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Penelope_Pitstop

Penelope_Pitstop BSN, RN

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Penelope_Pitstop has 13 years experience as a BSN, RN.

I wear the firesuit in this family!

Penelope_Pitstop's Latest Activity

  1. Penelope_Pitstop

    HIPAA Violation, Fired

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to kosmopolitan's topic in HIPAA

    A difficult lesson to be learned, for sure. It's natural, as humans, to be curious about our patients even after they leave our care. I see no problem with you going to visit the patient. It is not at all a HIPAA violation to know her room number if she isn't confidential. Especially since you did ask the nurse beforehand. What you should have done (I know it's really easy to be a Monday morning quarterback!) is come back later to see if she was awake at that time. Then the patient herself could have informed you and therefore no HIPAA violation there, either. Now, what seems "sneaky" is you searching for that chart. If the nurse caring for the patient was indeed ignorant of the hospice status, why did you think the chart would contain the answer? Do you think possibly the nurse did know but did not feel comfortable telling you? And then went to the charge nurse to inquire about you?
  2. Penelope_Pitstop

    Do you ever get concerned about certain users on here?

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to Bakingismylife's topic in Nurses

    I baked grain free, gluten free granola tonight and it was amazingly delicious. I realize that no one asked me. But has that ever stopped me before now?
  3. Penelope_Pitstop

    What to do when a patient doesn't listen?

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to cc290133's topic in Activism

    Have you ever read up on motivational interviewing? It's a technique used in the behavioral health field and can be very helpful with non adherent patients. An example... "Mr Jefferson, you listed all of the reasons why you don't watch your carb intake and I understand that's it's really difficult to do it. But what good things could happen if you did control your glucose levels?" Also, speak with the patient in his or her own language...if the person doesn't understand medical jargon, don't throw it around as if you are intellectually superior. I'm sure the patient could teach you about his profession! (I'm not saying you're doing this, I'm just throwing it out there." And, validating his or her feelings/rationale, et al, as well vs dismissing them. So, when a patient lists a negative feeling towards a lifestyle change, or medication or diagnosis, don't begin a response with "at least," or "but." First, acknowledge that the person's feelings are valid.
  4. Penelope_Pitstop

    NICU mom to NICU nurse?

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to xokw's topic in Canada

    My hat's off to you if you can do this. My son was born last October and spent a mere three nights in the NICU, but I would be more than happy if I never again set foot in one. We need wonderful NICU nurses, I just know that I could not personally work there after being a NICU mom. I don't want to discourage you! I'm sure I'm in the minority.
  5. Penelope_Pitstop

    *****! Criminal charges!

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to RN0904's topic in Recovery

    You mentioned a lot of support personnel, which is wonderful; however...do you have legal counsel? And I mean independent legal counsel, none affiliated at all with your place of employment. Also, remember that the BON is a separate entity from criminal court.
  6. Penelope_Pitstop

    What would you do?

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to Meangirl's topic in Professionalism

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]27484[/ATTACH]
  7. Penelope_Pitstop

    Am I a woosy for feeling 5 patients is too much on a medsurg floor

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to PaperPushingRN's topic in Nurses

    When I was a new grad 12 years ago, 5 patients on days, 7 on nights was the norm. This was a busy med/surg floor. It was doable. That being said... The acuity level has risen - 2006's stepdown patients are 2018's MedSurg patients. People are discharged quicker and sicker, thus the population is more acute. Additionally, the amount of tedium has increased (clicking through a million things when charting, requiring a different assessment form for every last intervention, requiring two nurses to check pressure areas on admission, etc.) resulting in an emphasis on tasks vs critical thinking. Task-oriented thinking can lead to more stress for the nurse - reason being that there is so much pressure to get everything done for everyone, and have that timestamp match up. ("I have to pass my meds or I'll have to put in a reason why they're late! OMG my Foley reason task is overdue and the CSM is really hounding us about that..." One final consideration...some facilities have limited space in ICUs, stepdown/intermediate units and therefore the acuity on medsurg floors is high as a result of this. When I worked in the ICU, sometimes we needed to open up beds and we had to play a game of who was the LEAST critical to downgrade.
  8. Penelope_Pitstop

    I might have found family

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to Cmarce439's topic in Professionalism

    If you want to know, you can ask the patient. Nothing wrong with that, no HIPAA issues there. The problem would be if you went to your mom's family and asked if Jill Jones was a cousin or something like that. But if you go to the patient I don't see a problem, unless you then take that info and share it with your family.
  9. Penelope_Pitstop

    Outrageous Complaints

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to DisneyNurseGal's topic in Nurses

    She couldn't "taste" her IV Solu-Medrol dose.
  10. Penelope_Pitstop

    How do you deal with dizziness and syncope?

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to hydrochloro's topic in Nurses

    If I'm dizzy and you give me warm water (especially if I'm lying flat), I will vomit. So please don't do that.
  11. Penelope_Pitstop

    Horrifying medical quack info on the Internet

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to brownbook's topic in Nurses

    Garlic cloves used as suppositories supposedly help with yeast infections. Don't ask how I know that they do not. Thanks.
  12. Penelope_Pitstop

    Questionable Behavior: Reports and Write Ups

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to SisterofMary's topic in Nurses

    I realllly wanna know what was said...
  13. Penelope_Pitstop

    Can a Manager limit how may days off in a row you can take?

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to wasabiRN's topic in Nurses

    I'm going to take some liberties here, but I have a feeling that the problem isn't you taking off four consecutive days. It's the days you're scheduling off. I'd wager that there are days that no one is signing up to work. If you're days, maybe everyone is signing up to work Tue-Thur. And if you're nights, maybe everyone is working Monday night through Wednesday night. When I worked 7P-7A, we were required to work at least 2 Sunday nights and 2 Thursday nights to keep this very thing from happening. Again, assuming here, but if you wanted, say, Monday-Thursday off you'd probably be okay.
  14. Penelope_Pitstop

    Allergic to cats in AL, what can I do?

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to Mrsvirgomama's topic in LPN/LVN

    I thought that "AL" in this case was "Alabama," and I was thinking perhaps the Yellowhammer state was overrun by felines.
  15. Penelope_Pitstop

    How do you keep from making med errors?

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to elmerj's topic in Medications

    NEVER rush any process related to medications. You can always redo a dressing, go back and listen to lung sounds, break out your pocket guide when looking over your tele strips, but you can never UN-GIVE a medication. Once it is administered, there is no turning back, it's like ringing a bell. So take all of the time necessary. This includes any and all assessments/measurements/tests required to administer said medication.
  16. Penelope_Pitstop

    Can't stop thinking about work

    Penelope_Pitstop replied to Michelles87's topic in Nurses

    This did happen to me after I had been a MedSurg nurse for years. What turned out to be wrong wasn't work - turns out my anxiety was uncontrolled and obsessing about work was my focus. This doesn't mean it's why you're having this issue, though, but you might want to think about what else has changed outside of work. Or, is there something that has changed at work that you have glossed over? (Management change, schedule changes, coworkers leaving, etc.) Or, looking from a different angle, has nothing changed but you thought it would have by now?
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