anononurse

The majority of frontline workers I know have not been wearing masks in public unless mandated. I wear a mask simply to avoid attracting attention to myself and the hostile people who want to control everyone. There is way too much fear mongering out there!

Very well stated! Sadly, codependency is rampant among caregivers.

Thinking like a nurse means critical thinking. Calling it fantasy thinking is insulting. You should plan on at least 2 solid years as an RN in a high level ICU to fine tune your skills, learn critical thinking, and as preparation to get into CRNA school. You need your BSN as well. CRNA schools are requiring Doctorates now. There’s a lot of competition out there. It’s a lot of dedication and hard work if you can get in! Good luck to you!

Very sad that this happens more often than we know. Unfortunately gossip is not uncommon in nursing just like any other career. It takes integrity to be professional and keep your mouth shut. Sadly, many people in Administration or in leadership positions like to hear gossip on the personal life & trials of others. The boss’s BFFs or favorites are always the small minded, self-serving tattletales, and it helps the them score brownie points. Face it, there is no equitable treatment in the workplace, nor will there be until LEADERSHIP models professional behavior. Always keep your eyes wide open & your mouth shut unless it’s something you would want said about you. Many professional nurses have no integrity, and that’s not professional at all!

Covid19.healthdata.org has a lot of information

With all the stories I’m hearing about punishment and repercussions for nurses getting Covid after being told to reuse masks, and PPE, I’m thinking there may be some lawsuits. For 1 week I’d love to see the ED staffed by only Administration and managers, who would be mandated to follow the same ever changing requirements they expect of us.

I understand his being concerned, we all have family that are. However, if everyone’s family or significant other wanted us (nurses,doctors,first responders,etc.) to stay home, this situation would never improve. We went into this field to help others.

Anyone know what the decompression tents are that are being set up at hospitals? We have been told that we have to staff these tents starting tonight and need an explanation- a REAL one, not what administration is telling us!

Wow, another nurse who remembers the days before gloves!!

I know several new grads whose first nursing job was in hospice. It's worth a try if that's your passion.

I really feel for you. Discrimination against older nurses is alive & well! Have you considered hospice nursing or home health? I agree you need to take whatever you can get & learn all you can. Having some nursing experience will definitely make you more marketable. Good luck!

It does sound like nursing is not for you-- you have to CARE about your professional license and your patients and yourself enough to follow the rules- not doing so is sloppy and sets you up for failure, not to mention your reputation will follow you. You have to walk the line - it becomes second nature to follow the rules-- it's called CYA & liability. With all the work/time/money that is required to become a nurse, it makes no sense to disregard the rules. It's especially scary that you're taking care of pediatric patients. IF you decide to remain a nurse, I would look into getting into a nurse internship program w/a preceptor and a long orientation at a large teaching hospital.

I'm being cautiously optimistic, hoping for middle of the road, rather than extreme left or right.

Sadly, I've seen this happen too. The problem is that when you lose all your senior/experienced staff the liability goes up. This doesn't get the attention of administration until after a mass exodus, and poor patient outcomes. In my situation I was a fairly new RN, and I left what I could see was clearly an unsafe situation.

I agree, and I'd like to add: Just b/c I'm quiet & reserved doesn't mean I'm any less of a nurse!! Not all of us are loud, over-exuberant, or boisterous. I prefer to work with low-key professionals who quietly do their job w/out the fanfare. There are enough pushy, aggressive, showy "super nurses" vying for the limelight!!

Good solid hospital experience first- you will be a much better nurse w/a strong & diverse hospital background. Then, outpatient later- and you can do "little" procedures such as Laparoscopies, Tonsillectomies, a large variety of Plastics, including Face/neck lifts, Abdominoplasties, Breast Reductions & Augmentations, & Liposuction; also Mastectomies, Hernias, a multitude of orthopedic surgery including the new partial knee replacements, general surgeries, some vascular cases, back surgeries, dental, GYN, Urology, ENT including corneal transplants, anterior & posterior vitrectomies, cataracts, & endoscopies, etc. to name just a few surgeries/procedures not considered "real". Also, epidural injections, pain clinics & blood transfusions. The age of your patients can be anywhere from 3 mos old to 100. No, there's no call, but you are expected to arrive anywhere between 6-7 a.m. & stay anywhere from 4-10 p.m. - depending on whether or not you have any 23 hr overnight patients & when the night staff can relieve you. Oh, and there will be add-on cases & surgeons running late & rides that can't pick up their family member until long after you're ready to leave. Having a critical care background is a plus, since you will need to be proficient in assessment skills, be able to recognize complications quickly & know when a patient may have to return to surgery. Oh, yes, you must also work independently & know what to do in a code situation w/out a hospital supervisor or respiratory dept. or ER doc to come to your rescue. (no, anesthesia does not hang around long after they turn the patient over to you, contrary to popular belief). Knowing how to manage an airway is a requirement. Flexibility is a must, b/c "bankers hours" & low acuity patients are a nice fantasy that administration may promise you but never happens in the real world- unless you work in the office. A surgery center is where you want the MOST skilled & experienced staff IMO, having worked both hospital & surgery centers for over 20 years. Good luck. :)

