Ms.Hobbes

Well when I worked in home health or even in the hospital I would even ask them if they wanted the family members in the room during the more revealing assessments. It is common courtesy, sounds like the SW might be on a bit of a power trip if you ask me? I always found my MSW's to be very helpful, resourceful, and respectful of our different roles.

That was my question also. How can a nursing supervisor not recognize and support standard of practice, scope of work, etc. When I worked in home health and filled in for our hospice nurses we never had the SW doing patient care. That is just simply not their role. Maybe you should pole other hospice nurses and see if they have SW's helping them. SW's are part of the interdisciplinary team, but each peace of the team does something a little different. Maybe you should ask your pastorial staff to start giving bed baths?? LOL Good luck, hope it resolves itself quickly :-)

I am actually in an RN-BSN and trust me if I were to do it over again I would of just shot for the BSN in the first place, but life situation did not allow it. I feel though my experience as a nurse has only enriched my new learning experience. Anyway back to the point I was going to make, currently I am in a Proffesional nursing class and studying nursing as a profession. It makes sense to want a common entry point for all nurses to start at, our BSN, in order to be considered a proffesional. There will always be a varying degree of educations with certifications, MSN's PHD's. We all have great things to contribute and learn from each other. All other professions have a common entry point, are a unified body and with that power can demand more pay and change. I am not saying that we do not act as professionals, but the population only sees us as emerging professionals.

Hi I am sorry I just have to chime in here and say that the shot you are actually talking about is Tdap, otherwise known as tetorifice, diptheria, acellular pertussis vaccine. Dtap is given to infants and preschoolers for their immunization series. There is a difference and the bottles do look alot alike, so much so that the CDC has made posters to put on IZ fridges. I am sure though that your ER has the Tdap, not Dtap as that is only for IZ clinics. I work for Public Health and one of my jobs is running a IZ clinic. I am glad to hear the ER's are starting to give Tdap, we recommend adults who are due for ther Td booster to recieve a one time dose of Tdap in place of Td for that dose. Pertussis is very dangerous and is still very active in the United States. http://WWW.CDC.gov is a great website to learn more about IZ's.

Where I work they have actually set up a room for our breastfeeding mom's who pump, even make available a very powerful double pump to use ( if you don't have one available), you just have to bring your own tubing, flanges and bottles. I love that they do that for the employees. There is even a policy written about making time for breastfeeding mothers so they can pump. They highly promote breastfeeding! Of course I currently work for our county public health department. When I nursed my children and went back to work I was working in the hospital, so it was a little trickier pumping, but I put my foot down and insiste on my right to pump and for the most part it worked out well. My daughter I nursed for 18 months and my son 3 1/2. Anyway kudos to you for continuing to breastfeed upon returning to work any length of time is better than none.

I work for the public health department here in N. California as a PHN. Our TB patients have to take there TB meds under Direct observational therapy, this includes our latent TB infections, and if they do not comply can end up going to jail. I don't know what your policies are there but abviously not as strict. Did you doctor have you supply three sputum specimens, three days in a row? Our doctors usually do a thorough investigation and possible contacts, review symptoms, etc. I know for sure they would have to report this to your Public Health department.

"i'de also like to see that staunch nonunion member out their fighting for better legislation for better and safer care. if more of you stood up for what was right for every patient out there, you probably would not need unions." stated by sandra rn i would also like to state that unions are not the only way to have a voice and to be out there petitioning legislation for change. joining a professional organization such as ena, ana and lots others is a great way to petition for change and be a part of policies that protect nurses and patients and also install high quality standards and care. anyway just my two cents...

Most definitely keep going to school and get your BSN...case management, public health, qualtiy assurance would keep you from standing on your feet for long periods of time. Working in a hospital setting as a floor nurse or even out patient surgery I would not recommend as both require standing on feet for long periods of time.

In my experience with Polar Cares...we used a lot in the surgery center that I worked at, was that they typically needed to have new ice and water at least every six hours. We always instructed our patients to expect that and that normal icemachines at home don't usually keep up so it was important to have extra ice on hand. I feel that they by far are better way of assisting with pain control and inflammation than ice bags ever could do.

For my four year old I pay per day- 25 dollars...more expensive for the younger kids. Check with where you are going to take your child to make sure they have a drop off capability because someplaces require set days even if it is just once in awhile. As far as twelve hour shifts, where my son goes it is not even open for 12 hours...so you might have to come up with a solution for the hours not covered.

How I understand it....is that the reason your glucose is still normal is because your hyper production of insulin so far is forcing the cells to take the insulin, but over time the cells will become more restistant to the insulin and cause your glucose levels to rise. Metformin will encourage the cells to be less resistant to insulin and in turn your pancreas will produce less insulin. I would recommend monitoring your glucose levels with the start of metformin to see how you respond to the medicine.

Lisa- Sometimes women that have polycystic ovarian disease, one of the symptoms is insulin resistance and the treatment is metformin....I don't know if that is what the doctor is thinking. Metformin will help with your insulin resistance whatever the diagnosis as it will help your cells respond better to your insulin and decrease the hyperproduction of insulin in your body. Anyway this is just a thought, but definitely talk to your doctor in more detail. Write down your questions so you cover all the areas you are concerned about.

I actually have had off and on severe periods since my son was born four years ago. Recently my doctor recommended taking two Midol and two Ibuprofen every six hours, that has really helped the severe bleeding. We are also looking at horomone therapy and hydrothermal ablation ( if you are past the baby making phase of your life :) ) Good luck with your appointment!

