GIRN

I just want to go to the other end of the scale. Don't sacrifice your life or your families lives' to get a 4.0. I DID and it wasn't worth it! No one ever asked me for my transcript...only my license. I do feel I got a good education but at what expense to my family? I should have settled for a B now and then and spent more time with my kids instead of studying. You forget all the little details that you studied so hard to remember for the test and there are always resource materials available when necessary when you're in practice. School IS important...but so is your life. Your kids grow up so fast and a B won't stop you from getting your licence or a good job so just relax!

Wow! I'm shocked at this thread. Can you say "Law Suit"? It's hard to believe there are still schools allowing students to practice IV starts and catheters on other students! If there were infections or trauma caused by the student to another student that school would be responsible. Maybe it happened in the old days but in the old days, pregnant women also drank alcohol and no one wore seat belts. We've grown and changed practices as we become more knowledgeable. The old way is downright dangerous! I actually know a Paramedic student that was in the hospital with sepsis for 6 weeks with a bacterial infection that usually only IV drug users get. You guessed it.....she had let other Paramedic students practice IV starts on her without her instructor's knowledge. As far as bathing...I wouldn't allow another student to practice a skill on me that required me to undress first. I just wouldn't do it. And again...there's always the legal threat to a school that a student would claim sexual misconduct and sue the school if another student had the opportunity to touch him or her inappropriately. Why risk it? Use manikins in class and practice on a real person on the job, under the tutelage of a registered nurse. The student nurse always has to ask the patient if they agree to let them perform the skill even though they're still a student and there are plenty of patients that are more than happy to agree. If I was in your situation, I think I would just take the instructor aside and tell her I wasn't comfortable with disrobing in front of anyone or having anyone bathe me and would prefer to opt out of that situation. If they give you a hard time, contact the school's Risk Manager and see what they have to say about it. I bet the practice will end quickly if the school's legal team hears about it.

These are SO funny. While we're really not laughing at a patient's pronunciation because we know they just don't get a chance to use these terms very often, we still get a great deal of amusement out of some of the things we hear in Pre Admission Screening. We've started keeping a little log of things people have told us or stories of phone calls we've had. This log will be read at our next Christmas party just for a little fun. (Of course, all of it is anonymous....) A few of the entries: "Well, I take frolic acid". (Is that another name for LSD?) I've had four colostomies so far. (What they mean are colonoscopies...) "I had a 'hectoroscopy'" (hysterectomy) "No, I've had no surgeries before....oh wait....do you want to count the brain surgery...does that count?" After telling the wife I needed to ask her husband a few questions there was a pause of a minute or two, then I could hear water running in the background as the patient said hello. I told him that I needed to speak with him for a few minutes and asked if this was a good time. He replied...."Well, I guess not really, ....I'm in the shower." One elderly woman put the phone down to get her list of meds and then I could hear her talking to me off in the distance. After a few minutes she came back and said, "Oh honey...I was talking into the remote control....) Or we get a few funny looks when we have to ask when the last time was they took their Viagra....(Inquiring minds want to know.....) I LOVE my job!

Actually, I work at an Outpatient Endoscopy Center in the Midwest (Michigan) and our patient's insurance covers the Anesthesia cost for Propofol. (Medicare included.) Of course, the co-pay is higher to cover the fact that Anesthesia fees bring the cost of the whole procedure up, but...it's money very well spent. Our patient's tell us just that, time and time again. They can't believe how quick and painless the whole procedure is. I hope the wave of the future will be to allow Propofol to be used for all scopes, not just in certain parts of the country.

I live in the Midwest and our patients insurance fees are being covered for both the Colonoscopy fees from the Doctor and the Anesthesia fees from the Anesthesia group. As far as it being a good use of our health care dollars, I truly believe it is because it's a much more tolerable procedure with Propofol and more importantly, it's much safer. I personally used Versed and Fentynal for my own colonoscopy, before we had made the switch to Propofol and the procedure was a piece of cake. But I felt miserable afterwards...nauseated and sedated for hours. I would rather pay a higher copay and know that I was getting Propofol....a safer alternative and a more tolerable one.

