DeepFriedRN

I agree with moonflower.. Discuss the issue with your hiring manager. But if you think that getting your foot in the door is important- it may actually be worth it for a while- in most places after about 6 mos you can transfer- perhaps you could find a job with 3 12's then. Beyond that- in another 6 mos you'll have the year of acute experience most hospitals are looking for.. And then maybe somewhere closer to home? Otherwise the weekend thing might work. If you don't want the job though- definitely let the manager know ASAP. You don't want to burn any bridges...

It's a tough job, stressful in it's own way (case loads, meeting metrics, etc..). However, that said, on the plus side a mistake doesn't have the same degree of seriousness that you would find when working bedside-i.e no one dies. I find that many nurses that I work with work more than 8 hrs a day in order to meet the required # of cases.. But no weekends, no holidays. It's got it's good and bad. I am finding that in terms of job satifaction-I personally MISS working with pts. I don't know, just kinda feel like I'm pushing papers around a desk (virtually, lol) just like I did before becoming a nurse. Honestly, it's not my favorite job.

One day I ws talking to my dtr (she's 16 now, was about 14 then), about how burned out I was feeling at work. And with the wonderful sarcasm that she inherited from me, she looked at me, rolled her eyes, and said "you're way past burned out, Mom. You're deep fried!" Hence the name..

Yup, me too. Weird, the things that bug people...

You know Ruby, I only have 8 years under my belt, but when I first started, there was a lot more team work. I'm in CA, where there are ratios. As such, since nurses on tele have "only" 4 pts, admin assumes CNA's and LVN's are not as necessary. So 31 bed unit, 2 CNA's. (and per the union contract, they only have to take 6 patients each) When I started (before ratios), I had 6 patients, 4 of whom would have an aide (4 aides on the floor). With 2 sets of hands, things moved quickly and efficiently. Now, it's pretty much every man for himself. I miss the old days. We are creating nurses who don't feel the need to step up and offer help to anyone. The basic care that pts deserve is getting sidelined. Yes, we have to monitor tons of stuff, but it takes approximately 15 minutes to bathe a pt if there are 2 people. I hate to think that pts go 3-4 days without basic hygiene. How would each of us feel if we had to go that long? I miss teams. They made for better care, and better nurses.

((tait)).. A horrible and gut wrenching situation. My heart and prayers go out to you and your family. May you all find the path that leads to peace for your Grandma, and for all of you.

Agree with the above.. It's not that you were necessarily wrong or anything.. But I also agree with those that said looking at the trends in a case like this is important. On the other hand, good for you for paying attention to blood levels and such when administering meds! That's the makings of an excellent nurse.

The other day I was looking for a phone number online for a friend. So I look the guy's name up, and along with the phone number, it had his complete address, and a map showing his house. Now, I have a unique name, and so I looked up my number too. Sure enough, there was me, with a map to my house and all. So no, I'm not letting any one take a picture of my badge, and they can't have my last name unless they ask my manager for it. I'll give them my first name and my credentials, that's it. I work in a gang infested area, take care of a lot of gangsters, and I'm not having any of them or their ticked off family members looking for me at home.

Agree with the above, first thing I thought of was diversion.. She has others remove the meds and in doing so avoids a paper trail (or computer trail, I guess). However, if she is having you give them also, maybe it is an issue of sanction. The next time she asks, just tell you will be happy to walk her through using the machine if she's having trouble (on the off chance that maybe she is just having trouble with it), or just ask her why she is continually unable..but don't do it for her. And give a heads up to your manager. It probably needs to be addressed.

Agree with the above..You are hanging your behind out there writing out things about a patient you have not assessed, and she's hanging her behind out there assuming you have written the correct info on her patient. A lawyer would have a field day.

I'm so sorry this happened to you.. You aren't over-reacting to the situation, because what happened would be terrifying to anyone. Rationally we can all know that with the PEP your risks are really quite low, but it's hard not be frightened anyway. I think the EAP idea is a great one, they will help you find a way to deal with your fears and anxiety. Prayers out for your peace of mind, and for your continued health.

I recall being told by a hospital pharmacist that the glass particulate can accumulate in the liver. I was taught to always use filter needles, but have met tons of nurses who have never used or heard of 'em. It's not a regional thing, either, because I went to one school in town and was taught to always use them, and work with a nurse who went to the other school in town and never heard of them.

Agree with the posters who say just give it-as it's ordered, within appropriate time frames, and as long as the pt is stable to receive narcs. When I first became a nurse this problem used to befuddle me too, until a wise nurse told me that acute care nurses are not in the business of detoxing patients; and that quite frankly the drug addiction is almost always a symptom of much deeper problems in the patient's life that we certainly aren't going to fix in the 4 days they're in the hospital. So try not to drive yourself crazy. Give them what's ordered, and be firm and consistent in your dealings with the patient. It's the only sane way to deal with it, really..

Thanks you guys. I realize thatI definitely have to hash it out. I guess it's just the whole politically correct direction that I have to take that's irking me. I'm used to the floor, where when you have an issue you just kind of duke it out right then and call it good. This whole picking the appropriate words and being careful about your approach is new to me, but I'll learn. I think I just needed to vent. Thanks for the words of wisdom and support. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

yeah, it's just one of those weird situations where they are on the same level but work for different entities... she asked me what she could do for me to help (as she could see I'm getting frustrated) but I'm kinda at a loss..sigh. I'm starting to miss the floor. Yes, it's that bad, LOL.

