stella123 rn

I am 22 weeks along. Are there any patients I should avoid? My employer says there are not. I can not help but think there must be some. I certainly do not want special treatment nor shy away from certain patients. I want to carry myt full load as soon as possible. I just want to know the risks. I thought TB (or possible) patients but my work said that is fine for pregnant nurses to take. We really do not have a policy. I will definately ask my OB/GYN. Just wondering what everyone else thinks.

This happens often. They still may need to be given. The doctor always says it is a risk vs. benefit thing. I get all my facts and call the doctor. I let them make the call. I always write it as an order and may even write a note about it. Even if there are preset parameters and there is something else going on I call. I have had orders to give BP meds at 70s/40s and the doctor ended up being right. There BP stayed the same. I was nervous though.

I am not sure what kind of test we use but it is rapid and comes back in only a few minutes.

I just wish that I could take vacation when they are here. They are focusing so much on patient safety this year. We have a ton a new policys in place that we are supposed to follow. The problem is that so many people have quit in the last month that we are shortstaffed and taking unsafe patient loads. I am ready to quit myself. Maybe them coming will actually be good. Maybe administration will listen to us after we get tons of violations. They say that the reps are actually going to follow nurses around. Has anyone else experienced this? I hate working when I feel like someone is always watching me. It makes me nervous.

We have docs that do this. But, we are in no means expected to watch them. They bring coloring books or something along. They sit quietly in the nurse's station while their dad makes rounds. I do not think it is a big deal. They are usually only there for a 1/2 hour at most. Our nursing station is large and they are not in the way.

Thank You New CCU RN. I am newly pregnant and this thread has me angry and scared. I hope that when I am 8 months along, my co-workers do not have the attitude of some people on this board. I just do not see what is wrong with team work. So, I might not be able to help boost a 400 lb patient in bed. Because of this, I should stay home?

I do not care if I need reading glasses someday. It is better than not even being able to see the alarm clock when you awake. As for the side affects. As with any surgery there are going to be extremes. The majority of the people just have scrathy eyes and need to use lots of eye drops. Not really that bad. Joe it sounds like you have a unique situation. My doctor only charges 100$ an eye for the second time around.

I had lasik a couple of months ago. It is great!! I love it!!

We do all computer charting now. I check about an hour into the shift to look at the vitals. If they are not there I hunt the aide down and ask why. Accuchecks I always ask because there is usually insulin that goes along with it. I will admit that when we switched to computer charting, I definately have to make more of a point of looking for these things. Before I would just grab the aides clipboard and scan everything. Now, they take the computer in the room and it goes directly in. I know computer charting is the thing now but I think it makes it harder to see trends. Escpecially weights and I & Os. At least out system anyway. Just can not flip through a chart anymore.

I have finally gotten pregnant after over a year of trying. I do not want to do ANYTHING to jeopordize my health or my baby's. I do not know what out policy is but other nurses are very nice about this. If there is a patient that we do not feel comfortable taking, someone will switch you you any time.

I love my pm shift too (3p-3A). I wanted days also. They had to move me to pms after being there a couple of months because of staffing. I would not go back to days for anything!!!!

Don't you guys rotate? We have to work every third Christmas, or any holiday. It does not matter who has kids and who does not.

At our hospital when the new nurses come off orientation, they are given slightly easier assignments if the staffing allows. When the charge nurses really feel that they are confident and can handle regular assignments they stop doing this. They always say that in this nursing shortage they do not want them to quit. It is good for them but can be bad for us. We are typically overloaded so they do not have full assignments. I understand what the managers are saying about quiting but we are always thinking "What about keeping the ones that are already there?" I think that it is a hard balance to achieve. I am still relatively new to nursing (I think!!). Not yet two years and feel overwhelmed all the time. I sure hope that it gets better.

Where are you in northwest WI? I am there too!!!

"I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." (Charles Swindoll) That is so weird that you have this in your post. I was having a really hard time at work a while ago. My anxiety level was at an all time high. My mom told me about this 90-10 thing. She saw it on TV. It works for me. Whenever I am starting to get really stressed at work, I think 90-10, 90-10. She had a nice story and example to go along with it too.