noc_owl

Maybe an "anonymous" tip to the news paper is in order? "Senator expects special treatment in ED" Be sure to elaborate on the charge nurse being written up because she tried to ensure the patients were seen according to normal protocol.

I don't know much about the Charlotte area, but check into the universities as well. Some have programs for people who have bachelors degrees who want to transition into nursing. I have recently been looking into BSN programs and read about that type of program, but can't remember now where I saw it. I've looked into several UNC campuses (Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Wilmington), Duke, and ECU. Good luck!

:chuckle Agree with Eric, no relaxing to be had in school, lol! Our ER does hire new grads, but if a person has previous ER experience as a CNA, tech, or EMT they are given preference over someone who has no experience. I think having experience gives you an idea of what the ER is actually like. Maybe you can get a part-time job in the ER while you're in school, it definately wouldn't hurt.

I just love that. I'd like to make it into a huge sign to hang in the wait room! I also struggle sometimes to stay positive, with some patients/family more than others. I try to remember that everyone has their own perception of "emergency". And I also try to keep in mind that if this was my family member, how would I want them to be treated? Not that that works with everyone, but I can stay civil alot longer by keeping those two things in mind. Also, there are always those small percent of complaints that you think are going to be nothing but BS, but end up biting you in the butt! Had one the other day that both me and the doc didn't give much thought to because the complaints were so vague, and that patient ended up being my sickest one. Sure helped me to remember to consider the worst possible thing that could be wrong until it is ruled out, rather than thinking the patient is not really ill. I work in a level II and we still see plenty of clinic stuff. I don't think you can ever escape it working in the ED.

Review physical assessment, IV/Blood draw skills, urine clean catch and catheter skills, and NG tube skills. And bring chocolate to share with everyone, a little sugar never hurts!

I agree with those who point out that we all have difficult jobs, and nurses in all specialties should appreciate other nurses, not knock them. I have thought about leaving the ER to find a nicer, less stressful position. I've been looking and shadowing for other jobs. I don't think a non-stressful nursing position exists. Other specialties may have their differences and seem like the grass is greener, but they also have their own set of difficulties.

Had a patient that tried to kill himself by putting a gun either in his mouth or under his chin and shooting, can't remember now where they thought he had placed it. Poor guy ended up blowing the bottom half of his face off, just his eyes and forehead were left intact. He was still conscious when he got to the ED, and I'll never forget the way his eyes looked, wildly staring about the room, and nothing but pulp where his nose and mouth used to be. He eventually got his wish, he died in the OR, but I can't imagine how horrific his last moments were. Had another patient who was hit by a car at high speed who was just broken into pieces. Went to move a leg to apply a pressure dressing to a spurting bleed, and the foot didn't move with it, the whole leg where the tib and fib should have been sort of bent and dragged. It felt as if the bones were just pulverized, the lower legs were like mush. It's hard to describe, but I've never seen anything like it.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but 10 years away from nursing is a pretty long time. A lot has changed. Taking care of family members is a lot different than taking care of patients in a hospital setting, so I wouldn't really consider that in terms of practical skills. I think the best way for you to make yourself marketable again is to take the refresher course. My guess is that once you do, you will be a hot commodity with your years of experience! As far as feeling ambivilance about getting back into nursing, and what you wrote in #2 about how you feel people are today, is it so much different than it was ten years ago? Why do you feel that way? I think a lot has changed, but a lot has remained the same. I also think it depends on where you work. Outside of taking a refresher course, have you thought of trying to apply at a nursing school as an instructor? I don't know if you ever got your MSN, but having a BSN with the intention to finish your MSN is sometimes enough to get you in as a classroom instructor. I wish you the best of luck in deciding what you want to do. :kiss

Tote bag Large water bottle Beach towel Pen/Pencil set T-shirt Pocket drug guide The gifts we get usually have some type of nurse logo.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you are pursuing the matter and your plan is a very sound one. Best of luck.

That is great! Makes me want to buy a microphone and apply for a job there!

I think the nursing home dump is common in all ERs, and I know that LTC people get slammed a lot because of a few bad places. I do admire those of you who work ltc and take great care of the residents. It's a hard job. There are some great places out there too, but guess what - we don't see the patients from the good places nearly as much, and when we do they are not memorable because there is nothing bad to stand out. There are a few places around where I work that I hate to receive patients from because they are a mess. When receiving one of their patients they need diaper changed, they don't smell so good, they have skin breakdown, and if they had been seen in our ER within the last month they are still wearing our gown and name bracelet. (We sometimes send patients home in one of our gowns instead of putting them back in nasty smelly clothes after we get them cleaned up.) Unfortunately, those are the places that stand out in our minds the most. But anyway, about the family dump, I do understand what one poster said about not knowing what the family members are going through. I'm sure they do have it rough. But I don't condone the use of emergency services to get a break from their family. There are others ways to get a break that don't suck up our resources and keep sick people waiting.

So far, I haven't had a situation where we never find a family member. The patient I mentioned in my first post was probably the longest hold I have had. If there was someone who we could not find a family member for, we would have to do a social admit (as opposed to a medical admit) to the hospital and let social services sort it out: either find a nursing home placement or another family member willing to take the person. The thing that is so frustrating though is that the ER bed this person is taking up for hours is needed by others waiting to be seen, all because of a selfish neglectful family. It also sucks for the patient who doesn't understand why they have to stay, and eventually got mad at us, accusing us of kidnapping her and holding her against her will. I felt so sorry for the patient.

I'm sure those of you in LTC's see this type of thing quite a bit, people getting abandoned by thier families. It's very sad. One of my co-workers used to work in LTC and some of the stories I've heard are just pitiful. What I have seen a lot of however is folks that come into the ER that usually live at home with family. The family members call an ambulance, tell the paramedics what's going on, then never show up at the hospital and we can't reach them by the phone numbers we have on record, if we have previous record of the patient. Or they bring the person in, then when they get to an ER room the family disappears, and doesn't come back for hours. In the meantime, the patient has been worked up, and has been DC'd from the MD's standpoint. This type of thing happens sometimes at the holiday time, I guess families see the ER as a way to get a babysitter for a few hours so they can run errands and do shopping. But we're still seeing a lot of this going on recently.

This has been my experience also. One of my kids has already graduated from highschool and I have a child in high school now. Unfortunately if there is some type of harassment taking place, you have to be all over the school and up the chain of command to get any action taken.