lockheart678

Wow, that's crazy. I don't understand how he couldn't remember to pull it out when clearly he used it for a reason. That's scary that he didn't care about the counts, but I've worked with surgeons like that. You tell them something is missing and they automatically assume it's the staff's fault for counting wrong. It couldn't possibly be in the abdomen, even when they had to open it emergently due to the artery they just hit (I only wish I was making this up) trying to perform a laparoscopic procedure.

I just caught these two shows on the Discovery fit and health channel over the weekend. I thought they were interesting, but I was left screaming at the tv during most of it. They put so much emphasis on counting errors, yet when they showed the person who was scrubbed in counting instruments, the person never separated the clamps! For a show like that, the least they can do is count properly! It is really amazing to hear about some of the things that have been accidentally left in patients. The shows featured two different patients that discovered they each had 2" malleables left in, and another patient had some kind of 9" clamp! I can understand how a surgeon can glance in the belly and miss a saturated lap or raytec because they blend in so well, but huge instruments like that? Clearly, the OR staff did a terrible job counting in those cases, but how can a surgeon be so negligent to miss a huge malleable! Since I know how the OR works, I think there are quite a few things these shows could have improved on to be more true to reality, but I guess they figure the general public would never understand, so they would never know the difference. Has anyone else caught these shows before?

I've been a nurse in the OR for 4 years now. I'm very good at what I do, and I do like the OR environment, but I've been having some neurological problems (walking and balance issues) that are getting to the point where I'm afraid I can't do my job much longer. I would love to find a job as a charge nurse and possibly go into management one day, but any openings for that always require charge experience, and I have none. I do have a BSN, but it doesn't seem to do me a bit of good because I don't have the kind of experience anyone would want. I'd get out of nursing and take a desk job somewhere if I could afford it, but I can't take that much of a pay cut. Just FYI, I can walk just fine, but one leg/foot starts to drag when I get tired, and unfortunately it doesn't take very long for that fatigue to set in anymore. If I've given it some time to rest, I'm ok until it happens again. I just can't be up walking around for long periods of time. Are there any options for someone like me who hasn't had the chance to develop any kind of supervisor experience yet?

I once had someone complain to me about when she had fractured her ankle and had to have surgery. Her nurse had absolutely no idea what she was doing! She stuck a needle in her arm and just left it there! This was someone who actually became a CNA at one point. I was in such disbelief, I didn't even feel like explaining to her the process of inserting an IV with a retractable needle. One day I overheard a patient's mother talking to the anesthesiologist about why she refused to sign her daughter's consent form. She wasn't about to give the surgeon permission to kill her daughter! During their pre-op visit, that surgeon never mentioned to them that she was going to kill the daughter during surgery! Even after both the surgeon and anesthesiologist explained that death is a slight risk with any surgery and also that people take chances every single day just by waking up in the morning that they might die, the mother still would not stop yelling at them about killing her daughter. They somehow finally got her to sign the consent form, and I really wanted to see the look on her face when she was reunited with her daughter to discover that she was, in fact, still alive to tell about it.

I don't live anywhere near the coast, so I've never had to deal with hurricanes, but I have had my fair share of snow and ice making it nearly impossible to get to the hospital. I've always been able to make it so far, although one time it was only because my dad had a big 4wd truck that could plow through the stuff, while the whole city looked like armageddon had struck. Every time it gets bad, the hospital reminds us all that we are essential personnel and we have to go, no matter what. Honestly though, in my case, I would never give my life just to make it into work. If it is that dangerous out there, what good am I if I just go and get myself killed trying to make it to work? They can fire me if they want, but at least I'll live to tell about it. I don't have kids, but if I lived in a hurricane prone area and my workplace didn't accommodate me and let me bring my kids to a safe place, I'm sorry but work would be the last thing on my mind. Family always comes first. I remember reading a blog written by a nurse who stayed behind and worked through Katrina. Everything she described was so frightening, I don't know how any of the staff members did it. There were so many instances where they could have been killed, and it seemed like they barely made it out alive. If I went through such a traumatic experience, I don't think I'd ever be able to work at a hospital again.

