Eaglelady

I do not care if it is a HH setting hospital or LTC facility one nurse does not give meds that another nurse pulls upp that is definitely considered to be a med error if one does it---I had a 2nd shift nurse draw up a 10:00pm dose for apatient forme I trashed the pills and drew them upmyself because I did not know which ones she had drawn up for sure. NEVER ever give meds someone else draws up and there are legit reasons why you can not do this not to mention legal ones

In my state if you draw it up and do not give it it is considered a firing offense--as a matter of fact a nurse where I worked did this just with one med and got called out on a code blue state walked in and caught the med in the cart and was later terminated for the offense

I keep all of mine due to I do on an occassion open them back up but mostly because they remind me of what it took to get through school I have gave some to some of my friends that were in need of a couple but mostly I intend on keeping my in hopes that a niece or two might need them :)

I agree I can have up to 20 patients so I totally understand thats why I have my notes but still at the end of the day everything I have on me ended up always in the chart so my notes are duplicated to the chart:hrnsmlys:

Well as I said previously I myself have not broken any HIPAA violations I know what to use and not use in my notes and as far as my own documentation it is above average always have been but I still keep my own notes but if the OP feels better keeping her notes go for it just do not use names just room numbers and dates I find thats all it takes to jog my memory cause if they need to know who was in that room on that date they can always go back and check the dates and they will line up--my notes are always inline with my documentation and I have friends that had to go to court and if they had not had their notes to fall back on they would have been screwed literally (their words not mine) :)

Well again its a matter of opinion bc I know I over chart everything in my charts but I have for years kept my own records and will continue to do so

Well I have kept my notes for years but whatever is in my notes is in the chart but also note things that are passed on and when the next shift nurse states I never passed it on I can show I did but I also keep my records under wrap where no one can see it but I do not keep any info on it that can identify the patient just room numbers and dates with any tx I did or meds I gave or labs I drew , etc ---but I see nothing wrong with it and I am a supervisor but it is up to the individual as to how they feel but for me I will keep my record as always :)

I totally agree sapphire we nurses need to be compassionate or try being on the other side as a patient and think how you woulf feel of 4 nurses came in and pinned you down--besides I know the patients have every right to refuse anything and if they refise something once on me I call the physician and he usually orders something else but we have to remember thay have the RIGHT to refuse anything whether refusing is for their good or not ---thats the LAW!! Just my 2 cents worth :)

I started with pre req's when I was 50 and graduated with my RN when I was 53 I am now 56 and doing my BSN so if nursing is what you want to do age has nothing to do with it----I love nursing and I will be doing as long as I can :) I wish you all the best in your career choice:nurse:

I totally agree textbook are the basics and the nursing program helps to teach Critical thinking but hands on to me is what we called "Reality Check" as a nurse you move from the basic to the advanced mode--my critical thinking actually was put to the real test with my 1st patients when I realized the patient was under my care and that I was responsible for my patients and when I made my first call on a patient and realized I did great it felt awesome to realize I had done what I had been trained for and from there my knowledge only expanded and every day I continue to learn so I guess you could say as a nurse we go from a school of basic learning or foundation of nursing to a school of higher learning which is referred to as the real world.

In nursing school they teach you how to put an IV in a patient and make it look easy but in the real world you have drug addicts and alcoholics and others where they have no veins or patients that are edematous , or veins that blow just when they see the needle coming towards them this is textbook vs real world :)

I totally 100% agree especially with managers pulling time on the floor I seen a manager where I worked do 1 day on our Cardiac floor OMG she was so flustered I had to clock in early just to help her out she was freakin out something fierce why? because she had been off the floor for so long she had forgotten what it was like so yes they should all have to at least once or twice a month pull their time on the floors

I agree that there should be mandatory nurse to pt ratios in all states because along with the hours worked plus having an overload of patients can result in poor outcomes for the patient which also leads to more nurses that burn out faster

In Florida it is 1:6 or 1:8 on night shift and 1:8 or 1:10 on days

I beg to differ with you, I do not think students are the only ones that actually go in and count the RR I have been doing this for years and I of alot of my coworkers that do it so it is not just the students that actually count RR