maybe I WONT go into nursing!

Nurses General Nursing

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I have read some super scary threads on here about nurses and accusations of testing postive for drugs, being accused of stealing drugs, AND being fired for being on a PRESCRIPTION drug.

Needless to say..I thought nowadays with all the Freaking paper work I hear nurses have to do, that there would be SECURE , FOOL PROOF, measures of protection of innocent persons.

I am NOT a nurse. I am strongly thinking about going into nursing. However, I dont want to be the fall guy for someone and their drug abuse or be accused of taking/stealing drugs!

Arent there methods (such as two people signing wehn there is a drug count) for protection of people?

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Specializes in Long Term Care.

Hi Pat,

Nursing has its moments. Its hard work all the way around. THere is a lot of paperwork from day one to the last day you work as a nurse, be it LPN or RN or NP or CRNA. It is a diverse field. There will never be enough hands to do all the work that there is to do. There are places that pay good money for your knowledge, skills and expertise as a nurse. Then there are other places that do not appreciate anything you bring to the health care team.

It is all in YOU and your ATTITUDE and your CHOICES and your PRIORITIES.

I wish you luck no matter what your decision is.

Kristie

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I did most of my pre-pharmacy at a community college that had a nursing program, and one day, I happened to be sharing a table with a young woman and we struck up a conversation.

She was thinking about nursing, and assuming she already knew this, I mentioned something about nurses learning how to give shots by practicing on each other.

She didn't know that, and wasn't sure she wanted to be a nurse at that point. Better she found out then than on the day they did that!

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Specializes in ICU/PCU/Infusion.
I did most of my pre-pharmacy at a community college that had a nursing program, and one day, I happened to be sharing a table with a young woman and we struck up a conversation.

She was thinking about nursing, and assuming she already knew this, I mentioned something about nurses learning how to give shots by practicing on each other.

She didn't know that, and wasn't sure she wanted to be a nurse at that point. Better she found out then than on the day they did that!

I've never heard of nurses learning how to give shots by practicing on each other. I'm shocked that you would assume that she knew that, since you hadn't even been through the nursing program at that school to know for sure that that's the way it was.

That's the strangest thing I've heard in a while.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
I have read some super scary threads on here about nurses and accusations of testing postive for drugs, being accused of stealing drugs, AND being fired for being on a PRESCRIPTION drug.

Needless to say..I thought nowadays with all the Freaking paper work I hear nurses have to do, that there would be SECURE , FOOL PROOF, measures of protection of innocent persons.

I am NOT a nurse. I am strongly thinking about going into nursing. However, I dont want to be the fall guy for someone and their drug abuse or be accused of taking/stealing drugs!

Arent there methods (such as two people signing wehn there is a drug count) for protection of people?

If you're looking at the above non-problem as a reason not to go into nursing, then you probably don't have the stomach for it. You're worrying about zebras when we have enough horses to juggle.

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That's one of the great things about allnurses. You see the good, the bad, and the ugly side of nursing. I've learned so much about nursing by reading this board, and I think it's best to find out some of these things now rather than spend thousands of dollars and discovering that one may not want to be a nurse.

Not that I've changed my mind about nursing. I've learned so much that I wouldn't have learned about nursing elsewhere.

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Specializes in jack of all trades.

Dont let what you read entirely affect your decision to enter nursing. Talk to nursing students and active nurses in your area. Everyone has a horror story or 2 to tell and every one has different experiences. Yes sometimes things happen that may not be fair also but overall it is a good profession.

On another note, yes practicing injections on each other is a practice in many programs. We had to learn on each other and also learned to start IV's the same way. If you didnt do it you didnt pass. Using Normal Saline of course. But it was as realistic as you could get and also put you on how the patient on the other end feels.

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Take all the posts in this forum with a grain of salt. Some gripes presented in here are legitimate, some aren't. You are only getting one part of the story.

Be a nurse, or don't be nurse, but I recommend that you decide that upon things that are unique to the profession (like what the actual job entails and what the career path options are), and not the things that are common to almost all jobs (people doing things they know they shouldn't, yet claiming to be treated unfairly by an employer or boss).

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Occasionally an innocent person might slip through the cracks. It's quite rare given the millions of us with our hands on narcotics.

There are probably tens of thousands if more of those nurses who are on prescription drugs. Is that your concern, that you are on prescription narcs?

Most of us who follow procedures and the laws have nothing to worry about.

Most people that get in trouble for narcotics are users and need help when they finally get caught.

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Specializes in Peds.

Hi Pat,

This forum is awesome. I know a lot of people think that there is a lot of negetivity in the posts and threads - but I think it's balanced out by many positives too!

Have you read the "Thank yous" thread?

Or taken a peek at our nursing humour forum?

Nursing isn't all paperwork, monotony, short staffing and drug scares.

Nursing is also about the very human act of caring for the sick, the injured or the dying.

Don't believe what I say - go out and look for yourself. Go with an open mind and get a taste of what it really is.

Thanks,

Matthew

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I did most of my pre-pharmacy at a community college that had a nursing program, and one day, I happened to be sharing a table with a young woman and we struck up a conversation.

She was thinking about nursing, and assuming she already knew this, I mentioned something about nurses learning how to give shots by practicing on each other.

She didn't know that, and wasn't sure she wanted to be a nurse at that point. Better she found out then than on the day they did that!

We didn't practice giving each other injections where I went to school.

Quite frankly, I've never heard of any programs that have such a practice. :uhoh21: There may be, but none that I"ve ever heard about.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Nursing encompasses so many parts of the puzzle - that is what keeps it interesting. I would be bored if I did the same thing day in and day out. However, nursing keeps my interest.

Please don't think that those of us that occasionally complain about nursing don't love it - All Nurses is a place for safety and serves as a relief valve for our frustrations.

Overall, I've been a nurse for 14 years and for the most part, love it. There are days though that I am frustrated. However, these are few and far between.

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