clemmm78

Many nurses work part time in one place and in staffing agencies during their off hours. Nothing greedy about that. The only issue is if the staffing agency sends you to your part-time place of work.

Does it specifically say it has to be *your* photo?

I'm not young but I like to live my life on days off too - just sayin' I'm always a bit surprised by new nurses who are afraid they'll fall asleep working nights. When I did work nights, we were too busy to sit down for more than five minutes, let alone fall asleep. I advise holding off on the caffeine, red bull and all that stuff. While it does take time to get used to it, why put all that garbage in your body and make it worse for yourself when it is time to sleep?

uh no. We had to learn, yes. But I was not about to allow someone to start an IV in me for practice. I know how much it hurts, no matter how good the nurse is at starting IVs. We didn't learni n school but were taught in the hospital where we ended up working. We had - and this was almost 30 years ago - very realistic models on which to practice and we weren't allowed to do it on a patient for the first time until we had it down pat on the model.

Having worked more holidays than I can remember, I feel that too many nurses make themselves miserable over this. Who says celebrating Christmas or Thanksgiving has to be on that particular day? The only time, in my mind, where it's not movable is if people are coming from out of town and can't adjust their schedule at all. But really, it's an arbitrary day that was picked on our calendar. yes it's nice to be home when we want to be, but that's the nature of our work. Someone has to work and sometimes it's us.

One of the best approaches when something like that is to say innocently and very incredulously: Now why on earth would you do that? (after the bed incident) Why are you yelling at me like that? I'm not quite sure why you're speaking to me like this - why are you? Did you really just say that? Why did you just say that? You get the idea. You'd be surprised how well this works. They expect you to cower, they want you to argue. but if you respond like that, this, they have absolutely no idea what to say in return.

I have a feeling you'd have a difficult time finding a doctor show you how to give an enema!

We always had one staff member assigned to come in a half hour later and leave a half hour later so he or she would cover the call lights. It didn't matter what your title was, RN, assistant, whatever. If it was your turn to cover, you covered all the lights. Period.

Thanks for the comments. I don't take the line personally. I just find it funny that *women* blame women for bad environments. It's as if the woman doing the blaming is perfect but the other women around them aren't. That's all.

what I don't understand about the "call back later, closer to the shift to let me know if you still can't come in" mentality: When I called in sick several hours before my shift because I was sick, I would then go to bed and try to sleep as much as I could - after all - that's how we heal, right? So if they think I'm going to set my alarm to wake up if I've finally fallen asleep or I'm going to grab for my phone in mid-vomit to let them know that "yes, I am still sick," then they're nuts. Not only that, if I'm scheduled to work day shift on Tuesday morning, but I was sick as a dog all Monday evening until the wee hours of the morning, even if I do feel physically better by start of shift Tuesday, do they really think someone who only had three hours sleep because she was puking until 3 a.m. would be effective at work? By the way, I'm of the "it's none of their business what I'm sick with, I'm sick" way of thinking.

You know, I've lost count of the number of times I've read this comment (just read it a few times in another thread). What I don't get is most of the people (if not all) who write this are women themselves. Does this mean that the women who write this comment are better than all other women? Does this mean that if they were in charge, the other women they work with wouldn't want to work with them? I know that these forums encourage complaints and that sometimes we write things we don't really think, but this comment is way too common and is said out loud. You know what is going to solve this problem? If we stop blaming difficult work conditions on "working with women" and blame it on what it is: working with difficult people. I've worked with both men and women. Some great people in both groups and some horrid people in both groups. I believe that some people should grow up and stop blaming "working with women" as the root of all problems in nursing. Sheesh.

am I the only one who doesn't care for automatic BP machines? At one place I worked, the nurses depended on them so much, even using the results for the heart rate. How can you tell the quality of the pulse if you never feel it? The machines don't tell you if the HR is irregular or difficult to feel. And I've had my own BP taken with a dynamap and there's been a significant difference between that and having it done manually.

That's what alcohol swabs are for.

It often depends on how you expect to be treated. Because of this "nurse eat their young" mentality that so many nurses buy into, many new grads come in with a chip on their shoulder, acting like "no-one's going to mess with me just because they have more experience." To say that that the older nurses react to that attitude is a reality. Case in point: when I worked in the hospital environment, I was very mindful of the need for new grads to learn and grow in a positive manner. For this reason, I didn't run off and report every mistake I found unless they were clearly serious issues. I would correct the mistake and the next time I saw the nurse involved, I would take her aside and quietly explain what I'd found and how I'd corrected it. For the most part, a quiet explanation, away from everyone else, led to the newer nurse appreciate being told what happened and that the mistake was fixed. Rarely did the nurse make that same mistake. One time, a new nurse transferred a patient from one room to another. This patient was on constant suction and the machine was moved with the patient, as was the other equipment. When I came on shift (evenings), I took report and then went and checked my patients. Oddly, this patient had no drainage. Very unusual for him. I checked the machine. It wasn't on, despite it being in the on position. I checked and, sure enough, it hadn't been plugged in after the move, several hours earlier. The cord was still wrapped around the holder. I plugged it in, suction began, patient started feeling better, vitals were fine, so I went on my merry way, keeping a close eye on him. The next day, I approached the nurse and off to the side, told her what had happened and said something to the effect that perhaps she forgot to plug it in. I told her that I have that as part of my checklist when I move patients. She got quite upset and vehemently denied forgetting, saying that she knew she plugged it in and checked it before she left. It must have come unplugged when I moved the patient or the machine when I checked it. I calmly explained that the cord was still wrapped around the holder. She still insisted that she plugged it in. Now, this wasn't the first time this nurse had made errors, as we all do from time to time. Do you think she thought I was nasty? Very likely because I began watching her like a hawk. A nurse who doesn't accept responsibility for errors is a very dangerous nurse.

