GI Issue Nurse

I have not read these in years. I have not seen the version with the quoted remarks before. Thank you so much for the memories and the laughs. :chuckle

Dear Burnout Burnout is a very real problem in our profession. There is tons of literature out there on the issue and ways to cope with it. As you well know, we are hardest on ourselves and our fellow nurses. Please take the time to cope and do not be afraid to reach out for support. Ease your way back into work maybe in an area that you can work part time. I have been there and it takes time to get past it, in the mean time don't stagnate, move foward. God Bless. Ginger

C diff would be much worse than a stool transplant!! You don't drink it! Just think....C diff can kill you or make you wish that it would since you life is so miserable. A stool enema and cha-ching you're well in a couple of days!

Actually makes a lot of sense and the thought does NOT gross me out, but there is the little fact that I manage an GI Endo lab!! ( :rotfl: :rotfl: LOL, LOL:roll ) Not something most of us feel comfortable thinking about doing but if the patient gets better then it would be worth it.

My name has 2 meanings. I currently manage an Endoscopy Lab which covers "GI Nurse" but I also spent many yrs in the USAF therefore I'm "GI Issue Nurse" for "Government Issue Nurse, 1 each"! I have enjoyed reading all of the post for this topic. What a great idea! Ginger

Get your ADN and work. Be really careful about student loans because Med school can leave you with debts that could take you a lifetime to repay. Doctors do not have the earning power that they use to have and many of the young ones that I work with are struggling with mountains of debt and are stressed out to the max. They regreat having gone to medical school and want nothing more than get out of the profession and pay off the debt. Start up cost for private practice can be as much or more than the debts from med school!! Check out your options for grants and contracts with hospitals to pay for nursing school and living expenses. Get loans only as a last resort. Work as much as possible when not actually in school (semester breaks, etc) so that you can spend school time studying. Borrow from your parents, if possible, with a written loan agreement for payback (they could forgive small increments/payments as BD/Christmas type gifts instead of buying a gift). Best of luck!

Dear Nurse2Be, I feel your pain! I quit a higher paying job to take a lower paying one but with different trade-offs. I was in the military as is my husband, who is also a nurse. The reasons are too many and detailed to recount here but the most important reason was my son. He could not join Boy Scouts, play Little League, etc and some days spent up to 13 hours away from home. I hated that aspected of my job and had a chance to get out. After many hours of beating myself against a wall I made my choice and left the military. Do I regret it?? Only when I think of the $$ which is not often. I took a 50% pay cut, lost benefits to die for, and gave up a great retirement plan. What I gained was more time for my son. He is now in Scouts and has achieved Star Class in less than 2 years, takes guitar lessons at which he is very talented, and tells me almost daily that he is glad that I have more time for him. He just turned 12 and even though he is getting more independent he still wants me around and thinks that I am a "cool Mom even when I get on the me!" I would not trade being a Mom for all the $$$ that I gave up. My own mother is a nurse and worked almost the entire time I lived with her. Many times when I needed her she was at work and I had to stand in line behind everyone else who needed her. As a child I did not understand that she had an important job (charge nurse in an ER) all I knew was that I lived (so it seemed) at the bottom of the totem pole. I swore to myself many times as a child that if I was lucky enought to have a child when I grew up that I would not let my job, whatever it was, interfere with raising my child and being there. When my son got old enough to want to do things like Scouting, guitar, etc and to resent my job requirements that prevented him from being able to be with me, I left. Nursing can wait. Keep the job that you have, read journals, visit nursing web sites, attend CMEs especially ones that review basic nursing skills and any other ones that are in an area that interest you. Your child will grow up fast and then you will have time for the nursing job you want (maybe pay will be better then also :roll !! You have only one chance to be a positive role model and parent to your child. In my opinion the chance to be a present parent far outweighs any other consideration. I will pray for you and hope that whatever decision that you make will be the right one for you. Ginger

I called a physician for an End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patient that had an extremely elevated blood glucose and had been on Nipride for hypertensive crisis. This doc had written a transfer to the floor order as well as a D/C Nipride order. He had the nerve to call me "Officious *****" to one of my peers because I would not restart the Nipride w/o an order. The transfer to the floor was delayed due to nursing judgement and when the patient's BP shot back up I made the call and was royally chewed out. Guess what...the doctor has a rep for being an @#$%^ when called unless he is drunk, or at least has had several drinks. I wrote him up and of course nothing happened to him. I worked at the time for a not-for-profit hospital that had a policy in place to write up fellow employees and physicians who were abusive. This policy has been in effect for a while and it has really made a difference in how the nursing staff is treated since we rarely take grief from other staff members as we now have a recourse for notifying our superiors when we have a conflict with someone. In regards to the nurse with the 18 yrs experience...she would have been eligible to retire soon and if you can get out of paying a pension because they get fired for a "valid" reason then you don't have to pay for the pension benefits.

The absolute best shoes that I have found are the Anywears clogs. I have bad knees and a bad back and have been wearing these clogs for 4 years. The same pair!! All I have to do is change out the insole about twice a year. I also wear VERy good support hose from Rocker...the 140 dinier kind. After a 12 hour shift on my feet in ICU my feet and legs do not hurt. Go to their website at http://www.anywears.com. The shoes are washable in the dishwasher (remove the insoles) but I recommend that you do not get white as they will yellow over time and show dirt. Be sure to order up a size and practice walking in them as they take a little getting use to, especially walking backwards. I will NOT wear anything else!