Help! I need info. for school project!

Weezer_Gal15 · Mar 1, 2001

ATTN: To all nurses! I am doing a school project about nurses and I need some info. ASAP! If you can give me any of the following info., I would really appreciate it:

-How much education you need

-Opportunities

-Responsibilities

-A typical day as a nurse

-Interesting/unique aspects of being a nurse

Thank you so much! You can email me at:

[email protected]

I need by today, so email asap!

Thank you,

Jenn

iamme457 · Mar 1, 2001

Hummmmm, need info today. Did you get this assignment today?

I will answer one of your questions though, you would be a part of our typical day. Waited till last possible near death moment to go to the doctor. Now you are near death in the ICU, you and your family want everything done...NOW...it is your right as you are paying for it.

You had a high fat diet with lots of eat out fast foods, you are overweight and dont exercise. Your family is irate that we are not answering your questions quickly enough, and they (all 4 generations) are on the phone telling us that. We havent been able to get into your room for more than 5 mins at a time because of family phone calls.

Last time you went to the doctor was about 12 years ago for a bee sting. You were advised to have a follow up visit for a high blood pressure and a slightly high blood sugar but because you felt OK you didnt make the appointment. You know....doctors are only after a few more bucks from the insurance company. Charging for visits that make no sense to you, you feel fine.

Today though was the last straw, a totally healthy person with indigestion when they are stressed is now not able to even stand up due to chest pain that makes you vomit.

The nurse has to tell family that you need open heart surgery but because of a blood sugar that is around 600, you need a few days in ICU first to control that. Later in the night we call your family to ask if they would like to come in to be with you. You have suffered a very large heart attack and probably wont make it till the morning. Sobbing and still angry at us for not fixing you in the first place, 14 family members arrive at 3:45am, one has a small child in tow and you want blankets and pillows to use in the waiting room. At this point we take turns talking to your family members as you have really stressed us out. We are understanding of your grief but we do have a lot of other patients to take care of too. You respond to our taking turns, so a fresh non-drained person talks to you and counsels you as to dealing with this impending death by going to the adminstrator that we are so indifferent as to not give you the same person everytime you need to talk. Mind you this is after 3am. Your perception is we are passing you off, a dump job...mind you, each and every request has been met including the blankets and pillows and even a carton of milk for the kid and some cookies (ICU patients are usually intubated so we dont get extra food from the kitchen) we went to another unit to get that for you.

And this is probably a good night as there was enough staff to take care of your family along with the patients.

iamme457 · Mar 1, 2001

Hummmmm, need info today. Did you get this assignment today?

I will answer one of your questions though, you would be a part of our typical day. Waited till last possible near death moment to go to the doctor. Now you are near death in the ICU, you and your family want everything done...NOW...it is your right as you are paying for it.

You had a high fat diet with lots of eat out fast foods, you are overweight and dont exercise. Your family is irate that we are not answering your questions quickly enough, and they (all 4 generations) are on the phone telling us that. We havent been able to get into your room for more than 5 mins at a time because of family phone calls.

Last time you went to the doctor was about 12 years ago for a bee sting. You were advised to have a follow up visit for a high blood pressure and a slightly high blood sugar but because you felt OK you didnt make the appointment. You know....doctors are only after a few more bucks from the insurance company. Charging for visits that make no sense to you, you feel fine.

Today though was the last straw, a totally healthy person with indigestion when they are stressed is now not able to even stand up due to chest pain that makes you vomit.

The nurse has to tell family that you need open heart surgery but because of a blood sugar that is around 600, you need a few days in ICU first to control that. Later in the night we call your family to ask if they would like to come in to be with you. You have suffered a very large heart attack and probably wont make it till the morning. Sobbing and still angry at us for not fixing you in the first place, 14 family members arrive at 3:45am, one has a small child in tow and you want blankets and pillows to use in the waiting room. At this point we take turns talking to your family members as you have really stressed us out. We are understanding of your grief but we do have a lot of other patients to take care of too. You respond to our taking turns, so a fresh non-drained person talks to you and counsels you as to dealing with this impending death by going to the adminstrator that we are so indifferent as to not give you the same person everytime you need to talk. Mind you this is after 3am. Your perception is we are passing you off, a dump job...mind you, each and every request has been met including the blankets and pillows and even a carton of milk for the kid and some cookies (ICU patients are usually intubated so we dont get extra food from the kitchen) we went to another unit to get that for you.

And this is probably a good night as there was enough staff to take care of your family along with the patients.

Weezer_Gal15 · Mar 2, 2001

Um, thank you?

Weezer_Gal15 · Mar 2, 2001

Um, thank you?

fergus51 · Mar 2, 2001

Wow, that was a rant. I tend to rant too. The education is either a two+ year associates degree or a four year bachelor's degree. Opportunities are HUGE right now due to the nursing shortage. It is definitely easy for a new grad to find work and not tough to go straight into a specialty area without paying your dues on a medical/surgical floor. The pay isn't great compared to other fields though. Paramedics make about 10 000$ a year more than nurse in my town.

Responsibilities: YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!! There is usually no doctor on most floors of the hospital so it's the nurse who is the one that has to catch any emergencies, and provide normal care.

Typical day: I am in labor & delivery so when I get to work we may have no patients or a truckload. I get to work, change into my uniform, listen to a taped report from the nurses who were on duty before me then get to work. We coach the women, monitor the fetal heart rates, take woman's vitals, make sure neither mother and baby are in any danger, monitor how dilated she is, phone doctors for pain medication orders if the woman wants something, we usually don't call the doctor to come in until the woman is ready to push and then we assist with the delivery. If the doctor needs anything like for suturing a woman's tears we prepare the equipment, if an emergency happens we RUN the women up to the OR. A lot of our work is psych work (dealing with anxiety, fer, domestic violence, unplanned pregnancies, etc.). In between this we have to deal with allthe paperwork and the management crap (like calling and bitching at someone until they get us enough nurses on the floor). Despite the crap I do love what I do.

fergus51 · Mar 2, 2001

Wow, that was a rant. I tend to rant too. The education is either a two+ year associates degree or a four year bachelor's degree. Opportunities are HUGE right now due to the nursing shortage. It is definitely easy for a new grad to find work and not tough to go straight into a specialty area without paying your dues on a medical/surgical floor. The pay isn't great compared to other fields though. Paramedics make about 10 000$ a year more than nurse in my town.

Responsibilities: YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!! There is usually no doctor on most floors of the hospital so it's the nurse who is the one that has to catch any emergencies, and provide normal care.

Typical day: I am in labor & delivery so when I get to work we may have no patients or a truckload. I get to work, change into my uniform, listen to a taped report from the nurses who were on duty before me then get to work. We coach the women, monitor the fetal heart rates, take woman's vitals, make sure neither mother and baby are in any danger, monitor how dilated she is, phone doctors for pain medication orders if the woman wants something, we usually don't call the doctor to come in until the woman is ready to push and then we assist with the delivery. If the doctor needs anything like for suturing a woman's tears we prepare the equipment, if an emergency happens we RUN the women up to the OR. A lot of our work is psych work (dealing with anxiety, fer, domestic violence, unplanned pregnancies, etc.). In between this we have to deal with allthe paperwork and the management crap (like calling and bitching at someone until they get us enough nurses on the floor). Despite the crap I do love what I do.