huggietoes

Had this woman insisted vehomently that her husband with hx of CVA that lives in nursing home, walk to BR. Can not even sit up in bed without assist, she tells me that she will speak to my manager because I was denying her husband his rights. So I say O.K. get help and try to perform a miracle, the guy gets just to the edge of the bed and his legs buckle like jello, me and the PCA end up having to do a total lift to stop him from falling. Wife is p&*sed and fuming as I am picking my uterus up off the floor. I ask her how they walk him at the nursing home and she says "they don't, they claim they have to use the hoyer, but I know they are lying that is why I wanted you to walk him so I could prove them wrong but you people can't do anything right either" so I gently reinforced he will be transferred by lift to chair and to bed no more walkies. What the???????????

Thanks so much for your heartfelt words of wisdom! They were desperately needed and much appreciated. You have more patience, intelligence and compassion than many of the people I work with. I can not for the life of me understand why as nurses we expect more out of ourselves than we ever would from family, friends, patients, we lessen our self-worth by doing this and you all reminded me of what I have not taken the time or priveledge to believe in quite sometime; that I am a human being, I am worthy and I deserve time and TLC, and if I can not demand that for myself than no one else will either. Thanks again and Happy Holidays.

I use about 2 sick days per year, this week alone I had to call in 3 times for vomiting and diarrhea. Like on the bathroom floor in a puddle of my own vomit, can't stand up because I am too dizzy from dehydration sickness, yet I feel guilty for calling in. I have had these symptoms for the past week and managed to work 4 days out of seven, but just could not go in for those other 3. I am racked with guilt, maybe because I was told if I showed for work they would hydrate me with IV fluid so that I could work. I have worked in other professions and have never been made to feel so guilty for being ill. What is it with nursing that makes management feel we are expendible, have no lives outside of work, live to serve administration? I am just so depressed and fed up, I feel trapped, like I am in a dead end profession where I get little respect from management and even less from the patients. Thanks for letting me vent.

I am an ER nurse and I definitely do not recommend going into the ER right out of school. You really need that year of Med/Surg to get your feet wet, acquire instincts, learn to provide care to multiple patients as well as assessment, hospital policy, etc. before being 'thrown to the wolves'. In my experience those that come to the unit right out of school do not always fare well, lack confidence and usually leave the unit before their orientation is over. All that being said there are those that jump in with both feet and do just fine, especially those that have training in emergency medical care (such as paramedic, EMT-III). Good luck to you. We are always looking for fresh recruits!

I do not think I completely understand the question. Do you mean after a code? I can not speak for the OR, but usually, if the family is present someone speaks to them and counselling is offered, then the Red Cross 1-800 number has to be called so that you can get your reference number as far as organ donation is concerned. The patient is shrouded and taken to the morgue for transport to the funeral home of their choice or for pick up by the coroner. Is this what you are looking for? Like I said can not speak for the OR, however, in other units you go right on to the next patient. Sometimes code(s), [plural] are happening at once so you can't just stop taking care of patients even immediately after someone expires.

Started in Med/Surg on a VERY busy floor. Great experience, learn how to juggle and multi-task. Could not have asked for a better staff to work, learn and grow with. Working nights out of school will not be a problem, trust me. They tend to hire new grads for the off shifts first. Still on evenings now actually. Nights is a great shift to start on, great autonomy, less ancillary staff, bond better with your crew since you will be dependant on one another so much. Even though many have had success going to a unit right out of school, I say you can never go wrong with a year on a Med/Surg tele floor, just my $0.02. Good luck!

Well said Pamela g c, my thoughts exactly. I am ER nurse but I also live by the Golden Rule. I have also worked in the units and on floors as a float, therefore, walking a mile in other's shoes, so to speak. I understand the unit's frustrations but they have to understand it is no cakewalk in the ER. And how about some appreciation for diluting the drunks before they get to floors, or the fact that we contend with many other beligerent patients that are not even admitted. It has been my experience at least at my facility, that ICU nurses are the Grand Pubbahs of the hospital, they very rarely get floated even if overstaffed and the supervisors generally tend to take their side. How about a little respect for us that are working on the 'front line' of healthcare. "Dorks" I think not!"

Life is too short to worry about a one liner on a resume. At an interview you can always justify your leaving, I do not feel it looks at all irresponsible. Instead it looks gracious, facilities do not appreciate a nurse "sticking" it out with the full intent to leave in a short period of time, they would much rather you made your feelings known so that they may fill the position and begin training a new staff member. I always think to myself when a dilemma like this comes along, at the end of my life what will I remember/regret, I mean really is leaving a job that you dislike going to prevent the world from turning on its axis, NO, and the sooner you leave the sooner you can begin looking for a job opportunity that will excite, educate and satisfy you. Good Luck.

