K O'Malley

At my previous job we used femstops and as far as I am concerned they are torture devices. Some of the docs ordered four hr. fem stops and naturally the pts developed back pain from lying flat and urinary problems from not being able to void lying fl...

I work per-diem in a recovery unit and really like it. The pay at my facility is actually lower for per-diems, however. But I have grown children who are spread all over the country and I like being able to take off a week whenever I want to go visit...

In most areas of nursing you will be on your feet all day, either walking, standing, or both, many times for 12 hr shifts. There are a very few areas which are not as bad, such as the NICU, doctors offices, outpatient clinics. But I would be lying if...

The most difficult for me was endotracheal intubation. We have to do it on dummies in order to pass ACLS. Half the time I would put it into the esophogus. I sure would hate to do it on some poor live person.

I understand that the pay in Huntington is better than many other places in WV. It really stinks in Charleston. I understand that CAMC is also cutting bennies.

Apparently Hep C is a big problem for health care workers. It can infect you without you knowing it and reside quietly in the liver for years. Sometimes you are totally unaware of any blood exposure but somewhere along the line it was inadvertent. Wh...

When I worked in MICU we had to end up putting a lock on the door. When open visiting became the rage it was a complete nightmare. There would be as many as 10 visitors at a bedside, hordes of people trooping in and out all day, visitors taking a "to...

I think that open visiting for a neuro ICU is insane! I have had neuro pts who would seize when stimulated. Sheesh! This customer service thing has gone over the top!

I think that open visiting for a neuro ICU is insane! I have had neuro pts who would seize when stimulated. Sheesh! This customer service thing has gone over the top!

I loved critical care nursing, particularly the Medical ICU. We had such a variety of patients and everyday I learned something new. It challenged both my mind and body because you have to constantly be on your toes and ready to jump on any subtle ch...

By all means, get a lawyer. It could be that the hospital is also investigating some other suspects and you will be cleared. I don't know if you are working where I used to work in WV but they watch any pyxis discrepencies closely. Even not having so...

Come to WV! RNs with 25+ years experience make all of $21.00/hr. And no, the cost of living is not that low here. Compared to another state where I lived and nursing pay was higher, real estate, taxes, gas, and food are quite high.

I have watched the positive attitude of so many new grads change to nausea and dread. I work with two young nurses now who were lucky enough to get a transfer into our vascular recovery unit. They say they will never again do floor nursing, they had ...

If it will make you feel better, my sister fainted about every other day at the slightest provocation. She even walked out of the hospital where she was supposed to have surgery because they required a blood test. She went on to become a medical tec...

I worked ICU until 3 yrs ago, only one nurse was older than 55. The past three years I worked cardiac telemetry, a unit with a very large staff. Again, only one or two nurses over 55. Where have they all gone?

Our state, (WV) is desperate for nurses, but not desperate enough to compensate experienced nurses in order to keep them in the profession. Instead the hospitals holler for the nursing schools to churn out more and more new grads.

Definitely ICU!

Canoehead, I can remember being chewed out by my instructor for wearing gloves while cleaning up green diarrhea. The next day the pt's stool report came back positive for shigella! That was in the late 1960's. Even in the mid 80's our infection cont...

One thing I have learned from dealing with people for years and years is that there are trashy people who live in mansions and salt of the earth folk who live in trailers, and vice-versa of course. Its not money or lack thereof which defines a person...

I would suggest writing incident reports on anyone who doesn't dispose of sharpies properly. This is a serious breach of procedure and a danger to others. On a slightly different note, we had an out break of MRSA in our ICU and anyone, even doctors w...

Good grief, PJMommy! I would say there was negligence on the part of the doctor and the nurse, the doctor for discharging too soon and not prescribing antibiotics and the nurse for not getting on the phone to the doctor. I had a ruptured appy in 2000...

"If they have the only game in town, how will you work in a hospital that pays more." I won't work in a hospital or anywhere else as a nurse for those wages. My daughter worked as a receptionist making $11.00/hr and every Friday afternoon the company...

BWHAHAHAHAHA! Do these docs really think they are going to get any nurses to work for $12.00?hr, with the huge amount of responsibility we have to shoulder, the rotten hours and the hard work?

There is something seriously wrong with our society and our habits that so many people are to the point of needing risky surgery for weight control. From what I saw on the news, this surgery is now being offered to teenagers. Back in the bad old day...

I too am a little skeptical about the nursing shortage. Our nurse:pt ratio in the MICU was 1:3 not because of a shortage but because management and administration set these ratios, I'm sure as most beneficial to the bottom line. If we had enough nurs...