jam2007

I agree with your words of wisdom. In my case, I have been looking and sending out resumes without any luck. Unfortunately I only have one year experience in M/S and the job market, as we all know, kinda stinks right now!

It's comforting to know I am not alone with the feelings of anxiety and dread about making it through another shift..but it is also disheartening to know that so many of us who wanted to be nurses are now questioning that choice. I work on a busy tele/med floor, high acuity, and too much responsibility (we get e-mails telling us that reaching 99% of our goals isn't good enough). It's gotten so bad, that I can't even relax on my days off.

I have the same question..but the monkey wrench is making it to rounds at 10AM with the expectation that all meds are passed and assessments are done. HA HA! Any other suggestions to address that. (I listen to report, verify abn. labs,test results, orders,consults, when meds are due..everything is on the computer) I pull my tele strips, see who is covering my pts, and check my charts. It is now 8AM..and I start passing me meds...I can generally finish my med pass by 10:00 but not my assessments. Anything I could do different from the posted suggestions?

Thanks all for your humor! Definitely had to vent...don't want to have things build up and say something I'd regret at work.

I can't take it any more. I've posted previously about certain co-workers throwing me under the bus, but today my NM was particularly ******. The phone was ringing and because I didn't pick it up, she looked at me with disgust and said "you know, you can pick up the phone" with a very sarcastic tone. Just the other day, I'm picking up the phone every 2 minutes, and she happened to call a few times, and she comments that I'm the only one picking up the phone. She runs hot and cold. All I could do was look at her and mumble "I'm sorry" ***...I feel like no matter what I do, it's not good enough. Just needed to vent because can't vent at work,

Yeah, it stinks...I do have co-workers I trust, but they aren't always on. I am looking for something else, but most places have hiring freezes. Thank goodness for allnurses!

Unfortunately, asking questions is a sign of weakness on my floor...I've posted abut it before so I won't go on ad naseum, but I work with nurses who have thrown me under the bus, so I have to be careful who I ask what, so I am not perceived as not having "basic nursing skills".

Before you took an early leave did you explain that it was too much walking for you? I work on a floor where the lay out is awful; when some of the nurses got pregnant the charge nurse made sure they had patients that were close to each other. I would try to get some further clarification about the manager's expectations and disciplinary policies. I wouldn't feel comfortable with a general statement either. Did you tell her you have been pro-active while giving report? If you truly feel like you're not doing a good job, you should discuss that with your manager and work out a plan. It's hard to say whether you should leave, you have to trust your instincts. But I would recommend you have a plan in place for when you return, if that is what you chose.

I usually see beta blockers with parameters...I know BB lowers BP and you don't want to bottom pt out, but there are other meds that can do the same (i.e. lasix) and it's nursing judgement. Are there other cardiac meds that one would anticipate the MD writing parameters?

One of the patients has an NGT and I overheard it needed to be clamped..didn't want to ask and I searched my fundamentals book to no avail. Anyone have a clue?

Isn't it ironic, don't you think... that we are in a "healing" profession that takes it's toll on our bodies and psyche? There should be some sort of nursing support group with weekly meetings for our profession. I take care of myself, eat healthy, go to the gym..but I still feel like I am going to have a nervous breakdown..i am mentally and physically exhausted and suffer from muscle tension. I have started using meditation...and looking for a non-hospital job.

Interesting observation. I have to agree..during rounds I have heard some of the nurses spouting verbatim what they were told in hand-off like it was their original thought. I am not the most confident..even when I know I am right; I know I need to work on my self-confidence and have that as a goal of mine. There is so much more to this profession than I anticipated:banghead:

I am a new RN on a busy medical/tele floor where I see many different diagnosis. It is a high acuity floor and not alot of "walkie-talkies" I am trying to fit the pieces together...for example, if someone has Afib..I need to make sure they are on an anticoag, hooked up to tele, monitor VS, etc. I guess I'm having difficulty pulling the whole picture together with the disease process, meds, etc. and am attributing that to the ability to critically think. Hope that makes sense.

I am having a hard time pulling everything together. I work on a medical/telemetry floor and I find that when I get report in the morning or give report during rounds, I am not doing as well as I should in picking up pertinent information. For example, I had some one with high troponins. So I should have made sure they were recycled, make sure the pt is in ASA, BB, etc. Or getting worked up b/c someones BS is high, only tho have the MD point out that they are on prednisone (I feel like a total loser at this point) I feel inept and need some direction...words of wisdom, websites,books..anything to help me become more competent. I have a review coming up and I am sooo nervous.:uhoh21:

I need to buff up my critical thinking skills..I know some of this will come with time, as I am exposed to different diagnoses, labs, etc. I know it isn't one of my strong areas and I was wondering if there are any books and/or websites that offer case studies to assist me in getting the bigger picture and connecting the dots. Thanks:nurse: