Ayeloflo

You are right. But she was distracted! Distraction can be dangerous!

You are right. But she was distracted! Distraction can be dangerous.

Duplicate message removed

I totally agree with MJB2010 and the other contributors with similar responses. Do your best to recover from this negative experience to that you can go to a new interview with renewed strength and positivity. But, it's important to let that garment of negative feelings drop! It can be a painful thing when you have tried to hard to do better each time and somebody is simply out to get you for whatever reason. But, you will rise again. I know you will;and on the next job you will feel so much stronger having this experience behind you. One more thin: whenever we find ourselves in this situation, we should be certain that Human Resource has our side of the story on file. They can tell if things are fair or unfair. They deal with this all the time. Sometimes the environment is simply toxic and even if you are let go, H.R. might still be willing to put something positive in your termination note on file. I'm saying this because it happend to a friend of mine He was told that in his file, they'd simple put, "employee and employer parted company on such and such a date". No other infomation. H.R. was willing to put in a good word the my friend and he got the next job. "The good you do and embody, gives you the only power obtainable." Mary Baker Eddy.

Please review your Facebook settings. I believe you can adjust it such that only family, friends, etc can read or write on your Facebook wall. That way, what people can view is restricted. I hope that helps. Anyway, back to the thread...

For as long as they are not resonsible for ensuring that you have a full time job, it's your choice to sign up with as many agencies as you choose. In fact no employer can tell you what to do with you extra time when you are not on the clock. So, yeah, I am active with about 5-7 agencies. It gives me a lot of optioins in terms of what shifts I want to work and what location. As far as be benefits, some nurses like to take charge of the own health insurance, retirement plans, etc. Remember, the agencies cannot guarantee a steady, full-time job. Oh and one more thing: Some agencies require that you take at least one assignment in a six-month period in order to maintain active status with them.

My male nurse friends have this challenge with families when it comes to pediatric home health. In fact some of my friends in home health nursing are not being given patient assignments because the parents of the pediatric patient want a female nurse; it does not matter whether the pediatric patient is male of female. For as long as the patient is a child, most families want a female nurse. It sucks when a nurse can't get a job because his gender is against him.

How about trading off those days in your schedule with another worker. We do that where I work. Both parties agreeing to the exchange just have sign a form that they agree to so. After that, supervisor also signs off on it. Both parties are then fully responsible for their new schedule. Does your friend have sick time available? Because using sick time creatively, under these circumstances might be okay depending on the availability of staff to cover. Also here is a very good example of why these things must be kept a secret :)

I understand your concerns. Have you worked in healthcare before? Maybe you should train for CNA, monitor tech, or some other job in the hospital, even if it's part time. I think that can really help you to get a feel of what it's like to be working with nurses and other health professionals. After that, you are the only one who can make the decision to become a nurse.

OMG! That talkertive patient could have been me at some point when I was sick. When you are sick, you want the whole world to care about all your non-sick issues. You have all these wonderful nurses who are so compassionate. It's like picking up a box of compassion from the grocery store, on sale too :) A friend asked: "Well, since you are a nurse, can you please tell me why patients have to wait so many hours in the ER" ? My response: "If your inconvenience (emergency) is not life-threatening, then it does not fit our definition of emergency. They will get to you as soon as they can There is abuse of compassion. People like to take advantage of nice people.

May all the good forces of the universe protect you all the way. May it be. :rckn::rckn:

Also please remember that when you are new, it will take quite some time before you feel comfortable about being firm. It will take a while for you to not feel bad about interrupting patients and preventing them from interrupting you. It's take a while to make patients accept your priorities. Your goal is to get your work done. So, I'd say, be patient and allow yourself to deal with them in a way that you are comfortable with. I had to learn to be firm, grow a thick skin, work in an environment of backstabbing, etc. Let time help you. First year is very uncomfortable. You are pushed miles outside your comfort zone.

