MTRN13

Hi ! I would really appriate any help . I have applied for a position in a training program at my current hospital in another department which is been my dream job. The only problem is I have to go to a panel interview after a 12 hour shift. They are only interviewing one day, and only had 2 slots left one at 0730 and the other at 0800. The big problem is I work the night before. Which means that after a 12 hour shift I have a panel interview. I will have about 20 minutes to get ready, and to get the interview. I will have to freshen up. My concern is I won't have time to change, do hair, fix makeup, and get downstairs in time . The HR person said it would be ok to show up in my scrubs. I know most of the panel that will be there. I am tempted to wear my scrubs to show I just came off a 12 hours shift, and that I am obviously a dedicated employee. It would be better to just freshen up. Although I know it goes against everything that is taught about job interview ettiquette. I would still bring copies of resumes and cover letters for everyone there. What would you do ? Any opinions ?

Find the largest stereo, and play the song "take this job, and shove it" while singing along at the top of my lungs and walking around the whole floor at 7 AM so both shifts hear it. I would also go around setting off random callights all night long of non verbal patients at the end of the hallway without getting caught. Have fun with that one.... I am loving this thread. I would never do the things I wrote about. Just dream. Maybe have to steal the riding the bike around naked with only a stethoscope idea that someone posted. when I am ready to retire in 30-40 years.

This was a topic of a staff meeting this last week. We are not allowed to combine breaks. We get 3 15 minute breaks, and one half hour break for a 12 hour shift. We were told if someone is covering your patient, and something happens we are both liable. Which means we give a through report, and a copy of the shift report before leaving. We check on the person who we are coverings patients. We would have nurses leave for 45 minutes to over a hour and half on break. It is not considerate or safe to leave 10 patients in one RN's care for that long especially if there are a few really demanding or confused patients. The other thing is certain nurses would take so long that it was hard to get in my short break. Which makes for a tense situation. I actually had to speak to my charge nurse to be able to take my second break of the night. The only other one being my 30 minutes break. I was only looking for 15 minutes. I was already not going to take 30 minutes worth of time that I am entitled to, but that was not going to turn into 45 minutes. I need my caffeine break somewhere around 3 AM or I start to lag. When someone else selfishly takes over an hour after their 30 minute dinner break. Sorry this turned into a rant. Unfortunately for us it turned into a problem of a few nurses taking advantage of the majority. I would urge all of us to be considerate of each other, and have each others back. As for your patient, she should have told you during your break. Your patient is 02 sat's are in the 70's, there is a change in patient status from what you told me in report. What do you want to do....... If she did not call a rapid response maybe you would have. At least it would have been your choice. 2 hours break sounds very dangerous. One nurse with up to 10 patients for 2 hours it a receipe for disaster.

I think it is a really good idea. Unfortuantely at my hospital we do not have it. Although from 0630-0700 if there is an admission or transfer we only take the vital signs, and a quick assessment to make sure they are stable. If the patient is from PACU then we get report, and then endorse. We are working making ER and PACU give pain and nausea medications before they come to the floor. Especially from ER so the patient does not have to suffer while we are waiting for admitting orders from the doctor.The paperwork, and responsibility is on the oncoming shift. If I have time I try, and do a few quick things to speed things up for the oncoming shift. At that time I cannot make any guarantees. I do not think it is the safest practice to send patients up during the "golden hour" also it is not uncommon to hear a code or rapid response at change of shift. I do not know why it is, but it is so strange since we make hourly rounds.

