maxthecat

And double that if they went ahead and used the night before KNOWING they would be tested. For sheer stupidity. Oh, yes, you're exactly the type of person I want to be my nurse....

It's not about infection control, it's about reducing exposure to (mainly) oncology drugs. I think everybody already gloved for them anyway. There are also some drugs that can affect a pregnant worker. At any rate, why would a facility mandate gloving for every med? What is wrong with posting the list of drugs that need extra precautions so that a nurse can check and see if a particular med is on the list? I suppose the facility could say that if they mandate gloving for everything then no meds will slip through, but it's also very wasteful.

I agree that waking a patient should be at the nurse's discretion and judgment. So what do you do when a doctor says "When I write for q4h, I mean q4h, not q4h at the nurse's discretion."

Lots of undeserving people get awards and promotions. Lots of deserving people don't get them. I agree it can be frustrating, but it is going to be this way the rest of your life, so I'd advise you to get used to it and move on. Raising a fuss about it won't change anything and will more than likely hurt only you.

In the end it's your choice. But I would think long and hard about this if I were you. You will make more money in accounting than you will as a nurse. The accountants I have known get large bonuses at Christmas on top of already strong salaries. Forget that for nursing. 12 hour shifts can easily turn into 16 hour shifts if it's a crazy day and there are crazy days more often than you might think. In most hospitals you can be mandated to stay. You can't say you have to leave to pick up your kids. This can play havoc with child care arrangements. If you're used to spending holidays with family, don't count on it. Especially as the low person on the totem pole you will likely have to work on holidays. You can celebrate on another day, of course, but many people who went into nursing thinking they could handle this have been surprised at just how much holiday, weekend and night work bothered them when they actually started doing it. There are ways of helping people in healthcare that do not involve being a nurse. You can volunteer. There are areas of the hospital that welcome volunteers, such as NICU, where you will be able to hold and rock babies that need extra cuddling to thrive. In ER you might be able to interact with anxious family members and serve as their liason to check on what's happening with their loved one, how long a procedure will take, etc. I don't see it on the med-surg floors these days, but used to be there were volunteers who could come in and visit with lonely people with no family, anxious patients, etc. Nurses used to be able to do this regularly, but no more, staffing just won't allow it. So you can actually be much more engaged with patients than nurses and help in that way, which is a HUGE help to people. If it were me, I'd stay with Accounting and do volunteer work in hospitals on the side, but it's not me making the decision. Just decide with both your heart and mind, not just your heart. Good luck in whatever you decide!

I know of no chronic pain patients that are using opiates that are pain free. Most have tried non-narcotic meds and non-pharmaceutical therapies first and the opioids are the only meds that keep the pain to a reasonable level. They "buck up" and deal with pain every day. If we're going to talk about people dying because of opioid overdose, let's not forget the people dying because their opioids were taken away and they simply do not want to live with severe daily pain, so they choose suicide. This really happens, it's not a scare story. I do not have chronic pain, thank the Lord, but I am not happy with the way this crisis is being handled.

Michael Swango was a physician who was a serial killer. Same problem of hospitals not communicating with each other let him continue far longer than he should have.

My favorite was when someone on here mentioned that their hospital administration decided that "Nurses Week" was a time for nurses to "give back" to others. They wanted nurses to volunteer for projects that help other people and to agree to use the money they would have spent on nurses week to give a donation to a worthy cause "in the name of the nurses at XYZ hospital." Even if we have a week, we have to give to others, not bask in appreciation for what we do every day of the year.

And this is why I do not support the ANA. They do nothing for the nurses at the bedside. In fact they are condescending toward those nurses. But you can bet they want everyone to join so they can rake in the money. As a general rule I would say that everyone should be a member of their professional association. BUT when that association ignores the rank and file members and makes decisions for them instead of with them I really can't support it.

I don't understand why you feel the need to fight your friend's battles. It doesn't appear she asked you to do that. As a rule, I'd let the one insulted/attacked decide on the course of action and whether or not they want you involved.

The only thing I hear that was possibly not fair was the instructor's comment that everything you would need was on the table, when not everything was there. Otherwise, the failure is on you. Did you know what would be tested and did you practice beforehand? You can't just go into these things cold and expect to do well. Even though it appears you're just starting school, you really should have known what an enema bag looks like and what a primary IV bag looks like. You should have know you have to have an order for injecting meds so you know what med and how much to give (probably in the binder). You should already know that heparin is not given IM and should have an idea of common doses. You should know some basic meds and not be picking out something because of the size of container! This isn't about "I failed a test," it's about "I failed a test because my lack of knowledge makes me dangerous."

Anyone ever been told by a house supervisor "take some Imodium and suck it up--that's what I do. Anybody can work sick for 8 hours. You people want to call in for every little thing."

Agree with what others have said. I just note that the nurse who completed your admission should have told you what the expectation was instead of saying nothing to you, then complaining about it to someone and letting you hear about that the next day. Same goes for the nurse you were reporting off to and letting know you hadn't given 1800 meds. That nurse could easily have said, "I'm sorry, but you need to give those meds now before you go. That's how we do things here." Unfortunately there are people in this profession who like to play "gotcha," esp with newbies. Won't tell you to your face, but will go behind your back. I get really, really irritated with those types of people!

OK, if the problem is that it is "a mind altering substance," then I guess we need to get rid of all the psych meds, too.

When did feeding and taking care of visitors in ER become the norm? If I brought someone to the ER the last thing on my mind would be getting MY needs met. I want nurses and doctors to concentrate on my loved one, not me. I'm an adult and can fend for myself. If I have to be there several hours there are vending machines, cafeteria and snack bar, or I can phone a friend or relative to bring me something. Not to mention I'm not going to be so rude as to eat and drink in front of a patient who is more than likely NPO. When did catering to a visitor's sense of entitlement become mistaken for good care?