Yes, love the "near syncope", or the syncope that fails the 'dropped arm test', the seizure patients that can open one eye to make sure that you are getting a preview of their academy award winning performance, the drug addicts that can sit calmly laughing and talking with their family while chowing down on a bag of chips and washing it down with a Coke but writhe in pain whenever a nurse is present, the parents that run in with their children wrapped in blankets demanding to be triaged right away because Little Johnny's fever is very high almost 100.5, the parents that say "I think she swallowed a penny" and what is the child playing with when you enter the room, a nickel, the people who OD on Tylenol to show their significant other how stressed they are over the break up, a liver transplant will be a lot less stressful, the parents that bring their children in and then will not allow you to do anything to the child not even examine them because it is too upsetting to the child, the mother who brings in her child with the 1 cm abrasion by ambulance and then has the nerve to tell the triage nurse "I came in by ambulance that means I get to go back first" sorry honey, CP trumps non-existent skin tear by a million miles, and my favorite taking an ambulance to the hospital each month for you guessed it, menstrual cramps. I really feel education is the key, but also some form of punishment for abuse of the system.

So know where you are coming from, I have even had nurse friends of mine lately tell me, "you weren't this bitter when you worked med/surg". As much as I hate to admit it they're right. When someone comes in with menstrual cramps via ambulance, when they bring in their children with temp and never think to give tylenol/motrin, when the person with 10/10 abd pain who is screaming for Demerol, yet sitting on the stretcher eating chips, candy bars and drinking soda then begin their oscar worthy performance when I enter the room call me many explitives when I request that they not eat until further evaluation is completed, or how about the family members who see you running to an EMERGENT situation and they go to the desk requesting you to come in and adjust grammy's blankets, when a drunk pees all over the floor and laughs about it, when the person on government assistance tells me "you will do it because that is what you get paid for", I feel a little burned out and used. I too am considering a change, was offered a position in another unit, but do not know if it will be a good fit. I too like running like my tail is on fire but I am afraid if I stay in the ER I may lose every ounce of humanity I have left in me. Some patients are just needy soul suckers and they are bleeding me dry. Keep us posted on your decision, good luck in whatever you choose.

Search is not working and I need some advice. How are night shifts to work? I am currently an evening person and it is reaking havoc with my life, or lack of one I should say. I am so wired when I get home that I don't get to sleep until 3am then I proceed to sleep up until it is almost time to go to work. I am really desperate for 10s or 12s but the only shifts available are on nights. Is it difficult to adjust. Also, at my facility, evenings are usually the busiest time and I am accustomed to the pace is it terribly slow on nights or am I being naive? TIA.

There are no protocols especially if you are a community/county hospital. Even though they wear your patience to the bone, I try to remember that even the drug seeker who is taking your time from the truly ill and is usually rude especially when they do not get what they request has an underlying illness, drug abuse, possibly some sort of psych issue going on and from what I have seen withdrawal apparently makes you feel as though you are dying and you will employ any technique to get your high even crowding a busy ER. I was becoming burnt from just this sort of thing, then I came to the realization, So they come and get their "fix" and go home, they sometimes smell, are rude, most likely abusive and do I give them the number to the nearest rehab facility, You betcha, but I can't stress about it anymore because in the end all it does is raise my blood pressure after all they will be back tomorrow and so will I.

Hmmm....ever meet up with that one particular coworker that is out to create discord and tension everywhere he/she goes, lives to undermine, and seems to only work when the NM is present. Well, I have met alot in my short time as a nurse but this one wins the Witch of the Millenium award. She is a total ego stroker, takes credit for others actions, literally tells people that she should receive credit for being "one of the few good nurses in this facility", tells anyone who will listen about how knowledgable, compassionate, nonspecifically wonderful, blah, blah, blah she is. I can not take anymore, especially since I have taken over care of her patients and found assessments were not done or that she failed to find blatantly obvious deviations from from pts baseline, failed to give pain meds and charted "voiced no complaints" p.s. this pt she charted this on was NONVERBAL. Even though others do not like her they fear her so they pretend to tolerate her behavior because she is the Queen of the Incident Reports and a major suck up to anyone with authority. How do you handle this Joan Collins wanna be?

I am currently an ER nurse and while I do not find it totally rewarding the excitement keeps me coming back for more, I am considering a part time position as a NICU nurse so that I can continue in ER but pursue an area I had considered since graduating nursing school. So, if you would be so kind tell me what area of nursing you were in before NICU, what makes a good NICU nurse, what you love about NICU and what you hate--any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Totally know where it is you are coming from. The person I am referring to is a 12 hour person so she screws two shifts not just one when she calls in. We ask around 5, did anyone receive a call from the supervisor, then "so and so" must be gracing us with her presence tonight. Not that when she comes in she does much more than make her presence known. Never works holidays, always goes out on some fraudulent disability claim that she begins working up about a week before. Whining is incessant and I actually prefer working short to her just being there wasting valuable oxygen that could be reserved for those of us panting for air because we are running our tails off!