Ruffles 1

I wonder if you could try normal saline wet to dry dressings for this wound. You could pack it with the wet saline gauze and cover with a dry dressing. This also would help with debridement and be cost effective. It would help the wound heal from the inside out. The ABX should also help with the infection. What percent of Dakin's solution are you using?

Triage is a different world for nursing. You have to know what questions to ask to get the information you need to help the patient . We have 3 great triage protocol books we use. Adult , Pediactric and Women's Health. I work in a rural clinic in Missouri. Fortunately we can have them come in and be seen by a doctor :heartbeatmost of the time.

In my office where I work the MA's wear totally different colored scrubs from the LPN or RN's and our badges are clearly marked if we are MA's or RN's. Thanks

I am sorry to hear about your illness too, Lamazeteacher. I hope you feel better and they figure out what is wrong. I am also sorry to hear ,you as a nurse, had such a bad experience. I feel people do understand their bodies better than we do, since they have lived in them for so many years. The nurse should have let you take your own home meds as they were in properly marked medicine containers with the doctors name on them. I guess she was not familiar with the pills. I guess the hopitalist could not take a look at them either and say it was okay? What a shame and disgrace to this hospital not having, experienced staff to assess the situation further!

I hope it works out for you chascal. I think your daughter should not have to change her major if she had already been accepted into the Nursing program. Go talk to the Dean of Nursing and have her push the issue.

I think that every nurse who has worked the floors, has had these same issues. I feel that it is because most nurses are required to work 12 hour shifts, I feel this is unnecessary. I feel this leads to more burn-out, no time with your family, more anxiety for the nurse and her family. How can we take care of patients when we are so stressed? Until management figures this out and more nurses say no to 12 hour shifts the stress will remain.:yelclap:

I would think your daughter would not have any problem getting into a 2 year ADN program or LPN program at this point. She has not wasted 2 years. Maybe your daughter is also grandfathered into the program since she started before they decided to raise the GPA. I would definitely pursue talking to someone in the Nursing Department about this,before moving on to another college.

I agree with MoopleRN, the patient is the boss of their own care. I try not to make someone do something they don't want, but I do explain the conseuqences of refusing and we have sometimes made them sign a form for refusal of certain care.

I think the ADON needs to be "Fired". If she has time to harrass you while you are working she can come in and help you. It sounds like this may be some of her responsibility if she is giving you and the evening nurse such a hard time. I would confront her and tell her she will have to help you with these charts. When I worked in a nursing home, we would try to get 8 charts done on each shift. Do not let the day shilft get out of charting on patients. I know there is probably 2 nurses on the day shift or more. If everyone takes 8 charts you could have the charting done in no time....The ADON needs to help her staff.

I think powerpoints are great. More concise and not too much information. I think you still need to have some "hands on training". Everyone has different learning styles. Some people do not understand the computer or not enough computers are accessible to the staff while at work.

I am being to feel I should have gone into the business field, instead of nursing. The administrators are always telling us " the customer is always right" Stop calling our patients "customers" It really gives the wrong impression of what a hospital setting is all about. I may be wrong but shouldn't we be trying to heal our patients and teach them how to take better care of themselves?

I feel that all the administrators, nurse managers and director of nursing only care about patient satisfaction. I had to sit for four hours and listen to how are patients have become "customers" We have to give them whatever they want. It is becoming ridiculous. We don't follow doctors orders anymore, we follow patients orders and if we tell them no, we get in trouble for not calling the doctor about some ridiculous request. I think the doctors are tired of it. I feel sometimes the charge nurse is their to solve some of these problems if she has time. It can be overwhelming for a new nurse to have to deal with all the complaints. What it really comes down to is making the nurses happy then everyone, including the patients would be happy with the care.

I agree that the drug seekers are ruining it for all of us. It is a shame that people abuse the system. I agree that some people really do have pain and suffer needlessly but others abuse the system. How can we help these drug seekers?

We have something we call skills day. We are requried to attend and go through several stations such as safety in x-ray, how to use O2 tanks, lifting patients, blood bank, how to report equipment failures. We also do the articles with questions. We get our training through the education department at our hospital.

I am sorry to hear that MS was not your calling and you know that is okay. Good Luck in whatever you do next in nursing.

I try to call them back as close to there appointment time as possible. The Doctors sometimes make them wait in the room for a long time. I feel this is bad public relations but what are you going to do. I do sometimes tell the patients that we had an emergency and am sorry for there long wait to see the doctor.

Our hospital is suggesting that we all wear Royal blue pants with white top or Royal blue scrubs. We have to purchase them ourselves. Cost can range from 30.00 to 60.00. Not including the Jackets which can range from 20.00 to 40.00. I think it depends on the manufacturer of the clothes what the cost would be.

In our state of Missouri, LPN's are not allowed to give any IVP meds. I would also think that the patient would need to be on telemetry to monitor HR and BP, Ox Sat. etc.

The only reason they let a new nurse take this position is because it is more cost effective for the hospital. She probably doesn't make as much as an experienced nurse. I feel it adds chaos to an already busy floor. It can be unsafe for the patients as well.

I agree, it seems as though the management wants us to act like our hospital is a luxury hotel, where we want on people hand and foot. They do not care if are patients get well. It has become such a business instead of a healing place.

I think you are all correct in your thinking that the workload and patient acuity is so overwhelming to new nurses. I was talking to an ER nurse and she said she doesn't understand how we can function without telemetry or constant monitors watching our patients. Med/Surg nurses have to react quickly and know what is wrong with a patient without all the equipment. The patient ratio to one nurse is usually 5 or more, which means you run all day. I would love for management to follow me one day and see that I do not take a break or get a chance to go to the bathroom. Who in the world would want to have this job, yet many of us are very dedicated to our patients.

I think that if nurses are happy then our patients will be happy. If management could ever figure this out and stop running nurses away from the bedside everyone would be happy "customers"

I work in a Clinic, and also the hospital. The Clinic pays $10.00 less than what I make at the hospital. I feel the work is just as important because we make the same decisions as I do at the hospital but not as hectic a pace as at the hospital. I also do not get a cost of living raise or a raise of any kind. No benefits.I also work 8-5pm and no weekends. They want me to work more at the Clinic but the pay is so low.

A question, If you think this patient is "disgruntled, and wants to retaliate" they must have some sort of mental issues, stress issues etc. that would lead them to sue.

Yes I agree "Sully" was very professional and he knew he had to land the plane safely. Just as nurses know and understand that we have to act safely when we take care of our patients. We follow a special code of ethics, and try not to upset our patients or families by letting them do things that may harm themselves. We act in a professional manner everyday all the time whatever the situation.