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RNTEX, I got out of a contract for a large teaching medical center when I confronted the director of nursing and HR with my serious concerns about patient safety. Actually, lack of safety. I simply told them that I wasn't going to put my license on t...

Several years ago, preceptor pay was 50 cents/hr, plus for the first couple of days the load was lighter by one patient. By the end of orientation, the new person should be caring the full load with the preceptor watching, answering questions etc.

I'm just used to charge nurses making rounds with the doctors answering questions and making requests that the staff nurse wants for the patient buts is tied up with another patient. Also, having as much info ahead of time when having to make phone ...

With reporting at the bedside, how does the charge nurse on a 34 bed unit know what the heck is going on...how can this be a timely and safe way to do report? We use to listen to a tape recorder that the previous shift would report on each pt. This...

when I was manager of a med/surg floor, if I heard from my staff that this happened, I would be talking to my supervisor and stating clearly that if I have to go through the chain of command, then so do they. As manager of my floor, they should have...

newtress, your boyfriend sounds like my exhusband who was with me while I was going through nursing school. He became so threatened of my new knowledge and capabilities that he actually tried to burn some of my expensive school books. He even tried...

In home health you can also refer your social worker to go in and do an assessment...I would first refer to social services and then back the call made into APS. Also, I would notify the primary care physician of the facts and document everything. I...

The time spent with your young infant is irreplaceable and so precious!!! Why not consider taking some classes towards your BSN like ethics, statistics, etc. and enjoy the time with your baby for several months if not a full year or two...take as ma...

I remember my clinical rotation through pysch. I was in the locked admissions ward. The ward was patroled by techs that really acted like bouncers, they would take a patient down to the floor if they acted out. I was told to NEVER go into a patien...

Hello all OB nurses, I'm flying out for an interview for a rural OB position in 2 weeks. They deliver less than 80 babies a year and the high risk deliveries go to another town one hour away. Orientation will be 2 -3 months. I want to be sure to ask ...

smilingblueyes, I completely agree with you. I'll let you all know how the interview goes. I feel forarmed now more completely to ask key questions and to request a much longer orientation period...along with other requests/question to cover patien...

I worked GYN surgeries for 10 years. The worst case senarios I saw were retroperitoneal bleeding and PE's...so of course, watch for changes in vitals, coloring, abdominal girths, and any unusual anxiety, SOB. Remind them often to do their IS, TCDB ...

mitchsmom, excellent suggestions! I checked out STABLE and printed it out along with all these concerns/ideas. All this info is definitely validating my concerns...I'm excellent at med/surg, home health nursing...however OB is a horse of a differen...

sugglibumkins and rninwch, thank you for your great suggestions. Part of the orientation would be at a larger hospital with a much busier OB dept. I do have concerns about the patient safety under these circumstances, so thanks again for your input...

The nursing school where I went started with 50 students and by graduation there were only 22 left. They dropped out for various reasons, not passing, financial problems, too much stress, family problems etc. We also had a high % of students passin...

Creature, it's so easy for doctors to try and ignore or intimidate patients/families. That's why it's so important to always be the patient advocate...Hopefully your phone call into the office will get an order for some labs...Good thought...in the ...

Urban home health can be a little bit riskier than rural home health. You can utilize your local police department...asking them about unfamiliar neighborhoods prior to going there...also asking for an escort if the situation seems unsafe. Always, ...

I've been doing low carb...the Atkins peanut butter/choc protein bars are excellent, filling and easy to grab/eat. Also, string cheese wrapped in deli turkey. Atkins protein drinks, drink 1/2 at a time, it's filling and gives some sustained energy t...

Med/Surg will also have lots of assisting with walks, deep breathing and coughing, incentive spirometry, taking off and putting on SCD's, you'll be exposed to chest tube set ups and handling, ostomy emptying, measuring I&O from food/liquids taken...

It's been years since I worked oncology. We gave lots of chemotherapy and always wore gloves handling anything that might have bodily secretions on it. We always double gloved when handling urine. We didn't do radiation treatments though so I can'...

I left my abusive husband while I was in nursing school. Yes, it is very tough to concentrate...then I remembered that the whole reason I was in nursing school was because I believed in myself. I wanted to be able to make a decent living for myself a...

you can talk to your local health food stores and browse the book stores for information about nutritional supplementation. My dad started taking 3 fish oil capsules a day and this lowered his blood pressure. I've read that "red rice yeast extract"...

First born here. Father not ETOH but, he was a RAGEAHOLIC and abusive. Whole family is dysfunctional, mother co-dependant, manipulative etc. PS: I finally got over my own co-dependence by recognizing all this and separating myself from the...

Encourage her to look into other health care professions that the bedside experience won't be so intensive/brutal...ie; physical therapist, occupational therapist, radiological technologist ie doing MRI's, sonography, cat scans etc. I know many PT's,...

I had a patient with a mysterious rash on her breasts...we couldn't find the cure either until one day I caught her by peering quietly behind the privacy curtain, she was injecting herself with an insulin syringe filled with a small amount of her own...