I wish everyone could read this thread. People need to learn that there is no reason to treat your new coworker like they're an idiot who doesn't stand a chance of learning. When you scare that coworker away, not only are you hurting them, but you're hurting yourself as well because you've just lost out on needed help. What has never made any sense to me though is that these very rude people will scare someone off and lose out on that help, and then when someone else comes along to replace the other person, they do the same thing to them. Maybe people's lives wouldn't be so miserable if they just treated others the way they expect to be treated.

Wow, everything you are going through is exactly how it is for me on day shift. I started my career on day shift and did it about 4 years. Every single day I would have the hardest time getting up, to the point where I almost didn't make it to work at times. I was a zombie all day long and never felt like doing anything after work. Then I moved to evenings and was alive again. After a few months, I got a new job and now I'm on days again. After a week or two functioning just fine, I became a zombie again. I actually am a morning person, but not a 5 am kind of person. My body is just not wired to get up when it's still dark outside, no matter how much sleep I've gotten. Luckily for me, I've got 2 weeks left of it and then I'll be starting another job on evenings again! It'll take me less than a week to adjust to that, and then I'll feel great again. Good luck on finding a day shift spot. You will feel so much better and you'll have your life back again.

I once had a patient who swallowed toenail clippers in an effort to kill himself. When we finally fished them out, they were huge! I've seen more than one male patient with practically Mediaographic tattoos. Apparently they don't stop and think that people can actually see them.

I just went through this with the entire HR department after I had applied for a job. Every time I called, it went to voicemail. I actually called multiple times a day and just never left a message because I knew if I didn't get them on the phone then, they'd probably call back when I was unable to answer the phone. I don't know if they knew how many times I really called (it was a lot) but after I finally got ahold of them to schedule and then reschedule an interview, I went for it and a couple weeks later got a job offer. Every time I did go ahead and leave a message, I thought they were blowing me off, but when the recruiter emailed me benefit information a few days after I left a message asking her about it, she even apologized in the email for taking so long to get back to me, so it's not always a blow off. Good luck!

I've done both, and for me, as soon as I switch from one to the other, I miss what I just left. What's nice about 8s is that you have time in the day to actually do something if you want to. It's nice to have hours to unwind and forget about work. Only having 2 days off is a huge downfall though. When I worked 12s, the last 4 hours dragged every single shift. I really dreaded going in to work, knowing I had 12 hours to go, but I really loved getting 4 days off a week. That kind of break makes you feel like you really are getting away. With only two days, the weekend is over before you know it. I still haven't figured out which one I like best, but I've also only done 8s on day shift and 12s on evening shift so they're very different experiences.

It's nice to hear a story like yours for a change. I wish everyone in management was like you.

I've recently been approached by my manager in my new job. I'm doing great, and everyone seems to think so, yet they're still complaining about me (yet not to my face) about things I need to step up on. They're really stupid things that don't even matter, but it gives them something to say I've done wrong (they've been reaching for anything they can since day one). I was actually told multiple times that I shouldn't talk to them, and to sit back and listen instead because I don't know them and I need to get a feel for their personalities first before doing anything. That's how I am anyway because they're way too cliquey and I don't want anything to do with them. If it isn't job related, then we don't communicate at all. I was also told I need to respect my supervisor. I've always shown her respect so I really don't know what I'm supposed to do differently. The issue that put me over the edge that happened today was that they were discussing how a dr was going to do a procedure. We don't have the equipment he needs, so they said he will have to bring his own. I have knowledge of these procedures, and I know they need a particular med in order to do them, so I asked if they carry it. They weren't even sure if they had it. I was thinking it was a good thing I said something. Nope, I was wrong. My manager made a point to tell me that she had no doubt I knew that, but I really need to watch how I say those things around the people who aren't new. It was just a question! Had I not said something, they wouldn't have even known they needed it, and then we would have had problems when we discovered too late that we didn't have what he needed! I'll be doing the procedure, so I'm sure that would have come back on me if I hadn't spoken up! When I asked that question today, I was simply being a patient advocate. The last time I checked, that's my job. I do know the answer to my situation is to leave, and I'm about to do exactly that. My only thing is, after I finally put my notice in, how am I supposed to put up with these monsters for another two weeks when they know I'm running away? They'll probably be even worse than they are now, if that's even possible. I do my best to ignore it and I know that I'm better than them, but it really wears me down. I also know that the rule is to never burn a bridge, and I'd do exactly that if I were to tell the truth. Is it really best to keep quiet and let them do it to the next person who walks through that door, or should I be honest and tell them that the childish behavior I put up with every single day is completely unacceptable? Whatever I say, it'll only be in the exit interview though. I won't even address this with anyone in my department.

