MAP1

I had a pt once while I was working in ICU - put his call light on to ask if Iwould call 911 because he was very sick - ya gotta love it

LTC - very difficult nursing - elderly pts, constant interruptions and way too many meds / Organization is key - prepouring is vital /I also found it very depressing

THe first thing I would do is let him know legal action is being started and let him sweat alittle - then If he touched me again I would call the police

Nurses did not do as much technical stuff as now but in someways I think they were given more respect. With the price of medical care nowadays patients want to be waited on - They see us as waitresses because so little public relations is done for nursing. They do not have a clue as to what we do. One time I had a very difficult patient - up and down to the bathroom and unable to move by himself so for 12 hrs I helped him do many things that day and at the end of the day he said to me - Nursing is so easy = I am surprised there is a shortage. I was thinking - you don't even realize how difficult caring for you today has been- oh well

HI, i have worked in LTC on occasion and have found it very difficult nursing. If one thing goes wrong (pt seizure ) it could throw your whole day off. The amount of medicines for each pt can be overwhelming. I also was doing treatments and charting and everyother thing that came my way. I admire nurses who work this specialty.

Practice is what is necessary - also flick the length of the vein to get it to be more visible - and good luck

Sometime you see the kind of parent the person was when no one shows up at the bedside. It's sad but true.

ASPAN standards are just suggestions they should be rules. People never realize that the PACU is a very critical room. Even outpatient PACU and especially with children. I work in an outpatient PACU and this is a policy in our facility to have 2 nurses to 1 child and I appreciate this staffing ratio since children and family require attention. Hope you get can get this straightened out. You can get a copy of the Standards and at least present them to your nurse manager as a starting point. Sometimes we make it look too easy so they think you need fewer nurses - reinterate what you do as far as assessment and teaching etc. Good Luck

Hi, while working in CCU I had a patient that I worked with for 10 hours. We swaned her, Aline , many IV drips etc. In the 11th hour she died. Her cardiologist came in and said we could disconnect her from everything -vent, Aline, Swan - He was going to call the daughter in California and inform her of her mothers death. As I was removing everything another nurse came in to help me - she said "I think she is breathing" - she was , I quickly put her back on the monitor and she was in sinus rhythm - and breathing . I told the cardiologist who had just spoke to the daughter that she was back. we retubed her, replaced swan and Aline - he called the daughter who said she was coming. Early that next morning she arrive at the hospital went to see her mother who had been unresponsive before and her mother opened her eyes and squeezed her had and then died. the daughter said when she received the news from the doctor she dropped to the floor and begged God to let her see her mother once more. We were all freaked out about this and I have never seen anything like it before or since.

Hi, my best advice for you is to not discuss anything personal to an inmate. You would be surprized how much you can accidentally allow out in conversation. Stay strictly professional. Watch where you park your car -stay out of view from inmates when coming and going - otherwise best of luck and I am glad you are enjoying the new position

Hi, I think you should when you can give notice but when nursing is so bad that you feel your sanity is at stake - LEAVE - I found out the hard way that an institution holds no loyalty to it's employees - it's big business - so when you are pushed to the edge leave - Nurses are often not treated as professionals so the statement where -no notice is not professional- sometimes does not apply

Hi, I was going to say also - everytime fill out an incident report and tell other nurses working there todo the same and maybe something will be done when they realize this could cost them (hospital ) money -they have to address the incident reports and mention this casually when the state comes around - it could help

Hi , you need an attorney = fast. you need to scare them alittle- this sounds way overboard for what happened - you were with a complicated situation there and that has to be taken into consideration but also protect yourself from furthur assaults

Nursing - the biggest problem in our profession is the lack of respect - this is because no one understands our job. Shows such as Grey's Anatomy and House - never show nurses in critical roles. We all know how impossible it would be for the Docs alone to care for the patients but on TV that is what you see. Docs standing around a patient with many IV drip and on Vents and no nurse in the room. This is rediculous but the people who watch this do not see the exteme value of the nurse at the bedside. Errors occur - human nature - but short staffing and long hours certainly makes it easier to err

HI, I think what you are feeling is normal. Most nurses leave nursing in 5 yrs and right now the mean age of nurses is 47. This should tell you something. Nursing can be extremely difficult and not as respected or as well paid as it should be. Don't be afraid to try some other job in nursing but give this one a little longer. It can be a real culture shock at times. Hope you find happiness.