Most advanced practice nursing programs require a few years of experience first.

Sinus pain = taking something for it. Anyone who has ever had sinus pain will tell you it's not fun. I always take ibuprofen for sinus pain, even when I have a sinus infection until the antibx kick in and relieve the pressure. Not sure what your question is.

More times than I can recall.

I've been a nurse for over 25 years and it was only when I began reading Allnurses that I ever heard "NOC." I just can't use the term. I worked nights.

Have to agree with the others and I wouldn't want to toilet a patient in the same room as someone is waiting to have a shower. As the RN, I would have toiled the patient and gone on with my day.

You are welcome Flatbelly. The trick is to filter out the misinformation. There is a lot of it, unfortunately. Good luck!

Looking at it as "ratting out" doesn't help. I never understood that. If something is wrong and it needs to be reported, that's what needs to be done.

Originally Posted by Back2Nursing09 Speech Pathology sounds interesting.Right now,the job isn't looking so good for SP's....at least where I live. Why the focus on your area? there are many jobs that are not available in many areas. That's why moving vans exist.

I used to work with a nurse who charted like this, and I'm not exaggerating; "I went down to see the patient who rang his call bell. Mr. X asked me if he could have something for pain. I went to the medication book to verify what his pain medications were and what his options may be. I noted that he had received a pain medication (name of med) only two hours ago but he did have XXX ordered for breakthrough pain. I went back down the hall to ask Mr. X if he wanted the breakthrough medication and he said that he did, but he also wanted some ice cream. I got him the medication and gave it to him, orally as per the order, but I had called the kitchen and they had no more ice cream. When I told Mr. X that we did not have ice cream, he asked if he could have jello instead....." I swear, I'm not making this up. So, if you chart anything like this nurse, YES, you are charting too much. What would I have charted? Pt requested pain medication, rating pain on X/10. Regular pain med due, breakthrough med (name) given at pt's request. Also requested ice cream but non available. Given Jello and is now resting quietly.

That was my reaction when I read the question. Considering why synthroid is given, it's a natural that it would speed up things.

I'm in Quebec - just be aware that many times people who don't live and work here tend to weigh in with misinformation, so be careful about who you take advice from in general. The rules haven't changed over the past several years but sometimes it is tiresome. When you hear things like "not available in Quebec," this is at times due to language laws, but sometimes it's because of other issues. For example, many times if I want to enter a contest, it's not for people reside in Quebec. This has nothing to do with language but because we have a requirement here that if you run a contest, you have to put a deposit down with the gov't agency responsible for gaming. This was done ages ago because unscrupulous companies would run contests but not actually have prizes. So, just beware of what you are told is language-related and may be just Quebec quirks, if that makes sense. Regarding working as a nurse in Quebec. Our RN exam is very different - some people criticize it very heavily because it's not the traditional computerized fill-in-the-right-answer type of exam. Part of it is hands-on experience. Actors are hired to play the roles of patients and you are evaluated on your clinical performance and decision making. These exams may be taken in English or in French. They do not have anything to do with the provincial French exam though, which all professionals must take, not just nurses. The provincial language exam is very difficult and it's often wondered that if French educated nurses took it, would they pass? But, as it is, many, many English nurses do pass it an many are far from what we would call fluent. There are some tutors and programs that are geared for this exam, if you want to go that route. It used to be that you could work as an RN for a few years (can't recall the number) as you are studying for your French exam, so you don't need to have it immediately. You do not need a degree to work as an RN in Quebec, but movement up the ladder is often quite restricted without one. There are many "English" hospitals in Montreal: Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital (good place), Montreal General, Royal Victoria, Montreal children's, St. Mary's, and so on. The difference between the French and English hospitals is you must chart in French in the French hospitals and you may chart in English in the English ones. In the English-based hospitals, you come across many patients who don't speak English, that is why the French is necessary. If you can, immerse yourself in French. It's the best way to learn. Perhaps move to a more francophone part of the city. Some have a more English flavour than others. Sign up for French conversation courses as well as traditional French courses. If you have any particular interests, such as painting, dancing, whatever, try taking those courses in French. If you are working on something you enjoy doing, it's easy to pick up the language as you learn. Good luck. As much as some people like to put down working in Montreal and Quebec in general, it really is a fun place to be. No place is perfect - but we like it, warts and all.