RockyCreek

I do it for the cute clothes and the built-in excuse to avoid family gatherings on holidays/weekends!

1. how many years have you been a nurse? 24 2. how many nurses do you know personally that have been sued? one 3. how many of those nurses who were sued have had to testify in court? none 4. how many of those who testified were found guilty? n/a 5. how many nurses do you know personally who have lost their license for patient related (non-criminal) actions? (by non - criminal i mean not for cases of drug diverting or robbing a back or something where the nurse knows what they are doing is illegal and will result in losing their license) i know one nurse that surrendered his license due to failure to pay child support [contested paternity later and won case]. the only other cases i that i know personally involve drug diversions.

It doesn't happen often but I have seen my Nurse Manager work on the floor. She even did a shift as a night shift aide! She is the first one to admit that her skills are rusty and she wouldn't be the first one I call in on a code but she is awesome at keeping all the administrative junk to a minimum and that's pretty terrific in my book!

"Reading glasses - because I'm pretty blind without them" Hey, this is the age of the computer - I had to get TRIfocals!

Beyond the HIIPA issues, can I also throw in an observation or two of my own? The general public really doesn't need to see pictures of their nurse drunk, laying in vomit or passed out in cars. If you have a tatto in a private place - let's keep that private. PLEASE don't put suggestive or lewd pictures ANYWHERE online - they have a way of 'showing up' in all the wrong places at all the wrong times! And, of course, if you have a something really nasty to say about a spouse/friend/ethnic group PLEASE don't say it online! For me, Facebook is just place to brag on the kids, keep up with family news and play a few mind-numbing games -- anything more is just asking for trouble. Just my opinion!

If I understand the situation correctly, you have a patient with no history of aspiration that was ordered a regular diet. You witnessed the patient eating with no difficulty and swallowing pills with no s/s of respiratory distress. Another nurse at some other point in time finds food in the patient's mouth and assumes that the s/s of respiratory distress now present could be related to aspiration. Under this scenario, you are not "wrong" in the way that you administered care. Patient conditions can and do change during the course of hospitalizations. It is also reasonable that the other nurse should be concerned if she finds food in a patient's mouth but, since we don't know exactly where/when the food got there, it would be impossible assign blame. Try to focus on the care you gave and the steps you took to keep the patient safe. If you identify ways that you can improve, then learn from the experience. If you are 100% sure that you did everything possible, then be proud of the depth of care you delievered.

As hard as it is for you, please remember that the problem is not unique to nursing. There are new accounting graduates that are not finding jobs, new physical therapy graduates that are not finding jobs and new law school graduates that are not finding jobs. I am glad you are eager to work and I hope that you find a solid position soon but, in the meantime, try not to take on the 'victim' role. It will make it harder for you to keep your focus and it might accidentally creep into an interview or application. Here is my best advice as a 24 year RN: Make the pursuit of a job your full time job - put in full 8 hour days of looking, applying and interviewing. Keep checking back with all potential employers on a regular basis [most have websites now that change daily] and try to get that first job as soon as possible. Don't hold out for the 'perfect' one - just get your foot in the door. Do your very best work even if you think your talents could be better utilized elsewhere and make sure that you can get a good recomendation if you ever decide to move on. Lastly, remember what this moment feels like so that, when the time comes and you are the one that gets to do the hiring, you can be the manager that every new RN needs in that first position. Good luck!

Oh, DixieCup, I am so sorry! You have been so kind and supportive of all of us with our goofy questions and school anxiety - I wish more than anything that this hadn't happened to you. Sit, slump, and sob if you need to but don't let this defeat you. The world needs more people like you!

I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are reinstating sign-on bonuses for experienced nurses in all the ICU's and even in MedSurg! Last year, we hired quite a few new graduates in MayJune so we expect to hired a few again this year. If anyone is interested in the St Louis area, I will share more information via PM.

http://www.nursinglibrary.org/portal/main.aspx?PageID=4017

Our hospital bought the books, attended the seminars and really tried to get on board with it -- unfortunately, you can't do it unless you have the right staff and the right staffing ratios. As far as I can see, there is nothing really 'new' except the packaging.

I can ditto webmansx. I got my BSN with them and suffered very little except over the tuition. The curriculum was solid and the interface was secure. Financial aid office was super and all phone calls are answered quickly.

The best person to ask is the person that is requiring the experience. NICU is a very advanced unit and, while it may be excellent experience, it may be too high an acquity for a first/early clinical.

Gosh! It has been a long time since I had to think about this one! I used to sew a hair comb into the cap to hold the front and then I used two really really huge white bobby pins to hold the back [one on each side]. Because my hair has always been very thin and fine, I usually had to put my hair in a ponytail or bun and secure to that; other people used braids, rubber bands or hair clips for the same purpose. As for the position, we were told that it had to be visible when viewed face on but not on top of the head.

As scary as it sounds, I have heard of this before. This is some 'great idea' to speed throughput and open the beds up faster. The idea is to have stable adult patients waiting for a ride placed in a 'discharge lobby' with at least one hospital employee in attendence [i can only hope it is a nurse and not a volunteer!] At the first sign of trouble, the patient is sent to the ER, not back to the floor because ... their bed has someone else in it! I can tell you that I am not interested in a policy like this for my hospital but, in the interest of making money and filling beds, I know it could happen.