ScottishRN

I am really concerned about this contract you signed - I have never heard of such a thing! Has anyone else? Many states are at-will states which basically means either the employer or the employee can end the work relationship at anytime for any reason as long as it has nothing to do with discrimination. Also, many places of employment have a probationary period of 90 days during which the employer/employee can determine if the job is a proper fit for the new hire. I would certainly have a lawyer look at the contract and determine its validity. Good luck - I learned the hard way how damaging working in a hostile environment can be to mental and physical health.

I've seen a nurse put in an NG tube in a pt so she could administer contrast. The tube was obviously in the pt's airway, but the nurse thought she heard air when she checked for stomach placement. She was going to administer the contrast when I told her she couldn't do that because she was in the lungs. The pt was coughing and turning colors. I promise you she looked at me and said that she would just advance the tube into the stomach. After I picked my jaw up off the floor where it had fallen because I was so shocked I told her to take the tube out and get someone into the room who knew what they were doing. The pt was my husband.

OP, you are not alone, and it's not just the ER that can affect nurses that way. I am well and truly burnt out, and I thought going back to school would help things, but really, no. I have my BSN now, and I couldn't care less. I felt no joy in obtaining it. I'm well and truly looking at leaving the profession. It's been an interesting 20+ years, but now I'm ready for something different.