I've heard all this and more too! I do know that there are some very capable new RNs out there, they are the ones who have worked at least in a year or 2 in an acute care setting, & NO, school does not count as "experience"! They are the ones who have worked weekends, holidays, and off shifts, who have actually gotten some good assessment skills. They don't expect every holiday weekend or spring break off, they understand that it's not "all about me". They don't ask to leave early when it's busy or hang around when it's not-- texting, flirting, talking about their social agenda. Yes, these awesome newer nurses w/a WORK ETHIC are getting harder & harder to find, but they are out there. If you are wondering why you're not finding the "ideal job" - here's a clue: it doesn't exist. The best thing these new grads can do to get the experience, 6th sense & the skills you THINK you already have is apply for jobs at a teaching hospital, get in an internship or mentoring program even if it's not your chosen area & LEARN. The things you learn will be invaluable to you in the long run in ways you can't even imagine. Speaking from firsthand experience, nothing cures whining & entitlement like education AND practical experience!!

In outpatient surgery centers, as well as outpatient surgery depts in hospitals, PACU commonly discharges both inpatients & outpatients, hence we do the calls for all out patients. The unit the patient is discharged from does the calls for inpatients. It may vary from facility to facility.

Where I work we have to do the callbacks w/in 72 hours. We do not do endoscopies or locals. We also make 2 attempts but occasionally it is 72 hrs b/f we make a first attempt. Recently my wife had surgery at another hospital & they asked if she would like a follow-up call, she said "sure" & they called a week later. Within 24 hours is NICE, but not always feasible.

how immature & petty!!! I agree you're being scapegoated. When I have had patient complaints about another nurse I go to that person FIRST- & I would want anyone else to pay me the same courtesy, in fact our manager ENCOURAGES us to talk to each other if there are issues. It's called "teamwork" & "having each others' backs"!! Definitely talk to your manager & make a copy of the record to show her.

there's at least one everywhere you go!! they are usually the drama queen, the one who loves being in the limelight, and the one who gets too drunk at the work parties.........

I have to agree, hone the skills you need - if you want to use filter needles, fine- but broaden your knowledge base to develop real skills: patient assessment, accurate EKG interpretation, critical thinking, prioritizing, good time management, etc. So many newer nurses are lacking in these areas. Focus on what's important, take extra courses if necessary, especially if you expect to have longevity in this field!

I can tell you my 70 yr old dad (a retired MD) was NOT impressed when the 50-something RN kept calling him "hot shot" & "big guy" after his prostate surgery! He finally, after about the 3rd time asked her to please call him by his name! Your patient should not be cringing when you ask him a question! I try to make a conscious effort to call my patients by their names, after all, I'm a perfect stranger to them & pet names indicate a kind of familiarity that doesn't exist (I'm in acute care) & may not even be appreciated- in fact, many find it insulting & condescending.

There's a fine line between compassionate, professional patient care vs enabling & treating patients in an infantile way. (Hospice care is a little different, & way out of my area of expertise- I'm talking about acute care.)

ITA!!! However, my experience w/these kind of whiners is that they want MANAGEMENT to tell them not to go- maybe this is why they're giving her 'busywork'--- to give her a few hours & shut her up?? (talk about a blatant waste of money!!) My advice is to encourage her to look for work elsewhere-- that's about all you can do; & maybe someone else who is happy to take her job w/out the whining, will be a better fit. There are way too many good nurses out there who are only too HAPPY to work split shifts/part-time - why put up w/a whiner-- and pay her RN wages to do basically nothing? A person like you're describing is really never happy w/anything- chances are if she did get fulltime status she'd want to go to another floor!! Good luck- and keep positive- it's true, these constant complainers bring morale down.