I see two sides of this arguement from my point of view #1 My Grandma was sick with pnuemonia, possible Colon CA (mass was so big they could not scope her to find out), and CHF. She was completely with it, and talking with us. My family had a really hard time respecting her wishes to take her off Bi-Pap, and not put her on a vent. The GP doctor was young and hopeful (He had never lost a patient at that point). He thought it would really help her. I do believe he was compassionate, and truly believed it would work. My Grandma was a fiesty woman. It took a day for my Mom to come around and let her go. Although the ICU nurses my Grandma had were the most cold and hardened people I have ever encountered. I think a more compassionate approach would have still worked better. My mom is still traumatized by those horrible nurses. I was shocked at their behavior. Such as getting in the face of the pulmonoligist face, and screaming at him at the top of her lungs in front of my whole familyg that she would not allow this, and she was a patient advocate. Completely inappropriate behavior. She used scare tactics to try, and influence my Mom. I have to say she was completely out of line. The other ICU nurse the day she passed told us to go away and just let her pass. I am a little bitter about hardened attidudes. We are still dealing with families, and thier emotions. My mom was crying, but completely in control of herself unlike my Grandma's ICU nurses. I did talk to my Mom, and showed her there were three possible ways this could go. First, that she could pass peacefully while surrounded by her family holding her hands on her terms. Second, put her on a ventilator and she would probably not be able to be weaned off and we would have to disconnect her at some point. Third, which I told her I was not sure was very likely it would help her to recover. My mom agreed to let her pass on her terms which was good since we all got time to say goodbye, and have private conversations with her. #2 we have a pt. who is actively dying on our unit. It is a mom of a dr. She has a history that I could write all day about. Whenever we do blood draws we have to hold pressure for 20 minutes or she will not stop bleeding. Her son/doctor orders blood draws three times a day. He orders blood transfusions like it is going out of style. She is bleeding rectally, and from her bladder. We can barely get an IV started on her since her veins are so small, and inflatrate easily. All of her extremeties are cold and discolored. She is seeping fluid through her skin. It is horrible. She is flat out dying. We are a med/surg unit and wonder why she is not in a higher level of care like ICU because she is very unstable. She is on our floor because we have a VIP room that is really nice, and the only floor that has them. There is not a nurse on the floor that is wondering *** the doctor is doing to his own mom. BTW she is a chem code. We understand this is his mom, and it is hard to let her go. None of us would ever dare speak to him like the ICU nurses did to my family. We wonder how to get through to him that she is suffering while being supportive. There are two sides to every story. Unfortuantely while at work we sometimes only see one side. I would urge you to be compassionate, and see maybe there is more to certain circumstances that you understand. I know with my Grandma it would have been easier on my Mom if the nurses had been more compassionate. It was her 4 doctors that really were outstanding, and compassionate. One of them even said "look she is really mad at you for not letting her make her own decision, and go make the most of the time you have" She really helped my Mom come to terms, and see something differently. It is sometimes about the approach we take. There are people out their that are selffish, and do not come to that realization wether it be for emotional or finacial reasons. I would hope that someone would give the end of my life a pause to think about it because they love me that much, and then lovingly let me go. As for the doctor's mom I understand that it is hard, but I would never have wanted to see my Grandma suffer that much. He is not there when we do blood draws that we have to hold pressure on for 20 minutes to stop the bleeding, or the pain when we change her decub wound dressing daily. He sees the women who raised him, and loved him unconditionally.

I can't even imagine what your all going through. Good Luck, and be safe. Keep us updated if possible. We will be thinking of you all.

I would probably do the first hospital. Just from experience of living in snow country for a while. When your tired driving home after night shift is not a time to be off guard on driving in more difficult conditions. It could be a safety issue. If the first hospital is also one you are really interested in then get your foot in the door. It is easier to transfer internally. I took a job on a med surg unit which I do not like. I am currently trying to transfer to OB or L&D. My good costumer service, and reputation has the manager of ER trying to change my mind, and come to her unit. You never know what will happen, but with 19 months of acute experience I may have a lot of really amazing options that most nurses would love to have. It is exciting to have options, and be able to figure out what works best for me in the next phase of my career. Good luck ! I would also say follow your heart. You worked hard to achieve your nursing dream. You are truly blessed to have so many options as a new grad. Congrats !

I volunteered at my hospital that took me on as a new grad for 4 months twice a week, six hours each of those days. I did not get hired in the department I volunteered in, but another floor. I know I would have not gotten the job otherwise. I would highly recommend volunteering while you are in nursing school once a week. Work hard, and stay away from the gossip. I networked with all the right people. I got to know the CNO who ultimately got me my job interview. Only a few of my classmates and I got a job right out of nursing school in a hospital. Most went to SNF's or home health.

It is so far hear say. You have not seen that behavior going on with your two eyes. It probably could be considered slander if it ruined his career. I would not turn in someone without witnessing a behavior. I would stay out of it. Only report what you see with your eyes and ears first hand. This is still someones career that they worked hard to achieve. Give them the benefit of the doubt.

You never know what will happen with the office interview. It is always a good idea to make yourself more marketable. Especially in these horrible economic times. What do you have to loose besides a broader knowledge. I would not think twice about the training because you never know what the future may hold. You may go to the interview, and decide that that is not even a place you would want to work at.

