simao pt

It's true. Not everybody is made for night shifts. And, as we say to our patients, our health is mainly in our hands. If you think it's afecting you don't wait for it to get worse. The beautiful about nursing is that there are so many areas in which we can work in. :)

I care for my patients. And I try to care for them as best as possible. There are few whom I cared about and that was really difficult, because when they got worse and worse I felt really bad. So I just keep doing the best I can.

Thanks, Cheerfuldoer, and all the others who posted replies. Well, she doesn't keeps he problems to herself. In fact I already advised her not to talk about them to everybody, because not all person care for her. She really is crying for help. And... this is going to sound real bad, and it isn't as bad as it's going to sound, but... in Portugal raising the voice as talking to some patients isn't very uncommon. This does not mean we always yeal at our patients! But sometimes we are allowed to loose a bit of our patience. And we do have plenty of patience. Only happens sometimes. We would have to be really, really, really bad to get fired, or moved to a different floor, or be punished. And she's loosing her patience with some frequency, but many times it's only the tone of voice that gets more agressive. And she is techicaly very good.

I totally agree with Dixilee. Nursing can be very scary in the beggining but once you gain confidence everything becames easier. It happened to me too. I was lucky, because after six months due to reorganization of the staff I was sent into a different but similar unit. Even though they hadn't the best references (stated I was yet too "green") because I was more confident in my skills, capacities and knowledge things turned out nice and soon they changed their minds. If you look confident, even if you aren´t that much, that will make things easier, too. Some nurses tend to be more agressive if they "smell" fear on others. Don't be upset if you hear remarks such as "You should know this already". It's always difficult in the beggining. And only after you passed that that you will find the beauty in nursing. Good luck :)

I like the people I work with. Some passed the barrier from being just collegues and became friends. Good friends. There's one that was just a little explosive, but very good nurse. She's currently passing through a really difficult period and I think it's starting to affect her work. I've seen her scream at some pacients for almost no reason. From little explosive she's becaming simply explosive. The thing is, if I tell her this she will not accept it. I'm sure of it. She's currently not able to accept or deal with critics. And I'm afraid that I may add another stressor in her life which may push her down, instead of bringing her up. What should I do?

Both Dixielee and Heymickey gave excelent tips! Many times the best veins are actually the ones you can´t see. I'm lucky because I have terrible veins :chuckle , so I could practise on myself (just searching!). Even now I look at a person, look at their hands and harm and think about how difficult they would be if they had to be puncioned. Once I was with my boyfriend watching TV and suddenly he asked "WHAT are you DOING?". I then realized I wasn´t caressing his arm but feeling is veins!

Just because a person is hierarchly inferior it does not mean that they are inferior in any way. We don't like it when the docs act all superior on us, do we? Why should we act the same on others? :stone

You may nor have noticed, but I did use a computer to look up for answers. And since I got them, I reached my objective, so... Who's wasted time? :chuckle

Thanks, SMK1. It does clarify my ideas.

I'm sorry for you, but there's nothing you can do now. Maybe if you keep repeating that story your co-workers will believe. But... it's your life! Who cares what the others think? You only have to feel happy because your dog's the one who hit you and not your husband! And glad because your husband wouldn't ever hit you! Independent of what other people think you know the truth. :)

Kardex?? If by Kardex you mean the paper in which you put the prescriptions, the hour and days and that you sign when you give the medication I still use it in my hospital. But it's going to end in April's 15, because then we're going to start using the computers. I'm not sure about the advantages of the computer, but I really like kardex. I know in an instant what the patient is having, who gave it, why wasn't it given, etc.. But I'm waiting to see what the computer will bring to improve. If by kardex you didn´t mean any of this then forget what I've just said... :uhoh21:

Doctors sometimes think they're "The Lords of the Knowledge". And some even think it's their mission to teach nurses, these little flies that keep reminding them of the so called patients who need care! But there are exceptions...

I'm re-surfing in Allnurses (I stoped for a while) and there's a question I've tried to solve but couldn´t. What does RN, CNA, LPN, MB, BSN, PCTand MSN means? What are the main differences? What does one do that the other doesn't? By the way, in nursing schools do you specialize in an area during the first learning period or is it only after working for some time? P.S.: Well, I know RN stands for Registerd Nurse. I'm not a complete ignorant...

My feelings, exactly.

I'm not worried about it for now. No Kids. If I die I don't care who gets my stuff. Nothing much to leave, anyway. The only thing I don't want, and this I've been saying for years, is that I don't want anyone to wear black in my funeral or after. I don't believe the colour you have on states your feelings. And the "having to wear black for X time..."... Nop. Don't want that for me.