debbyed

night shift .:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: i don't deal well with people who wear suits.:bowingpur

Worked for a Union once:crying2: . I paid them alot:twocents: , I got nothing in return:banghead: . Won't do it again:deadhorse .

What's a Break? I work Night Shift in a busy ER. We grab what we can, when we can because there is no float person. If your patients are caught up, you ask a co-worker to cover for awhile. That being said........... We really ate good tonight. Everyone brought something in and we have been picking and munching all night:dance: :dance: :dance:

Let's see:confused: I've been a nurse for over 25 years. Spent a year on a tele. floor:nurse: , a year of ortho:monkeydance: , a year of ccu:smiletea: , a year of hospice:icon_hug: and the rest have all been in Emergency Nursing:yeah: . I've worked alone in a 3 bed ER, worked as the only ER nurse and house supervisor (8 ER beds, 4 CCU, 5PCU, 30 inpatient) and now work in a metropolitan ER with 39 beds. I found my nitch fairly quickly and will stay an ER RN until either my body or my brain gives out. It's pretty much 50/50 odds which goes first.:chair:

Just a thought but....A. the hospital is going back on their work:angryfire ....B. The ER Manager is leaving..... Maybe it might be wise to keep your options open and look elsewhere, Most places would be thrilled to have a nurse with both med/surg experience and the inititive to do all the other things you have done. Somebody will have their:welcome: sign out for you.

I have to agree. Getting out on the floor will give you the best exposure. Once you learn to read a monitor you know it. Check and see if your hospital uses Nursing Students in the ER. Ours does. First year students (Nurse Associates I)are taught to same skills as our ERT's {Emergency Room Tech's}, last year students (Nurse Associate II) spend some of their time shadowing a nurse. It is kinda like a "Grow your own" program. It's working out real well for us, and the student have a job that pay's and tutition reinbursement.:dance: :dance:

First thing you should learn is Wash your hands, never forget it, it really makes a difference. I work in an Emergency Room and "Knock on Wood" have never taken anything home. Seldom get the "bugs" myself. Good luck in your progrram.

I know that in our state it is mandatory reporting and the hospital I work for reports quickly. It doesn't take that long to check a couple charts and you only need a couple. One might be a mistake, Two carelessness but 3 is unexplainable. If the employee admits to a problem they are offered employee assistance and placed in a program and on administrative leave. If they deny, they are terminated. In either case the BON is notified.

On the same line we have a patient that comes in every once in a while to have something removed from his rectum, You would think by now he would be embarrised :imbar enough to go to different hospitals. His last three abdominal surgeries were to remove a coke bottle, a very large zucuni, and the one that really had us puzzled was the hammer (head first). Everytime we see him come is with that very distinctive walk we all try to guess what he lost now.:spam: :smackingf

After 20+ years of dealing with New Grads I've had plenty of experience with all three kinds. Your type:welcome: I adore. You may start out timid, but you watch, you learn and you grow into terrific ER Nurses. The second type :chair: tend to remove themselves from anything they are unsure of. These you'll find in the bathroom during a code. With an understanding, nurturing preceptor about 60% do succeed. The third type:angryfire ;The "I Know it All " type are dangerous. They don't ask questions, they just speed through things, not even noticing they are making mistakes. They need to be watched constantly. We had one recently that decided he would give PO contrast to a patient with a probable perf'd bowel. An astute new nurse stopped him and called over a preceptor. He immediately started arguing with that nurse who had been a nurse long enought to have delivered him. He just wouldn't shut-up:trout: He was taken off the floor, sat down and made to explain everything that could go wrong with what he intended to do. Than he was told what the worse case senario might be. That would be "DEATH" That humbeled him for about 2 days, Than he was back to being:thankya: his old know it all self. I'm really not sure he is going to make it. Very few of the "Know it all" make it very far. An a few of them end-up with law suits. Many experienced preceptors refuse to precept these folks because of the unacceptal risk associated with their behavior. Take your time, Make sure you understand what you are doing and what the expectations are. You sound like you will be a good, caring, conscious nurse and any hospital would be thrilled to have you.

I believe somewhere in the past the hospital provided cab vouchers for truely needy people. Accident victums with no family, Pt's who arrived via ambo who's significant other was too old to drive at night and our large population of Orthodox Jewish folks who may still get sick on Fridaynight/Saturday day. Now ALL our Frequent flyers, drug seekers, homeless people demand cab vouchers. "It's my right" I tell you I am really tired of it. It just seems like there are so many people out there that think you owe them something whether it be a meal or cab fare. I just have to wonder when the ER became the Hotel, Resturant and free transportation place. We have people who know where each ambo/hospital catchment area is. They'll call 911 to get to our hospital because they live across the street. They come in the ambo door, get put in a room that walk right out the front door. When asked what they're doing they will freely admit "I needed a ride home" Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now. I really should go to bed, cause I'm really, really tired.

Our hospital has always been all private rooms. It's an excellent selling point. And now with HIPPA we have the privacy required. Our hospital aquired infection rates are also below the norm.

I'm in the Baltimore Metro area. We work every 3 rd weekend and it may soon be a little less. I work in a moderate size ER and we just posted and filled 8 weekend option positions. 3=7A-7P 1=11A-11P 1=3A-3P and 3=7P-7A. Day shift option is Saturday and Sunday only, Night shift option is 2 out of 3 Friday through Sunday. The staff who applied were allowed to choose with or without benefits which was about 3 dollars different. Rates went from the high 30's to the mid 40"s per hour depending on shift and benefits. If they work any addition time it is paid at our standard registery rate. If a holiday falls on a weekend they work it. We had all 8 positions filled in less than 2 weeks.

ERnurse04, From past experience using many agency nurses over many years both as charge nurse and Clinical Leader, I have found that the nurses that have had at least 3-4 years experience in a stable ER environment that they are comfortable with and can grow in, adjust to being agency nurses much better. It is very seldom that we get an agency or traveler with less than 2 years experience that works out for us. I'm not saying that no-one can do it, it's just that from an employers point of view the expectation is that an agency or traveling nurse should be able to "hit the floor running". We ask them to come in 1 hour before their first shift to do a computer learning packet (We are phasing in CPOE) and then we buddy them with one of our nurses for 4 hours. After that they are on their own. From a personal view point, I give agency/travelers all the credit in the world. I've been an ER Nurse for over 20 years and could not imagine going into a strange ER with a patient population I don't know and ED Doc's I don't know. I personally could never do it. I need to be comfortable in my surroundings and know which Doc's to completely truat and which to question.