bigredrn57

Call the doc with VS. Tell him about the patient's pain and/or lack of BM and bowel sounds, any abdominal distention. I would also ask for permission to place an NG to low intermittent suction before the patient perforates. It sounds like an ileus. While you're at it ask for an abdominal CT with contrast. This happened to a patient of mine not too long ago. I had to fight with the doc to get an NG order. The patient drained 9000 cc of gastric fluid in about 20 minutes. Before hand she had been vomiting all day. When I came on just one whiff was all it took. She was barfing stool. She said I saved her life. Be good to yourself.

It is an air leak. I would take the dressing down and ensure it is patent and leave the patient on wall suction. The latest information I've read said not to use vaseline impregnated gauze around the chest tube, and only to tape the dressing on three sides to prevent crepitus. There is also some debate on whether the air leak will resolve better with or without suction. Sometimes though this is doctor specific. Some do some don't. It's best to call.

Really? Where do you find the time? I have a full team of five CABG's. I am primary and I am charge.

If you know so much. What are you doing here? I can't help people that won't help themselves

A lot of guys gravitate to critical care areas. I don't care if a nurse is gay or not, just do your job and be professional. When someone asks me, I tell them I'm not that sweet. As far as ADN vs. BSN. I have found the ADN usually have spent more time in clinicals. Their bedside manner and skills reflect this. Be good to yourself

Hi. I work the night shift on a CV-Stepdown unit.

We always managed to get to work. Although sometimes the snow was deep and you had to wait for a plow to go through or take an alternate route. Wisconsin has advantages and disadvantages like anywhere else. Spring is usually cool and wet. Summer is fine until about August when it does get hot and humid. But there are lots of lakes, rivers and public pools around. Fall is my favorite season, warm days and cool nights. Winter starts around Thanksgiving. You have your car winterized in the fall. Or you will breakdown. Last year they had 133 inches of snow. School is usually called off if they have 6 inches or more at one time. The coldest I had ever been up there was -35 below zero. Outdoor activities are year round. Schools are excellent, but property taxes are high to pay for them. I would recommend a small town outside Madison and commute. Look up my home town of Fort Atkinson. The air is fresh and the people are friendly. What are you waiting for?

I have had similar experiences. If you give a bully an inch they will walk all over you. They will continue to do so until you stand up for yourself. No one can take advantage of you without your permission. Forget the people pleasing and co-dependence. Exercise: For the next week look in the mirror and say, I am not a piece of crap. I am somebody! Do this every time you go to the bathroom. I know, sounds crazy, but it works. Then tell nurse ratchet to lose her s*itty attitude. Nothing is worth losing your self- respect. Be good to yourself.:wink2:

Do you have any solutions? Or do you just like to instigate things and let others clean up?

Have you talked to a lawyer? Did you pay your fine and fulfill your obligations? If so, speak to a lawyer about having your record expunged. Experience is what we get when we don't get what we want.

I grew up taking care of my non-compliant diabetic mother. In 1985 I was found dead in a housefire. I died twice more in the hospital. The nurses and docs did not give up on me. I survived for a reason. The best way I could think of "payback," was to become a nurse.

I gave up on agency nursing and am about to return as a CVICU-Stepdown staff nurse. Now if I can just put up with BS. Wish me luck.

It sounds like you are trying to work your program instead of the program of AA. My way did not work. I needed the input of people from all walks of life. The 1st Tradition states: Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity. In other words we are inclusive instead of exclusive. Meetings that ignore the traditions tend to forget why they are there. I would suggest you talk to your sponsor about this.

Nine years! That's a lot of days, and all in a row.:urck: Keep up the good work and be good to yourself.

Talking about this in a forum is irrelavant. Try calling and writing a "real letter," to your congressman. However, I'm not sure more bureaucracy will provide a solution.

As the jailer once said, "Why do you keep coming back?"

How professional!:imbar Just where do y ou find the time to play grabass?

I believe that is called 20 X 20 hindsight. I guess it all depends on your perspective. What ever happened to the original topic?

Congratulations! 25 years is quite a milestone. As my sponsor pointed out to me, "There is honesty and there is suicide. What are you practicing?" You sponsor 8 people and work full time? Where do you find the energy?:nuke:

It doesn't bother me at all. I've found many patients don't recognize me or I them, out of the hospital setting. Many people are self absorbed and are more worried about themselves. I like to meet other nurses at meetings. We understand each other's frustrations. Once in a while I even run into someone I know from meetings at the hospital. It is refreshing for us both. It keeps me grounded. So I don't forget where I come from and I don't have to be in charge of everything. I can just be part of something. Try reading the 12th tradition in the 12X12. Without the Steps and Traditions I tend to lose my way. Be good to yourself.

You rescue the security guard being beaten by a patient. Before hand the battleaxes, (nurses), didn't have a kind word to say. Afterward they said they didn't know what they would have done without me. Too late I had another contract. Or when the patient asks if you are in med school. I say I went to Veterinary school but wasn't smart enough. Or when the ladies are surprised how big and gentle you are. Yep! I have a way with the ladies, they're all over 80.

Do you like being a "tool" of management? Do you care about your patients or fellow nurses? Or are you just in it for the money?

Spike you're right, AA doesn't work, you have to do the work. Going to meetings is not enough. Am I willing to change? If not I'm just wasting my time and my life. What was always there when I got into trouble? Me. If I'm so smart, how did I get into this mess? How do I get out of it? By working the steps with the guidance of a sponsor. Where do I learn? At meetings. Until I became willing to take responsibility for my actions nothing changed. It always boils down to the same three things; willingness, honesty and open-mindedness. Why do people relapse? Because it is easier than changing your ways. Most people do not start in AA because they want to. It is usually to save something, their job, marriage, or their ass. The ones that stay demonstrate Willingness, Honesty, and Open-mindedness. Who does this apply to? Who is reading this?

As my sponsor of 18 years says,"There is honesty and there is suicide. What are you practicing?"

Thanks Angie O. This is why nursing as a profession is screwed up. MO is also a right to work state. But what do I expect from the,"Show me state." But then again who else would elect a dead guy to be governor?:imbar