Scary...isn't this the drug that's being mentioned in some news articles of Michael Jackson's death as something he MAY have been using for unremitting insomnia?
This explains the cardiac arrest. It is a shame that someone provided this or any drug to Michael.
Geez. Who would have thought that you would need to worry about other people's actions in this way to nurse. I wouldn't have stayed either. Someone is likely to make an error and try to blame the worker attempting to follow the correct methods of nursing.
When nursing managers don't know what is happening on units (and I know they don't), they are putting their license in jeapardy. Manangers are responsible for all their nurses. When the public starts to sue more nurses, we might see a shift in accountability.
The standard ratio when caring for any patient in PACU is two RN's. There must be a second RN in the unit, not on call. Also, we only care for two clients at a time. If we care for an ICU patient, we would only care for that one patient. You must have an extra RN in case of code.
My question is what can RN's do to prevent this type of event from happening again? If you know that your hospital is placing patient safety in jeapardy, who can nurses report these behaviors too?
Our unit reports unsafe behaviors (nothing this bad) all the time, but feel nobody is listening. For instance, ICU patients should not remain in the recovery room for days at a time. If the client is in need of the ICU, then the patient should be sent to ICU. Our recovery room does have several nurses that are former ICU nurses (I'm one, but NICU, not SICU). Many of the former ICU nurses don't want to work as an ICU nurse. We are safe, but worry about the fact that people that are not comfortable with drips are caring for ICU patients. We see the pattern of housing ICU patients come in waves. We can go many months with any ICU patients, and then have ICU patients coming from every where.
I can relate to what you are saying. One of my nursing instructors refused to listen to anyone pleading with her to seek medical attention for her foot that was hurting. She worked 2 weeks nursing the foot with ice and heat. She barely got around during that time. Finally after she could fit the visit into her schedule, she learned that she had broken her ankle. Thank goodness, she was okay.
Not all hospitals behave the way described in some of the above posts. Some, albeit a minority, realize that in the long run high turnover is more expensive then retention.
I agree and have been saying for decades that nursing care has to be unbundled from room and board before the true economic value of Nursing can be appreciated. This is a difficult thing to do but is beginning to slowly evolve.
Changes in the philosophy of Medicare reimbursements will also begin to improve the perception of the economic value of nursing. When hospitals are no longer going to get reimbursed for the care of preventable complications and are precluded from going after the patient for these costs, they will see the economic benefit of proper staffing ratios and retention of skilled professional staff. Right now the economic incentives favor limiting staffing and hiring the less expirenced. Those institutions that persist in practices will face increasing financial problems that will be a threat to their survival.
I agree totally with your post. What nursing needs is a leadership summit on how to quantify charges for nursing care. The all inclusive bed charge lumps us with other services and devalues our labor.
When I received my hospital bill from a recent stay, I noticed that what my insurance company paid the hospital was not even enough to cover the nurses wages. The current system isn't good for anyone in the long run. It would serve the hospitals better if someone from hospital management teams would address this problem as well.
Maybe hospital managers aren't looking at the long run. Insurance companies expect more to be done with less and that is falling on the nursing staff's shoulders.
I hope your meeting today went well. I have only worked for one place of employment in my time as a nurse. But I do know that it is always important to see in writing for yourself what the policy is concerning what ever nursing procedure we have to complete as nurses.
I know what you mean about being new and attempting to fit in with staff. What sort of orientation did you have and certainly the manager covered issues like this (smile)?
I think that the nurses that accepted the count are at fault if there was a mix up with the count. Did both of you sign the count? How does the unit handle signing off? What does your agency representatives think about this situation?
And in reference to the notation of slander.......unfortunately, I think that some people in nursing are quick to make statements that can not be backed by factual events. Many nurses seem to make this mistake and I do think that sometimes slander is a good word to describe the conversations.
Well, I hope your today was better than yesterday.
it's been awhile since this thread had a reply, but it needs to be continued. we all need a place to vent.
of course, it is 3:30 in the a.m. while i am replying while i wait for a guy who got drunk and got stabbed. you know your a pacu nurse when this is a common occurrence.
and don't you just love it when people think all pacu nurses do is take blood pressures and work mon.-fri. 9:00-5:00 jobs.
thanks for the new post! i've shared your views on pacu. lately, i've felt like the surgeons think i'm a hostess instead of a trained professional with a four year degree and icu experience.
I can't believe it!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I PASSED!!!! I had 114 questions and it was the hardest test EVER. I had about 50 med questions! I Had a TON of infection questions! I only had like one or 2 lab questions. I realllly wanted ABG's, calculations, or crutch questions because I would have definitely gotten those right. But I didn't have any.
IM SO glad its over!!!!!! Good LUCK to everyone who is going to be taking the NCLEX!!:spin:
I did the smartest thing in my life by getting a bunion removed right after graduation. I have been on crutches for 10 weeks, and I'm getting off of them next week .But by doing this I was able to sit and do at least 100 questions a day and study a little bit. I made sure that I didn't over do it.
