Jesuah

It's interesting that this article has come to my attention since I just recently applied to a company for remote phone triage for Women's Health. I have 41 years of smaller facility OB care (labor, delivery, post partum and newborn nursery). I am ready to leave the bedside but was interested in still working. Unfortunately for me, I never received an interview call and none of my references were contacted but I received an email thanking me for my interest and to let me know they are pursuing other applicants. I wish I knew what "turned them off" so I could do something to change if I continue to pursue this line of employment.

"Women can still have abortions and access to abortions without interference. They just have to go to the areas that allow it. It's simply a matter of law - or lack of law to be more accurate." Unfortunately, the above is not true. There are states that are in the process of making it illegal for a provider to refer a patient to another provider(another state) for an abortion. The law will then be able to prosecute said provider(doctor, nurse) with a potential sentence of life in prison or never to be able to practice anywhere again. It's also interesting to realize that with this reversal, women now have less authority over their bodies than dead people. No one is allowed to harvest organs from a deceased person unless it indicates "organ donor" on the license or the family approves.

It's not so simple to change specialties especially if one lives in a rural area with few facility options. I had been in one specialty for 28 years when I was belittled and constantly made to feel worthless and incompetent by one physician. Unfortunately, management took his side and I lost my job. I attempted to find employment in another area of nursing and was constantly turned away without explanation. After a brief time of employment in long term care, I started travel nursing in my original specialty. It was not something that I had ever really considered before because I am very much a "home body" and had built a house a year before I lost my job and really didn't want to move. I have been doing travel nursing for 7 years now and have found a way to make it work with my home life. I really do still LOVE what I do even though there are times that I don't LOVE the situation. AND....I am GOOD at what I do, but changing specialties is not always a viable option.

I am from Wisconsin and belong to an organization that does have capes. It is "The Wisconsin Nurses Honor Guard". We attend funeral services of deceased (newly or graveside for previously) nurses at the family's or funeral director request. This is similar to honor guard services for fire or police. It is only about 10 minutes for our part of the service. We wear white uniforms, not scrubs, can be pants and tops(we do have a couple guys in the organization) or a dress and we wear white hats. For those wearing a dress and white nylons, the cape can be used. The hats are usually used but are optional, particularly if it is a younger nurse that never had a hat. If anyone is interested in seeing pictures, there is a public website(as well as a member website) winurseshonor guard.com

I work as a travel nurse in L&D. Most of the places have their own scrubs and launder them too. Some of the scrubs that we are required to wear look horrible, extremely wrinkled, looks like they were *picked up off the floor or out of the laundry basket* but due to the possible need to go to the OR, we usually are not allowed to wear our own scrubs.

I have been working for 37 years and the last 6 1/2 as a traveling nurse. There certainly are pros and cons to this type of nursing but the biggest pro I see is being able to avoid much of the drama/bullying/politics of a facility. I also wish there were options other than bedside nursing open to me. Unfortunately, many of the facilities as well as other areas of nursing (school nurse, company nurse) are requiring a BSN or higher. The hospitals are all wanting to be magnet facilities. I am a 3 year grad! I don't have many years left to work and am struggling to make it on my current finances without adding the financial and mental stress of schooling to my life (I detested school). I do not fully understand these demands, I have yet to walk into a patient room and have that patient or the family ask me how many years of schooling I have had. I do love what I do but not sure I will be able to physically continue to do the bedside nursing until I am able to retire so will have to struggle to do what I can or retire before I financially want to.

Thanks for your response. They figure they are covered because they DO have a 2nd nurse inhouse... Just not very readily available. Makes it difficult to even go to the bathroom during my 12 hour shift since I'm worried about a light going on.

I am wondering about staffing on L&D. 3 couplets, stable but the newborns need all the 24 hour cares done and there is only 1 nurse on the unit. I do understand that usual staffing is 1:3 but if that one nurse is with one couplet and a light goes on, who responds? Small hospital, 2nd nurse has assigned patients on med/surg.