tddowney

wanting to make a decent living and caring about pts are not at all mutually exclusive. in my experience, the people who do the best job in any field are those with the pride in doing a task well. that pride also carries over into wanting to be recognized as a true professional, and part of that recognition is a professional paycheck. many of the idealists tend to flame-out rather quickly. some become cynical and hang on. others leave the field and find something else.

Exactly. The Pt's choice has to be communicated to those that could follow/not follow it. In the magic world inhabited by lawyers and commissions, every caregiver can remember the code status of Pts with perfect accuracy, along with their fall risk, allergies, which arm has a new, immature AV fistula, etc. For a nurse on the floor, with 5 Pts that change every shift, such a world is laughable.

The first step is to find out about the clinical hours of the programs you apply to enter. Ask directly, and don't count on rumor or what their schedule was last year. Tell them your restrictions, since there may be changes in the works for future semesters. You want to know as much as you can in advance. The fewer suprises you have in school, the better. I went to an accelerated option program, and we had a choice of taking weekend or evening clinical hours for some rotations (peds and ICU mostly). At the end of the day, any nursing program is only able to offer the clinical times its faculty and cooperating hospitals, etc are willing to offer.

What do you mean by "dangerous?" Physical, emotional, financial? Like any profession, nursing has exposures to each of these.

You don't want to give any kind of statement until you have a lawyer with you. If you're suspended, it means your license as well as your job is at risk, plus the possibility of a lawsuit. A lawyer experienced in nursing issues will know your rights and help keep you from inadvertently providing ammo to the other side........and make no mistake; it is now an adversarial process. Unfortunately, even if you're completely blameless, you'll end up being out several thousand dollars unless you have good liability insurance. Don't let your emotions about that leave you vulnerable to even bigger losses by trying to go it alone.

I think you're describing a lazy nurse, not a nurse motivated more by money than love of the profession. In my experience, these sort of folks are just as unprofessional in any field you happen to be unfortunate enough to find them.

If I were an administrator, I wouldn't want to get into defining what it "tastefull and not offensive." That way lies lots of headaches and probably a lawsuit sooner or later. So, the policy I think works best is no tats showing. Simple, easy to understand and follow/enforce.

First of all, I'm not inexperienced or naive enough to believe the government will take care of anything. I've been an adult for 35 years, and I know the goverment talks a much better game than it ever plays. Like any good emergency responder, which I've been before nursing, I look to my own saftey first.......can't help anyone else if you're a Pt too. So, no PPE, then no me at work. Then it comes down to practicalities. Will going to work help or hinder getting food for my family? Do I have enough ammunition to fight off the other desperate people looting the grocery stores in order to get my share? I do think that as a professional, I have an obligation to be prepared and to have my family prepared so I can do my job in a crisis. That's the bottom line.

If I followed your post correctly, the Pt had gone more than 24 hours without food or anything to drink. No surprise that he's going to sneak something.

So, if you're sitting down, that must mean you're on a break, and don't need a real one, right?

In this case, it was nurses who came up with the hourly rounding. The idea is that it cuts down on call light use, and thereby saves nursing time. But, no doubt the researchers forgot to take into account all the documenting time.

Start with the complaints commonly seen on these boards. Nurse/Pt ratios, inadequate and shortened orientations, unhelpful or worse response from those with experience on the unit. The solution to these complaints is an organizational committment to nurses, not just new ones. For a start, make new employee satisfaction a significant part of the performance reviews of charge nurses, unit managers, and up the line. I'm a new grad, although with quite a few miles on me in other industries, and I work in transplant. For the record, I'm being given a very good orientation, despite changes in personnel in our unit. I very much enjoy my job. Sure, I feel stressed and dumb at times, but that comes with the territory of any new job. The thing is, I have people I can turn to. One thing often missing from this type of discussion is the part the newbie can play in enlisting the staff as friends, rather than critics. Be friendly, be respectful, never carry tales, and jump in and help with the mundane tasks without being asked. As a newbie I know I can't carry a full load, but I can make sure I do carry the load I can.

This is one of those paradoxes in life. Taking a break allows you to refresh your mind for a few minutes, grab a snack and a drink of water, tea, etc. You'll probably think better with some nutrients and hydration on board. The change of pace will let you think better, too. Taking time can actually save time. Give it a try.

Search your cart for the actual wood--no aluminum, please--Louisville Slugger Alex Rodriguez model bat you purchased for one of your family members. Remember to step into the swing............. A bit more seriously, as a practical matter all that stuff about assertive communication is probably 99% assured to fail in this situation. The individual who cut in line is aware of the anger and frustration his action will engender in those he's cutting in front of, and he doesn't care. Physical force is probably the only thing that will get him to the back of the line. Unless you're mentally and physically prepared to go that route, you're likely not going to reclaim your rightful place. OTOH, he'd be a good person to guard your place in line, right behind him, while you go the the bathroom. Sometimes you just have to make the best of the hand you're dealt. Life is stud, not draw poker.

If the pt does recover, he ought to sue not only the doctor, but also the family members who insisted the doctor act against the DNR. In some cases, some family member might be siphoning off grandpa's SSI or other retirement payments, and if grandpa is no more, then there goes the income. It happens.