diane227 LPN, RN

A lot of what we do here is allow people to vent and try to assist each other when we can. I have seen postings where I wondered "what is this person thinking" or "how stupid can this person be" but I had decided to relax and not make a comment unle...

Things have sure changed. My GPA was horrible when I went to nursing school because I absolutely refused to study. I hated it. In nursing school I HATED required reading. I was a B-C student but made A's in clinical. I did not care one damn about...

Just about anything can get you fired. It depends a lot on what the issue is and the type of manager that you have. And it also depends on hospital policy and the board rules for your state. Certain errors might not get you fired right away but mo...

There was not much that surprised me when I graduated because I took the opportunity to work part time as a CNA while I was in school. I was fortunate to work with a great bunch of nurses who allowed me to gain skills on the job. I had one charge nur...

The past is 20/20 but the bottom line is that this information was place in an open forum in your work environment. PLEASE DO NOT ever trust ANYONE in your work environment, not even your manager with this type of information. It will come back to ...

1. Offer an apology and determine what you can do to assist them now. 2. Speak to the oncoming charge nurse and assure that this patient is not assigned to the same nurse. I might also speak to the nurse directly myself, depending on the circumsta...

Please consult your state rules and regulations for nursing professional practice and it will guide you though what you should report. I can tell you from experience that this type of issue must be reported to the manager at once and he/ she should ...

It is variable according to patient condition, weight and tolerance of medication. However, the issue that you should be concerned with is the ongoing assessment required after a con sed procedure. Your hospital should have a policy in place address...

It appears that this facility had a very poor system for dealing with such matters. Very unprofessional. You CAN take action. Calling the police is the very last thing that you want to do unless you are sure that she is walking to her car and goi...

It is not your job to worry about her career. There are options out there for nurses who are impaired. You have the responsibility to the patient to assure safe care. Now, I also hope that these insensitive co-workers were taken to task as well. T...

You are always held to the standard of practice for the highest license that you hold. You can work as a CNA for CNA pay if you want, but you are still and RN and if something is amiss, you will be held accountable. Why would you want to work at a ...

Joint Commission is hired by the hospital for the survey process. Most hospitals obtain the survey as a way of demonstrating they have met a certain standard of care. Those visits are scheduled and the hospital knows when they are coming. The Join...

I have been a nurse for 32 years. I have had a number of different jobs but some have been promotions at the same facility. I have worked in three different states.

The post does not make sense. If the patient is about to undergo anesthesia the foley can wait until the patient is put to sleep. Why is this patient in restraints?

Call the doctor.

Don't feel guilty. You are not obligated beyond the hours that you are hired for. Especially when you are in school, you need some downtime. I don't answer the phone.

Your going to find people who do excellent in school, have a 4.0 GPA but they are unable to do perform at the bedside. They are simply unable to put what they have learned to good use. You then have those people who may not be so good academically ...

It really depends on the area where you live. I make more here in the Seattle area than I made in Texas but the cost of living here is high. I don't know about nursing being a calling or having to be. People go into certain professions for various ...

1. Listen to the posterior chest. Have the patient sit up and cross her arms in front of her to place the scapula out of the way. You can then have her lie back and you can listen to the lateral chest. When you have a female with large breasts you...

You never fully recover from sexual assault or sexual abuse I think. You carry those memories with you forever, no matter how much therapy you have or how much support. When I was an ER nurse I observed both male and female survivors. As women, mo...

Wonderful!!!! I remember back in the dark ages when I took boards. We sat in a hugh room for two days, all day, taking paper and pencil exams. I really did not study much. I figured that if I did not know it by then, I would never know it. In tho...

This is a very funny story and thank you for being able to share it and laugh at the situation, one which surely would have made others angry. From the tone of your writing I gather that this event happened somewhere in the south... Is this correct?...

Where do you live in Houston? I lived in Houston for most of my life. If you want to get a job as an ER nurse you have to do a couple of things first. First, you need to get a staff nurse job on a med surg floor at a trauma hospital. Try to get on...

I have been on both sides of this fence. I have been what one physician referred to as a "clipboard" nurse as well as a nurse in the trenches. Any nurse worth his/ her salt never forgets what it is like to be at the bedside. I worked for a nursing...

I agree with you. I have also been out of work. My manager and I did not see eye to eye on issues surrounding safety. It appears that killing the messenger is the appropriate way to remedy that problem. And searching for a new job has been a harr...