Tgeagle83

My boyfriend went to a wedding and spoke to a Nurse Practitioner. He asked her what she would rate the stress level of a NP because I'm thinking of going for my NP after finishing up my BSN. She said the stress level is a 8-9. Then he asked her what she would rate the stress level of a bedside post-op nurse and she said 0-1. I'm assuming she has no bedside experience? I would never in a million years rate a CNA's stress level 0-1. Just because it's dealing with different stressors, doesn't mean they don't have the stress of license to uphold as well. Before becoming a RN I worked as a Caregiver for 2 years while going to school at night for my LPN, then I worked another 2 years as an LPN in a skilled nursing/long term care facility. I just resigned from a bedside nursing (RN) position I've held in a hospital for 2.5 years because I am tired of the stress of not having an aide and doing total care and being given 6,7,8 patients. This floor had me giving cardiac drips and taking care of palliative patients. I would take care of alcohol withdrawal and continuous bladder irrigation. I rarely had a charge nurse without their own full team nor a unit secretary or transporters. Acuity was never considered when they gave assignments. So I've decided to step away from the bedside and go another direction. But I'm wondering if I have things all twisted? I am so freaking insulted that he even considered a word she said as accurate! But maybe I'm mostly concerned if nursing just isn't for me anymore?

From my understanding, it will ultimately go back on the RN. Just like everything they will of course be reprimanded..but as the RN with the same patients as them, you are responsible

It's a lot faster for guys to pee than women (as long as they don't have any prostate problems) looks like that's probably some of the nurses that "don't get it". They might have a charge nurse or an aide to watch their teams as well. Where I come from, I didn't.

I wish people better understood why this is a problem. I worked a med surg/post op/ortho/tele floor and the charge nurse was NEVER out of staffing. I would have a fresh post op patient, a patient on a drip for afib rvr, a patient that needs a sitter but there are no sitters available, no aide, doing total care. For some reason it's still impossible for people to understand why I held my pee for so long. When someone has no iv access and keeps pulling their iv out bc we have no sitters available and the doc doesn't want to give them any haldol, I'm going to be putting in an iv on my patients before I pee. It's someone's life or death, especially in the bottom barrel hospital I worked at. Especially when there is no aide and no charge nurse. Now I have a bladder condition called Interstitial Cystitis..it got so bad I was peeing myself at work. Every time I pee I have to wash myself off in fear that maybe I'll get a uti. So yeah it takes me longer to pee than most people. I get palliative care q1 hr pain med patients..I'm sorry but if someone needs comfort care or if someone is unstable (which happens a lot in a hospital) I'm not going to pee before I tend to them first. Remember, some of us don't have a charge nurse that doesn't have a team of her own to take care of. This hospital will give us a full team of patients with no aide. I've gone 9+ hours. It's quicker for me to fill up my water bottle and drink than to go pee. This is why I can't do bedside nursing anymore.

But on a pain pump?? That's my question. Can someone that cannot push their own PCA button, have a PCA?

Hey all, I work in an incredibly understaffed hospital with administrators constantly trying to cut cost. Currently my unit (post-op/orthopedic/medsurg/telemetry) is accepting palliative care patients too so that the hospital won't have to consult hospice. Last night along with the rest of my team and NO aid I took care of this actively dying apneic patient and was in there every hour or more. This morning I got word that our DON wants us to use PCA pumps for these patients and the nurse can come in and hit the button or just do a continuous rate to help with the acuity and us being stretched thin. The doctor was writing the order after I finished handing off report. IS THIS EVEN LEGAL?!?!?