TrudyRN

This has been my experience, too. We spend tons of money on people with little "promise" of ever being contributing members of society. I find myself more disturbed about it with each passing year, probably a result of my own increasingly harder times. No one hands me anything, I work for what I have, I support my family, i pay my taxes (angrily, bitterly, cursing those who steal from me and other peasants) and my bills, and generally live within my small means. Why, then, should taxpayers be burdened with huge expenditures on convicted criminals, the violently insane, the drug users and other non-compliants, etc? I guess we feel a Christian obligation to do so. I know Christians are to be merciful but we are also supposed to have some sense and be good stewards. Now maybe if we go get a fish with a gold coin in its mouth...

not real willingly but would have to consider the whole situation

not a wimp, just human; God bless you for caring about and for her. Try to do something restorative for yourself today.

Well, you run a risk of making the docs mad and your boss when you inform patients of stuff their docs don't know about or want them to know about. Calling in Social Work - also risky, unless this is normally done at your place. Not informing patient - risks your self-respect. Tough call, no easy answers. The first thing I thought of was hyperbaric chamber. Why don't her a'head docs inform her of this? It sounds like your husband has already done so, right? Aside from informing the patient and family that this treatment exists, what more do you think he should do? There might be other treatments, too - alternative med type things.

Always protect yourself. Apron, gloves, thyroid collar, dosimeter badge. Why take risks?

File an IR, keep a copy. They tend to get "lost". What if she gets sick later? They'll try to deny her WComp claim for her not filing an IR.

candy striper

I think you said it pretty well. Just say it calmly, without anger. Do NOT do his work. He sounds pretty lazy, arrogant, manipulative, and disorganized. And anyone who gets 3 weeks off at Christmas can just dang well stay at work and get his furniture delivered some other time.

BEst way to figure it out is to research job availability and the pay for these jobs, talk with real PT's and see what they say. Advantages: straight days, M-F; can work independently (be self-employed) Downside: not sure Best wishes in your quest for a good life. I believe you'll succeed.

It gets easier with time. What I have found to be best - the less said, in the chart or orally or in writing to ANYONE, the better. A doc taught me that and he is RIGHT. I used to chart every detail, as taught in school but he disabused me of this notion and I have never regretted it. You have no friends at work - remember that. Not your boss, the patient and family, your fellow staff - they are all out to wreck you - or at least make themselves look good, even if at your expense. Keep your mouth shut, your eyes and ears open. Be cordial but don't get close if you want to survive. It's hard and it's lonely but it works. Good luck on your new job.

The trouble with charting ANYTHING is that an astute reader of the chart, such as an attorney/nurse/paralegal/law clerk will pick up on it. They are trained to do exactly that, to look for exactly that type of note. Why say you called a doc if it was a routine dose? I just write "Pt. inadvertently received..., MD notified, client A&O x3, no new orders, etc." Chart VS. Why pussyfoot around?

Not picking at you, NJ, but you've only been working a year! There is a lot of bad stuff that you have not yet seen. I hope you never do but at least acknowledge that you are still pretty new at this dangerous profession.

Before reporting, try to come up with some solutions. I have found that bosses usually don't want to hear only problems. They want suggestions for solving them - suggestions for which, often, they will take credit. But, if you offer these to not only your immediate boss but also to her boss and on up the line, simultaneously, you might get credit. You might also expect trouble if you "report" to regulators. Be prepared. Have some back-up employment plans.

To the OP: the above comments about this one topic, what the minimum requirement to be called "RN" should be, reflects what the most basic problem is in Nursing - the lack of unity among nurses. If nurses were unified the way workers in other fields are, such as the Teamsters, auto workers, and other union workers, we could fight our enemies instead of fighting each other. The enemies are the employers who like to use us up and then discard us. Another major problem is the insurers. They have a stranglehold on health care, they just want to rake in premiums but never pay for anything. That causes hospitals, nursing homes, etc. to cut staff, such as nurses. Low staffing leads to all the other troubles, which are listed so well by The Commuter up above. Good luck with your project and with school.

it could be different in different states but I hope he is not responsible for anyone but himself and his own dependents. I think the insurers ought to pay - I know, what a concept!