Hello all, been a while. But I have a "thing" going on at work, and need to hear from some of you who might have some more experience with this kind of thing. So I changed jobs, and now I'm working in an office/clinic type environment, in orthopedics. Learning new stuff, like most of the people I work with just fine. Here's the thing though. This is a hospitalist program. So we have most of the staff working for the hospital, and then we have the hospitalist coordinator, who obviously works for them. I am the only clinical person there (besides the MD's of course). Here's what I am coming across.. As it is a hospitalist program, these MD's have not CHOSEN to practice together, they are just thrown in together. Therefore there are a few who are CLEARLY not fond of one another, and aren't shy about the fact. Which is fine, but my problem is this. They are making it impossible for me to do my job!! For instance, one of my responsibilities is surgery schedules. Since MDs rotate through clinic, very often one will order and another will actually do the surgery. So I'll get the order, set it up, and inform the MD. More often than not, the MD will decide he's being "dumped on" ("why am I getting this one??") and so, instead of just calling me, will call the Medical Director, who then calls the coordinator, who will more often than not bow to the whining and change said surgery. And tell me AFTER the fact. So then, why is it you are having me do this stuff if you are just going to re-do it anyway?! I'm also finding that the coordinator kind of foments the bad feelings, by repeating to the docs what one has said about the other.. So inefficient, such a total lack of meaningful communication..There's a lot more crap, but this is already a novel LOL. This is a new program, and it's only been 2 mos. I consistently make attempts to deal with people directly to avoid this stuff but feel as though I am continuously circumvented by the coordinator..am I not giving it enough time? Is this kind of crap normal? This is my first job in a clinic setting, so maybe its just different and I'm not used to it yet. I just don't feel any "teamwork"..

It made me laugh that "high" vs. "elevated" was the best that they could come up with to make fun of you. Geez, pretentious much? Blow 'em off. You'll find those kinds everywhere. They make my head, and the head of every other self-assured nurse, hurt.

not a chief complaint, but when looking for a family contact/next of kin in the computer, found that someone in admitting had taken the time to put in "Noe, Juan" for next of kin. Heh, kinda dumb but still made me laugh.

To a certain degree I've got to agree with JoPACURN. A Nurse Practitioner is an advanced practice nurse. To me that implies that one should have the basic practice of the science down pat, and then expand upon that to become an advanced practitioner. I realize that that one can learn from a book what the symptoms of a disease process are, but without practical experience, how well will one be able to identify what the onset of those symptoms looks like in the real world? I haven't attended NP school, but I get the impression that there isn't a HUGE amount of clinical time involved. So it's safe to say that one should already have that knowledge. To me it just makes more sense. I'm not saying that all direct entry NP's are automatically bad at what they do, I'm just saying that it makes more sense that they would have a good, broad base of basic nursing knowledge to expand upon in an NP capacity.

I agree with morte, any agency who would take in and place a new grad on a floor is one that you should NOT work for. Nobody is saying that new grads are useless, and we aren't having an attitude with you. What I am saying, at least, is that as a charge nurse, when I have an agency nurse come in and work, he/she needs to hit the ground running. I will show you the supply room, the bathroom, the break room, where your meds are, and get you temp access to the pyxis. That's about it. You need to be able to go from there. And frankly, even if you were #1 in your class, there is no way that you are going to be able to get through the whole day solo, because you just don't have the experience. Inevitably there will be multiple situations that you are going to feel you need back up, because you haven't experienced them before. And when I have an agency nurse, that means staffing sucks that day. Which means that I will be very busy. So I don't have time to hold your hand and guide you through the day. Thats why you need to be experienced, it's not that we don't want you, it's just the nature of the situation. I feel for all you new grads who can't find jobs, and I don't have the answer. But you do NOT want to do that to yourself.

My deepest condolence on your loss.. Sounds like the world lost a good man. My thoughts are with you and your family.

or even further, to the house supervisor or whoever it is that does bed placement for admits..OP, hang in there. It's kinda scary sometimes, but it'll get better. The longer you're there the more you'll know. Like this, you'll know that you guys don't titrate drips on your floor, so if you hear that when you're getting report, you'll know to say "sorry, gotta call house sup, we don't do those." Try to chalk it up to a learning experience, and one where there was no harm to the pt, which are the best kind. Good luck.

Is there any way you could come off noc shift and try days? With the stress level being what it is for a new nurse, the total disruption of your internal clock could really excerbate all the anxiety you're feeling. I've not done nights, myself, but I know several new nurses who found that the anxiety level decreased somewhat for them in moving from nights to days just because they were finally resting. Night shift is HARD! (bless all of you nightshifters!) And if you're not person who is wired to do them, it could definitely make the perfectly normal (and it is normal, and very common) new grad anxiety unbearable. Just a thought.

I could be wrong, but I think that she was referring to the OP's needing to apply to that many jobs, yet still being unable to find a new grad position as being ridiculous, not the claim itself. That is, that you guys are busting your behinds looking, and after that many applications, OP still doesn't have a job. It is ridiculous, and no fault of any of you guys. My heart goes out to you all. Keep trying, hang in there. It will get better, things will loosen up and hospitals will start hiring new grads again.

I'm understanding you to mean that your friend is being mandated to take the shot, and prefers not to. Is there a specific reason she doesn't want it (like an allergy)? This is such a difficult issue, because on the one hand I totally understand someone objecting to being forced to take a vaccine, but on the other hand I completely understand the reasoning behind mandating vaccines for HCW who are working with high risk populations. These patients are already compromised/sick, and the flu is much more likely to potentially kill them. So for me, this fact outweighs any problem I might have with being told that I HAVE to get vaccinated. (Well, that and the fact that I would get the flu shot anyway..) I guess, unfortunately, she will have to choose which is more important to her: her job, or not backing down. Not really fair, I suppose, but a choice that more and more of us will have to make as an increasing number of hospitals mandate an annual flu vaccine.