LGRN

I am so sorry all this happened to you! First, there is a national nurse movement about safe staffing - and your experience shows exactly why. A nurse cannot do more than what he/she has time to do. And a trainer/mentor can only help another nurse grow if his/her s patient load allows it. You have been a victim of poor management planning and execution of safe staffing. The same goes for your needlestick injury. Nurses are in situations where they have to use dangerous objects in unstable situations. Police are given vests, and firefighters breathing apparatus. Construction workers are given hard hats and steel-toed shoes. But they just tell nurses to "be careful." Studies have shown the safest devices have passive retraction. I'll bet they did not provide safe devices, but then blamed you. I can see by your letter that you care and you want the best for your patients. That makes you a great nurse. Unfortunately, the industry does not value your strengths as well as they should. Hang in there. You will find your place. I believe in you.

OK, so I understand fully the principles that you wrote about. But, what if the patient likely has capacity, and it could be determined with assessment that they have adequate cognitive function, but that while they are able to think for themselves, they are not able to speak for themselves. Consider the patient with rapidly progressing MS, guilliane barre, ALS or cervical spine injury with intubation. What if there is technology that could allow them to communicate, but the facility failed to provide it?

I saw a product at NTI. It was like the device Steven Hawking uses. The patient looks at a phrase selection , or a key board and it speaks it out to the nurse or any caregiver. We tried it and it was great. You just sit in front of it and look at the letter, or the phrase you want and it registers it and speaks it out. They said it is billable too and not expensive when you consider what it does. The nurse at the booth showed us how to ask the patient to look at specific phrases to "train" them, like "I am cold." If the patient looks at the one you tell them to look at and can do it consistently, it is a diagnostic clue as to their LOC and cognitive function. Plus there are some diagnostic screens built in too. Amazing!

The cortisone injections do minimize the pain because they reduce the inflammation. But steroids hinder healing. The studies are showing that the long range results are worse in PF than those who did not get injections. That is why there is a maximum of 3 injections for this. But the docs can't bill nearly as much for telling you to stretch and wear night splints as they can for cortisone injections. So, as long as there's $$$ to be made, there will be cortisone injections for PF. I hope your healed PF is permenant. My fellow nurses deserve the BEST! I'm completely healed also now.

Maybe he/she is just really happy with them, -- or maybe it IS just a sneaky recruiter! ANYONE else? I'm here because I'm thinking of traveling and I want to hear about which company may be good. I'm SO SCARED of all the horror stories I hear! Can anyone help me?

MBTs really scare me. They have a bottom that is like a rocker. The extreme negative heel can lead to over-stretch injuries over long periods of time. I think they'll go by the way of the earth shoe (negative heel) that caused similar problems a few decades ago. Anybody old enough to remember them?

I wear New Balance 926. They have an adequate counter, but the best think is that they're extra depth and can accommodate my insoles. They also have a rigid mid-foot and a rocker front so that rests my foot. I just think "forward" and they do they work. I'm scared of the MBTs which have a rocker in the front AND the back with a rigid mid-foot. They concern me since the negative heel can lead to Achilles over-stretch injuries.

Hi. Night splints work great. In fact, I think they are the most important component to fixing PF. PF is just like tennis elbow. It's the stretching and tearing of the fascia tendon where it inserts into multiple places on the bottom (plantar) of the foot. While we sleep, we plantarflex our feet (point toes slightly) so the healing takes place with the fascia in the shortest position. Then, each morning we stand up, stretch and rip all the new, fragile healing. Ow! With a nightsplint, the foot is kept in a neutral position, between plantarflex and dorsiflexed. The healing that takes place during rest is not torn when we stand up. The dorsal nightsplints (front of leg/top of foot) are about 100 times more comfortable than the conventional behind the leg night splints. Runners/walkers stretches about four times a day are also important and then supportive insoles are great too IF you wear then inside a support shoe. Be careful. Those inserts take up at least a width of the shoe so if your feet get squished, they won't get enough circulation leading to fatigue. Since I had Plantar Fasciitis, I wear the NewBalance 926. Not great looking but I feel great after a 12 hour shift.

These are all fantastic ideas (from colleagues posting above this post)! I will check out LEAP, and perhaps we can also organize into a clearinghouse for incidents where the press can use them. I also have some contacts in media relations that can assist us in getting the right attention. OMG! We may be able to make a difference! I'm psyched!

Standing and applauding these brave colleagues!

I think the underlying question is: "What is a nurse?" At the end of the day, the basics are: "The nurse is the patient's advocate." HOWEVER -:uhoh3:My dilemma: When the needs and advocacy for my patients is in (increasingly) direct conflict with the source of my paycheck - what are we supposed to do? I think that is the core issue affecting ALL nurses right now. The original author of this thread gave a prime example and an increasingly familiar example of this dilemma.

I am encouraged by this thread! We'll be moving to Jacksonville, FL in a month and I want to know if there are any nurses in Jax that are interested in starting a union at St. Lukes - St. Vincents.

We're about the same age - and I could not agree more. I think the underlying question is: "What is a nurse?" At the end of the day, the basics are: "The nurse is the patient's advocate." HOWEVER -:uhoh3:My dilemma: When the needs and advocacy for my patient is in (increasingly) direct conflict with the source of my paycheck - what am I supposed to do? What are we all supposed to do? I think that is the core issue affecting ALL nurses right now.

:bowingpurAbout the meds: You are courageous and responsible for taking the meds! Denial is a wonderful place, but not real healthy! I had a "low risk" stick. The patient was over 90 and you don't get that old with risk factors! My stick was after her IM injection. Low risk - right? Well, she had a few units of RBCs after her hip replacement a few days before. The donor was in a serolatent stage so the blood made it through the screening process with no detectable antibodies and a very high viral load. My poor patient died a few months later and I converted and have been real sick. Point: There is NO SUCH THING as a low risk stick. None. Nada. Zilch. Lets make thing better. That's what nurses are good at so let's just do it!

I am SO SORRY that you are going through all of this! You do not deserve this. I am one of the millions of nurses stuck every year. Yes, you are among so many. Unfortunately, I am the small minority who had a transmission from that needlestick injury. But, the numbers are with you and it is likely you won't have a transmission. Actually, that doctor/employer is in violation of federal law. The employer HAS to provide safety devices. Does he/she not purchase car seats for their children because of the cost? Are police not issued bullet proof vests because of costs? Construction/hardhats. Firefighters/airtanks The list goes on. There were many of us that although ill, worked EXTREMELY hard to get these laws passed so that our colleagues would never have to suffer what we are going through, and yet this turkey has the nerve to ignore federal law, and put your life at risk? Yikes! That makes me SO ANGRY! Shame on him/her! This will never change unless we stand up for our rights to stay alive. Please educate your employer on their legal responsibilities to provide safety devices, to get your input on the choice of devices, and to train you on their implementation. Just providing WC insurance is not just inadequate, it is irresponsible, disrespectful and (expletive)! Again, I am so sorry you are going through all of this and my thoughts are with you in this difficult, painful and scary time.