting, but your words were kind of harsh). Approach via PM if there is tension. Resist the urge to humiliate, especially when you're right. Use gentle humor to defuse potentially sparky conversations. And keep in mind that the more intense the topic, the more thoughtful your words need to be.

I hope these ideas help.