guest17

Thanks for all the comments. I will take the advice from psu_213 since it really is heresay at this point. Put up with it and learn from their mistakes. When it hits the fan, I know I wont be bit in the butt. I find it so odd how this kind of stuff would never fly with the geri/adult population, yet it seems acceptable with peds.

There's an ethics and compliance group here, so hopefully they can step in. I don't know if anyone will admit to what's going on, but I'll have to wait and see. Thanks very much for your input.

I recently made the dramatic shift from acute geri & LTC to a pediatric long term, short stay medicine unit. One high turnover area to another. I am concerned about the actions of some of the nurses, doctors, and even non-hospital staff in how much they're sharing patient information. Some staff are talking over facebook messenger about the status of patients. Staff on shift will report to nurses, doctors, volunteers when they're not on the floor, on vacation, etc. I discovered this when a heard a co-worker thank others for keeping her updated about her patients after a week vacation. I asked how, and she said "facebook". She also mentioned how the parents were also keeping her aware of their child's state. When I asked if they should be doing that, it was essentially shrugged off, as if to say "everyone is doing it". Looking in our protocols, it says not to share patient info for the public eyes to see. So it seems they found a loophole by using messenger amongst themselves. I find this not only to be a mistake waiting to happen concerning HIPAA, but it's probably causing the high turnover rate. When nurses, heck, even doctors are wanting to know about their patients 24/7, it'll wear them out. They are friends on facebook with the parents of children who are admitted and volunteers who visit the unit. This is outrageous to me. Should their actions be addressed? I don't have any proof as I don't have a facebook account. So no "patient reports" are ever discussed with me outside the hospital. This seems to be a part of the work culture on the floor, and have never seen the nurse manager address it. I'm still new to the floor and I know that co-workers will likely suspect I talked if there are sudden dramatic changes about social media usage, but the actions of the staff just seem wrong to me. Any advice?

Hello. I was diagnosed epilepsy in my last year of nursing school that resulted in anti-epilepsy medication. As long as you have a prescription you're good, as others have said. The only thing I would be careful with: the possibility of missing classes due to appointments and such. You've already stated your seizures are relatively controlled, but just be careful. I missed a good 2 weeks worth of school due to neuro appointments, and despite passing the courses, it showed in my grades. Also, let the nursing coordinator know you've been given the all clear by your doctor. It'll make them feel better about having you. Good luck!!

Thanks for the help guys. Now that I got more time in, I've learnt how to cope. I prioritize-prioritize-prioritize!! My management is much better now, and I'm grateful for my LVN! Time management is always thrown off when I have to stay in the pts room for 15 minutes to observe them slowly take their 10 pills one-by-one, haha, but I'm feeling better with every shift. To those who think LTC is a snoozefest, boy are they wrong.

I recently went back to working after a 2 year absence due to medical issues, so I can see why you're concerned. I was just as worried as you going back into the hustle of everything nursing. First off: It'll all come back very quickly. I was afraid of forgetting all about charting, assessing, critical thinking, etc. but it really was like second nature. Once you have the nursing virus, it's with you forever. Anyway. During your preceptorship, don't be afraid to ask questions! I was told by one nurse I was following that she'd be more afraid of a new nurse not asking questions. Asking questions shows you're listening and learning. If you need more days of preceptorship, your nurse manager should comply. They're there to help you. And have confidence in yourself! Having a mentor, like CrunchRN mentioned, may help you as well. Good luck!

I recently got a part-time position at a LTC hospital. I'm a little over 1 month in and feel overwhelmed with my patient load. My load is 21 patients, with at least 8 who are deemed "acute care", as in they require IV antibiotics, parenteral feeds, huge specialty dressings, colostomy, jenunostomy, trach, etc. I have 1 LVN who comes to help out with the more stable patients, but she/he also has to float to 2 other units, so I am often alone. At least I have 3 VERY helpful orderlies who are quick to help me out. I prioritize my care to the acute/sicker patients, and only when I'm done with them do I move on to continue giving meds/assess the stable patients if the LVN is still busy on the other units. I often end up giving some meds late because I'm behind schedule, and staying 30 min after my shift doing paper work. I don't feel comfortable with this patient load, and when I brought this up with one of my preceptors she brushed me off that I'll have to learn to manage the load like she did. I don't know if I can, and may need more orientation, as I only had 13 days orientation spread out over the past month, and ended my orientation period last week. I may need to ask for more time. What is your patient load, and how do you manage? I feel with this load, I'm not giving the one-on-one care I want to give. Granted, I'm certainly learning a lot, so I hope I can figure out how to improve my time-management.