You really need to find a new job, and quickly. I really doubt that other places are worse than that. While you're still there, your best bet is to just focus on doing your job and don't get involved with anything. No matter how badly they treat you, keep a smile on your face and remain nice to them. Do not talk to those people unless your job requires it. I'd be hesitant to go to management about it because they probably already know how their employees are and you may just get labeled as a complainer. I know it's tough, but eventually you'll find a better job and it'll be the best thing you ever did. I've been going through a very similar situation, so I do know exactly how you feel. I can tell how flying under the radar and choosing not to associate myself with any of the immature girls has helped to calm it down, but it'll never stop it completely. It did, however, give me enough time to keep my job while looking for another and I'm about to make my well deserved exit. Trust me, once you have hope again after finding a way to move on, you'll feel so much better.

I'm afraid to even go to my manager about any concern because I've always felt like I've got a target on my back. She has made it a point to tell me everything I've done wrong since day one, even if I'm not doing anything wrong at all. This would seem like another excuse to tell herself that I can't do the job. About calling the charge nurse, I'd do that if she were available. The place is so small and so short staffed though that half the time, she's in another room herself. They have absolutely no ancillary staff running around, so there is nobody to fall on unless a room is down. A lot of times we can rely on pacu, but during a busy day, they may be tied up.

At my first job, I always watched the waste. I never saw anyone around there who would just walk away without watching the med be wasted before signing their name. Where I work now, people will just state what they're wasting and half the time, they've already squirted it out before you even had a chance to look. I do watch people waste, but most don't watch me when I do it. The way they've got their system worked, it would be so easy for someone to get quite a stash if they have a drug problem. I've even heard of someone who did have a drug problem before I ever started, yet that experience has not changed anything that they do.

I don't have nearly the debt that most people have, but paying that $200 a month still kills me. I remember when I first started college, all I heard about was that student loans are so low interest. That's funny because after paying on them almost 5 years now, I have just barely paid any principle still. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten a job a lot sooner than I did so that I wouldn't have had to borrow at all.

I worked in a teaching hospital for a long time, and I was taught that you should never move a patient without having four people, one at each side. It was also drilled into my head that, after the surgery, you never leave that patient's side. This is what I've always done, until I went to a private hospital not too long ago. Now that I don't have medical students and residents to help, it seems like such a hazard. It's pretty obvious they're out to save a buck wherever they can, but when I'm going outside the room to get the stretcher, leaving nobody directly next to the patient since anesthesia is at the head and the scrub tech is cleaning up for the insanely quick turnover, this is a huge hazard. I actually had a patient wake up wild, and we got to her side just in time to keep her from falling off the OR table, but even with both of us holding the patient down, it was still very difficult. There was nobody else around to help though. Having one less body when it comes to moving these patients places staff at a higher risk for injury as well. I'm a petite female with a small body frame (so are most of the girls I work with as well), and it is very difficult for me to move obese patients without that extra hand. I am curious, is this really the norm in the private world or did I just happen to land myself a job at a terrible hospital?