We actually started a new system at my hospital. We have kardex, written report, and bedside report. I know it sounds like a lot. The evening shift has a form we fill out for each of our patients for pertient information like tests that were ordered, IV sites, Diet, Drains, Foley Catheters, etc.... There is also a large section were we write on what needs to be done on the next shift to be carried out. There is also a comment section for any other info. The day shift then writes what needs to be carried out the next shift on a minimized version on the backside. We all used to be there until 0800-0830 after a shift, and management made our whole hospital switch over. We all get out on time now. If we do not clock out by 0735 we get written up unless there is an emergency, or something crazy has happened on your shift to keep you over. I personally like getting home a little earlier especially if I have to be back the next night. We had some day shift nurses that would put everyone through the ringer, and make you seem like you were on trial. Mostly stupid stuff, and now if it gets out of control I can write them up as being the reason for clocking out late and they are the ones getting into trouble. We had a few notorious people everyone hated to give report to because it was like you were on trial, and they would always start out attacking even if everything was done correctly up to the point of report. I am thorough on my written report, and even have open check boxes I make next to the things that need to be done. It saves me a lot of time at report, and I know it is an excellent report. I spent my time on it when I have a bit of down time in our shift.

I have PCOS and have had fibroids. I use overnight pads, and ultra tampons at the same time. This may be TMI but just in case the tampons are not enough I have back up. You never know in our profession when an emergency comes up just as you were heading to the ladies room. Good luck. I know that it is hard.

If there was a pregnant co-worker on my unit, and she was assigned an iso patient I would offer to switch assignments if it was ok with our charge nurse. Especially if it was shingles/chicken pox, CMV, or TB. I would also hope if I were pregnant my co-workers would offer the same. Although I would do it for them either way. No Matter what it is nice to offer to help out each other. It makes for a better enviroment to work in. We should try and support one another.

I dressed in black pants, and a nice dressy sweater that looked nice. I also did hair, and make up professionally. I do not think there is a need to wear a suit. Just dress to impress.

Attractive does not = good nurse. Maybe it is the patients who feel better after having attractive nurses take care of them like some kind of placebo effect.

Hi ! I am a med-surg RN. I started out as a new grad at my hospial 20 months ago. I really want to go into L&D. I just came back from 3 months of medical leave due to an injury that is now completely healed. I want to change departments, but wondering how long I should wait to try, and change departments. I have been taking continuing education credits, and have everything to be able to transfer. When I got hired at the hospital I was originally suppose to go to L&D but they wanted me to be in med surg for a year. I get along with the L&D director, and wonder how long should I be back before trying to change. I am not happy on my unit. Everyone is out to stab everyone else in the back, and it is truly a toxic enviornment. I am a good nurse, and my patients give me great reviews during patient rounds from the department directors. My director just got a promotion, and our department is further in limbo at the moment. I want to make a change before we get a new director, and who knows what will happen then or what the director will be like. I feel like I want to make the change while I know that I would get a raving review. I never signed a contract to stay at my department for a certain amount of time. Plus my old department director knew that my true passion is L&D. A part of it is having the courage to make the changes, and I do not want to look bad to my hospital or any others in the future. Any advise ?

Many nurses in So. Cal are having a hard time finding any nursing jobs. With a year or so experience you could then move on. I do not know the current going rate for LVN's in assisted living. I would consider it. Good Luck !

I think you tearing yourself up because you care about your work. I would not find any fault in that. I also think you would be hard pressed to find a nurse on here who has never made a spelling mistake on thier charting. Plus learning something new like computer charting while working on a unit can be stressful. I am not looking forward to that change in my hospital this October. You may see me starting to start discussions on computer charting then. I am happy for you that the patient was discharged.

I would take the 13 credits and focus on getting good grades. Like a few have already said gettting into nursing school is very competitive. Also if you are doing well you could volunteer a few hours a week at a local hospital, and I would recommend on a unit that may interest you in the future if possible. It will give you a chance to see if nursing is really for you, and look good on your resume. There are also forumns on here for people wanting to get into nursing school, and those that are already in nursing school.Good luck !

I would follow the advice given to you by the nurse at the clinic. Let your nurse and doctor know that your a little apprehensive about being in the ER. A good medical team will be sensitive to your need as well as take good care of you. Don't be afraid to ask questions. That's what we are there for. Good luck !

There are a lot worst mistakes you can make. Try not to worry about it. You are after all only human. It is more important you take good care of your patients, and avoid mistakes in that area. Count your blessings, and try and move on. If I am not sure I look it up on the internet for spelling.

