LDJRN

i'm not quite sure, but the way my supervisor talked when she fired me, probably.

yes, they're all otcs. otc protocols are outlined for the patients, but i don't know about for staff.

okay..this is a long story shortened, but i'll relay all the pertinent information. i've been a nurse for 8 years. i was recently fired, and now i'm worried i might lose my license over the same stupid lapse of judgment. a few weeks ago, one of my cnas was constipated and complaining. we were already short and she was going to go home, also. i gave her a brown cow (prune juice and milk of magnesia) and some mineral oil. that's the first thing we give to patients and i didn't stop to think i was "prescribing meds" for her and practicing above my scope of practice. one of the nurses working with me reported this to my supervisor and called state herself. i got fired and now i might lose everything i've worked for over a brown cow. i'm just worried and anxious, now. has anyone else had anything like this happen? please don't judge or talk down at this time, i don't really need it, right now.

okay...this topic leads me to another question...i work 12 hour night shifts on the weekend, so the nurse i give report to is the same nurse i get report from when i return. the nurse i usually get report from is... well, i just don't trust anyone's assessment but my own (you know what i mean? exception: "hey, come give me a second opinion on this?"). i rarely give my assessment findings in report when they're different. is this wrong? lord, save me. i'm so evil...

okay this story was relayed to me by a coworker as it happened on a night i was not there. doors are locked after 8pm, so everyone needs to have an access card or be buzzed in. unfortunately we have no security that watches the front doors and every floor can buzz people in. a guy dressed like a maintenance employee was buzzed in, went up to our floor and went into several patient rooms and stole an indescript amount of money. after he got on the elevator, one pt came into the hall screaming that he'd stolen her money. the nurses called the moonlighting sheriff and he arrived on the unit. the guy was leaving in a taxi at this time. somehow, they got the taxi stopped before it left the property. the guy, unfortunately had drugs on him and did a stupid thing. he swallowed them...and coded. had to be hospitalized and under arrest in one night. this story happened to me. i was working the 2-10 shift in an ltc facility on the "medicare unit". we had 26 patients, 2 nurses, and 3 aides; all women. mind you the nurse working with me was a tiny little thing. there was one pt a recovering crack-addict who had since become a preacher. he was out on pass for most of the shift and came back with a lot of nicks in his head. we were told to watch for this with him by his family, cause he used that way (wierd!). well, he was acting very strangely; so we searched his person. he had a pretty good sized pocket knife on him, so we ended up searching his room. this dude had a loaded gun in his night stand drawer! we ended up calling the don, and 911. needless to say, he left that night. only, they just confiscated his weapons and let him leave in a taxi. all i could think was "thank you, lord." he could've shot all of us that night.

i wish i hadn't laughed or even smiled, but i tend to laugh in situations like that. dumb habit; i know. i like your response- just giving him the raised eyebrow and his pills. thanks again, everyone:) . you all have truly been a great help. hope that i don't have this guy (again) this weekend.

i'm not entirely sure. but where i work (at a nursing home/rehab facility in texas), after the insurance stops paying 100%, there's a co-pay and they bill either weekly or bi-weekly. but that's here. i agree with another poster, speak with the social worker at that facility and see what other avenues can be taken. hope all goes well.

first, i want to say thank you all for your replies. :icon_hug: i wish more people would realize that color/race isn't the big issue in the world. that would be too much like right, though. especially being in the south. this isn't the first off-handed comment ever made to me; been in this field way too long for that. i've had worse remarks than this made. i'm super sensitive, but none of my patients snide remarks/comments have ever gotten to me like this. this is the only one that's bothered me for this long. i think the reason it's sticking to me is because i'm ticked at myself because i feel i didn't react properly. i have a great circle of "mentors", and all of them say go to the nm. i just don't want to seem like a tattle or like i can't handle things on my own. i'm sure most of you know what i mean. i don't think it made it any better when the guy tells me saturday, "you know i like black girls"; i just said, "oh, is that right." then to top it off, he came to my med cart to talk to me sunday (with his daughter, her black husband and her grown, mixed children in tow) and tell me how he used to be such a redneck until his daughter got married and pregnant. lol. this guy is no where near demented; we hardly get dementia patients (except for in the hospice rooms). anyway, thanks all. i'm getting an aromatherapy massage and reiki treatment later today, maybe then this will go away. lol

