Hagabel

Look at outpatients clinics or possibly a practice nurse position.

What a nasty post. She is trying to do her best and it sounds like she prioritised correctly in an emergency...if some one has fractured legs during nasty fall hardly the time to respond to the other family member with his complaints.

I work in NZ and our ratio in ED is 1:4 or 1:1 if they are in resus or really sick. In the US I worked various ED's and it was normally 1:4 or occassionally 1:5. I cannot imagine working a floor and having 4-7 pts!

Tonight: I have sunburnt feet...seriously.......... healthy person with red legs at 11pm at night in summer I hurt my foot.......pt has not had a shower in possibly months, drunk and feet so skanky I cold not see anything except dirt and hard skin Numb lip Abdo pain X 4 years The broken little toe after stubbing it who calls an ambulance and brings her kid with her late at night leaving a houseful of people and cars in the driveway. And the 2 pts in a 100kmh high speed rollover who walked away!!!!!

I hear all you guys! I work in a very busy ED in NZ and we have no visiting hrs for obvious reasons. We only encourage 2 visitors and quickly ask more visitors to leave or swap out, unless ot is dying etc. We do allow visitors into our resus roms but ask then to stay on 1 side of pts bed so we can do what we need to do. Only 2 chairs per room usually limits the visitors! If they are interfering with care we ask them to leave and our wards do have restricted visiting hrs still, apparently they were open until a few yrs and ago and then they have gone back to rstricted, 11am-1130 pm and 4-8 pm. NO worries about pt satisfaction surveys here but most people over here are grateful and very patient.

Yes I agree, if you are going to post on a ED nursing board you probably want to know what you are talking about and have some experience, just to appear a little more credible. (nothing personal)

I actually like the 3-11 shift but only cos my my OH can pick up kids from after school care. I can drop them at school, get some errands done, walk dog and sleep if I want. Mind you I am only casual(prn) and pick my shifts. I have spent 20 yrs doing 12 hrs (3 per week) and pre kids loved it. Now I am in NZ doing 8 hr shifts and feel so much better for them. I get 1/2 hr lunch and 20 mins tea in a 8 1/2 hr shift. Crap pay but better conditions!

I am off over holidays this year but only because I went casual(prn) after 22 yrs of nursing and sick of doing a lot of holidays. I now enjoy staying home with the kids on the holidays whilst they are still young. Here in NZ you get double time and a day of annual leave in lieu! Same for Boxing day and any other public holiday! Merry Christmas to people who are working 25th!

I trained in the UK, worked in the US for 20 yrs and have ben working in NZ for 18 mths in ER. I actually prefer working in NZ, (even though the pay is crap) but the staffing, way you get treated and working conditions are much better.

At this job...noo way. I am casual and work what I want/can. In the past I have at a job I had been at for a long time but no. My days are my days off.

[COLOR=#003366]gloryfied Have not read all the answers so sorry if this repetetive but have you looked for a day postition or one with better hours? practice nursing, clinic, urgent care etc? I was miserable with shifts recently and I quit and went casual so i deliberately avoid nights..best thing I ever did!

Good for you finding something that makes you happy! And I want to reassure you that a lot of us out here (more seasoned nurses) are very nice to new nurses. As long as they ask questions before doing anything potentially lethal thay can ask away!

I just went casual after 22 years of nursing and suddenly got tired of weekends, holidays and nights! I work 3 days per week(8 hr shifts) and choose to work no holidays or weekends. I did work a Sat today (my choice) and still do shifts but never before 7a and no later than 2315. I also do a little home health admin(no scrubs or hands on nursing) about 1/2 day every other week. And I wonder why I see my kids more and my attitude has improved!

Sounds like you are doing fine esp if you have a great preceptor. Use the monitors but don't rely on them, look at your pts first, On our monitors the resp rate is typically unreliable and I never really use it. If concerned about a patient pop them on the monitor leads or the pulse ox but don't rely on it. Don't be intimidated by the Drs..their poop does not smell like roses and most ED Drs are really approachable and nice. After 13 yrs in ICU it took me about 1 yr to feel competent in ED! Enjoy and be patient with yourself!!!

Exactly why I left the US! Here in NZ, socialised Health Care is a basic human right, as it should be .....

I spent 9 yrs at Prov Everett and generally enjoyed it. I worked ICU and ED. It is not a long commute out of Seattle. Just a suggestion.

I am overseas and I normally have 4 pts in the main adult area. Resus is 1:1, consult(like fast track) is 6:1, kids ed 5:1, short stay (obs area) 5: 1 and up to 10:1 at night. (pts mainly sleeping being observed, ivf etc). We also have a waiting room nurse most of the 24 hrs who starts working up pts, they have the entire waiting room! Traige can have up to 6 pts being held in the ambulance area a /w beds, 1-3 triage nurses depending shift. We are the equivalent of a large busy level 1.

I did ICU for 13 years and the only time we ever had 3 pts was when they were about to be transferred to the floor and they were stable. The heart should have been a 1:1 for at least the first few hrs and there is NO way anyone could have taken care of all of those pts. Good luck with everything and as someone else said do not beat yourself up, but don't give up on Nursing, try a different field or an ICU somewhere else. I moved to ED and have been doing that for 9 yrs and love it!

Fast Track is always a bit crazy in our dept and certainly not an easier assignment. 6 cubicles (no bedded pts allowed) and always a new pt in and out. Our pts wait in the w room, come in for treatment/eval and then go back to the w room waiting on tests, with IV's etc. Our ED has 6 different areas and only experienced nurses do Triage and Resus. Other areas include adult cubicles (main ed), pediatric ed, short stay adults and kids (separate areas), consult (FT), triage and resus. Stops you getting bored and keeps you skills up in all different areas.

Sorry you are feeling like this. Look at another field within nursing maybe...try PACU or even a clinic/outpts for a total change. I did 13 yrs of ICU and got fed up/bored so that is when I moved to ED. Good luck.

Where does the mentality come in that it is ok to do a 12 hr shift with no break????? I agree that ED can be crazy, hectic and fast paced but you have to look out for yourself. I used to work somewhere where a 30 min break was seen as an entitlement!!! I quit. I have no easy answer for you except maybe change shift as a PP stated. And be proactive and verbal re your break. I moved from US to NZ recently, we do 8 hr shifts and get a 30 min break and 20 min tea break. You know how much better I feel! So I have not got an answer but when we get busy and have to cover each others pts (4 each) for breaks we make sure as much as possible is done and give all the pts call bells.

If you are looking for weather like Seattle you may want to try NZ..defintely more seasonal from what I understand (only just moved here) and less extremes of temperature.

OMG...you should have seen me, a nurse with 15 yrs experience inc 13 years ICU, my first few months in the ED. I was scared to death, not of the trauma pts or vents, or central lines but pelvic exams, splints and starting IVs(did not start too many IVs in ICU). I think you are expecting too much of yourself too soon. PP gave some great advice. Ask your more experienced staff as much as you can and defintely catch up on some courses. TNCC is especially good. Good luck. PS I just emmigrated and am now working in the ED in another hemisphere, like being a new grad all over again!!!!

TV remotes and Gerbils also find their way up the butt too!!!!

Here in NZ where I work has well established management plans for a bunch of FF's. They are adhered to strictly and printed at triage by the triage nurse, inless they are here with other issues. The triage nurses are also good at screening out the ones who have not even tried to go their gps and sending them there. Still get FF but they let them sit for hours and they get tylenol....