sumoe

I don't have enough life-span to read all the comments. I suggest you evaluate what your priorities are. The saying is find what you love and do that. I found that I loved being outdoors and bicycling. The degree to work with those two loves is urban planning. I am currently working on my masters' degree in urban planning. Figure out what energizes you and explore that area for employment. It may not be high pay but it would be a start to get your life in a more appropriate direction. Ditch the BSN...you will hate nursing even more with more responsibilities. It seems to me you do not like being a nurse. That's okay! Maybe veterinarian medicine or DNR (Department of Natrual Resources) is more up your alley, like being a park ranger. Construction? There are a lot of jobs out there with similar pay that do not involve the total responsibility of nursing that earn similar pay. I am currently starting a craft-sewing business with several good products that I think will sell. I have just started that so have not made a profit, but the current knowledge is that I will have no profit for 2 years. That's okay. I still have my day job . It's up to your to be captain of your ship. And, in closing, I wouldn't want to work with someone who doesn't want to be there. Good luck!

[quote= Write those down! I have seen colleagues unable to work because they forgot one. Needless to say, that doesn't go over well. Don't "write them down" on paper, though. I made an excel sheet for mine, and even on that I leave a few blank spaces in the passwords, just in case. Keep it updated, too!

I find those "parking lot" debriefing sessions after work are helpful. We would sometimes be out there for a half-hour or more, just talking away about home, family, and maybe a patient or two, or the latest new policy to appear. Also, some of my co-workers and I just plan for a dinner once a month, just to be friendly in a friendly environment. It feels good to have their support.

I'm happy to say NCLEX wasn't even invented when I graduated! :thankya:

This is a terrible situation to be in, for sure. I don't envy you. I agree with Lamazeteacher, but this is hard to do (keep calm) when you are a newer nurse. I would go to the manager, maybe the director, for back up. I would also remind them that, even if this is a union job, the real contract is the paycheck. If she is not willing to do the job, she should not be getting a paycheck. PERIOD. Also, I would be there offering my help in turning, bathing, etc. It's harder for her to get out of the assignment when you are standing there waiting to help HER. You can also get a better assessment done at that time. Good luck on this. And, be careful. I hate to think this might escalate into a workplace violence scene. sue in south jersey

Agree with all of the above. Then add 1 year of Med-Surg before going into ICU, please! Lots to learn first, like charting, assessing, passing meds and watching for results/reactions, interventions, teaching, organizational skills and speaking with patients, families and physician/staff. We hired a "nurse" last year that was so untrained I actually checked to see if she had graduated nursing school and had a license! I had never done that before in all my years! Turns out she was a new grad, less than 1 year, but must have said she was an ER nurse before this job. Well, she couldn't read monitors, and didn't even know what a BUN/CR were or what they meant! I finally had to put in writing what I was thinking and hand it to my manager. Turns out the little ***** dissed me on her exit interview, that I was MEAN to her. Heck, I thought I was controlling myself very well!

I sure wouldn't want to be working in that kind of situation! It's great that a specialty has been learned, but aren't there limits somewhere? Should my patient's and my safety be pitted against someone else's common sense? I'm sorry that there has to be limits, but there must be limits on what is allowed. So many times my tech has run into the room because the patient is beginning to vomit, or moving uncontrollably...just a few steps ahead of me. Many times that help, that second pair of hands, is needed right then, not in a few minutes. Time for a reality check by everyone concerned.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-good-samaritan19-2008dec19,0,4033454.story this just scares me. if you stop to help someone in california, and they are injured as a result of your help, you can be sued! it's just a matter of time before this trickles across the states. this will certainly make me think twice before stopping.

excessive use of force. well, back in detroit here many years ago, a man who was fleeing arrest was finally caught, and it took 6 or 8 officers to wrestle him to the ground. he ended up with a broken leg. he successfully sued the city for excessive violence. in my mind, that fact that it took 6 or 8 big detroit cops to get him down speaks for itself. this was before tazers. i also have to add that in the level i trauma er i worked in for a while...sometimes the curtain would get pulled by the officers, then the "vic" would get really quiet...then the curtain would open. i have no idea.... :chuckle

Kevin, have you done your year of med-surg yet? It's really important to do this before going into such a technical specialty like ICU. BTW, have you thought of a larger city? I love Phoenix, but live in Michigan. Want to go back as soon as I can sell this house...may be in several years. Lots of variety, lots of different hospitals, and lots of geriatrics!