My dear friend. There are so many evil things going on the the work place. I'm so sorry that you are in this situation. I have been there before. Basically the manager and I had a personality clash right from the start. There was somthing about me that they simply felt intimidated about. When I complained to another manager to ask her advise, nothing happend. I managed to establish a friendly relationship with the HR coordinator and I emailed her for advice just so she is aware of what is going on before they could set me up for termination. I got written up many times, and if I disagreed with it, I refused to sign it. I got a copy of the write up, made a comment on it and sent that copy to HR. With each wrong write up for false accusation, you need to write a rebuttal comment on it before you sign it. They will intimidate you. They will frighten you. But you have the right not to sign something you do not agree with. Whey do you think they want you to sign that stuff. The sad truth is that HR is fully away of all these bad things happening. You are not the first nurse the hear it from. On another note, I think you should try to find another job. When you are able to achieve that goal and are settled in your new job, then look at the contract again. If you have a case for a breech of contract, sue the old hospital! There is a reason why lawsuit is in existence. But, at the same time, you are the only one who can decide what battle is worth it. Sometimes moving on and having peace of mind is better. I wish you all the best.

The pay has nothing to do with whether it's busy or not. Most human beings I know are designed to sleep at night. When you work nights, the quality of day-time sleep is just not the same as night time sleep. It takes quite some time to get adjusted to day-time sleeping when you work night. Many night workers I know do get depressed very easily. You need sunlight. So the pay is for the sacrifice of health. Weekend pay a bit more because you are sacrificing you "fun" time for work. So it's an incentive to keep the night schedule staffed. Some places require a person to work a couple of weekends per month. But, for some, night is good because the are taking a class for a couple of hours a day, or spouse might be working day time, etc. I have worked nights, my sleep pattern is now screwed up. Now I don't normally do nights but, I've become insomniac. I get tired very easily because I tend to stay up late. It's a health issue. Certain things are not worth the money

I like your post. I must say that the manner in which pain is addressed (if it does get addressed at all) really does irritate me. Nurses are left to deal with a patient who is suffering. Patients automatically direct their anger to the nurses, and I don't blame them. Oh yes, I would page that doctor and ruin his/her sleep!!! If pain is not cardiac in nature, does it not require attention? Does the doctor only care about "vitals" ? Let's keep in mind that patients are not usually expert at ranking their pain on a pain scale. A patients pain 10/10 may only be the worst pain he/she ever had. There are so many things that could cause pain in the chest area. On point #4, You really want to avoid making assumptions that have no evidence to back it. The "drug-seeking" patient could go bad the next minute. Patients sometimes see several different doctors before they get the correct diagnoses. It happens all the time! Many doctors assume, assume, assume!!! Phenergan? Why does the patient want it. What does it do to the patient? Has the patient taken it before? As a nurse, I'm familiar with an amount of medical knowledge, including pharmacology. I tend to "guide" my doctor when I'm a patient because I know what could go wrong if I let the smart-aleck take total control Do you know that the number of young men having a stroke is on the rise? Do you know that the number of young people diagnosed with cancer is on the rise? The doctor prescribed antibiotics! Guess how many doctors the patients saw before having the correct diagnosis. So, yeah. If patient is in pain and call light is on. I check the orders, and I page for what is missing. Also, remember to document it each complaint of pain, and document each time you call.

Since the DON is so hateful of you, was she just trying ruin your sleep? You never know what tactics a bad person will use against you. When you get a chance, look over your chart and the MAR in case you made a mistake. But even with that, the on-coming nurse signed and took the keys. Did DON question the on-coming nurse as well?

