potatomasher

This should remind us of a wake up call that it's already becoming too much. Fresh grad nurses are not cows that they can harness to "run" their hospitals while the paid staff nurses do nothing. Well, not all but some. I had the same experience too while being a "trainee" for a local public hospital. The staff was sleeping the whole night shift while I administered medications, did IV follow-ups and did other nursing interventions. In the morning she woke up, brushed her teeth and then waited for the next shift to accept her endorsement. PNA wake up please. Is there a code of ethics too for this?

Thanks for sharing your information about this! :-) Jan

Hello all! It seems to me that hospitals in the Philippines are taking advantage of the nursing surplus. Every 6 months or so, there are thousands of nurses getting their degrees. A few of them get into hospitals, and if they do they get stuck in what I called the nursing volunteer limbo. Worse if it's only nurse trainee program. I heard that some foreign employers don't take credit of the volunteer/trainee nurse experience for qualifications. They want a paid job. So why can't hospital issue a certificate nurse volunteer staff? I see this kind of exploitation. The nurse volunteer works the same hours, the same liabilities and the same risks as that of the staff and yet they don't get any stipend let alone an allowance for their efforts and what's worse is that the hospital will only issue some sort of training certificate that in fact the nurse volunteer HAD functioned like the responsibility of the staff. Is there any organization that could address this "minute" and unspeakable exploitation? Should PNA address this problem? If not, what organization? Jan

Hello all, This coming November, I am planning to spend some time in Malaysia for vacation. I am right now working as a volunteer nurse in a local hospital (which means I am not bound by any contract whatsoever). Do I need to present a proof to the immigration officer in NAIA just to make sure I will come back to the Philippines? Last time when my aunt, en route to Hong kong in NAIA, she was not allowed to leave the country because she did not have any travel document, or some kind of authorization that she will travel outside the country. She is nurse working in the government hospital by the way. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks J.

Hi all, Does Saipan BON accept cash when renewing your license? Another thing is that I am planning to endorse me license to New York. Do you think I would benefit from sending the application for renewal and another application for endorsement as well in just one mail? I am confused where to start when I endorse my license to New York. Hilfe! J

85.4% NLE 75 items for NCLEX I think there is no exact correlation between the the NCLEX and NLE...I knew a lot of people who have high averages in the NLE but flunked the NCLEX. The NCLEX is more accurate in gauging the knowledge of the examinee because it customizes the exam questions for the examinee through critical tinking questions...the NLE is just a pen and paper exam and thus fixed.

Well human rights is quite broad. I think having laws pertaining to harassment of nurses in the hospital by patients or folks is a must. Nurses do need protection. And nurses are not superhumans that can take up any kind of insult. They have feelings. I was irked by an incident lately. A folks of the patient got irritated because the nurse trainee prescribed the betadine paint instead of betadine solution. So here goes the folk of the patient looking for the nurse who prescribed the medication (thankfully she was in another area). And then started saying bad things. I mean they have the right to demand but not give insults. Just because these people pay for their healthcare they cannot just insult any person in the healthcare team. So I think by having an anti-harassment law will untilmately give a check and balance to this issue.

Hello! I would like to know if there is a Philippine law that protect nurses from the unnecessary harassments by patients and/or their families in the hospital. I am quite aware that are nurses we should accept what patients and their families express to you but what if try are already crossing the line and verbally hitting you below the belt? Thanks Jan

If this bill passes and becomes a law, it will be a big blow for nurses. I think the best solution to the vast migration of nurses (and doctors), is to give them a decent pay. Why not go to the root of the problem and find a solution there? It's just easy for our lawmakers make this and that bill without ever thinking and considering the implication and the complications as well. Bottom line: Give nurses better pay and we'll stay! :-)

Your school is not crazy or something. Just abide with the rules. It's part of the discipline which will come handy someday. No matter how ridiculous it seems, take is as part of the training. As what one of my college professors said: "Forgive me if I made your day gloomy, but it's part of the training." And sure he was 200% right.

Well, nurses who are desperate will go to other countries even though they're quite aware that their status of work there will be much lower than what they earned in college. Sorry but it's not my cup of tea...I'd rather wait for some better opportunities than jumping into some "dangerous" waters.

I don't mean any offense on the Filipino culture but I do think that culture plays a big role to this kind of behaviors in the clinical area. I have noticed that these Sairy Gump nurses get insecure of the nurse trainees' potential that they throw all sorts of bad stuff at them. Sort of crab mentality issue I think. And I am not surprised that the nurses who do this are the ones who are still working here in the Philippines...stuck for good. The best and good ones are already gone in other countries. We are left of rotten apples.

I know everybody knows about these kind of nurses who feel like some kind of god/goddesses of the ward--unfriendly to trainees, unapproachable, treating their trainees like slaves or cows, blaming their trainees for the mistakes they made, gossiping, and other unprofessional acts. What I hate about most is that they disrespect their nursing trainees. thinking that they belong to the pedestal and they could easily crush the people under them...insecure perhaps? How do you feel about them? What steps have you taken to tactfully counteract their behavior while maintaining a professional contact?

The highest BP I've read from a patient was 210/130... :S

Flash cards are great. It comes very handy when you are going to a long trip or something (even commuting back home). However aside from flashcards, I would also suggest you get those all Q & A books (with rationale) and answer them. It really helps even when you just answer 100 questions per day as it gauges your improvement in answering NCLEX-RN questions. :-)