This board is very interesting to me. I am picking up that a lot of the discussions involve professionalism. I'm sensing that the younger nurses haven't really "got it" yet. Professionalism is about what the job requires, not what you require for yourself. This discussion of perfume at work should not be in question at all. The answer is No Perfume at Work. Period. You, the wearer, may think you have applied a light dose to yourself, but over time your nose cannot detect the scent, so you apply more and more. The rest of us can certainly tell! I don't have allergies or respiratory problems, but was in a movie theater recently when a lady sat down in front of me. Perfumed. Layer upon old layer of perfume. My eyes started watering, my throat became scratchy...but she was perfectly content. Before the advent of deodorant, perfumes were almost a necessity, but good old soap and water, and a good deodorant (unscented) are the most anyone should be using when working with patients. Remember also, that the perfume lingers on your winter coat, hat, and anything else you may have worn with the perfume, and can transfer to your uniform. Stale perfume? Yikes!

I'd like to say "call 'em on it" but that could be hazardous to your career! Show them the articles I posted and ask their opinion.

One more: http://www.schoolnurse.com/med_info/Fingernails_infection.html

Hair hanging down is hair that will need to be pushed back, out of the way. Having it up already preempts that need. Hair that has to be pushed back means that hands have to be cleansed, repeatedly. Not doing so would definitely be an ID risk. About fingernails, here's an article link: http://www.earthchangesmedia.com/biology/0324nailbacteria.htm Here's another full article... Nails over 3 mm beyond fingertip spread infections. (Health Care Worker Study).Bruce Jancin. Internal Medicine News 34.24 (Dec 15, 2001): p4(1). (245 words) Full Text:COPYRIGHT 2001 International Medical News Group SAN FRANCISCO -- Long fingernails spread nosocomial infections, Dr. Shelly A. McNeil reported at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Nails extending more than 3 mm beyond the fingertip are more likely to harbor pathogens and shouldn't be worn by any health care workers in contact with vulnerable patients, such as those with surgical wounds, catheters, or intravenous lines, according to Dr. McNeil of Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S. She measured subungual nail length for all five fingers on the dominant hand of 18 health care workers. She also swabbed the nail surfaces and collected subungual debris before and after use of an antimicrobial soap or alcohol-based gel, culturing the material for gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and yeasts on two separate occasions. All seven subjects whose mean nail length exceeded 3 mm harbored pathogens, predominantly Klebsiella species and Candida parapsilosis. Pathogens were recovered from 2 of 11 subjects with shorter fingernails. Mean nail length for health care workers with pathogenic organisms on their nails was 3.8 mm, compared with 2.3 mm in those from whom no pathogens were isolated. Hand washing with antimicrobial soaps and alcohol-based gels proved equally effective in removing pathogens from the fingernails of all subjects, regardless of nail length. But "in real life, hand washing may not be as effective at ridding nails of germs," Dr. McNeil said. Study participants were under observation while they washed and hence may have been more diligent than in everyday practice. Source Citation:Jancin, Bruce. "Nails over 3 mm beyond fingertip spread infections. (Health Care Worker Study)." Internal Medicine News 34.24 (Dec 15, 2001): 4(1). Academic OneFile. Gale. Eastern Michigan University. 24 Dec. 2008 . Gale Document Number:A81597006

I don't see a problem if they are already awake. But, are they on a schedule, and then awakened if they are asleep? That would be wrong. We do baths at night at the LTAC (long term acute care) I work at occasionally. Most of the patients are unaware of the time, anyway. I wait until closer to 5 a.m., though, since the lab people are going to come in and wake them up anyway.