Orca ADN, ASN, RN

Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC

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All Content by Orca

  1. Orca

    What does it take to be a good psych nurse?

    Orca replied to paulschwinn's topic in Psychiatric

    You are taught in nursing school to reorient the patient to reality whenever the patient says something outrageous or implausible to you. Experience has taught me that the textbook response is not...
  2. Orca

    How much Cna work should an RN do?

    Orca replied to Bfts76d's topic in General Nursing

    I worked with an RN once who refused to do anything that could be considered CNA work. No matter how busy the CNA was, she would allow a patient to lie on a wet or soiled bed until the CNA was done,...
  3. Orca

    When the hospital cancels you for a shift...

    Orca replied to NanikRN's topic in General Nursing

    One good thing came of a call-off once. I was called off for my hospital shift, so I went to dinner with my family. While we were waiting for a table I sat down with $5 in front of a slot machine...
  4. Orca

    Will i be able to get back into it?

    Orca replied to thumperxx's topic in General Nursing

    My mother took several years off during her career when my sister and I were very young, then she returned to hospital nursing. She said that the hardest part was the changes in medications during the...
  5. Orca

    Fired on Friday the 13th.

    Orca replied to SuzieeQ's topic in LPN, LVN Corner

    Tell them exactly what you were told - vagueness and all. Sometimes employers make changes just for the sake of changing, and it doesn't always mean that the person being displaced was doing a poor...
  6. Orca

    Sent into a correctional facility...failed miserably :(

    Orca replied to HeyHeyitsMaay's topic in Agency Nurses

    Dead on. Inadequate orientation and training set you up to fail. I am a DON in a western state corrections department. My agency used to do an equally bad job of training people who were filling in. I...
  7. Orca

    Overnights... how do you handle them???

    Orca replied to Epona's topic in Health, Stress Management

    Unfortunately, the way my internet access is set up at work, I can't see any graphics in people's tag lines or those inserted into posts - only their
  8. Orca

    Great Gift for Nursing Student (2nd career)?

    Orca replied to stmbarnes's topic in General Students

    Great idea. IMO the best combination of price and performance. I still have my original Classic
  9. Orca

    Great Gift for Nursing Student (2nd career)?

    Orca replied to stmbarnes's topic in General Students

    One cute gift I was given by a coworker when I finished nursing school was a retractable pen that looked like a syringe. They aren't very
  10. Orca

    Rumors of Merger

    Orca replied to xoemmylouox's topic in General Nursing

    My first job out of nursing school was with a hospital that was owned by the suburban city it was located in. The city decided that they could not put enough money into the hospital to keep it...
  11. Orca

    Overnights... how do you handle them???

    Orca replied to Epona's topic in Health, Stress Management

    If you want the OP to be fired, that's sound advice. Sleeping on duty is a terminatable offense with my current employer, and I'm sure it is with most others. I worked nights for about four years. I...
  12. Orca

    Help! Manager won't let me off night shift

    Orca replied to DeLana_RN's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    I don't agree with that at all. No one is silly to look for another job. Silly would be resigning before something else was lined up. Given that the OP has already applied for the job and has been...
  13. Orca

    When the hospital cancels you for a shift...

    Orca replied to NanikRN's topic in General Nursing

    When I worked per diem this was sometimes an issue. The hospital would call me off for low census, then if they suddenly started getting slammed with admissions they would want me to come in on short...
  14. Orca

    Forced to stay and work under mandatory evacuation?

    Orca replied to squatmunkie_RN's topic in Patient Safety Issues

    I worked in a hospital in suburban Oklahoma City when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed. I was four months out of nursing school. I heard the explosion while I was outside walking my...
  15. Orca

    Importance of patient/inmate education

    Orca replied to ChuckeRN's topic in Correctional

    Assessment skills are key, because a lot of the people you will see will be trying to game you for secondary gain - whether it's for a trip to the hospital or just trying to get medication out of you....
  16. Orca

    Seizures Real vs Fake

    Orca replied to princess pickles's topic in Correctional

    This is our method of choice. It really separates the
  17. Orca

    License revocation

    Orca replied to RhodyLPNstudent's topic in General Nursing

    One caveat about checking actions listed by your Board of Nursing: Some states are so vague about the circumstances that it is often difficult to know exactly what happened. For instance, in my state...
  18. Orca

    New graduate, offered a job as "Nurse Delegate". Can I handle this job?

    Orca replied to amyyy's topic in First Year After Licensure

    I would have reservations about putting a new graduate into a position like this. It requires a degree of independence that I wouldn't have had fresh out of
  19. Orca

    Forced to stay and work under mandatory evacuation?

    Orca replied to squatmunkie_RN's topic in Patient Safety Issues

    i also have to wonder about the op's motivation. in her original post her biggest stated concerns were that she was "only" going to get time-and-a-half and not be paid some kind of bonus, and that...
  20. Orca

    New RN Grad going to CA Prisons

    Orca replied to misspinkmeow's topic in Correctional

    Apples and oranges. EMT is emergency medical response, while CNA involves more menial tasks. EMT is not an easy course of
  21. Orca

    Motivating Burnt-Out Staff

    Orca replied to lulain's topic in Psychiatric

    When you do, you will feel like a load has been lifted off you. Fear of conflict can put you in a lot of bad situations in which you suffer quietly while others - who couldn't care less - continue to...
  22. Orca

    Sexual Harassment of Nurses?

    Orca replied to TurtleCat's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    When I worked in a rehab facility, one of my female coworkers had a male patient who she was trying to teach to self-cath. She said that he was enjoying it a little too much (claiming not to...
  23. Orca

    Worst night in history

    Orca replied to RoseRyan's topic in General Nursing

    You absolultely should talk to your patients. Just don't tell them anything about your personal life or background. The patient can already read your name off your badge. If you give the patient any...
  24. Orca

    i feel bad- leaving things to do for day shift

    Orca replied to sophie<3's topic in First Year After Licensure

    A former supervisor once said that we have more than one shift for a reason. Unfortunately it is inevitable that some things are endorsed to the next shift. From what you described, it was...
  25. Orca

    New RN Grad going to CA Prisons

    Orca replied to misspinkmeow's topic in Correctional

    When I was in nursing school I took PN boards after my third semester. I presume that the same opportunity exists now. At the time I primarily did it to get direct experience with taking a nursing...