KenH

Do not give up, If Your manager and co-workers believe in and like you that is 75% of the battle. Two jobs in two years you may not have transitioned from being a student to professional Nurse, it takes time. Give yourself a break you can do it. Try to search out a mentor, some one you can talk to, share a good inappropriate laugh, heartbreak,and the joy of success.

I don't think I have ever personally heard or heard of second hand that any nurse was glad, happy, relieved at being caught and didn't mind the personal, professional and financial cost at the time and after they were caught. As you say you forced to take responsibility for your actions and as you say looking back how much better your life is now. The process you were forced to go through probably has made you a better nurse. What percentage of nurses do you think that come out of the process that don't relapse, lose their license, marriage, relationships. The drug use is just a symptom of an underlying unaddressed issue/problem. But I have heard personally and second hand how their life was in the toilet and it wasn't fair with everything that they were forced to do, and felt persecuted for their actions. As for the narcotics diversion and torturing patients, it's true that it is not the case in every situation, but it happens in more cases than not. How many time have you noticed that the patient documentation showed a noticeable need for pain meds in the previous shift compared to your care of the patient.

Most if not all of these nurses that are diverting narcotics see themselves as VICTIMS when they get caught and have to face the consequences of their actions. These Nurses are TORTURING their patients, If you don't report them, you are complicit in their actions.

Even in the modern world some of us live in, Medicine is still practiced, YES Practiced, people want guarantees, perfection, every drug, every procedure, every vaccine, every day there are negative side effects to life. I remember in one of my pharmacology classes the professor pointed out that if aspirin had to go through the approval process today it would have a black box warning, and be strictly prescription, not OTC. Look at the controversy around the new Hep C vaccines, big $$$$ companies are charging people that are going to be cured, Just wait for the HIV vaccine, people will complain that it will promote promiscuity, just look at birth control. Look at the lung cancer vaccine it will encourage people to smoke. When the next pandemic comes around, and it will, then let's see people's attitudes about vaccines then, here's your choice, millions of people are dying and we have a cure that's 90% effective, your choice, do you want it or not? People want perfection, every disease process has a VERY large genetic component, we are all different and that difference means outcomes are different. When we get to personal tailored medicine, matched to our personal DNA then the outcomes will be matched to each and everyone of us, Then people will complain about playing DOG. Because tailored medicine has all the medical ethics that come with that knowledge. The practice of medicine is about patient care and revenue generation, greed and big business, it is not perfect, but it's better than the alternative When these arguments/ discussions come up, the movie Gattaca comes to mind. Genetics = job security, Heart disease, Diabetes, COPD, peoples personal choices, people not vaccinating their kids, = Job security

We all need a healthy way of coping, or a unhealthy one will find you. Sounds like you never developed a professional persona, no one can handle daily personal death and suffering without it breaking you. somethings have to be kept at arms length. You will have to let go or you will drown from everything you are trying to carry. good luck

Well it all depends on a few things you need to think about. Do you want to work there after you graduate? How hard is it for new grads to get their first job in your area, a future employer may ask why you weren't hired by the unit/hospital that you work at while in nursing school. How are you going to handle it if a needy nurse is your preceptor. All the nursing personalities that you see and deal with now, you are going to have to deal with them down the road, needy nurses don't stop being needy just because you are working as a nurse with them as co-workers. With being a tech in nursing school you may have to look at it as a long job trial/ interview. Use it to your advantage. No it's not fair ,but it is what it is

As a family we have two new nursing grads that recently got together with some of their former classmates. There was the standard I hate working with ….., they are so mean, but I have learned so much from them. The discussion turned to the trend that they were all experiencing, the pushing of the Disney Princes Nurse. At one hospital they had a staffing meeting to go over the importance of focusing on patient satisfaction scores; they were told that patients want a NICE nurse not a SMART nurse. This has setup a clash between the Nice nurses and the nurses that were offended by the nice vs. smart nursing focus. The not so nice nurses have started calling their Nice nurse champions as the Disney Princes Nurses. Anyone else seeing this trend in patient care/ satisfaction?

Just a quick story, we are a family of medical professionals, all nursing and the lone Paramedic / Firefighter. Our son, the Para-God and his buddy's from the station were out enjoying some adult beverages, and 2 gentlemen had a disagreement and one was knocked out. A few of the Para-Gods wonder over to see if any one needed some help, they start to check the person who was down when, They get pushed aside and hear "STAND BACK I'M A NURSING STUDENT", So they all smile and walk away. Now there is a running gag game of the "Para-God" vs. "Stand back in a nursing student", when were out together. I know there are lots of stories out there, from - please don't let them find out I'm a nurse vs I can't believe they said they were a nurse and did that. One of our friends, an ER nurse, one of their kids were jumping on a bed, fell and hit their head and the blood started flowing and they panicked, 911 was called, ambience ride to the ER(there place of employment), a few stitches and they were on their way home. Right after they called 911, and realized that a few stitches were all that was needed, it turned into please don't let them know that they were a nurse. Let the stories begin

If the OP is concerned about scope of care, they need to conduct the BON, I would say there is only about 5% difference between what a RN and LPN can do. The LPN is the manager and they can delagate anything they want as long as it follows the policy of the facility they work in. That said, I have worked with a lot of LPN/LVN who ran circles around many RNs

Different places of employment have different plans on how to deal with bad weather days, how you deal with it depends on how they react to you no showing up, on a personal level, that's up to you. Do a search, lots of conversations, and you will find different attitudes from how dare a workplace put your life in danger, to you show up no matter what happens because it comes with the job you accepted.

You need to find a healthy coping mechanism, or an unhealthy one will find you. The only thing you can control is you, not your co-workers or patients. Be true to you, but protect yourself if you want to survive.

Big + on the lift team thing, I do keep track of the co-workers who ask for help lifting, who do the fake and grunt lift. Once or twice but never a third time. Some places will tend to hire Males because of the work environment, but most places expect all to be able to do the job regardless of being a male or female. Dont type cast your self, whatever direction you choose do it the of your abilities.

I am blessed to be maried to a FNP who has worked from CNA to FNP. She knows and understands my good days and bad days, the flip side is I know when she has good day and bad days. We laugh, vent, and unload the days stresses. We have great family chats over dinner when all in the family get together, FNP, 2 RN's, 2 LVN's, Respiratory, Paramedic and a welder. its funny what is funny sometimes, people who are not in healthcare just don't get it, it's great that we can love, enjoy life, and learn from each other.

One advantage of WGU is that you finish with a BSN, it's not much different than a lot of ADN programs, a lot of them have off time projects that need to be done. Plus you don't have class everyday with WGU , 3/4 study, then test , then clinical time, I think its like 14 12hr shifts per six months. A extra six months for a BSN sounds good. It's a new program and that's the problem.

Give it more time, at least a year or until you can get another job if thats the direction you want to go in, like others have said. the reason you are having a hard time seems very reasonable and it's good that you can be self aware and see why you are having problems. Believe in yourself.