hjosephs

I disagree with this. discriminating against someone based on the way they look/appear is 100% a form of bullying.

I know how you feel ... I am 28 but I am petite and look younger than I actually am. It is incredible how many people (patients and colleagues) will make comments about my age. I have been a nurse for 6 years in ER/Trauma and I am constantly being questioned by people about 'how much experience' I have, or my favorite - "wow are you even old enough to be a nurse. Since when is it okay to talk to people about their age like this? I don't go up to an 'older looking' nurse and say "oh wow should you even bother to learn how to use the EHR since you probably should be retired?" or "wow you look like a dinosaur , how old are you 75?". I wish that I could tell you it gets better, but it doesn't - people will continue to probably make comments/say things. I just realized that I can't change other people but I can change the way I let these things bother me or not bother me. Now I try not to let it get under my skin and always just say professionally when asked about my age "I am older than I look. I am 28 and have been a nurse 6 years" . Best of luck to you!

Earring removal. Not recently pierced, not infected, no obvious trauma or problem. Just apparently could not get said earring off ear. treatment in triage- me: can you try to show me what happens if you try to take it off her: *slips earring off* me: ok, so it looks like the problem is fixed. ..... smh

Today I... -completed several full sepsis work-ups (IV insertion x2, blood cultures, lactic acid and other lab work, CXR, IVF and IV abx ) -assisted in a stroke code -Was told by a patient and her family members that I needed to "be nicer". And advised that said family member "worked in customer service" therefore "I know that you could improve your customer service" . -took care of a cancer patient with ascites requiring bedside paracentesis of 4L fluid, admitted her to the floor but had her as a patient of mine for >9hrs. - helped tell a 43 year old who thought he had a DVT/blood clot in his leg going up to his scrotum that he has a 12x7mm mass in his pelvis that is likely a malignant tumor -got threatened by a dementia/alzheimers patient and had my arm death gripped until a bruise formed. Said patient also threatened to "send my cats to attack you and f*** you up" - assisted in conscious sedation of a gentleman who had pork stuck in his esophagus requiring GI endoscopy procedure to advance the food bolus/fix his distress. -helped triage a young girl who overdosed on 50+ tablets of benadryl PO when her boyfriend broke up with her. She started off AOX3 but quickly started having anticholinergic symptoms - brought a patient to the Medical ICU on Bipap who will need to have either a thoracentesis or pigtail catheter to drain fluid from his lung . He hugged me, thanked me and had tears in his eyes when he said goodbye to me. I only was his nurse for 3 hours. It's not always pretty, it's not always a good shift. Today I almost wanted to cry a million times because I had tough, needy patients that did NOT have realistic expectations of what it is like to be in the emergency department on a busy afternoon. They were not susceptible to being updated by me, only wanted to be seen as soon as possible so mostly just got angry with me /yelled at me until they either got a doctor's attention or decided to leave. Some days really test your patience, and patients always test your patience. But at the end of the day, I love what I do. Every day is a new day and is different. Good luck with your nursing endeavors

I graduated with my Master's in Nursing in 2016 and became board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner in April of 2016. I haven't found the right job for me yet for several reasons; a) I am very picky b) I don't want to settle for a job just to advance my resume , if the job is not something I am passionate about c) I love my ER nursing position right now and have difficulty thinking of leaving to do something more ambulatory/primary care based. Before I went to NP school, I worked in mother /baby /LDRP land and I really wasn't satisfied with what I was doing so I thought going back to school would fix that. At some point in time while in school, I decided I wanted to be an emergency department nurse, and now I love it. I love fast-paced, critical care, high acuity , high stress situations. I know my credentials as an NP could allow me to potentially work in some areas like this/ will probably be high stress no matter what- I am starting to think I would much prefer to take different track and become a CRNA. Has anyone here gone to school for NP and got their NP and then decided to go on to CRNA school? I would love to just hear from you if you did. I am just at a loss for what to do!

Can I ask you how you liked your ER contract at MGH? I am in the process of submitting a contract there and I am desperately seeking some info- did you enjoy it? Was the staff friendly/easy to work with? Do you mind private messaging me a bit about your experience? I am getting nervous about potentially going there- I feel like I have heard mixed things! Thanks in advance.