RN1989

You will NOT look like a jerk! You are so awesome! It takes a lot of courage to do what you did, particularly when you are not in a large facility where you can duck under the radar. If people think you were wrong and are ugly to you - they obviously are not the ethical professionals they claim to be. I have noticed that so many people are doing things and don't even realize that what they are doing is illegal or unethical. They compromise in one thing, then another, and before they know it, their sense of right and wrong is so distorted that they believe they are doing people a favor. Hang in there and keep fighting for what is right! As a Christian, I believe that the road to heaven is narrow and difficult to follow - and I remind myself of that when I am in situations such as yours. Feel good that you did not compromise just because it was convenient.

Most facilities don't have a time period for something like that, compared to switching units. But there must be an open slot for you to take on another shift or day, etc. And often times there must be someone to replace you on that shift as well, as all weekends can sometimes be difficult to get a replacement.

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Any advice YOU feel like giving this poster has nothing to do with MY specific experiences. You are free to give any advice you wish, whether it contradicts someone else or not. I don't desire to get into specifics with you regarding my personal experiences. If you disagree with me - fine. But I'm not in the mood to give you any specifics just so you can tailor your comments to my comments and start down a different road on this thread because you don't agree. Some threads just are not worth getting into passionate discussions over.

Obviously nursing IS like this, or there would not be many posts on allnurses telling tales of this very nature. Perhaps you have not experienced it - but it is becoming the norm and no longer the exception. I have yet to see any employer give an employee the orientation they demanded, as you are telling this novice to do. It is unlikely that a new nurse would be able to know what a "proper" orientation is, since she has no experience. If she were to come up with her own idea of orientation, with no idea whether it would be feasible or not, she likely would never get a job if she walked in demanding it. New employees are terminated quickly for making demands unless they have an iron clad contract. While I am a person who is willing to document the unsafe/unsuitable conditions - I have also lost jobs/been unable to get jobs because of this. A new nurse needs to get experience and likely cannot risk termination or never being hired by being so forthright at this time. There are times it is better to walk away and live to fight another day, than bring to light all the ugliness that is healthcare - that the employers don't want to see anyway.

PCA/PCT is the name hospitals use for an untrained, unlicensed person that does CNA work. Working in a hospital/NH will give you more experience as far as the technical skills of caring for people's ADLs (activities of daily living - feeding, bathing, changing linens, peri-care, etc) as well as prioritizing. Psych attendants do not generally do all that a CNA would do. They are often left in even more dangerous staffing situations than a CNA would be - particularly at state facilities. You should be looking at speaking with financial aid counselors. There may scholarships you don't know about aimed at more mature college students.

You will find this type of situation repeated all over the country every day. You need to be very selective when you choose a job to be sure that you don't get in over your head and feel the need to keep quiting. This is real life, not nursing school.

I've never heard of any "stipend" doing agency work. I'd want more info on all that, how it works, where does this thing come from? Considering that the last agency I worked for paid $26/hr at a horrible hospital.....I might go to to work for an agency that paid $35!

While I think Jolie has some good ideas, I still don't have a belief myself of how to fix this mess. Various hospitals that I have worked for, always had policies in place that had the bottom line numbers for surgeries, etc. for private pay patients. And the cost was significantly lower than what the insurance companies were charged and what the insurance company would pay. Now I have a friend without insurance who is being charged MORE than what they charge the insurance companies. The explanation given was that the insurance companies won't pay the actual cost of the services, so they increase the private pay rates to make up for losing money on insured patients! The hospital is also billing her a special charge because her physician rents office space/equipment from the hospital. Most MDs, dentists, veterinarians, and other professionals set their fees to help cover the cost of things like rent/equipment. Or they consider it an overhead cost as a part of doing business. I think it is really bad form to have someone bill you a separate fee and then let you know that it is to pay your rent! Not sure of an absolute answer, but it is going to be hell trying to get there.

Ours is way more than a measly $1K to keep it affordable. Such is the nature of healthcare today.

Yes, anything you take with you could be called into question (depending on what answers you give in questioning, if someone sees you with "something" they think they can use against you) and you could have to produce it - even normal purse contents. Trial testimony is like a deposition - except there are a few more people. Since you have been through depo - you have a good idea of what will happen and what you need to do to remain calm and answer questions succinctly and professionally. No, it does not look good to make a nurse look bad in front of a jury. I think you will do just fine!

Here in the US, insurance fraud is a big problem for many nurses. I have been asked to give treatments to pts that did not need them, simply because they were more expensive. I have friends who were told to lie about the care the patients needed in order to get insurance money. I have been instructed to not report abuse and neglect - partly because it would have made the facility look bad that it wasn't reported sooner, and also because the pt would no longer receive treatment at that facility if the person was removed from their home and placed into state custody - which would decrease the amount of money coming in to the facility. I have been instructed to disregard the nurse practice act in various ways to save money and/or keep a pt alive because someone without proper education was given care of a pt. You'd be surprised at all the sneaky things that employers due to try to involve US nurses in schemes that are not on the up and up. There are times that the nurses don't even realize what is happening because it is is so sneaky and seemingly normal.

The opposing side will always try to make you look bad. If they didn't - they could get sued for malpractice. Don't take anything with you except ID and anything they tell you to bring. Anything you take with you could be subject to being shown to everyone. I've seen some stuff that was seemingly innocuous in someone's pocket be used against them. Be calm. Wait a few seconds before responding to questions. That lets attorneys have time to object to any questions. It also gives you time to comprehend what they are asking and to formulate a coherent answer. If you are confused, unsure of exactly what is being asked, ask them to repeat the question. Don't get angry. They may try to bait you. Once you get it into your head that they are SUPPOSED to do this, because it is in the best interest of the attorney's clients, it is easier to chill and not let them rattle you. Relax and you will do fine. I was deposed once for a suit against a doc. At the time I thought it was the worst thing in the world. Turns out - it was a piece of cake compared to other things that have happened to me since then.

Someone was prescribing the sleeper. Just because one doctor didn't know about it doesn't mean that your grandmother did not see another doc to get the rx. And a doc obviously would have had to order it while she was in that swing bed. I don't see where anything illegal occurred. Unless your relative is forcing your grandmother's mouth open and shoving the pills down her. That might constitute battery. If the RX isn't in your grandmother's name but she willingly takes meds given to her - there isn't anything you can do about it. I'm sure you have shared tylenol, etc with people who complained of a HA before. No, sharing RX drugs isn't a good idea but again...if your grandmother was a willing participant... If your grandmother is confused and taking meds because she doesn't know any better - then why are you and your mother allowing her to live alone if she is not competent to make decisions about the meds she takes? That could be construed as being as bad as your relative giving your grandmother meds that aren't RX'd for her. There are obviously some family issues that need to be worked out. There isn't anything that APS or the police, etc. will do about this situation. If you don't like what is going on, then your family needs to have a sit down and work things out.

Don't these people have NTG ordered? Generally, NTG is given 3 times, 5 mins apart before calling 911.