Please help!

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2018

OP:

I feel empowered when I can truly help a family be ready for discharge. When you can see that the family has learned all of the cares, and can put it all together and thake their child home.

jennylee321 · Oct 4, 2018

Biggest issue working against me:

-non-nurses making decisions about how I should provide care and what new box I need to tick

Most empowered:

-When the care I provide is recognised by the family as helping them get through a hard time

Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2018

I would have been happy to respond,I enjoy helping future nurses.When they visit my unit I am so happy showing them around.You may still pm me if you need additional info.I do agree though more information with the request would have been helpful.Good luck in school.

djh123 · Oct 4, 2018

Is there a cash payment involved? :^) OK, apparently not, so I'm only going to answer the first question, about empowerment: one thing I like about nursing is that although management, corporations, infection control, etc. will make you do things you think are a pain in the ... never mind ... I do have a lot of autonomy. The vast majority of the time no one is looking over my shoulder telling me to do anything. I just have to do what I know how to do, and adjust and readjust my priorities as things change during the shift.

Kallie3006, ADN · Oct 4, 2018

OP:

What makes me feel empowered?

Taking care of a patient that has just been diagnosed with a condition, teaching the patient about said condition and seeing that patient, or family, at a later date and them telling me they remembered me and the things I taught them or showed them helped. Them telling me that the time I took, the information I provided, the teachings we went through, and the quizzing I did made a difference. When they tell me that because of these things, although they were still scared, unsure, or in denial, I helped calm their fears, provided resources to let them be in charge of their destiny( to a sense) and to that it was their choice to either let said diagnosis define them or they could define it.

Some examples- I have been the nurse taking care of a patient when they was told there was a mass on their pancreas, patho shows cancer- he was not much older than me.

I've been the nurse to a patient diagnosed with type 1 DM, I taught them counting carbs, the patho of DM, and worked with the patient teaching insulin administration- their last A1C was 6.0

I was with a patient that was downgraded to the floor, assisted with transfer and did not leave the room. The assigned nurse was going through the patients orders ect, the patient passed 22 minutes after transfer, I was the only one in the room. Family seeked me out when they came to the hospital and gave me the most heartfelt hug and told me thank you because their loved one did not transition alone.

These are just a few situations where I felt empowered and confirmed that it is because of moments like those that I chose the right career.

The biggest issue-

People who have never or somehow have forgotten what it is like to work the floor- assigning BS "extras" that need to be completed

Doctors who are afraid to tell a patient no, the same ones that tell a patient they have ordered PO pain meds, IV pain meds and anxiety medication ect. Then tell me I didn't have to give the patient the IV meds, I could use my "judgement"

The lack of staff because they have made a new grid and the hounding received because of low HCAPS- all in the name of the dollar

I know this may be late, but hope it helps. Good luck with your studies

allnurses Guide · Oct 4, 2018

Empowered when my advice and thoughts are taken seriously by the docs I work with in the ER. I am trusted to know what I'm doing, and can often expedite care and orders without the doc even seeing the patient first but relying on my assessments.

Bean counters who go only by the numbers they choose instead of the reality of patient loads. "Only x number of patients come in between these hours, so you only need y number of nurses", with total disregard for the volume of patients who are being held rather than moved out of ER. Once admitted, they don't "count" in our census no matter how long they wait for a bed.

Alex_RN, BSN · Oct 4, 2018

What makes you feel empowered as an RN?

I feel empowered when I have enough time to provide high-quality bedside care. I don't even need a lot of time, I just need to not be running from room to room, answering a page, and coordinating with other departments. If I can provide care and discuss the care at the same time, answer questions, look at the bigger picture, coordinate resources, and educate my patient without hurrying through everything, I feel fulfilled. My patient is more satisfied, too. Whenever I have received a customer service commendation, there was something atypical going on, like my other patients were off-unit. I was then able to take the time and educate a family about an acute condition.

What do you feel is the biggest issue working against you as a nurse?

It is difficult to pick one thing, but it starts with staffing ratios. If I can focus on one patient for half an hour, that must mean my other patients are stable and not hitting the call light and I am also not being paged by other staff. But if I have fewer patients, I will also have fewer support staff so I will be doing more toileting, passing trays, etc.

TessLJ · Oct 5, 2018

Biggest issue working against me:
-non-nurses making decisions about how I should provide care and what new box I need to tick

THIS!!! Our upper management is made up of non-clinical people, and it's like we get no respect from them. They' keep re-purposing the nursing staff positions to hire more business people. Wonder what they're going to do when there is no one left to do the work?

Have Nurse, ADN, RN · Oct 5, 2018

I need at least 6 responses today for one of my BSN classes!
What makes you feel empowered as an RN and what do you feel is the biggest issue working against you as a nurse? Thanks in advance!

This is where you polish off your brain and get to work. YOU are the only one who can answer this one. Go for it!

Have Nurse, ADN, RN · Oct 5, 2018

THIS!!! Our upper management is made up of non-clinical people, and it's like we get no respect from them. They' keep re-purposing the nursing staff positions to hire more business people. Wonder what they're going to do when there is no one left to do the work?

Maybe you should ask them....

Neats, BSN · Oct 9, 2018

What makes me feel empowered as an RN? Preforming an assessment from head to toe and coming up with a nursing care plan..

What do I feel is the biggest issue working against you as a nurse? Societies perception of nurses as only caretakers for comfort