No wonder I'm coughing while I am reading your post. :bdyhdclp:

As you know, in nursing, we are always pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone for the sake of the patient's wellbeing. "Uncomfortable" might be unacceptable excuse for many managers. When you put it that way, it makes me think: luxery, queen bees, and other terminologies. I mean no disrepect. Please dont be offended. Remember that nursing students are required to check of skills in the Clinical Skill Competency form at the end of each semester. The schools are covered if you checked all of it and signed it. You were required to learn those skills in your clinical time. So when you are licensed, your employer expects you to perform those duties. If it's within your scope of practise, your are expected to be capable of doing it. That is why many nurses still carry procedure books and still ask for help from fellow nurses. If the IV order was not carried out because the nurse is uncomfortable starting IVs, the nurse is written up. Foley order not carried out cos you haven't done it before? Delay of service. You get written up. Fair or unfair. It happens all the time. If anything happens, in court or whatever, we are looking at your legal scope of pratice. Same applies to nurses who are IV certified, Ventilator certified, etc. Once there is evidence that you have been trained and certified, you are expected to get it done somehow. The hospital is insured as a business entity. They consider that before making policies. When you comply with the policy, the consequence is the hospital's problem. They know they are covered by insurance. So, get it done and keep your job :)

Do all the reading that your instrutor told you to do. Make sure you understood what you were taught. Anything that instructor spent time and energy to teach you, could be on the test. So study, study, study.

"Intubating is a skill, just like starting an IV" This is true, CRNA1982. If you can't get it in, seize the next opportunity to intubate. In ACLS class it was very hard to hold the tools at the perfect angle in order to intubate. If at first you don't succeed, find out why and try again next time the opportunity comes. Practise, practise, practise

:sofahider

Please give this some thought cos I'm worried about you. If you are not a native of the island, I'm inclined to think that you are having a culture shock. You are probably not used to what is "normal" on the island. Those who are used to what is "normal" expectation on the island, have a way of rolling with the punches. It's a big adjustment if you are an international student because many of such students give up and decide to go back to their home country, to an environment that they are more used to. It's a huge stress if you never experienced the culture prior to starting school on the island! The food, the social structure, what society considers to be acceptable or unacceptable,etc. Culture also determine how students interract with their instructor. In some areas of the world, asking a question of the teacher is considere rude. A student is only to listen and learn. Also, are you are under family pressure to achieve that goal. Are your peers and other people always asking you, "when will you finish?" Talk with other students who are not from there and how they are coping. Usually international students share info with one another for example in local ingredients you can use as substitute for your cooking. I know it's hard. You will need to try to remind yourself that you are going through a big adjustment. You will need to motivate yourself, one day at a time. You will need to try to reach out more to other students and study with them if you are not doing a lot of that. Always remind yourself that others have done, so you will get through it as well. We all help each other.

I know that you want to make sure that you are making a decision that you are going to be happy with, in the future. It makes me wonder: Have you worked in healthcare before? I mean, like CNA, secretary, volunteer at a hospital, or any other job that allows you to work in sick people in some fashion? That will you to some of the roles in healthcare. It could give you a chance to join a dietician, PT, MD/DO, Nurse, etc at lunch time in the cafeteria to talk a little bit. It allows you see what roles they are playing and how they do their work. Maybe you need a break to know exactly what you want. Because, when you are finally decide exactly what you want, it will spark a passion to achieve it and your passion to achieve will be hot like fire, and you will fight every obstacle to achieve your dream :)

It's hard to know how the hospitals will view you LTC experience. But, you have to keep applying every week or every two weeks. Each time you apply, make a follow up phonecall. Leave a voicemail. Speak clearly. Be aware that those who do the hiring are judging you based on how you are communicating as well. Manage to communicate with nursing unit manager. Get a name. Mention that when you talk with HR about the position. All helps to convince the HR dept that you are determined and serious about it. It might encourage them to hold on to your application for the next available position. Chances are, they might call you or at least invite you for pre-employment test as soon as there is vacancy. You just might be might be the angel in the wing for them, who was waiting to fill a spot that somebody quit on short notice. Oh and you can arrange to take the pre-employment test and make sure you score high, even if there are not openings at this time. Don't forget that many HR people are lazy so try to make their job easy for them :)