DovMarcus

Personally, if management would say "You must work every other Saturday" I'd quit on the spot. Its not about perks/privilege or anything like that; its just simply my lifestyle. Other people might try to sue for religious discrimination (and I know that employers are scared of that. Its a tough call. I have a cousin who went through hell on a unit- was literally persecuted by management and other staff all because she was strong with her religious conviction. I think a lot of it has to do with personality- my coworkers liked the way I worked, liked my attitude, and most importantly they understood that I wasn't just after my own self interests.

As a chassidic religious Jew (I wear a fedora and long coat on the weekends and have a flowing majestic beard I sat down for my first RN interview and built a nice rapport. The boss indicated on the spot that he wanted me to be part of the team. I said, "hold on cowboy- there are a couple limitations to be spoken." I then told about my Sabbath restrictions. the boss decided that the unit needed me (ie id be great for the team) and the sabbath thing would be workable. Now- its important that you know, there was no union. I think that any union which would allow a unit to be short staffed on a Saturday because of a Sabbath observing employee is idiotic, so I cant speak for that (I still believe that nursing unions are dangerous). What was I supposed to do? Not become a nurse?

I am a religious Jew and a nurse. I never work on the Sabbath. However, if a need arises, such as an emergency or a problem which persists during Friday and into Sabbath evening (Sabbath begins on Friday at Sundown), then one must break the Holy day to help another. When I first started working I had big hesitations, lest I upset my coworkers who might fester resentment due to my "special privilege." Thankfully, none was had and I got along with everyone just fine. Oh yeah, I worked every Christmas (even when it fell out on Hannukah- a workable holiday), New Years, Easter, Memorial Day, labor day, and Thanksgiving just to be an awesome team player.

I find that when I go to work and sit in front of real patients, I am fulfilling my purpose. No matter the bad mood I may be in, I still always seem to find a rhythm at that point. However, when I have to deal with the system ie bosses, hr, silly rules and all that, my attitude changes. As long as I can ignore the latter, I can stay in my job forever!

Hi everyone! I know that this forum is often utilized to discuss specific cases. I want to talk about HIPAA in general, more theoretical. HIPAA was created to protect our patients. And it does specifically that. But I get the sense that at this point in time, the cart is coming before the horse. Lets say that, as a nurse, I have an experience with a patient. That experience is mine but it also involves a patient. I have the moral and legal obligation to protect that patient's privacy. Therefore, if I want to talk about my experience, I need to change the name and some details. That's how I was educated. Things have gotten weird. Now I feel like I am sworn to secrecy for all time, lest someone comes out of the wood work and says, "That was me! I was his patient! I heard him talking and it made me upset!" I would say, "No, dude, the person in my story was a woman! You say I treated your CHF but she had CKD! What are you talking about?!" I'm led to understand that I'd still be at risk. Sworn to secrecy for all time. Thoughts? Do you feel like HIPAA has gone too far? Is the cart before the horse? Have we forgotten the purpose of the rules and instead focus too much on enforcement of the rules for the sake of rule enforcement?

Hey folks, loving this chat. I've been playing around with blogging and podcasting for some time now. I have seen a lot of other nurses who do this. People tend to think of entrepreneurship as owning your own medical practice. But that's only half the story. Nowadays, things are so stiff with regulations and mega-huge health systems and nurses are burning out, that the role of nurses in helping other nurses through influence is really becoming popular. Thoughts?

what a great topic! I have run into a number of nurse-to-nurse coaches, particularly those who help prevent burnout- what a need!

I've found that some hospitals have a 3:30-11pm shift. if you are a night owl that works. In homecare (something you might want to consider in the future) many companies have "after hours" positions which cover the afternoon and evening positions