Jack Hazz

Nice one and spot on Nurse Beth. There was a survey done in one of the hospital system in my area recently asking who patients trust the most when they are in the hospital. I was not surprised when the number answer is NURSES. Near the bottom are DOCTORS, which made me laugh. The patients reason for them picking nurses as their choice is "always there", "truthful", "caring"...all the good stuff. The biggest reason why they do not trust hospital MDs (they trust their PCPs) was "only saw me for 5 mins and always in a rush". It is funny but true. And as much as I love the company I work at and feel the support compared to the other places I've been, the fact remains that nurses are just an afterthought when it comes to policy making. This is true even when our department (I am a hospice nurse) is basically a nurse-driven entity separate from the hospital itself. We remain at the mercy of doctors and paper pushers (who never even stepped out in the field yet they are "experts" compared to us). And to make it worse, some of those paper pushers are RN by title but always conforms to what their peers and higher-ups want.

I did, but did not go in depth. Maybe I should. Thanks for the advice.

6 years RNCM here...Let's do that!

It is more likely mottling. Cells die mostly due to lack of oxygen at EOL, especially if they are imminent and they develop purplish...or sometimes looks like bruising...on their extremities and can sometimes spread all over, though I only saw that once.

RNCM here. I am hourly and see 4-5 pts daily on the average. Normally, at least where I work, 4 is the usual number of pts per day. Anything above that or if a pt has a lot of needs and we stayed maybe 2 hrs and over for that visit, is OT. That is our unwritten rule. With that said, I prefer hourly. We are always busy and have hired maybe 20 RNs just this year. We are practically begging for help, so at where I work, I don't think hourly or per patient matters. And we have a low turnover rate so we know most of the RNs, HHAs, Chaps and MSWs are contented and happy. My supervisors are salaried and they're SUPPOSED to work 8 hrs a day. Emphasis on the SUPPOSED. I think they work maybe 12 hours a day and they do not get OT, though of course, another unwritten fact, and no one speaks of it, is that they "get" bonuses at the end of year if the budget given to them has leftover left...again, I absolutely don't know anything about that...wink wink...LOL!

I have been a hospice RNCM for 6 years now and planned to take the CHPN certification for the longest time but never got to it. I finally decided I'd review, shell out the $415 and take the test early next year. I am more of a hands-on, visual nurse and retain information pretty well. That is why I'd rather do practice tests than read a book or flip through index cards. Anyone recommend a website for CHPN online practice tests as a review tool? Thanks in advance!

Its more of the misinformation started by someone they look up to and perpetuated by people that are, surprisingly, mostly vaccinated, that the vaccines do not work without even knowing how vaccines work. People who I spoke with say they HEARD that healthcare workers refuse the vaccines, but DO NOT KNOW anyone. Most of the time, these stories are the usual "I heard it from my uncle's hairdresser's boyfriend's lover's wife's pimp's cousin's bodyguard's mistress" type of facts. Several surveys on nurses garnered data that 88% all the way to 96% of US nurses are covid19 vaccinated.

Well, welcome to my world, where I play a part-time job of being an MD, pharmacist, social worker, hospice aid and chaplain. Plus when patients and family are frustrated, grieving and emotional, you also become a sponge to absorb it all, their anger, their fear, their anxiety...And to top it all off, despite signing on with hospice, you should be a miracle worker and treat their love one and make them well. And that is because their agitation or pain or sob or anxiety got better because you administered the comfort meds they oh, so declined to use for the longest time because it will kill the patient....oh well.

I'll be honest, I have coworkers who are not vaccinated. And yes, I look at them with tsk tsk tsk running through my brain. But then again, it is their choice. We can argue all day about trying to keep not only our patients safe, but family, friends and COWORKERS safe. But at the end of the day, no one here wants to be forced into doing something they don't want to do. They chose to have swabs crammed into their nostrils every week, so be it.

don't get discouraged and goodluck!

Depends on where you live in Ca. I live up North and cost of living is half less that of Bay Area...and I earn almost that amount stated above. What Bay Area workers do is they buy houses far from the Bay Area...problem is their commute is 2-3 hrs...

I am lucky enough to currently work in an institution that gives great support to the staff, at least in my department. The pay is up there, though not in the $100/hr (I wish) and usually just work 40-45 hrs weekly. I've worked in this comlany for the past 6 years and we have low turn over rate. But the OP should not be hating on the travel nurses. They are just doing their job like every one of us. This is a company issue, so maybe the OP can bring that up to the management.

I have been applying at Kaiser for so many years until I finally decided to quit. What I learned from friends and relatives working there is basically, they hire from within or that dreaded "its who you know, not what you know". I've seen that "application submitted" multiple times before. I never really wanted to be in debt with anyone for a job so I never asked my friends and relatives even when they offer to recommend me. But I hope that you guys have better luck than I did.

Looking at my PTO hours right now and I accumulate about 9.5 hrs every paycheck.

A lot of advice can be given, but only one thing you have to remember. At the end of the day, you're main focus is patient comfort at the end of life, not the family's nor yours.