lindahartford

I think you missed my last paragraph. I did quit hospital nursing, went into Home Health and never looked back.

My last job on a hospital was in 1976. After 20 years of experience, including 5 years on a busy Medical/Surgical unit in NYC I moved to FL and took a position as floor nurse on an orthopedic unit after being promised I would have no more than 4 pati...

I strongly agree with responsibility uplito administrators and supervisors. Nurses have long lived with work overload and extended days and months of untold stress and it has taken extraordinary effort by nurse unions to get admnistration to decreas...

These are all good points. The only thing I would add is that when I tell a coworker. "Great job," I like to add how I know that. For instance. "Great job. Mrs X says she feels so much better since you changed her dressing." or Great job. Mr. Y looks...

Over 40,000 people die every year in this country due to medication errors. That would be 40,000 nurses, doctors and pharmacists on trial for accidental homicide. Now THAT would cause a nursing shortage.

This is a terrible thing to a human being. There's that old joke about doctors burying their mistakes. But a woman made a mistake and the lawyers want to burn her at the stake. After 50 years of nursing, I sometimes worry if I ever made a serious e...

I worked in nursing for 53 years and never had a problem with employment. I retired at 72 despite my employer's request to continue at least part-time to "Trouble-shoot" My attitude about my job was always focused on my talent and experience. And I...

To the Nurse who thinks gossip is great fun as it makes the day go faster. Sounds like you are part of the problem. You are trying to give a destructive behavior a happy face. Perhaps you could find something possitive to be a leader in. Try tackling...

This is extreme but it does make a point that the BSN is not sufficient to develop well-rounded nursing practice. Communication, however, may be the most important part of nursing. Not just between the administration and other staff but even more b...

1:7 ? Wow! I was once hired onto an orthopedic unit with the promise of no more than 4 patients a day. In fact, I never had less than 8 and on weekends as many as 10. Besides that, due to outlandishly poor infection control, 2-3 of these patients ...

You are so right. We older nurses had the great advantage of extensive bedside experience. These young grads are taught that their BSN is everything. No wonder without support to get bedside experience these new grads are dropping out in droves. Mor...

Hi Old Dude, you can call me Old Lady. After 53 years of nursing experience, 23 at bedside and 30 in HOme Health I agree completely that young nurses are thrown into ICU and situations over their heads with reckless abandon by hospitaladministrators...

I totally agree that the loss of nurses is due to lack of support for new nurses and that hospital policies need to give practical bedside nursing experience before pushing them into ICU situations with poor nurse-patient ratios and little teaching a...

It says there are only 18,300+ respondents so you know this is not 100% of the nurses in the country. it looks like a pretty good average. As to lying on this kind of survey, it makes no sense, but factor that in if you feel a need to. I did. For me,...

Very nice attitude of both you and your family. Alternate celebrations can be just as much fun or more. Keep it up. linda

Thanks so much for your comment. We both have lots of good memories. It was fun to share them. Linda

My Mom was a nurse so I was used to scheduling Holidays at home diferently from most kids, but I never felt deprived. We rocked around Mom's schedule. As a Head Nurse, I always found out holiday preferences early and was always able to accomidate eve...

I like your honesty with yourself and with us. Good luck with whatever youdo.

I agree completely. That is why after 20 years in hospitals, I quit and went into Home Health Nursing. I was able to determine my own patient load (with a few exceptions) and work at my own level of expertise. I could stay with a patient 10 minutes l...

Good for you. It was years before I got an order like that but I didn't back down and he was more respectful to me as well.

I am a retired nurse with 53 years of experience in med-surg and psychiatry. Recently, I had surgery that required sedation and anesthesia. I am always astrongly affected by sedation and actually remember very little of my first 2 post-op days. I wa...

The American Nurses Association is very proud that Nurses are THE most respected professionals in America. This has been so for many years. When you respect yourself and others, respect will come back to you. I retired after 53 years of nursing. In ...

I believe it becomes your superpower when you declare it so. After that it grows and grows.

No coincidence, for sure.

I worked Home Health for 30 years. This work was primarily with the elderly. I quickly learned my super power was removing impactions. My company soon nicknamed me "The Super Dooper Pooper Scooper." My most dreaded treatment was having to draw blood....