maxthecat

maxthecat has 27 years experience.

maxthecat's Latest Activity

1. 

   AN Scholarship

   maxthecat replied to NICU Guy's topic in Nursing

   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....
2. 

   Gloves required for ALL oral meds.

   maxthecat replied to Leonardos's topic in Medications

   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.
3. 

   Nursing philosophy

   maxthecat replied to Mercie Kosgei's topic in Professionalism

   This is a common nursing school assignment. If you google "how to develop a philosophy of nursing" you will find multiple sites which will give you guidance.
4. 

   Is it legal for your boss to dictate where you poop?

   maxthecat replied to klone's topic in Nursing

   There probably has been excessive pooping due to overeating gummy bears, and someone complained....
5. 

   Millennials flock to nursing, staving off shortage

   maxthecat replied to NRSKarenRN's topic in Headlines

   Wonder how long they will put up with the working conditions at the bedside?
6. 

   CDC now banned from using "evidence based" and other words per White House

   maxthecat replied to babyNP.'s topic in Headlines

   Yeah, this morning it looks like the CDC is denying that there are any "banned words." They say the list was mrely a way tfor their employees to phrase things so as to maximize chances of getting money from conservatives. See above post.
7. 

   Is earwax removal an emergency?

   maxthecat replied to Emergent's topic in Emergency

   I don't know about public aid, but I was always told that private insurance has the option to refuse to pay for an emergency room visit that wasn't a real emergency. I was told that "it's life or limb--anything else is not considered emergent and insurance wont' pay." I wonder if this is true, and if it is, why that wouldn't cut down trips to the ER that are not really emergencies?
8. 

   Many nurses do not chart?

   maxthecat replied to Guest716906's topic in Nursing

   How do you reconcile "charting by exception" with "if it wasn't charted, it wasn't done."
9. 

   Staff Nurses Who Refuse To Precept Or Teach?

   maxthecat replied to All4NursingRN's topic in Nursing

   Personally I wouldn't want to be precepted by someone who didn't want to teach. I don't think it is every nurses's responsibility to precept either. To give help to a new nurse, yes--to formally precept, no.
10. 

    What is your opinion on calling in "sick"

    maxthecat replied to Goofaroo's topic in Nursing

    What do you say when you call in? Any of the places I have worked did not recognize "mental health days," you had to give them a physical reason (and that better be a good one, an "on my deathbed" type of physical illness). So if I needed a mental health day I basically had to lie. Didn't like it, but didn't feel safe going in. (And don't say that, either, they immediately decide you are abusing substances.)
11. 

    Why nurses don't want to talk to a ward psychologist?

    maxthecat replied to manjar's topic in Nursing

    I also worked in a hospital that wouldn't make an out of network exception for mental health. One of my co-workers started having problems and had to come to our unit for treatment. Not only was that extremely awkward for him, it was also awkward for me. I really did not want to know the details of his failing marriage. When you learn intimate details about someone's life it makes it VERY hard to go back to the "just a co-worker" role. You as a patient either share things that shouldn't be shared with a fellow worker in order to get the best treatment or you hold back and don't get all the treatment you may need. Let alone private info shared with a provider with whom you have to work. I would go so far as to say this sort of thing is unethical, but the hospital didn't seem to think so.
12. 

    Not excited about nursing--feels like a bad joke

    maxthecat replied to Cola89's topic in Nursing

    Another reason that we need to have some part of nursing education equivalent to the old diploma schools. Those graduates knew exactly what the job entailed before they graduated.
13. 

    Is there any help for this old nurse lost in new age nursing??

    maxthecat replied to coolnurseclub's topic in Nursing

    Can't like this enough! I also agree with the poster who stated that nurses are becoming "data scribes." Just because you can collect data doesn't mean you should collect that data. How much of what you are forced to chart is really pertinent to your patient's progress? How much of it is even looked at by anyone other than (perhaps) a researcher somewhere or a lawyer trying to prove there was negligence somewhere? When did nurses lose their power to control their own documentation to data miners and the legal system? I'd even question the adage "not documented, not done." Why did we buy into that? Defensive charting is one thing, but in my opinion nursing takes it WAY over the top. Physicians, therapists, dietitians all chart also, but they do not go to the absurd lengths that nursing does. What are we trying to prove? It reminds me of a bunch of kids: "See, Mommy, we did everything you asked of us--it's all written down right here." I'm not against new technology, but why can't it be made to fit our requirements? Why does nursing always let someone else tell us what to do and how to do it?
14. 

    I just set my friend up

    maxthecat replied to Kaylle's topic in General Students

    You are not responsible for taking care of this person. Stop trying to take care of her and her feelings. If telling her that you cannot be responsible for her schooling and career decisions ends the friendship, then it needed to end. Otherwise, neither one of you is going to grow up.
15. 

    New Nurse ... not distinguishing myself as brilliant

    maxthecat replied to SilverSister's topic in Nursing

    You are still in a learning stage, as you should be. You will make mistakes. Believe me, there are nurses who have made far worse mistakes than what you have shared. What jumps out at me is how you are being treated by your fellow nurses. Shaming someone is no way to help them learn. And reprimanding you in front of a patient is truly unprofessional. Talk about raising a patient's anxiety unnecessarily! That, to me, was far worse than what you did. I have every confidence you will get better with time. Oh, and you did't mention it, but if someone tells you, "Typical book smart nurse, can't cut in the real world," please ignore them. It's true that some book smart nurses do poorly, but the vast majority do just fine.
16. 

    Teamwork...Why do we do this to ourselves?

    maxthecat replied to Beachbum671's topic in Safety

    Before we come down too hard on the CNA/techs (and I agree that the comment is out of line), we would do well to police our own peers. I find it just as frustrating when nurses act like they are the real saviors of patients and midlevels and physicians are just there to write orders.