sjrn85

No, I think what hondurena was saying is that moving a transgendered pt. into a room with another pt. could cause serious discomfort for that pt. I personally would be very uncomfortable sharing a room with a transgendered pt.; then again, I don't like sharing a hospital room with anyone. But for a confused elderly pt. to have to share a room with a transgendered pt.; sorry, not fair to that elderly pt. Why not just assign transgendered pts. private rooms? For that matter, I know a lot of men would not want to share a room with a gay male pt., and women who would not want to share a room with a lesbian. We're not going to pick a time when people are sick and vulnerable to start trying to make a point. Peoples' minds have to changed over time, and trying to force the issue in a hospital setting is disrespectful to everyone. Ready to be flamed...

Just because a pt. is sedated doesn't mean he doesn't feel pain. I would have given the MSO4 as you did.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're not practicing medicine, you're doing advanced practice NURSING. Want to practice medicine? Go to med school. But don't try to muddy the two. It's disrespectful to both disciplines. And I personally would never allow someone with no nursing experience (e.g. a "direct entry NP" to treat me). I would have serious doubts about how solid that person's knowledge base was, and even more serious doubts about the character of the individual in general. It comes across like that sort of person is just looking for the fastest route to make more money.

I'm sorry, and I mean no disrespect to Triage34 because it sounds like this her is facility's policy, but I'll be darned if I ever say the above, especially to a physician. That sounds like "nursespeak" run amok. Call it what it is...an arrest, whatever... but "failure to thrive"? If you've got no pulse, no BP, and no spontaneous resps., you're way past the point of "faliure to thrive."

In a perfect world, the answer woud be "yes." But if ACLS is a requirement for the position, then yes, they should. If it's not required but the nurse wants to take ACLS to further his/her knowledge, like I said it would be nice.

Even if you feel you've been wronged, it's still the best (and professional thing) to try to take the high road. We all have our moments, and believe me, you will too when you're an RN. No one is perfect.

I'm not sure which would be more embarrassing, the incident described, or finding out that the details of it were posted (along with details about one's sex life) on a public BB.

I realize that. I said that just to clarify that based on what you posted, I had no other ideas to offer; I didn't mean for you to infer that I thought you were addressing me specifically. And no, I really don't go home and talk about co-workers/patients. I try to leave work at work. Best of luck to you in your search for ways to handle this type of situation. I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help to you. Good night.

Also, this thread started out being about a very specific situation with very specific details such as blood glucose levels and symptoms. I'm sorry if I misunderstood your intent for it to be about illnesses in general.

Sigh...again, I said that the NM should be informed, and that, if necessary, concerns should be taken further up the chain of command. I also said that incidents should be documented, and that if a nurse found a co-worker to ill to be working and thus a threat to pt. safety, the supervisor should be paged to address the situation. Measures can be taken to ensure pt. safety while upholding HIPAA regulations. As I said before, the general context of calling a nurse "impaired" implies substance abuse problems. I don't know what other suggestions you're looking for. I hope someone else can help you. And I still think that it is inappropriate for a nurse to discuss detailed personal information about one of her co-workers with a friend.

If your post was so clear, you should not have needed to go back and edit it after I posted my reply. I know that we are in the "Nursing Issues/Concerns" thread, BTW, but that doesn't mean that anything goes. In any case, it's nearly impossible for me to comment further because you have altered the contents of your original post, so I can't refer back to it. However, I will say that labeling a nurse as "impaired" carries grave consequences, and usually implies that one is considering reporting that nurse to the BON or taking other serious steps. And yes, I am HIPAA conscious. And I think it's unprofessional for someone to be discussing this matter in such detail with a third party. If the nurse manager is aware of the situation but not acting on it, then your friend should take it to the next level; that would depend on the institution's policy. If meds are being missed/ delayed/errors occurring, then your friend should be filling out incident reports every time it happens. Bear in mind that the NM may know more about this than your friend does, and just because your friend hasn't seen immediate action doesn't mean that things aren't in process. Your friend should also be calling the supervisor if her co-worker appears to be too ill to work. Your friend should use caution in how much information she is disclosing to you; you might want to remind her of that. She may not be as HIPAA savvy. Regardless of what the true details are, it's inappropriate for her to be discussing it with you, and is still a violation of this nurse's privacy when she talks about it with you, whether or not you post the actual details on a BB. Edited by fab4fan 122705 at 2312 to insert missed word "remind."

You follow the chain of command. You let the supervisor know, and let him/her act accordingly. You do not just go and call the BON, and you do not let the situation go and then call your friend and tell your friend about it. Go back and reread my second post. I said very clearly your friend should have called the supervisor, and that she is putting her own license in jeopardy by not taking this through the chain of command at her facility. Her co-worker has a right to privacy as well, and I doubt he'd be happy to know that not only is his condition being discussed by his co-worker with her friend, but her friend is posting his medical information on a public BB. People have been "outed" here many times for posting detailed info.; the individual being discussed could easily be ID'd by other co-workers, or he himself could be reading what's being posted about him. Not good.

Your friend should have reported what happened to the supervisor, not discussed it with a third party later. She allowed pt. care to be compromised by not doing so; if a pt. were harmed because this happened again, she could be held just as liable because she had knowledge of the situation and failed to act. But again, taking this to the BON is not the appropriate response. I get the impression sometimes from reading this board that people are willing at the drop of a hat to call the BON and "report" co-workers. You really need to have substantial evidence to call the board, and really, you should follow the chain of command unless it's an extreme situation. (Not you personally, I mean "you" in the general sense.)

This is second hand information? Then you really don't act on it...you're hearing someone else's version of a conversation. You really don't want to make an allegation of "impairment" unless you can substantiate it. And most BONs consider impairment to be r/t drugs or ETOH, not what you're describing.

I'm not sure how my saying I wouldn't want to work for a unit manager who only has one year of experience makes me small minded.