lmichelle25

My coworkers say I have OCD too. I've never seen anyone to get a diagnosis, but had suspicions a long time ago that I might have it. My last position was so chaotic and fast paced and my old coworkers were out on time and would talk about how they don't do the required charting or tasks they thought were a waste of time. And then there I was feeling like I was drowning because my brain won't let me casually not chart something I've been told is required, or not do something that I feel is my responsibility. So I was missing lunch and leaving late 75% of the time. Thankfully, I was never punished or made to feel inadequate because of this (I felt inadequate enough on my own). Looking back, I'm glad I'm thorough because I was able to recognize early signs of deterioration or changes that the less observant nurses might have missed. And the fact that I charted any changes and the communications with the doctors, (even when they were rounding I would put a note in if I thought it was even slightly important) is one of the reasons I have good outcomes, haven't lost a patient (thankfully called rapids early enough), and have never been written up or accused of giving bad care. Sorry this is so long, but I just want you to know I've literally been through the same thing. I transferred to acute inpatient rehab, which is amazing for my mental health. My "quirks" that I thought made me a subpar, slow nurse are actually seen as good qualities and I'm consistently getting positive feedback from my managers. You might also need a change so that your skills can shine. You sound like you'd be great in ICU or somewhere you can focus on the things you need to do instead of feeling rushed and then reprimanded.

(Sorry, this ended up being way longer than I meant, but I just wanted to reassure you!) Girl, I get it. My son is about to be 18 and we’ve definitely had our share of struggles. When his dad got this new girlfriend she tried to keep him from seeing our son or paying child support and told my ex MIL that she planned on them (somehow) getting custody. Which led to cps randomly showing up on my doorstep. They said they got a call that my new husband and I were fighting in front of my son or something random like that (it was like 16 years ago, so I can’t remember the specifics). They wrote a little report stating it was unfounded and my ex’s mom eventually told me it was the new girlfriend who called. That’s how I found out they investigate any report no matter what. We even went through the truancy thing with him except I actually got some kind of ticket and had to go see the justice of the peace about it. In middle school, his babysitter kept dropping him off at school like 5-10 minutes late and I had no idea until I got a letter in the mail. So I’ve had to awkwardly explain online when I’ve applied for jobs, but no one has ever asked about or said anything during an interview. But I really think yours will never even be an issue since you didn’t get a ticket and cps said it was unfounded. And all that happened before I went to nursing school, so I seriously think you’ll be fine. And just think, if you’re still standing after all you’ve been through (teens are no joke) then you can easily do whatever you want!

I think you should apply and explain that your son was a teenager and skipping school. If there were never charges filed, then I can’t see how that could be held against you. Anyone can call cps at anytime for anything, they have to investigate even if someone is lying or trying to get revenge, etc. Regardless, people get accepted into nursing schools with all different backgrounds and pasts (no felonies or violence obviously), but it seems like you might be subconsciously blaming your son or have hostility towards him, assuming this is the reason you won’t get in. You said it’s been a year since all that happened, so if you haven’t returned to your classes or made any effort towards getting into nursing school, maybe do some self reflection on where you are and how to reach your goals. Because nursing school will have a lot of challenges from studying to clinicals to making sure you get along with peers, professors, patients, and hospital staff. Just some things to think about. Whatever you decide, good luck! And I’m glad your son is doing much better!

@sideshowstarlet girl, you crack me up. It’s seriously their loss you’re leaving! Feel free to come to Texas any time. The pay, staffing, and benefits are horrendous, but we stick around for the gems like you! I seriously would’ve been gone a long time ago if it wasn’t for my hilarious coworkers

I can already tell by your replies that you’re hostile, egotistical, and not open to constructive feedback. It also seems that when critiqued, you immediately try to intimidate the other party. I would also give you poor reviews if this is how you behave. You need to be receptive to what people are saying or there’s a good chance you’ll be dismissed from the program. I promise, they don’t want possibly unstable people who are unwilling to be open and learn wasting their time when there are a ton of people on the waiting list.

