catdevil27

ATT eligibility lasts for 1 year....at least in California.

I don't think anyone here is trying to be "judge and jury", we are, however trained professionals who are working/ have worked in the field discussing and debating an egregious error made by a fellow RN. Different eyes/ ears/ experiences who are each shedding our own personal perspective regarding an event that does even remotely affect us. After this case hit the news the public started seeing nurses in a different light. You could see it the comments under the plethora of articles that have been published. It's human nature....ie it happened once so it could happen to ME. We, as nurses have every right and even obligation to debate this, we can all help each other and we can teach each other.

And frightening! We are all people , with families and friends....knowing someone could continue to work as a nurse after such a life-altering episode of terrible clinical judgement is scary. There are several ways this could have been avoided and one huge one for me is the simple fact Versed does NOT need to be reconstitued, Vecuronium DOES. She REALLY should have noticed that...it seems like Versed is a drug she is probably pretty familiar with. Not to mention, when someone makes an error of this magnitude or any that attract a lot of news/media it affects all of us. The public see us all in a different light.

I am well aware of the fact that hospital administration do sometimes push for increased productivity, push for MORE MORE MORE FASTER FASTER FASTER from staff in order to keep patient satisfaction up and costs down. However, our most important job is to advocate for our patients. When administrative hands start pushing on our backs gets too hard it's time to dig in our heels and say NO! Patient safety is the of the utmost importance....NOT saving administration doller by cutting 90 seconds off a medication pass. I say no. I can empathize with how hard it must be to lose a license she worked hard for BUT her decision to apease her employer by caving to what seemed to me ( and was tragically proven to be) to be a dangerous practices violates her primary purpose...patient advocacy. Never put patient safety behind ANYTHING.

Exactly, ADN's may not have as much classroom time as a BSN but nursing isn't just about book learning. Nursing, GOOD nusing is about critical thinking, common sense ( which is imho NOT all that common) neither of which can be taught. You either have them or you don't. I have worked with some extraodinary nurses in my 30 year career, some BSN< some ADN's and some diploma nurses...NO DEGREE. I have also worked with nurses who frankly scared the crap out of me, but they went to school and passed the NCLEX....same...across the board, diploma type or possession the same. It boils down to the individual and the gifts God gave them. Not everyone can be a great nurse and thats OK.....I couldn't teach elementary school. I have the smarts, I don't have the right temperament. If someone wants to tell non BSNs that they aren't valid I hope they are prepared when they longer have this LARGE and essential core group is GONE. **clue**they aren't. LOL! I never heard that oen, and I certainly never used it when I was teaching nursing. Wow...that's interesting.

ADN is here for the long haul. I'm an ADN in California, I have spent a good deal of my career supervising BSN'S in multiple settings. A specific degree doesn't make one nurse "better" than another. Some people are just innately more geared toward nursing and an institution or a piece of paper don't provide

You and me both! I remember when a surgeon who I worked with quite a bit told me while rounding with him,, that he was always happy to see one of "the old warhorses" was assigned to his patient. It was a compliment. I wasn't offended.

I seriously doubt that the poster was using the term in a derogatory way considering she/he has 43 years of experience which is just a few years less than you list, leading me to believe this person is no newbie. I would understand and at 65 myself, take considerable umbrage to that term in a different context. I suspect you my have dealt with ageism in your career and if so, I am sorry to hear that. You are obviously accomplished as you took great pains to explain so just rest easy in the knowledge that you and those you work for and with know your value.

Are you actually a nurse? Well, I certainly hope some of those "old school" nurses can find the time to help you with your grammar. It's a good thing (for some folks *ahem*) that grammar isn't included on the NCLEX exam.