I no longer do direct patient care

[SuesquatchRN]

I'm now in the computer area and earn more than the starting RN's. For no life and death responsibility, no hands-on patient care, basically, no responsibility for anything but electronic paper work.

Now, I know that I have a very specific and rare skill set, but something's wrong with this picture.

Gee. Why is there a nursing shortage?

[nightmare, RN]

I'm glad it's all had a happy ending,Sue and that you continue to enjoy the job:typing:yelclap::urck::clpty:

[marie-francoise]

I'm now in the computer area and earn more than the starting RN's. For no life and death responsibility, no hands-on patient care, basically, no responsibility for anything but electronic paper work.

Now, I know that I have a very specific and rare skill set, but something's wrong with this picture.

Gee. Why is there a nursing shortage?

As a "second career-er" nursing student, I can totally understand, even just based on my clinicals in nursing school!

It's so easy for a nurse to make very simple, understandable mistakes yet get "into trouble" for them. They are always being observed in some way; all patient care responsibilities, including many, many decisions about patient care, seem to funnel to them; and they are constantly intereacting with people & providing direct care.

And direct patient care is HARD! Esp dealing with people all the time - in particular the families.

Just from my observations during clinicals, my old deskjob seems like a piece of cake compared to nursing! And, yes, I was likely making more than I will as a new grad...

[RN4NICU, LPN, LVN]

Excuse me for being dumb, but what is an MT certificate? Maybe this is something I should look into myself!

It's probably medical transcription.

[CHATSDALE]

WHATS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE

a] you have a job where you don't go home bone tired and brain dead

b] you are making enough money that you can actually take a vacation or save up a bit for retiremen

c] they don't call you up on your day off and make you feel guilty for not coming in extra because

someone with a bad hair day called in

d] you have a position that others would give their eyeteeth to get

hmm, if you need an assistant tell them you know someone named dale

[Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Congratulations on your new job!

Can you give any advice or insight on just how to get a position like that? I'm looking for something else and I am exporing options. I don't know how much longer I can actually do this.....

[jjjoy, LPN]

I hear ya, Sasquatch! I'm loving my clinical data job.

And I do think something's wrong with the picture that many nurses have what I'd consider to be much harder jobs than many office jobs and yet often get lower pay in addition to the tough hours.

I do see some of the financial/adminstrative types as well as docs and even other nurses gripe about why can't the nurses do just this one litte extra thing they've asked for. Too many don't seem to get that nurses are asked to do hundreds of "little extra things" on top of juggling ever-changing patient demands.

In my job, I do have at least a little input into how things are documented and I advocate to minimize duplication and non-clinically relevant documentation by the nurses and other clinical staff. And I've considered volunteering wth hospice or the like to fulfill my desire to be there for people in a time of need & vulnerability.

[RN007]

What I have observed is that a nurse can make the simplest error. This error isn't necessarily outrageous, egregious, or adventitious to the patient. Nor do they generally result in F/G tags or deficiencies. However, the response from admin (from my pov) is punitive.

Boy, you are so right about this. I come from another career and I just recently said I've never worked in a profession where you get picked on for the minutest thing. I wonder if it's because the field is dominated by women? When I came to nursing, someone said, 'Oh, you'll end up in management' and my reply was 'I don't want to manage. I want to take care of the sickest of the sickest' but I found out quickly that taking care of the sick is a near-impossible task. So I moved out of med-surg, and yes, I'll probably end up in management.

Congrats on your new job! What's your computing background?

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Thanks so much, everyone. I appreciate that you're happy for me.

It was said well by Oramar. The pinnacle of nursing is supposed to be to get away from the bedside, and the attitude that I've seen is that if you're smart you do. I am treated much better for doing bits and bytes than people.

dempather, I don't have the (rare) wonderful feeling of having helped, no. But I also don't have perpetual heebie jeebies because the MAR changed again and I just finished meds on patient A and the bed alarm on patient b is going off and patient C is on the call bell and I'm getting an admission and patent d needs the BSC and patent e's family is angry because we can't find the fluffy slippers they brought and and... Y'know?

Medic2RN, I have a diploma from The Chubb Institute as a COBOL programmer and worked for a huge financial firm for almost 9 years prior to my job being outsourced abroad. Rather broad software experience. And get into a BSN program. You don't have to have it but you have to have a demonstrable willingness to keep learning. This was a BSN preferred spot that I got as an LPN largely because the skill set IS so rare.

[whipping girl in 07, RN]

What I noticed is that while these self sacrimonous people speak of positive patient outcomes, they have a clear conscience when they leave an LPN in LTC with 50+ patients alone at night, give monotomous, senseless paperwork to nurses that impede on patient care, making document care priority. Impossible assignments and nurse:patient ratios, not enough supplies, and other nightmares make people RUN from the bedside.

Amen sister!! We had state in recently about restraint stuff, and we were told you cannot chart on the restraint flowsheet at the end of the shift, but you must walk directly to the restraint flowsheet and mark that you released/applied, skin intact, response, etc. AS SOON AS YOU DO IT. Can I at least finish caring for the patient first? Do I have to chart the assessment BEFORE I pass meds? Am I supposed to listen to lungs, write that down, listen to heart tones, write that down, feel pulses, write that down, wait can I feel all the peripheral pulses at once, or do I have to feel right radial and write it down before I move on to the next one? One of our "seasoned" RNs (she's been a nurse since I was in diapers...) tried to nail down the inspector, who wasn't even an RN (still trying to figure that one out...) but she wouldn't budge. If you chart anything other than right when it was done, that's "catch-up" charting and unacceptable. WT*!!!

Any wonder why I'm only at the bedside PRN???

And the person who mentioned the lack of respect, wow, I can't even begin to describe it. I do nutrition support now, and the doctors treat me so much better than they did when I was a bedside RN. Same doctors, same hospital. Unbelievable! I feel guilty when I know I make more money now than I was then. Crazy!

Oh, yeah, glad you found something you love! I did!!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I'm loving it, Siri!

Congratulations, Sue! I know you've had probably the roughest run for your money when you were a bedside nurse in LTC and med/surg. After all your hardships, I am pleased to discover that you have found something more enjoyable and not as stressful.

I am happy for you! I wish I could have a similar fate!

[leslie :-D]

i was thinking of you very recently...

that i don't see you on here much lately.

and was thinking warm, positive thoughts.

i'm glad you're loving your job...

and yet, you sound wistful.

big, bear hug to you. :redpinkhe

leslie

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I liked being a nurse nurse, Leslie. You do hear wistfulness - I've been feeling wistful about life, period, lately.

:)