TiddlDwink

One area of nursing that requires little hands-on care is Psychiatric nursing. Lots of talking/listening, and occasional medication administration, but mostly just using your communication skills.

This thread piqued my interest, so I went to my BON website to see how many people lose their license in Alabama, a relatively small-populated state. WOW!! I was surprised. The BON meets every 2 months for this purpose, and so far this year (to summarize), an average of 30 nurses per 2 months have their licenses revoked. Another 15 or so have their licenses suspended. That's about 45 nurses every 2 months that essentially can't work. Several of you have pointed out that sometimes a nurse is helpless if an angry doctor, or a malicious supervisor just decides to be an a$$. I am about to retire after 40+ years as an RN. I personally have watched my current boss instigate the loss of license of 2 nurses over the last 10 years, and in both cases it was just because she didn't like the nurses. The charges were fabricated, but the nurses ended up having no recourse. For one of the nurses, I wrote a letter to the BON telling them the real story, but to no avail. It's a long story, but if I weren't retiring anyway, I would definitely be afraid!

I wish everyone would quit comparing health insurance to automobile insurance. In the USA we are required to carry auto LIABILITY insurance. This is to pay for the OTHER car, in case we're in an accident that is our fault. Liability insurance is to protect other people against our driving. Liability insurance covers nothing about our own car or person. If you have a loan on a car, the people to whom you owe the money also require you to have comprehensive insurance. This is so if you wreck their car before you get it paid off, making it yours, they will still get the money you owe them. Once you pay the car off, and it's yours, you can drop the comprehensive insurance. In other words, any auto insurance you are required to have is for the protection of other people, not you. That's why it's mandatory.

Thanks! I too am an RN of over 40 years, and I'm thinking, like you, it's more of an ethical question. I do know that someone can't apply for an RN job without an RN license, or an LPN job without an LPN license... but the question in my mind arose when I was thinking to myself, "Self, if that MA calls herself a nurse, and I take exception to it, would I call the BON? Would I call the police? Would I get an attorney and file a civil suit?" In other words, besides being "offended", to whom would I appeal for legal action? So since we were talking about that issue here, it seemed like a good arena in which to pose the question. It turned out I have learned quite a lot from everyone's posts (as I usually do here), and just LOVE reading them. I guess the thing I enjoy the most is the fact that you all have given me so many more aspects of the issue to consider. Thank you ALL!

I was wondering something... Several people have said that "nurse" is a "protected title" in their states. I'm not sure if it is in Alabama or not, but RubyVee (I think) said that her venipuncturist could get in trouble with the BON for eroniously passing herself off as a nurse. Now my question is this: In those states where the title is protected, the BON probably can't do anything, because the non-nurse isn't involved with the BON. S/he would not have a license for the BON to do anything about. So, what is the actual legal entity that would do something, and what could be done? That wasn't stated very articulately, and I apologize, and I'm not being facetious here. I really want to know.

I too was nekkid in my facility for a lady partsl hysterectomy. With the our best MD, best anesthetist, and best nurses, I made it through the process, and it didn't even feel like an "ordeal"! My prayers are with you, Ruby. I enjoy your posts, and expect to see many more after your treatment!

That's exactly what I was going to say!

In the "home health" business, shift work is usually not called "home health"... it is usually called "private duty". And let me clarify: I'm no longer a home health nurse. I did love the autonomy, and enjoyed listening to books on tape in my car between patients. I got too old/tired to do that kind of nursing. Takes lots of energy and stamina. Also, my car got "home healthed out" with sometimes 5k miles/month.

i just have to vent a bit here... i read a lot of allnurses posts, and i see a recurrent theme regarding home health nursing. sometimes it's regarding nurses who couldn't "cut it" in hospital nursing, and are advised to "try home health", or sometimes it's about ed nurses or critical care nurses who need "something less stressful" ... any number of situations. but the more i see it, the more agitated i get. now, i've been around the proverbial nursing block a time or two. i'm entering my 46th year as an rn. i've done just about every kind of nursing there is, from critical care to nursing home; from med/surg to psych; from teaching to the army... and i tell you that home health nursing is the one job that pretty much incorporates every nursing specialty that exists. consider this: you see/care for every illness, injury and disease state imaginable. your job involves all ages, from newborns to centarians. you need every nursing skill from fingersticks to infusions to catheters to ports to pacemakers to wound care to staple removal to venipuncture to patient education to g-tubes to tpn. you are going into people's homes: some fine with housekeepers, but many filthy, roach-infested, stopped-up plumbing, tiny spaces and animals everywhere. nowhere to sit. nowhere to put down your blood pressure or wound care equipment. nowhere to actually wash your hands. a whole new nursing paradigm. your documentation means the difference in payment and retention of the patient, or non-payment and loss of the patient. but most important, excellent assessment skills are essential! you are alone. if you can't find a vein, there is not a cadre of other nurses to try. it's just you. you must be able to detect gi bleeds, impending heart and circulation problems, and you absolutely must recognize an emergency. you must recognize patient neglect. and this just scrapes the surface. to tell a relatively inexperienced nurse that home health might be a "piece of nursing cake" is ludicrous. just my humble opinion, and thanks for letting me vent!

I lived and worked in a large urban hospital in Texas in the 1990s. I was "counseled" because the mother of my 2-year-old patient complained that I wouldn't let the child have water before she went to the OR for a tonsillectomy. The mother said I was "cruel" by not allowing water, since the child hadn't had anything to drink at all since the night before, and she was thirsty. I did quit before I got fired, because the DON, who counseled me, didn't want to hear anything I said... never mind NPO before surgery! I have worked in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas in the last 40 years, but NOWHERE else compares to the abusive ways nurses are/were treated in Texas!!

Probably not. I see the same thing.

OMG!! Best thread evah!! Thank you ALL!!!

Reading "No I don't just wipe asses" made me think of my personal 6-word message, which (sadly) is: Nursing Is Mostly Just Kissing Asses

Hmmm... you've been fired from numerous jobs?? Why? If it's for absences/call-ins, then nursing isn't for you. If it's because you don't get along with bosses, or with coworkers, then nursing isn't for you. Even if you make it through school, and pass boards, you won't make it in the workplace. If you are thinking nursing is a "last resort" career, I believe you have the wrong impression of nursing. Most nursing jobs are physically and mentally demanding, require working shifts (night, day), and also many holidays and weekends. Nursing school is also mentally (and sometimes physically) demanding, but seldom requires the shift and holiday/weekend work, although probably does require studying/readiing/writing on weekends, nights and holidays. I would suggest you look into a less demanding career, since you're already having doubts. Just my

I did it too. And yes, the second part was quite confusing. Wish it hadn't pertained to JUST my last shift worked. My last shift didn't happen to be a "typical" shift for me, so my answers would have been quite different on most other days.