Thanks for your accurate, concise reply, David Carpenter. There ARE risks with colonoscopies and every GI Doc I've worked with so far, has had at least one perforation in their career. To say you would only pick the Doc without a perforation means you're picking a Doc who's inexperienced. As far as sedation with propofol, I LOVE IT!!! We used Versed and Demerol then Versed and Fentanyl for years and had many patients that were either uncomfortable or downright painful. Now that we use CRNA's to give Propofol our patient's are not only comfortable but ecstatic that it was so easy. They wake up quickly, aren't sedated or nauseated for hours, and feel like they've had a power nap. We don't give any other drug besides the Propofol unless there are extenuating circumstances. We don't have to use Hurrican Spray to numb the throat before an EGD because the Propofol is so effective. Our patients are able to be discharged within thirty minutes and they usually go out to breakfast on their way home. We all win because of quick turnover. Propofol is so much safer than Versed for this procedure because it's so much more effective for sedation. With Versed, there were patients that required high doses to keep them comfortable and we got to the limit of what we could give. They were asking for more pain control but we knew that as soon as we stopped the stimulation of the scope, they'd become so sedated their respirations would be at risk. And it brought our unit to a screeching halt to pull a nurse to do a 'one on one' with an overly sedated patient. Propofol is our answer and I hope it's only a matter of time before all units switch over.

I can't believe you had to preop that many eye patients yourself....there are so many drops to put in...it's pretty confusing! Too bad there are so few surgeries the second week of your notice. It would have been nice to be able to work out your two weeks but look at it as a well-deserved vacation. Rest up and be ready to take on a new challenge. There ARE wonderful Outpatient jobs out there. I work in a great outpatient facility and it all depends on the manager. If they believe that their people are their strongest resource...you've got it made. We work very hard but it's a challenging kind of work. We all work together and there's such a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. And the doctors notice what we're doing to make their job profitable...that helps us enjoy putting in the extra effort. But staff from two other facilities near us are complaining of the same problems you have been experiencing... If you find a good work environment....say a prayer of thanks and give it 100%. We had an infusion unit in the last hospital I worked in. Some of the nurses loved it and some of them...not so much. You have to learn a lot and you'll develop your IV skills and learn all about ports and such. It's a good education. Maybe use the week you're off to research info on infusion...blood transfusions, antibiotics, flushing PICC lines and changing dressings.... It's a different world but again...the hours are good. Good luck.

I hope it works out. Good luck to you. That's a shame that you have to leave such a perfect job hour wise, but the environment doesn't sound like a good one. Hope you let them know why they're losing a good nurse...maybe it'll help with the people that are still there. Good luck!

I have to disagree with the people who have said that Nursing School isn't any different than any other undergrad program. I went through an undergrad program for my first Bachelor's and Nursing School was completely different....in a bad way! In my program of study the first time, as well as my husband's and our friend's programs, the programs were NOT like Nursing School. I was appalled at the subjectivity and egos of a few of the instructors. I was prepared for another few years of school and knew nursing would be harder than my first degree, but wasn't at all prepared for how unjust and unreasonable some of the instructors could be. At first I tried to fight it with a calm, rational approach but then realized that these instructors held all the power and it was better to just accept the fact that they held all the cards and just do what they asked. I told my husband after the first six months that no matter what they said or did about my work, they weren't going to stop me from earning my license, so I would learn what I could from their classes, get the bulk of my education from the floor nurses during my clinicals, and move on. It just wasn't worth getting stressed trying to achieve all A's with teachers that were trying to make it as unattainable as possible. (Although not ALL the instructors were that way...there were some wonderful instructors in there, too.) But it was so frustrating wanting to spend time in clinicals, working with the patients and doing hands-on skills but not being allowed because we had to spend so much time copying charts and doing busy paper work. (I'm an experienced nurse now and I do know the importance of mapping and care plans but believe me, what we were asked to do WAS just busy work.) So anyway, please don't tell these students that they're just being negative and they should leave the profession if they don't like it...there's definitely something wrong with our training programs in this country if so many nurses across the country are singing the same tune. Instead we should listen to their complaints with an open mind and ask the administrators to pay attention to the student evaluations and then let the instructors know they need to remain professional and unbiased and COMPASSIONATE...if they want to continue to teach. Teaching is an art and not everyone can do it. Let's bring up the teaching standards and get rid of the bad apples that are giving nursing school such a bad name.