this happened to me friday at work, and i still cannot figure out a way i could've reacted differently to this. i've never had anything like this happen at work, so i was stumped as to how to chide this guy and be professional in every sense of the word. here goes: i work fri-sun 7p-7a on a sub-acute unit. one of my patients was sitting in the common area speaking to another patient (they are both white males), when i took his pm medication to him. he then tells the other patient, "i like these black nurses. they do what they're supposed to do like good girls. they're so caring and loving; unlike those white ones." the other patient then agreed to this, stating, "yeah, some of the best nurses my son has are black" and mind you his son is one of the doctors we use most. i took offense to this, because that's a freaking generalization and i felt it basically relegated black nurses to a "mamie role"; but i was willing to let it slide. until my patient stuck his feet in his mouth and stated, "you see, what it is with these black women is that they have such sorry black men that when they see us white men, they just want to love all over us." this made me :angryfire (flaming hot mad); but i just laughed and told him, "i don't think that's what it is". i had the same patient assignment all weekend, but i had to mentally distance myself from this guy. whenever i had to do something patient care wise with/for him, i took someone else with me and i basically spaced out mentally; not the best patient care, i know. i wanted to address this with my nm and ask how to best handle situations like this, but i feel it's best if i just let it go. what do you guys think; i.e. what should i have done to let him know he was being offensive (and remain professional), and should i speak with my nm regarding this? thanks.

We typically just put some heel lift/suspension boots on the pt and just monitor the blister. Or we apply a foam dressing, so that if it bursts, all the yick is absorbed.

lizzie, congrats and welcome to the wild wide world of nursing! it's true, every nurse does have those days...I don't think they ever stop occurring. is this unit clerk your age or older than you? if so, I had this same problem with my uas/cnas at first. sometimes, people feel like you shouldn't be able to tell them what to do for whatever reason. in my experience, they tend to stop behaving that way when you "prove" yourself to them. it was very hard for me to delegate at first, because I tend to avoid confrontation at all costs, and my aides were aides that I worked with prior to getting my license; but I realized that I couldn't do my work + everyone else's and stay healthy and sane. I've just always thought "we're all adults, you know your job, I shouldn't have to tell or ask you to do something you should already be doing". it took me a while, but I think with more confidence, comes more assertiveness. and you know "fake it, til you make it" is actually good to live by, now. just make sure you don't cross the line between assertive and aggressive. good luck!

you know, i truly empathize with everyone here. i was "burnt-out" about 2 1/2 years ago. i was in my last rn semester, working as the evening lvn charge on a "medicare unit" (20 sub-acute patients and 20 ltc patients). i'd usually be the only nurse on the floor and those would be the days the higher-ups would leave early (on their way out of the door, they'd say, "call us if you need anything") and i'd get slammed with 2-3 admits (most which weren't even evaluated by a nurse before being accepted). no time for lunch, potty breaks; heck, i smoke and most days i'd work my 8 hours without a cigarette. management/administration were real piranhas; a very cut-throat/hostile environment. i was very bitter and needless to say, usually hyped up on phentermine (between working 40+hrs/wk and going to school full-time with a full-time clinical preceptorship in pp, i was running on fumes 24/7). this was me, every friday night after work: :biere:. i can say that i'm content where i work, now (a different facility, thank you, jesus). not happy; because it's not the area i feel i'm called for; just content. i let my job and disgruntle-ment towards it take over my life; nothing could've made me happy. now, i've come to realize that it's just about the same every where you go, and that being bitter was only hurting me. we all have bad days (i.e. 3-4 nurses when we're supposed to have 6, no aides, etc), but what can you do (excluding leaving) besides suck it up and handle it like a big girl/boy? it helps to have co-workers (on your shift, especially) that you can at least semi-trust. anyway, i hope things improve for all who are having these problems, now. everyone hits a rough patch now and again; you navigate through it and keep going. not trying to sound preachy, people; i just think if you're called to do something, you'd be able to deal with these things.

amen and amen. lol

there are a few prereqs for lpn, but you could take them simultaneously with the course-work. that's not recommended, though. i suggest that you first apply to the community college, then go speak with the head honcho of the nursing programs. s/he could give more specific advice to you. good luck!!

x2. :icon_hug: