ShifraPuah

I LOVE all these stories! Keep them coming!

I'm interested! I would love to hear the details. (and, BTW, I share my flat with a ghost, too. He's very quiet but has made his presence known.

Do NOT tell the Live Answer staff that you're having SOB and difficulty breathing and then backpedal and state "I don't know what they're talking about" when I ask you the same thing (I was triaging today) and state that you have been having rectal bleeding x 1 day. Do NOT lie to me or to the staff--I won't be able to trust you or anything that comes out of your mouth!

I believe this can apply to any place that employs RNs. For me, it is management and higher-ups that fail to understand that nursing doesn't fit into a tidy 36- or 40-hour workweek.

Congrats on the new job and don't feel silly in the least about your scrubs--if you feel comfy in them, you can relax and focus on the job at hand--and isn't that the point? Keep us posted on how you're doing!

To the triage RN: please do not stand around for 10-15 minutes around my station, multiple times a day, and flirt with the MD or chat with the secretary about "Dancing with the Stars" and "American Idol". It's gotten to the point that the MD has told me himself he's never seen anyone so nutty over TV shows in his life (he's 64). You're supposed to be triaging pts, not the MD! Also, when the MD takes us out to lunch for RN Week, don't talk so much about yourself (and the aforementioned TV shows) that I (and everyone else) can barely get a word in. To an IM MD (not mine): Do not throw temper tantrums because you're having a bad day (usually every day). You're 44 years old but my 4 year old niece has better self-control than you do. Your behavior has gotten so bad that several float pool staff members (RNs, LPNs, CMAs) have requested that they not be placed with you, such is your temper. You were so awful last week you made an agency nurse cry (not the first time I've seen this happen). The only difference between you and a school yard bully is your white coat.

From today, and yes, it was crazy! Do not sit on your lab order sheet and cuss out the lab staffers because the lab wasn't open yet and throw a temper tantrum in front of all the pts in the waiting room and drag the managers into this, all because you showed up an hour early. You are an adult, not a child. Control yourself. Do not book an OV for your back pain, no show for that appt, then show up the next day stating it's an emergency. It's not and you will have to make an appt tomorrow, as the MD's already booked up for today. Do not abuse my colleagues--this is everyone from Live Answer staff, the front desk, the secretaries, the lab staff, the CMAs, other RNs and MDs, NPs--because without them, I cannot do my job. Extend the respect you have for my MD to all of them, and I will respect you too.

From my days in L&D: Please do not go into your post-eclamptic friend's room q 5 minutes and then complain to the staff that the room is dark and you want to talk to her, when she barely pulled through her seizure and crash C/S and needs to rest and heal from her eclampsia. Yes, you and her 515 other friends will have to wait until she is d/c to the Mother/Baby Unit when she is more stable. What part of recovery do you not understand? From office nursing: do not wait until 1200 on a Friday to call and request your anxiolytics/narcotics when you've been out of them for a few days or call and c/o about your N/V/D or cold sx that you've had since Monday. Do not call and harangue the staff multiple times in a single day when all you needed to do was to leave a simple message for me requesting a written rx for pickup for your annual trip down to the VA. Do not call and request a return call from me wanting to review your labwork for the nth time, when we've already discussed it before and you have discussed it with the doctor, oh, say, at least twice, and you have two or three other doctors also performing labwork on you. Do not throw a temper tantrum over the phone when you leave a message wanting a call from me today at 1500 on a Friday. Your own granddaughter told me that you've burned through at least three or four other doctors due to your behavior and you're on the verge of that with both my MD and myself. If you have side effects or experience other issues with your medications, do not simply quit taking them, call our office and let us know. If the doctor tells you to lose weight/monitor your BP/check your BG, do so. Doing these will keep you alive. Do not wait until AFTER the doctor leaves the room to tell me about the multiple other issues, concerns, or worries that you have. He has already gone on to his next patient and you will need to make another appointment to discuss these with him. No, I cannot give your spouse/child/parent-in-law a flu shot or check their BP or assess them, as they are not patients here and it goes against office policy. Do not stop taking your medications because your spouse/child told you to do so. They are not RNs/MDs/NPs. Do not waltz in here 15 minutes late for your appointment and be upset that I no-showed you. You need to leave your work/home earlier and show up on time. We see other patients that are sicker than you and unless you are acutely ill, there will be no exceptions. Do not show up late, then have multiple complaints that you want to have all addressed today. Due to your tardiness, you will have a short visit. The MD has other patients to see, who showed up on time. Turn off your cellphone now. There were signs at the front desk and next to the clinic doors, requesting that you do so. Surely you can take 15-30 minutes for the doctor's time? THANK YOU!

I do chew gum at work, but only when I have to care for a patient being sick, or cleaning a stage 4 decub ulcer, cleaning up stool, or performing digital disimpaction. Why? It takes my mind off the task and allows me to focus on caring for the patient and prevents a gag reflex from occurring. So far, no complainers and I've been an RN for 5+ years!

Thank God for this thread! My own "pick for the pain" is management. Coworkers are generally good where I work, patients can be PITAs but, like an earlier poster said, are gone within a short period of time. Management on the other hand....they make you go to classes where you learn about customer service but don't bother to put the philosophy in action themselves when it comes to treating their staff (everyone from the front desk to triage to RNs to secretaries) right, overwork the staff and underpay them, don't clock in or out and spend their time chatting on the phone and not hiring temp staff when coworkers are away and then ask you to do more, more and still more, without realizing what this does to morale and how it contributes to the turnover rate and shortages. ...which is why I am looking for another job!

I would get out of there as fast as I could if I were you. Don't put your license on the line any longer. This "facility" is a danger to patients and employees both. If I were an inspector, I'd shut this place down quickly, and probably bring legal charges against the facility "bosses", for violating health and safety laws. The fact that there is a lack of communication between the bosses and their employees shows a lack of respect for employees, not to mention patients and their health and safety. The fact that your office doesn't have quality control logs or keep proper charts, not to mention the lack of awareness of basic healthcare policies (all those that you just enumerated), is frightening.

I like Hemp Hand Cream from The Body Shop, Great Shakes and Endless Glove from Soap & Glory, and my favorite, L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream.

What I have found that works for me is a strongly-flavored mint or chewing gum, usually peppermint. Also, Vicks VapoRub under the nostrils helps. I hate puke w/a passion but have got used to it (over time) and find that if a pt pukes into a emesis bag, the smell is cut way down and it's a neat clean up (you just twist and hook the bag on the side). Just remember that it is OK to have this reaction (eg. nausea, disgust, fear, or horror). Don't condemn yourself for being human.

:chuckle

Well, gosh, what a horrible morning commute! Really, I'm happy for you but also a tad jealous. How'd you manage to get the position? We are all ears!