I'm a nurse in an Outpatient Center and we don't deal with PICC's much. But we're having a debate and thought maybe you guys could settle it. Our question is, how often should PICC's that aren't being used daily, be flushed and heparinized? Every 12 hours or once every 24 hours? What do patients in a home care setting do? (Our debate has entered into the betting stage....)

No advice...just wanted to say that's it's definitely 'doable'. I did it and it worked out very well. Of course, I was very concerned because I was hearing the same advice you've been given...."You have to put in at least a year in Med Surge to get your floor experience." But I had worked odd hours and weekends, holidays and evenings for a long time before I became a nurse and I was fed up with it. I wanted regular hours with weekends off so I took this job. I've loved it! I would highly recommend Endoscopy work. There were times when I didn't have the experience and wisdom of nurses that have worked on floors but I just had to suck it up and ask experienced nurses what they thought about the situation...then I'd learn from them. Now, I feel pretty confident with what I'm doing and I don't regret a thing. I have to say that I'm also middle-aged and don't plan on going back into the hospital...ever. If I was younger and didn't know where my career might take me, I might have wanted to gain that floor experience as a new nurse so that I wouldn't be shutting any doors later. But I'm perfectly happy spending the rest of my work life right where I am now. Good luck with your decision.

I don't know about this. If I was going to be insured by that hospital I wouldn't have a problem with them asking about my present physical status, but if my insurance wasn't even through them...they'd have no right to my medical information. I'd look into it more.

I am SO with you there, Jenlaana! Wow! I believe in giving 100% to my employer while I'm working, too, but I don't believe in giving them my life. The job is NOT more important than my family and if someone calls me at work, I would be furious if a manager screened it. If someone is receiving personal phone calls at work that interfered with their care or if it happened on a regular basis...then yes, talk to them and tell them that's unacceptable. But treat the other professionals as just that and allow them to handle their own calls. I have to say, though, if people up front know that that's the policy and they're OK with it....that's their business. I would bet anything that LTC has to struggle to stay staffed, though. I wouldn't even consider working somewhere with policies like those.

"A more appropriate response would be to work together with your fellow employees to present the reasons you feel the rule should be changed and parameters you feel appropriate to insure that it is not abused, and request a trial period to see if it impacts patient care. This would be the professional way to address this issue. " Did management go through these long and lengthy steps with US when they started having problems with cell phone usage in the hospital? Nope. They simply made a blanket rule outlawing cell phones rather than addressing the few people that were causing the problem. They didn't tell us they were having issues with it and ask us for input on how to work it out. They simply put a new and unreasonable policy into play for everyone and told us to follow it. Now you want us to put all this time and effort into organizing a cohesive plan to counter their new policy? Sorry. We're too busy trying to take care of patients. It's a silent rebellion. Gotta go...my phone's ringing.

Cell phones and other technology are here to stay. It's understandable that people want and need to stay in touch with family during the work hours in the hospital. The shifts are quite long and hectic and many times hours pass without even realizing you haven't called home to check on things. By having the phone in your pocket, you're reassured that everything must be OK because the phone hasn't rung. (or vibrated!) Cell phones are here to stay and management has to deal with them because employees are not giving them up. Management sometimes takes the easy way out when just a few workers are doing something wrong. In response, they'll make a harsh new policy that is detrimental to everyone rather than some simple one-on-one counseling with the employees involved. I will keep my phone in my pocket on vibrate no matter what the policy on phones is in the hospital. I had a true emergency where my son was taken by ambulance to the ER and my husband had to go through 4 different people before he got ahold of me. (All because I was following our new policy that cell phones could not be on your person.) When I complained later that I had an exceptional medical situation and had to be available by phone, the manager told me, "Maybe you shouldn't be working if you feel you need to be that available to your family." I wanted to say, "Yeah...that's the answer...why didn't I think of that! I'll just quit my job so I'm available to my family in the event of an emergency! Get real Administration. Cell phone etiquette should be practiced at work and the rules enforced but don't treat us like high schoolers. We're very capable of making sure our phone doesn't interfere with our time on the job. If there's a problem with one person...talk to that person. But please treat the rest of us as the professionals we are.