floatRN

We have 2 options: a high deductible plan or more expensive POS plan. Both options have the same restrictions regarding which hospitals are covered.

I work for a hospital that is part of a large and growing healthcare system consisting of multiple hospitals. Currently, employees have health insurance through a large national health insurance company. We have coverage for any care provided by hospitals within the insurance company's network. We do get a smaller copay if we stay within our healthcare system. Starting in 2019, we will only be covered for care if we stay in a new "custom network." This new network consists of only our healthcare system as well as just a few other hospitals. Three very large nearby hospitals and many smaller community hospitals will not be covered except for life threatening emergencies. I think this is unfair to employees. It also seems very convenient that the uncovered hospitals are our biggest competitors. Does anyone else's employer do this?

I love Call the Midwife.

Can the extra nurse be given an assignment instead? That way each RN has fewer patients but acts as aide and RN for some of those patients? That was done occasionally where I work and it worked out ok.

At the hospital I currently work for, it is common to have one RN alone on a unit when the census is low. This RN would have 6-7 med-surg/tele patients. There is one CNA on the unit with her. Sometimes there is a secretary but not always. The nurse and tech have to call another unit in the hospital to request one of their staff to come cover breaks or to come do narcotic wastes etc. This is a burden on that unit to have one of their nurses be off the unit for 30 minutes to cover a meal break. I am an experienced nurse and am capable of caring for my patients. However, when I am in a patient's room, there is no one watching the telemetry monitors, I am the only one who can respond to a telemetry alarm. If I am in the middle of a dressing change or doing an IV, or if I am gowned up in a precaution room, I can't get out to check the monitors immediately. If both the tech and I are toileting or bathing a total care patient together, we can't respond immediately to a bed alarm or call bells. I have to rely on the secretary to stop fall risk patients from climbing out of bed. If we even have a secretary. I feel like this a dangerous situation. However, it has been going on for a long time and no managers seem to think there is anything wrong with it. Does anyone else have a similar situation where they work? Its this normal?

It took a full year before I started to feel comfortable with it. Now after 3 years, I am just starting to get the more difficult ones.

5:1 on days but usually only one tech for 3-4 nurses.

That doesn't sound fair. Everywhere I have worked Christmas day was the holiday. If you worked Christmas, you were off Christmas Eve. If you were off Christmas, you worked Christmas Eve. Every year it rotated. The holiday rotation would trump the weekend rotation. So even though the 25th and 26th is my weekend off, it is my turn to work Christmas so I have to work it.

I usually write them on the dry erase board in the room or I get an extra pen and leave it in the room and write vitals on a paper towel.

I try to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night, get a massage a couple times a year, go for walks or do pilates on days off, eat healthy, bring my own lunch to work so I dont buy junk in the cafeteria. I work 3 12's a week and rarely pick up extra time.

When EMS arrived, wouldn't they have asked why they were called? Doesn't EMS also give a report when they arrive at the emergency room? If one of the nurses reported the fall to the paramedics that did the transfer and they didn't pass that on when arriving to the ER, aren't they partially at fault?

What is a G tag? Is that a name bracelet? Anyway, don't beat yourself up about it. We have all made a mistake. We are only human. The patient wasn't harmed and you did the right thing, admitted your mistake, called the doctor. I doubt you would have trouble from the BON about that although I'm not an expert in that area. I'm sorry your manager is giving you a hard time over it. They will discourage other nurses from owning up to their mistakes by treating you harshly which isn't good. I'm sure this will make you even more careful in the future and you won't make the same mistake again.

I have seen alot of nurses texting at work. They will leave their personal cell phones right on their med carts and will text standing in the hallway where everyone can see. It looks very bad and unprofessional both to other staff and to patients and visitors. My managaer has sent emails saying it will not be tolerated but no one is enforcing it. No one really uses the computer for facebook etc at work because most sites like that are blocked. I have seen people on facebook on their phones though. It drives me crazy.

Maybe you are hungry and need to have a snack mid morning and mid afternoon. Maybe you are not getting enough sleep the night before. Do you wear your stethescope around your neck all day? I found that was giving me neck and shoulder pain, so I try not to wear mine all day. Have you had your eyesight checked? Maybe you are straining to see the computer? Just a few thoughts. Hope it gets better.

I have known nurses who worked 2 8 hour shifts and 2 12 hours shifts a week for a total of 40 hours.

Does your employer give you a hard time about this? I would love to use my own soap but we are only allowed to use hospital supplied soaps and lotions while working.

If you are putting inpatients in the hall, what is your nurse to patient ratio? We never have enough nurses scheduled to safely have all our beds full, never mind adding patients in the hall. Isn't that a fire hazard as well? We aren't supposed to leave empty beds in the hall due to fire codes. Sounds like a nightmare, hope this doesn't become a trend.

I have put signs like this up for a number of reasons. The patient has passed away and we don't want an unaware visitor to walk in without being told first, the patient has requested no visitors/only certain visitors allowed, the patient is sleeping and doesn't want to be bothered at that time, the patient is a staff member and all their coworkers stopping by on their breaks is too tiring for the patient etc.

When I call the customer service line for a company, I can tell when the person on the other end is reciting a script. It comes across as insincere and its annoying. I always was polite and respectful to my patients and I would sincerely ask them if they need anything before leaving their room. Now our hospital wants us to say "is there anything else I can do for you? I have the time." That sounds fake when I say it and I just can't do it. Besides, won't the patients notice if all the nurses say the same things all the time? They will feel like they are being cared for by robots. Why can't we just have natural, personalized interactions with our patients?

We have a few weekend-only RN's but they are not hiring any new people for weekend-only. I think they are trying to phase it out.

Date, name of nurse, aide and doctors. I also sometimes put the phone number for the kitchen, phone number for family, reminder to use incentive spirometer, time next pain med is due etc. Whatever I think is helpful for patient. Physical therapy will also put reminders for exercises the patient should do.

I've always wondered..If a patient requests a copy of their medical record from the hospital. Do they get a copy of all our nursing notes? I have seen some nursing notes about difficult patients that the nurse would probably not ever want the patient reading.

I don't feel guilty saying no. I need a life outside of work. I make plans for my days off and won't change them. If I'm free and want overtime pay, I'll go in but only if I am free. My employer doesn't feel guilty when they cut me for low census. They don't help me pay the bills when I get half a pay check because I got cut. So why should I feel guilty about not cancelling all my plans at the last minute to go help them? Enjoy your day off and don't answer the phone.

I had the IM vaccine. I felt very tired later that day and the next day and my arm was quite sore. A couple other coworkers also said they felt more tired than usual after getting it. A few people who had the nasal vaccine had a sore throat for a couple days. I haven't heard of any other effects at my hospital yet.

Did the person who called you know you were still on orientation? It was probably a night supervisor deciding who to cut and she might have seen that you were per diem and didnt know you were supposed to be on orientation. The communication between management is not good in my hospital and results in mistakes regarding who should be cut.