Absolutely not. Most of my coworkers have been great in every job I've ever had before I became a nurse. Now, if I hear one more stupid girl badmouth the other girl who just walked away one more time, I'm going to flip. It's so irritating and I don't get it. I've had people be mean to me because I was the new girl and they figured I must not know what I'm doing, but then they're also mean to me because I do know what I'm doing. Then the doctors think we're nothing but secretaries, and they expect us to bend over backward just because they received a text (you know, the personal ones where people are just saying good morning or something). Over the past few years, I've had so many problems related to stress, I don't know how I still function. Before I finally realized what was causing my problems, I racked up quite a few bills. I've also suffered through some pretty severe shoulder problems due to my job as well. Every time I feel a shoulder ache or every time I have to lift another patient, I wonder why I put myself through this. If there were another job I could find where I could make ends meet, I'd take it in a heartbeat. At this point, I'd love to be one of those people who have an 8-5 customer service job where they do their thing, and at the end of the day, they can go home and forget all about it.

People have always thought I'm way younger than I really am all my life. By the time I actually became a nurse, I was so used to it, I didn't really care what people said. Even though I look young, my coworkers can see how competent I am, and they all respect me for the job that I do. I do get patients quite a bit who ask me how long I've been doing my job, and even a few have wondered how old I really am because I don't look old enough to do my job, but I just answer their question and move on. It doesn't bother me one bit.

I used to do transplants and we never really had an orientation for kidneys. It was just the regular nursing orientation and they tried to get us in on transplants during our urology rotation. For livers, we had a buddy call system until the staff members could see one or two. If they never did get to see one, we just tried to pair the new people with experienced staff. We would also put the new people in on the liver resections during the day and that was the biggest help in training people for transplants because the transplant surgeon did the two cases very similarly. We had a big problem with some people going months without ever seeing a transplant, while others were always on call when they came and they did a ton of them.

For those of you who are new, one thing you need to keep in mind is that it takes a long time to get used to the OR. I was told when I was brand new that it would take at least a year before I really felt comfortable, and that was exactly right. Now I've got 4 years of experience, and even when I started a new job, I walked in there with confidence and wouldn't let those mean girls (who are everywhere) get me down. Every place is going to have them, and you just have to get used to it. Once they can see that you are doing a pretty good job, things will change. The longer you're there, the more they'll let you into the group. Zviadina, I've worked in a teaching hospital and have trained people who have come from very small ORs and I was guilty of saying that these people were slow too. The thing is, where you trained is totally different from where you are now and it is going to take some time. They need to be willing to give you that time. From what I've seen, once the people were given enough time, they did very well. You can use your basic OR skills in every single case that you do. Once you get the specifics for every different case down, things should fall into place.

I've worn a pedometer and I've seen just how many steps I take on the days I work. It's crazy high, yet I don't lose a pound because I eat all of those calories, plus more the minute I get home. It's interesting, I never realized I had such a problem with stress eating until I read this thread.

I'm an Asics fan. Once I bought my first pair, it was hard to select anything different. They've got a lot of cushion and you feel like you're bouncing as you walk. They're very supportive as well. I also find the more expensive ones can last around twice as long as some other brands. My last pair made it over a year before I finally had to replace them.

The same thing happened to me when I started my new job, but they were only keeping me on orientation on the schedule if I needed it. I ended up not needing it, so they took me off early. Honestly though, take whatever you can get. I've seen way too many times where people get yanked way sooner than they should, and then when the seasoned nurses voiced their concerns to the manager, he lied about it and said it never happened. Some places only care about having a warm body. Be glad your employer doesn't seem to be like that.

Shortly after I finished orientation at my first job, we were so short staffed that almost everyone had to stay late on most days because there was nobody to relieve them. It was funny though, it was always the same people who never got asked or forced into it. After going through this for a year or so, I just couldn't do it anymore. Once staffing improved and it was a lot easier to find enough people to stay late since it wasn't so many, I never stayed late. Coming in on my days off is not something I'll ever do either unless I'm really hurting for money. I get tired of management doing a poor job and causing everyone to quit, while the people still there have to pick up the slack and don't even get thanked for it. If anyone with power showed any appreciation at all, it might be different, but they don't care. I'll never forget the day that I was at home sleeping, when I got a call asking me to come in and work a shift. The reason I was at home was because I was recovering from surgery, and I still had a couple weeks before getting cleared by my doctor. I tell the girl that and 10 minutes later, I get a call asking when I will be back. This was something I had discussed with my supervisor two days before. I finally left that place a couple months ago, and I sure won't miss it.