Hello everyone. I have been an LPN for 13 years. I decided to go back to school at 47 and I graduated in may 07. I have taken the boards twice now and still have not passed. I have used Kaplan, Saunders, Illustrated study guide, and exam cram. I don't know what I am doing wrong. PLEASE HELP ME!! I am so frustrated!!!!!!!!
Robin:uhoh21:
I'm sorry you have been having trouble. I know you can pass. I think that you have to make sure you control your anxiety concerning the test--easier said than done. But it is possible to calm yourself. I recommend this site if you have not discovered it yet: http://www.learningext.com/.
The NCLEX questions are created by the authors of this site. I saw 3-5 questions on my NCLEX that were exact questions from the practice questions on this site. I'm trying to remeber what a friend of mine did also when she was in the same situation. I'll get in touch with her and get back to you.
At the first hospital I worked at there was no weekend diff (non-union facility) at the new hospital (union facility) I will be starting at there is a weekend diff and you would get both night shift and weekend diff but if you choose to work every weekend you waive your weekend diff.
Okay, that's crazy that you lose weekend diff if you want to work every weekend. You are filling a needed position that most hospitals have a hard time filling--hence the shift diff--and you get penalized for desiring to work all weekends. Crazy! Just crazy!
This explains the cardiac arrest. It is a shame that someone provided this or any drug to Michael.
I was thinking the same thoughts about the lack of control of a controlled substance. The narcs are never out of my sight. :heartbeat
Geez. Who would have thought that you would need to worry about other people's actions in this way to nurse. I wouldn't have stayed either. Someone is likely to make an error and try to blame the worker attempting to follow the correct methods of nursing.
When nursing managers don't know what is happening on units (and I know they don't), they are putting their license in jeapardy. Manangers are responsible for all their nurses. When the public starts to sue more nurses, we might see a shift in accountability.
The standard ratio when caring for any patient in PACU is two RN's. There must be a second RN in the unit, not on call. Also, we only care for two clients at a time. If we care for an ICU patient, we would only care for that one patient. You must have an extra RN in case of code.
What I found interesting was that the vacancy rate was on 3% in IN. BRAVO.
This is very sad. Why are so many people snapping and harming others? I hope her family finds comfort.
This case is so sad. I hope the family finds comfort.
My question is what can RN's do to prevent this type of event from happening again? If you know that your hospital is placing patient safety in jeapardy, who can nurses report these behaviors too?
Our unit reports unsafe behaviors (nothing this bad) all the time, but feel nobody is listening. For instance, ICU patients should not remain in the recovery room for days at a time. If the client is in need of the ICU, then the patient should be sent to ICU. Our recovery room does have several nurses that are former ICU nurses (I'm one, but NICU, not SICU). Many of the former ICU nurses don't want to work as an ICU nurse. We are safe, but worry about the fact that people that are not comfortable with drips are caring for ICU patients. We see the pattern of housing ICU patients come in waves. We can go many months with any ICU patients, and then have ICU patients coming from every where.
I can relate to what you are saying. One of my nursing instructors refused to listen to anyone pleading with her to seek medical attention for her foot that was hurting. She worked 2 weeks nursing the foot with ice and heat. She barely got around during that time. Finally after she could fit the visit into her schedule, she learned that she had broken her ankle. Thank goodness, she was okay.
Hope your leg is back to 100%
When I received my hospital bill from a recent stay, I noticed that what my insurance company paid the hospital was not even enough to cover the nurses wages. The current system isn't good for anyone in the long run. It would serve the hospitals better if someone from hospital management teams would address this problem as well.
Maybe hospital managers aren't looking at the long run. Insurance companies expect more to be done with less and that is falling on the nursing staff's shoulders.
Hi,
I hope your meeting today went well. I have only worked for one place of employment in my time as a nurse. But I do know that it is always important to see in writing for yourself what the policy is concerning what ever nursing procedure we have to complete as nurses.
I know what you mean about being new and attempting to fit in with staff. What sort of orientation did you have and certainly the manager covered issues like this (smile)?
I think that the nurses that accepted the count are at fault if there was a mix up with the count. Did both of you sign the count? How does the unit handle signing off? What does your agency representatives think about this situation?
And in reference to the notation of slander.......unfortunately, I think that some people in nursing are quick to make statements that can not be backed by factual events. Many nurses seem to make this mistake and I do think that sometimes slander is a good word to describe the conversations.
Well, I hope your today was better than yesterday.
Great Job! :hatparty:
I'm sorry you have been having trouble. I know you can pass. I think that you have to make sure you control your anxiety concerning the test--easier said than done. But it is possible to calm yourself. I recommend this site if you have not discovered it yet: http://www.learningext.com/.
The NCLEX questions are created by the authors of this site. I saw 3-5 questions on my NCLEX that were exact questions from the practice questions on this site. I'm trying to remeber what a friend of mine did also when she was in the same situation. I'll get in touch with her and get back to you.
Okay, that's crazy that you lose weekend diff if you want to work every weekend. You are filling a needed position that most hospitals have a hard time filling--hence the shift diff--and you get penalized for desiring to work all weekends. Crazy! Just crazy!