Okay, so I read the entire post and it made me LOL. From the sigh, to the tech daughter, and the outpatient inpatient liaison ?But I’m sure if you don’t turn in your badge, they’ll find a way to charge you for it and then you’ll get mad every time you think about it. Same thing happened to me…at Cinemark…I was 16 and I’m still mad when I think about it. If I went to my first day of orientation and the educator was complaining about the nurses “mistreating” her daughter and ignoring blatant signs of patient decline, I would immediately think either “why would they put a possibly unhinged lady in charge of educating new staff who’s probably lying and constantly enabling her incompetent daughter” OR “wow, the nurses here must seriously suck if they don’t care enough to listen to the tech and then let something bad happen to their patients.” So, that would definitely give everyone a bad first impression. Basically, it sounds like you feel this place kind of screwed you over, but you don’t want to give them any reason to keep bothering you or worse, tell prospective employees you took company property or something crazy. But for sure, leave a scathing review on Glassdoor so the hospital can read about what happened and, hopefully, make some changes.

I’m sorry you’re feeling this way. I think it’s definitely possible you’re having another episode of depression. And I say that as someone who is very familiar with depressive episodes. I’m sure it wasn’t easy treating sick kids or now seeing very sick babies hooked up to machines or that don’t make it. But the amazing thing about the nursing field is that there are a TON of options! You don’t want to work in a hospital or want to develop a more personal relationship with patients? Try home health. You never want to see patients in person? Apply at an insurance company. I know dealing with peds and the families are incredibly difficult, so maybe try another population. There are seriously an endless number of nursing jobs that can fit exactly what you’re looking for.

I'm glad to hear she's not still wanting to sit on the bed pan. Before I read your last comment, I was going to agree with the other posters who suggested telling her you can't keep using the bed pan because it's more of a risk at this point. I make it a point to NEVER use the word diaper when referring to a brief or depends. I've heard other nurses and techs say it occasionally, but I try to call them underwear or depends (usually whichever I hear the patient call them). We're on a pressure ulcer prevention kick at my hospital, so no briefs in bed, but if patients specifically request them, then we can make a note and allow them. We also have mesh panties, like the ones in post partum, and menstrual pads, so we can make due if a lady likes using those instead. I'm sure a rehab is totally different with your supplies, but I'm glad you recognized the possible outcome and worked to stop it before it happened. We've gotten people (mostly being cared for at home) who turned septic and died because of horrible pressure ulcers.

I really appreciate the articles every one has posted. I rarely dilute meds in practice but there are other nurses who do and, of course, students come in and want to dilute everything. But now I can be 100% certain that it's basically useless to dilute pain meds or something that doesn't specifically state to dilute it.

My school taught us to draw up the med and then squirt out a mL or whatever from the flush and then stick the needle with the med in the flush to dilute. I see people do this at my hospital also, but I would ask the instructor so you 100% know what they want you to do.

I can see your side and your manager's. However, my first thought is why would you want to be so involved in a former patient's life? At some point, you have to create healthy boundaries and in my opinion, this doesn't seem very healthy or professional. But then again, I don't work with peds, so maybe you get more attached. In any case, this doesn't seem like it would be worth it, especially if your manager already made it clear that it's not allowed.

What type of facility do you work at? Is the other unit you're talking about for higher acuity patients? And I totally get the frustration of seeing a patient completely ignore medical advice and seem to only want narcotics. It's only natural that we get slightly annoyed with people who seem to not be taking their health seriously, but sadly, it's not fun to follow medical advice when you want to eat what you want and get pain meds when you want. I totally understand your worry that her non-compliance will somehow reflect poorly on you as a nurse, but we can't make people do what they don't want to. I would make extra sure to document the education you're providing and then her activities (with no judgment, of course, just the facts). And as other people have said, if you think the pain meds are contributing to the obstructions, then I would definitely speak to the doctor about that. Maybe even look in her records to see if there's a correlation between stomach issues and pain meds.

I've heard a way worse argument (including the yelling and f bombs) and no one got fired. I like people's advice to go to HR and maybe request a transfer to another department because of the bullying and harassment this nurse is doing. I'm guessing this isn't the only comment or bullying she's done to you or other coworkers, so this would be the perfect time to let HR know what's happening.

Before the interview, come up with some of the qualities and skills that will help you in the hospital. For example, we constantly have to deal with family members, so, you can say "home health really strengthened my communication skills with clients and their family members" and "I had the opportunity to treat clients after their discharge from the hospital. This gave me a unique perspective in understanding the importance of thoroughly educating clients." You see where I'm going with this. Even someone who worked at Burger King can phrase their job experience in a way that relates to the hospital. Definitely focus on patient safety and patient satisfaction if nothing else. Good luck!

Nights are usually really quiet where I work. I'm on an ortho trauma floor, so most people get their pain meds and sleep through the night. Days, on the other hand, are super loud.