I'm a female, have no children and don't plan on having children. This argument is pretty lame. I won't be able to relate to the patient at all even as a female nurse. Not even that, but if I worked in a cardiac unit, I have no history to relate to the patients, and again, can't relate as well. Just because I can't relate to a patient doesn't mean their care will be any different. I say GO FOR IT! I really wouldn't care about the gender of my nurse as long as they give me great care. You have already stated that you don't take people who refuse you for being a male CNA personally, which I'm sure you may experience in this field. Anyway, if you love the work and are passionate about it, I say there's nothing stopping you. Best of luck.

Thank you for the article. I hope you have recovered since your surgery and doing well. Your article was a nice insight to how some places handle post-op care. It's unfortunate you had to go through that, but from reading these experiences, I hope to never neglect pain by repeating those mistakes you wrote about. I've also experienced surgery before. In 2015 I had brain surgery and oddly enough, as much as the nursing staff tried to control my pain, I was actually the one hindering their efforts. I had a thought in my head that I didn't want to bother the staff, as they had sicker patients. Haha. I kept denying the opiate pain drugs, relied on the 1g acetaminophen round the clock, an ice pack, and never pressed my call bell. All this with the most excruciating pain I've ever felt in my life! I have a feeling that deep down, the nursing staff knew what I was up to, and they always made an effort to see me q hour to see how I was doing. I only now realized that, by trying to create less work for the nurses, I actually increased it! So whenever I have a patient who may be "covering up" pain, or brushing it off, I always make sure to have a chat with them, and tell them that if there's ANYTHING I can do for them, I'm there. Don't feel bad about pressing that call bell! I learnt my lesson, and don't want patients repeating my mistake!

The biggest one for me is how much more assertive and confident I've become, like others have said. I was so shy & meek when I first started nursing school that, if I ever met my past self, I'd get angry! Granted, despite how assertive I can be, I'll still never win an argument with that elderly aggressive psych patient. EVER. I also noticed I like being alone more often, but only with certain people. I love chatting with my friends who are also nurses because we can both vent, and we'll understand the troubles we're talking about. If I'm with non-nurse family or friends though, I often withdraw myself because I feel they quickly dismiss my concerns/vents about my work as me just being cranky or tired. It's happened before. They always ask about work, and ask me odd questions, so I always hope work-related questions never come up when I'm around them. It's too bad.

I once had a whole family come into triage when I was a student during my ER rotation. They all complained of very benign things. Minor back pain for the past 4 weeks for mom, fatigue around the menstrual cycle for the daughter, and dad came because he thought his BP was too high. It wasn't. Mind you, they all requested to be triaged at the same time as the others, even when we asked them to leave to allow privacy. They all took turns in the chair, and then just stood by in the tiny triage area while the next family member reported their minor complaints. I'm assuming they also expected the doctor to see them at the same time as well. Who knows. They left after only waiting 3 hours in the waiting room.

That sounds unfortunate. I wonder if being in a senior rehab facility is the main difference? I've applied to a geri-hospital that specializes in renal/diabetes along with general illness, so I could get certifications in those areas as well. Regardless, I hope everything eventually works out, and that you can eventually get out geriatrics to explore other departments. Thank you for advice. Even if I don't find an employer willing to take me into a med-surg area, I'll do my best to gain as much experience as I can with geriatrics. It may take a while before this certain employer deems I have enough experience, but I know I'll make it.

First off, glad to hear you're back to being able to work. It's also encouraging to hear that you were able to get back into the nursing groove quite nicely even after a long time gap. I have already sent out other applications to other facilities in the hopes that they decide to bring me on boards, so I hope one works out! Maybe the geri-hospital may end up giving me a lot of experience like it did with you; there is a lot of different diagnoses and cases at this specific hospital, so I may see a lot. Granted, like I stated above, I'm still trying at other hospitals just in case. Thanks. Will do! Thanks for the encouragement.

Thank you for the advice. I had never thought about getting certain certification/s completed, so this definitely helps a lot.

Thank you! I will certainly keep this in mind. Instead of just doing my tasks, I'll excel at them. I appreciate the encouragement. Thanks. It's nice to hear that this situation has happened before with the nurses eventually getting into acute care settings. I need to keep reminding myself that I certainly can gain valuable experience. Sure, it's a geri-hospital, but they need caring-for as well!