RNfor26

I do not care if a nurse smokes. That is his/her problem. However, they should not smell like smoke when caring for patients. It is almost impossible not to smell like smoke if they come right back inside after smoking. The other issue is the extra breaks they take. That should not be allowed. Smoke on your scheduled breaks and that is all. Our hospital is now a smoke free campus. If people want to smoke (visitors and employees) they have to leave the campus or smoke in the parking lot in their car with the windows UP! No way you can not smell like smoke doing that. Plus if they come back in smelling like smoke they could be asked to leave! Like that is going to happen! We are already probably working short. It does not change the way I feel about the person. I feel sorry for them. I quit smoking years ago when I was younger. It is possible to quit. You have to want it badly enough. Many smokers enjoy smoking and, while they say they want to quit, they don't really WANT to but they know they should. That is one thing that makes it so hard. Keep trying!!!

Yes, you are right in that the BSN RN has more education. I was required to take another Math class, 2 English writing classes, 9 credits of Humanities.......I could go on and on. More than half of the required classes were of this type. The nursing courses focus primarily on Public Health and Management. Neither of these have anything to do with being a floor nurse. Could those of you correcting others spelling and grammar errors please stop. It is really very annoying and it is unnecessary to be so condescending!

I was an ADN RN who went back to school for the BSN. I learned absolutely nothing in the BSN program that made a difference to my bedside nursing. Management pushes you to go back to school and get the BSN. They want you to get all of these certifications that they will only pay for the initial test. Recert is out of your pocket as well as the extra CEU's you need to keep your certification active. They do not reward you will a higher wage or even respect. They want the trophy on their wall so they can say....."Our nurses have higher degrees and our nurses are certified." So what? It does not make you a better nurse. Actually, the ADN nurses get more bedside clinical experience than the BSN programs where I live. My suggestion........if you really want a higher degree go from RN to MSN. That will open a lot more doors than the BSN. It is almost a waste of time unless you are doing it for your own personal satisfaction. At the facility where I work it doesn't matter what your degree might be. If they want you in a job (personal preferences and who they can get along with or who they can manipulate the easiest) then you will get the job it does not matter what degree you hold. This was evident recently when a management and supervisory position was given to ADN nurses and the nurses with BSN's and supervisory experience were passed up because the person doing the hiring didn't like them. I think that goes on a lot.

How about the other side of the coin? I have worked on a Surgical floor for years and given discharge instructions which include lifting restrictions. I have had more than one man ask me, when told not to lift more than 10#, how will I go to the bathroom? One particular patient comes to mind. He was a very sarcastic "gentleman" who had a TURP. While I was removing his foley I attempted to keep him covered as much as possible. He pulled up his gown and said, "You can look if you want." I pulled his gown back down and said, "Don't want to." Later, while giving discharge instructions, he used the "how will I go to the bathroom" line. I said, "Remember, I've seen it and it's not 10#." Unprofessional? Perhaps but his wife thought it was tremendously funny and almost peed her pants laughing. :chuckle

I live in Michigan. I am an RN with 26 years experience. I have worked for my current facility almost 19 years. The top pay at my hospital is $34.10 (I know because I just asked yesterday). After 19 years I was at $28.41!!! I discussed it with my new manager ( I just switched jobs within the facility) and she gave me a 3% raise. (that would not have happened with my previous manager). She also told me they were looking into this problem and would be making adjustments. I will believe that when I see it. We do not have a union. I find it pathetic that an experienced RN with 26 total years experience is making now $29.26 (after confronting someone) when the top of the scale is $34.10. They have absolutely no respect or appreciation for experience.:(:confused:

The only time I would leave the bad IV in before I started a new one is if I was going to start the new site IMMEDIATELY. The rationale for this is that if you have to use the same arm to start the IV ( I prefer to use the opposite arm but this is sometimes not possible) when you put the tourniquet on the arm where you just removed the IV then it may start bleeding from the site because it has not had time to seal off. Otherwise I remove it right away.

Orientate is in the dictionary and it means "to orient". Doesn't that make it a word?

I am a RN with 25 years experience on Med/Surg floors. After today I am still feeling some of the feelings you are all venting. Of course I am much more comfortable in my roll than a lot of you are. I feel so sorry for these new nurses coming in with such inadequate orientation. They don't give you a chance to even get slightly comfortable in your roll before they throw you in. All they want is a warm body. I am also tired of Administration being allowed to treat us (yes, even experienced nurses) like morons, talking down to us and being total bitches! We are professional educated people. Why do they have to push their weight around and try to intimidate us? Do you see this going on with administration at your facility. We have so many unhappy nurses right now. The worst I have ever seen.