Nicole, I know it is hard to be new and have something like this arise, but your health and well being must come first. It would be different if you were just calling in frequently sick, but you explained to your manager your situation, which was the right thing to do. Things in life happen that we have no control over...which for us humans can be very difficult to except or understand. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. Wishing you a speedy recovery! Amy

I would be interested to know where his incision was...I try not to expose a pt. to much and then say I am going to take a look at the incision. The wife though must be somewhat uptight to be so offended at seeing her husbands genitalia that it would drive her to write a letter to Dear Abby. As nurses we are usually more like robots and I am sure this nurse did not purposely mean to embarass his wife.

Good luck to you! It is never to late to pursue your further education. 35 most definitley is not too old. I know of many people older than that went back to school or switched careers. Your kids will admire you for your accomplishments!

Most babies get mildy anemic - I wouldn't worry. She is seeing a doctor and no doctor I know is "led" around by a patient. If the baby is meeting growth expectations, the baby is probably fine. steph I agree with steph most babies are mildly anemic even the ones eating soilid foods. My second child would not take solid foods of any kind until he was nine months old...at first I was a little concerned but my doctor said as long as he was still gaining weight and at the expected areas on the growth chart there was nothing to worry about. I was also breast feeding him and did so until he was almost three and a half, when he weaned himself. He is now a healthy four and half year old. It really sounds like your daughter-in-law cooks nutritious foods and wouldn't purposely deprive the baby. Keep in mind that many of us with our first children were extra cautious and stressed a lot about doing everything just right with this child. So basically as long as the baby is gaining weight and meeting all of the growth chart requirements..don't fret and just enjoy the time you get to spend with your grandchild.:)

I have to agree with stevielynn and smiling blue eyes. Reliable childcare and working especially full time can be difficult. I think it is even harder when they are litte. My husband and I have struggled with this since having kids...now age 8 and 4. I have in the past worked my schedule around my husbands and I now currently work a job that does give me weekends and holidays off, I also work only 2 days a week. At this point in my career I basically make choices putting my kids first. On the other end though, it is possible to work full time and have kids. You will need reliable day care , a solid back up day care and a very supportive husband. As Smiling blue eyes also said once you have the baby you will most likely want to be home with him for at least the first few months, not mention how tiring the baby and toddler years can be on a person. So definitely establish a good support system. Many people have done it, but life is never the same after kids nor are the choice we make for our future.

Miss Jen- I have a friend who is in early 50's finishing up the nursing program. She decided after raising her three kids she wanted to go back to school and become a nurse. I don't think there really is any age requirement, as long as you are motivated. There are lots of career options available to nurse's. Good luck to you!! Amy

I have worked at an outpatient surgery center for almost three years and yes, I do have to say the environment is less stressful. Our surgeries consist of orthopedic, general, gynecological, podiatry, ENT, EGD's, colonscopies and also pain clinic procedures. Obviously all cases are done that can go home that same day. Most of the average length cases are and hour to an hour and a half, on occasion running up to two or three hours depending on the case. Our hours run from the earliest nurse in at 0545, with cases starting at 0700 and we generally close up anywhere between 5:30 to 7:00pm, with every once in awhile running into a later day. The doctors are friendly for the most part with the occasional grumpy doctor to deal with in the OR. Our DON encourages us to focus on customer service and quality of care. We are the busiest surgery center in the area where I live, but the environment seems so much more relaxed than the hospital's environment, where I worked for 8 years. The other great benefits I love are no call, holidays and weekends off. It gives me more time to spend with my kids. Of course, as with everything, no everyone is suited or wants to work in an outpatient surgery center. Hope this information was helpful.

No Crumping- I don't think lil peanut meant that as long as both child and mother are agreeable to it they will breast feed till they are 8. Most toddlers wean between 2 and 4 and to those parents it is a part of parenting that child for them. Children of parents that nursed them into their toddler years grow up to be happy well adjusted people. There are lots of benefits to nursing your child into the toddler years if you so choose to do that. To say that it is "Gross", obviously you never nursed your child for that long and two you haven't researched all the evidence that supports nursing toddlers. No where has anyone indicated nursing an eight year old, as I said before most toddlers wean between the age of two and four. There is also lots of literature on how toddlers wean. We should never be hasty to judge anyone, especially in the nursing profession.

I nursed my daughter till she was almost two and my son tillhe was 3 and a half, he called it "ish, ish". A mother doesn't necesarily plan how long she is going to nurse the child but as long as both parties are in agreement I don't think this is a problem. Nursing a toddler extends farther thatn just nurishment. Here is an interesting article supporting breastfeeding the toddler. http://www.kellymom.com/newman/bf_toddler_01-03.html

Small gloves are great for being able to feel everything easier. I have been a nurse for eleven years and have always worn gloves, but I work with a fellow nurse who has been a nurse bit longer and has a hard time with remembering the gloves. We see a high rate of patients with Hepatitis C, so it makes me more cautious. But I admit it would be easier not dealing with gloves at all, especially taping and removing tape :)

I had to think about this one it has been twelve years since I placed my first foldy catheter. It was a woman who had bilateral knee replacements, definitely wouldn't recommend a patient like that being your first person to catheterize. I remember my instructor standing by, my jaw was clenched so tight and after two tries I was able to place it. Of course now catheterizing someone is much easier. I encourage you as a student though, to grab any opportunity you have to do procedures. Trust me things that seem so difficult will soon become second hand with practice :)