Chaya

See, now I thought it was going to go something like "you'll have to do a fingerstick, and his glucose will be high, and you'll have to get the lab to verify it, and you'll need to call the MD for extra insulin coverage, etc, etc... Silly me

Some of our patients are entitled/ have an attitude but I truly believe most are just scared, in pain and preoccupied.I can't tell you how much we appreciate you making a special effort to give us your kind words. We don't hear them often and don't really expect to, but when someone lets us know our efforts made a difference to them, we get that extra boost that helps us go in and start our shift knowing just why we are there.

My heart goes out to you b/c I've walked much the same path and have felt that pain as long as I can remember. No hyper-active component for me; just the inattentive part so always slower to process info and act on it. My epiphany came in Nursing School when we studied ADHD in Psych; the tip-off being the buzz-words; "does not apply herself" at every report card throughout school, "poor time management skills" throughout career in various jobs and as you mentioned, limitations in socializing. I've always felt incompetent from constantly having teachers, employers and co-workers frustrated and irritated with me. ADD/ ADHD is now recognized as a disability, however when I have disclosed it to a few select supervisors they still don't have a clue. The attitude is "Oo-K... and this matters because why?" I get it- either you can deliver to goods or not; why is irrelevant. Because I also had a lifetime's experience in "ADHD hacks" I actually am quite successful in assessing my patients' learning needs and accommodating them. However, in this Lean Economy you don't have the luxury of enough time to double-check yourself constantly and well-thought-out plans for your workday have to be re-adjusted on the spot as more and more work is piled on. I find I am unable to function at 110% for my entire day with no "down" time for my brain to catch up. I've also had limited success with medication although I'm better with it than without, and ultimately do feel this is as good as I'm going to get. I do fortunately have supportive family, a few really good friends and do find my life satisfying in many ways. It is reassuring to hear from someone who has had some of the same struggles. Feel free to PM if you just want to hear back from someone who "gets" it; my best wishes in all that you do in the future.

Who was it that fired you? Sounded like the Owner/ Admin was backing you up?

Talk about teachable moments. I think I would address a letter to all the clinical staff there and request that it be posted in the break room or shared w. all. I would just state that I had heard the comments and found them very hurtful. I would add that almost anyone might find themself in a similar situation and be very grateful for any insurance they were able to qualify for. (One only has to peruse past posts of Allnurses' to reinforce this observance.) All the best to your friend. Hope she is financially in better shape before too long but she has nothing to be ashamed of in the meantime. Tell her to hold her head high-she's not the one with an attitude problem.

Speaking from experience w. MY family the ONLY time I get to see that look of dawning realization on their faces is after they've had extended personal experience either with their own hospitalization or a close relative. After about 3 days I get "OMG- is THAT what you do? For 12 hours at a time? I had no idea" (Yeah. Kind of suspected you didn't!). People-Nursing is a destination, not a stop along the way! (How's THAT for a swell Nursing Week slogan?)

I was a direct-entry master and I do feel that basic skills were neglected. We were force-fed nursing theory and other pure academic "stuff" but no hands-on phlebotomy, IV starts, or how to place a catheter or NG tube. We were told it was b/c of liability. (Huh? what about passing meds or doing dressings?) We also had next to no exposure to OR or Critical Care (one day to observe in ONE of those settings.) Ask me how many times over the years Nursing Theory has come in handy? Now ask me how many times I've wished I had some background in or understanding of Critical Care!

I would guess they are perceiving the painting as some kind of a portal to another world....

Two comments; First, there are a fair number of times when the nurse's evaluation/ assessment does involve bodily fluids. You might not have to clean up the vomit each time but you may well have to assess if all of the patient's pills came back up, the implication being knowing if (s)he received crucial meds or if you need to try to re-administer them when your patient is able to take them. You may also need to evaluate what is being thrown up. If it's partially digested food that's a whole lot less serious than if it's blood or backed up stool. That being said, most people do get de-sensitized to the nastiness factor much more quickly than you'd think!

Deceased is cleaned and a pad placed beneath buttocks. Ankles are secured together , wrists crossed and secured together in front. The body is wrapped in a disposable shroud, then placed in the body bag.

Can't help you with most of the B* you are having to put up with in school-but patient contact time is your opportunity to start thinking like a nurse without any of the scary responsibility. The most valuable tool I gained from my clinicals was the ability to do a rapid but thorough head to toe assessment on almost any patient in about 5 minutes. If you have basically said "Good morning/ how are you?" to them and they have responded, you can have assessed mental status, neuro, pain, general well-being. If you have helped them wash/ toilet/eat you have assessed skin/ wounds/ bladder/ bowel/ input/ output. A quick listen to bowel sounds/ lung sounds, a pulse check is all I add as a nurse that I wouldn't have done as a CNA. If you are allowed to do these, get in all the practice you can. Even if not, start training yourself to be observant-with all your senses. Start making those connections between what you see in your patient and their acute or chronic conditions/ reason for being in the hospital. Skin yellow? Any liver problems in the history? Extremities cold/ dusky?-poor circulation? GI bleed or C Diff? Very distinctive odor-wise. Tremor? Audible lung wheezing? If nothing else you will be in the best position to determine over the course of the day if there has been any change from the pt's baseline. Even if you have to suck it up,you can still soak it in-as much as you can! Go for it!

That little girl's mom will find comfort in the special care you gave her daughter for the rest of her life.

Better to cut loose from a truly horrendous, no-win situation than to lose your license forever. Although I think I would have immediately checked in with my malpractice ins co. to see if there was anything that needed to be done at that time to be pro-active.

Yes; would have done it earlier and not as a second career.

Not in your situation-yet -but am very aware how easily any of us could be. In this part of the country, I would say about 40% of the people I know who are over 50 (DH among them) are out of work and have been so long-term. They just aren't getting hired, or not at a living wage. Luckily none of us is losing the roof over our head but it really cuts into those retirement savings when we have a limited number of years to augment them. Good for you for landing on your feet (but I never doubted you would)! I agree that from what I've seen it is easy to slide into a debilitating state of self-doubt and inertia. Thank you for a ray of hope and good luck with your future, whatever it may hold.