At my hospital we have two VIP rooms. It is has hardwood floors, marble sink in bathroom, higher count thread sheets and towels, higher quality patient gown, bathroom amenities ie. name brand toothbrush and toothpaste etc.., nurse patient ratio is 1:3, concierge service, nicer food served on china and crystal glasses, plus meals for thier vistors, if they push the call light someone is there within a minute. This room goes to people who are willing to pay $500.00 per day out of pocket over the top of thier medical bills they are already accumulating, it goes to doctors and thier immediate families, administration, and when we have been lucky (depends on who is the nursing supervisior at the time) a nurse who works on our floor that has been admitted. Also it goes to patients who are really complaining too much, (way over the top whining if the rooms are available) so we get good customer service ratings. The last one ****** us off since a good amount of time that patient is in the wrong. Although the nursing ratio does not change for the person who has been whining too much. They are nice, but rarely used. Although a lot of people look at the rooms they are too expensive so they don't get them. We get major brownie points if we talk someone into becoming a VIP and paying. It is nice if you have 5 patients and you get knocked down to 3 patients. We also have a rule that if someone has an infectious disease like MRSA or C-diff they cannot be in one of those rooms. They are considered clean rooms. Hope this helps. I do not get the rooms often since we have a lot of asian patients at our hospital, and if you do not speak their primary language you will not get assigned to that VIP's room. All other rooms are fair game.

I agree with the through documentation using quotation marks. I would also be writing incident/event reports. Getting my department manager, CPS, and risk management involoved. This poor child. I cannot even imagine what parent in their right mind could risk harming thier baby after they have been educated. I would do anything for my child, and would never directly do something that a experienced NICU or Peds nurse told me could be harmful. I am sickened. I hope this child is ok. My thoughts and prayers are with this little precious one. Thankfully the baby has you to be his/her advocate. :heartbeat

I am so sorry. It is a horrible thing to have to go through. My Grandmother died a year and half ago. Her doctors believe she had colon cancer. Her previous PCP did not ever have her get a colonoscopy, and by the time her last PCP had her she had so many other health problems like CHF, and he was concerned it would do a lot more damage than good. I had the utmost respect and trust in her last PCP. With that said I was a new grad nurse who had not had a hospital job at that point. I was so focused on her symptoms, tests, labs, and medications that I realized I missed out on time with her. I wanted her to fight, and have everything done, as did my Mom. I was in complete denial. I was convinced that there had to be something we could do for her. At that point I had stopped thinking like a rational nurse, and acted like a concerned loving family member who did not want to lose her Grandma. I was human. Even healthcare/medicine has it limitations, and that is easy to forget. The lesson I learned is to spend as much time with her as you can. Do not leave questions unanswered. I know my Grandma loved to travel, but after she was gone I realized I wish I had asked her where her favorite place she ever went to. I would have liked to known, and visited there myself. I wish I had asked more questions about her family in Europe. I have to live with knowing I did not make the most of my time with her, although I was there almost every waking moment the last two weeks of her life. Thankfully the morning my Grandma passed she was still lucid, and we know it was a matter of time. My whole family got the oppurtunity to say goodbye, and have private conversations with her. I am thankful we did have that. She passed with all of her family at her bedside holding her hands surrounded by love. I wish you the best. I hope that you make the most of the time you have with her. My thoughts and prayers are with you, and your family.

Always follow your gut. It is hard being a new grad. You are always seeing new things, and may not always know what it is. It is overwhelming at first, but it gets better. I also know which of my co-workers who have my back and I trust. I have learned so much from them. There is a few I would never ask them anything. Never feel bad about paging a doctor no matter what they say, or what time of night it is. You are a patient advocate. The Doctors are paid the big bucks to wake up and call back.They knew what they were signing up for when becoming a doctor. I never feel quilty when it comes to the patient to call at any hour. I do try and call before 10 PM or after 6 AM if possible. I would never call for something like colace at 0200 when it can be handled in the AM, and in the mean time I can encourage fluids and prune juice. Sometimes when I am not sure if a doctor is groggy (which I completely understand) I will repeat lab values, test results, or vital signs if they do not seem to be respoding to something outside of the norm. Usually by saying "Dr. Smith... no orders... for the patient results of ..., and you will see them tommorow" ( I say this nicely, I know in typing it does come across wrong) I learned from doctors not comprehending a apical pulse of 133. Everything turned out ok, but it was stressful. I have had doctors catch on, and then order tests or medications.