BeeStrong

Working in Oncology as I did for over 20 years exposes you to every virus and bacteria known to man and then some that aren't even known yet!! These are some of the sickest patients in the hospital, their immune systems are vulnerable to everything u...

Hi Barbara, I work in Eugene, Oregon at a 350 bed Hospital managed by PeaceHealth (an organization founded by Irish Catholic Nuns); RN's are represented by ONA, unionized which makes a big, big difference. I worked back East long enough to know ho...

There are resources available thru the ANA website if you are researching staffing ratios and patient safety; they have done a lot of research on this subject; there recently was a newspaper article about the latest research that pt outcomes are bett...

I agree with Traveler; every survey of professions I have ever seen ranks Nursing up at the top as far as respect; I have worked all over the world and can tell you that in some countries nurses are regarded as less than waitresses (who also deserve...

I work in a 250 bed hospital in a mid size city in Oregon, Oncology unit of 21 beds; staffing on days: 3-4 pts, usually 3 CNA's plus sitters when needed; eves': 5-6 pts with 2 CNAs and nocs 6-7 pts with one CNA, 2 if over 18 pts. This seems to be wo...

Review over and over again with your preceptor and in your own mind the procedures to follow in emergencies such as prolapsed cord; placenta previa, hemhorrhage, etc. ; these things DO happen in L/D and you need to know what to do immediately. We n...

I work on a 22 bed oncology unit in central Oregon; days usually 1 RN to 4 or 5 pts; eves 1:5 or 6; nocs 1:5-7 with Charge Nurse days and eves no pt load; nocs; Charge Nurse takes up to 4 pts; days and eves have ward clerk; none at noc; aides are 3 ...

Grace, Congratulations, it takes a brave and strong person to even think about being a nurse; it is true that you should think long and hard about your reasons for going into the profession, it is certainly not for wimps!! I love it and have been...

I took a position 10 years ago with an $8000 sign on bonus....they gave half at 6 months with state and federal taxes withheld; and the other half at the end o f one year. They did not treat me any differently than other nurses on the unit and as ...

Sorry but your post sounds like some sort of advertisement for your nutritional products company you are pushing. I have never heard patients or families refer to nurses as "drug pushers" and I have been in ths business a long, long time. Many doct...

Back when I was a single Mom raising two kids I enrolled in a Federally supported LPN program at the local college. I had been trying to make ends meet as a nursing assistant and quickly saw the realities of life and how one year's education in nur...

This is such a horrible story; a medical professional clearly motivated by greed; this looks to me like a case of premeditated murder if people died while being "treated" by this guy's watered down chemotherapy. As a chemotherapy nurse I am horrif...

The name comes from the hospital which originated the weekend plan and was one of the first flex time plans for nurses which deviated from the every other weekend/40 hr week scenario. Our hospital does the A and B list for all full timers and prns a...

I don't know for sure about other states but in Virginia if a patient is listed on the main log and phone calls can be put thru by the hospital operator, then their name and room number are a matter of public record. If the patient or family specifi...

Wow, Bosnia, and Kosovo, well, I guess if you don't mind a war zone ; of course the Middle East is not exactly the quietest place on earth but I was in Saudi and there were very few violent incidents except during the war and that Khobar thing wh...

I worked in the Middle East for several years also as an RN and the salary was enough that I could save quite a bit toward retirement; also, if you stay for more than one year there are no Income taxes.... Several nurses I knew saved enough to buy h...

Tonchito, I find it interesting that you regard emptying a bedpan as being "beneath" a nurse and not worthy of any respect? Excuse me, but bowel care and bathing are still part and parcel of nursing as far as I know. When a patient asks for a be...

Yes, Dorothy, there are burned out nurses out there !!! And they have good reason to be....try being floated to a floor you have never been oriented to, and assigned 15 very sick patients you have never seen before....guess what, you'll be burned...

If any nurse ridicules you or gives you a hard time when you are trying to learn, just ask "Do you remember being a student?" That will usually break the ice, because every last one of us old battleaxes was a new grad and can remember feeling the ...

This actually does sound do-able, and it is certainly a place to start; Unit managers have to keep within their budgets, don't we hear them moaning about that all the time? Well, then there definitely must be a way to track these funds and to aud...

I agree with Wildtime on this; you have to communicate to your preceptor and other nurses on the unit the procedures you want to practice; I never turn down a student who shows initiative in wanting to learn; even if it is just observing iv inserti...

Very very proud to be a nurse. Despite all my complaining, b***hing and whining; I am proud of all the TLC we give, I am proud of us when we are working together, helping each other to help the patient, laughing and crying together. Thanks for y...

When a pt is referred to Hospice and has been declared a DNR many times hospice stops all iv fluids and tube feedings, depending on the pt/family wishes. Generally a person dies before 7 days without any fluids, there have been studies and research...

This is a huge problem and one that COULD be so easily solved. Why is it that nurses can enter all their notes; assessments and vital signs into the computer, labs are entering all results into the computer; but docs at our hospital can't/won't en...

This is not only bad behavior, it sounds like it could easily escalate to the criminal. Without doubt, as others have advised you should inform your supervisor, confront the nurse with witnesses, and document each incident. I also agree with not...