CaLLaCoDe

I used to hate it as a floor nurse receiving a patient from ER without a proper report and hurried ER staffers dumping a patient off, running away from the scene of the crime. Sometimes that's just the nature of the beast. I would always be grateful for the good ER nurse who would take the necessary time on report to explain everything and work for a smooth transition to the floor. I can't understand staff who will not help out when a new patient reaches the floor to assist with the transition. I can understand your frustration with staff that give you heat for doing your job well.

awesomekeit:coollook:

I remember one nurse, who would tend to find a quiet med room to rest in every night, was given the responsibility of orienting a new nurse to our floor. Well, when 3 rolled, his usual nap time, his head would bobble and his speech would slow down; this is when having a sleepy time break every shift works to one's disadvantage! Nothing more embarrassing than looking like a drunkard at 3 am! He was however, the very best nurse to hunt down for a tough IV start. You know the one's where you end up starting one on the shoulder or upper arm. So I never complained about his taking naps. A resource like that is priceless! I can remember thinking if I dared to sleep in the break room when I did night; someone would soon be vigorously tapping me on the shoulder and barking: "Callacode, Callacode -- wake up, time to give your report." Or heaven forbid, "Your patient is coding, why are you sleeping!" Some countries like Canada, for example allow their staff time to rest at night, even supplying a resting room. I wish some nurses could realize that sleeping on night shift is not always so particularly bad, especially when the nurse taking a cat-nap has let other nurses know their status.

Dear fellow nurses: Please try not to dominate a CNA. I've seen some nurses do this, thinking that their patient's are more important than other's on the floor. Making a laundry list for the one CNA for 3 nurses do a lot of the little work that could be done while your doing your med pass or your assessment. I've seen this pre-madonna type of behavior of nurses, especially ones who have been a nurse for a while make getting help from a CNA practically impossible at near the beginnings of my shift. So please consider the needs of other nurses on the floor before passing out your to do list! Luckily I was a CNA prior to becoming a nurse, so I know how to do most of the CNA tasks efficiently which has awarded me with praise from CNAs on the floor. I would rather be doing nursing tasks, however -- again, that one special nurse has that one CNA dancing about doing various tasks she could be doing for her own patients sitting behind a computer screen looking at various labs or entering the morning assessments. Perhaps it is because this one nurse works an 8 while the rest of us work a 12, but it's no reason to be thoughtless of others who need this valuable resource as well. A common excuse when I ask for help is "Well, Nurse such and such needs these things done now and I'll get to doing what you wish later." This has got to stop. CNAs are for allnurses not just one ;-) Best regards, CallACode

I must say that when I did nights there were those who did sleep. I was not one of them! But I must add, when say 4 or 5 o'clock rolled around and you could have one or more codes running, usually the nurses who were in top form had slept. In general, I can't say that sleeping on one's shift is a bad thing.

After reading the OP's rant, I think I'd like the Phenergan Dilauded combo;and...don't forget to push it fast!

Aside from semantics (using support staff meet your standard)...those folks were hired to do a job, nothing less. How can you judge my attitude toward support staff by my above statement anyway?!

Hopefully those techs are able to assist with the patient's/family needs (ie water, warm blanket, jello) rather than chat on the phone with friends or be on another smoking break or charting...and us nurses still have to pick up the ball! Sheesh! Not to say that helping family and patients with the little stuff is out of the question but underlings are hired mainly for this!!!

Congrats with the precious cargo on the way! And I can definitely relate to getting onto days after being on nights. The one good thing I know to be true though, you will treat the night people right when they give morning report and not rake them over the coals! Besides, you'll thank those in the morning for taking your night job! Good luck, carry on. Tip on naming your child, don't let family know! My family turned upside my thoughts regarding a boys name, Milas. My dad said, "That's my middle name and I hate it!" Hard enough to bounce names around with your spouse. I'd come up with a good one and my spouse would say, "Sherry, well I knew a Sherry and she was an idiot!"

Thanks for sharing Brian This site offers the ability to download books and listen to the computer read the text: http://www.archive.org/ Also has free books read aloud. I was too thinking along the same lines. So you think you'd like having 15 msg patients? No need to sit down and chart, so you have more time for more patients?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe this nurse said that he had a wife. The nurse is a dude!

Super news! Good luck in Telemetry!

Sheesh, what about those immune compromised stem cell transplant patient's on your oncology unit?!!! A death sentence? Go figure!

OP, I'm sorry you didn't get a raise and I feel for you! It's not fair, after giving it your all! Wish I could convince your manager to give you what you deserve! I really don't think it is good judgment to justify not giving out raises by stating that it is because of the nonpayers in the system. As if we had any control over this!

Digestive juices, if that suits your fancy!