sistrmoon

Yep I actually got reprimanded by management for documenting in too much detail on a particular case. It wasn't excessive, it was what was needed to cover myself. I will continue to document in that way because if it comes down to it, I doubt management would back me up in a litigious situation.

It's oversimplification to say "Just follow the 5 rights and there will be no errors." Sometimes there are systems failures. For example, a heparin drip with no rebolus that was initially rebolus and the boluses were never taken out of the system. So you scan the bolus, and the system doesn't alert you, so you scan the patient and give the bolus. But it's a med error because a bolus shouldn't have been given, and the boluses didn't drop out of the system when the main order was changed. Ideally, the main order should be linked to the boluses and they should drop out when the order is changed, or a warning should pop up when the bolus is scanned. Ideally.

I don't do it. I am always professional and polite, but I don't apologize. No apology does not mean I'm rude! I'm a manners stickler. I have always worked overnights too, so if I'm calling, it's for a good reason. I do think the required "critical labs" calls are BS, though.

Usually, I'd tell you to wait. I wouldn't expect pregnancy to cure all your ills or anything. I have absolutely incapacitating pregnancies(puking from beginning til end). But since there are no guarantees(I just lost a baby at 12 weeks after seeing a healthy baby the week before), I'd say go ahead and start trying. There's no telling how long it will take to get the family you want, and since you're wanting a medical procedure after having kids, I'd say go ahead and start, as long as you're in a position to care for a child if one does come easily. It will NOT be easy being in school pregnant, but it sounds like you've already dealt with physical issues while in school.

Wow, HollyHobby, your workplace sounds awful. I can't imagine my workplace not allowing me off for any of those things. I just went through a miscarriage at 12 weeks, and I took my week's shifts off and was offered more time off if I needed it. And I wouldn't work with explosive diarrhea! I could be giving gastroenteritis to my Onc patients. Not all workplaces are as heartless and inflexible as that. My coworkers have gotten time off for grandparents' deaths where they had to travel back to their home country and were off a month. Oh, and I'm a hospital floor nurse. As for the original question, I work night weekend shifts. In this way, my partner and I have kept daycare needs down to one day for my 2 year old. It is a sacrifice(like not much free time with a partner), but I take care of my son all week. I think if you find a good workplace, it can be family-friendly.

Thank you for this. I lost my baby last month at 12 weeks gestation(missed miscarriage...no bleeding/spotting, no signs of any problems)...we'd had a good ultrasound and had seen what looked to be a healthy baby at our NT Scan, and then there was no heartbeat the following week. I had an excellent nurse the whole day when I had to go in for my D&C(I had to go to The Birthing Center for my D&C if you can believe it. Why they don't do it in GYN surgery is beyond me), and that made such a huge difference in what was one of the worst nightmares of my life. I think you offer practical advice in a really challenging area of your type of nursing. A death certificate was filled out, and I was told the fetal remains would be buried in a cemetery. I liked these two things because they acknowledge that what we had here was a loss of life, a loss of a baby. Most people have been great(and so so many people have gone through this. They come out of the woodwork when this happens), but I've also gotten a lot of the "It's God's Will," "you can get pregnant again," etc. I think many people don't know what to say, but I agree that "I'm so sorry" or a hug works well. Thank you again for addressing what seems to be a subject that doesn't get discussed enough!

I haven't read this entire thread, but I live in NY. The reason the mandate was suspended was because 3 Albany Medical Center ER nurses brought a lawsuit, but my hospital issued a statement saying the mandate was suspended because of a shortage of vaccine(which doesn't really make sense because there isn't a shortage of seasonal flu vaccine, and that mandate has also been suspended). I have a 9 month old, and we've both had our seasonal flu shots, but haven't been able to get the H1N1 vaccines yet. I work on an Onc floor, but apparently that's not priority(which is surprising to me). Emily