growing777

Why does it make you uncomfortable when patients ask you if you believe in Jesus? If you don't, you don't, if you do, you do, and you don't have to discuss your personal life/beliefs with your patients. If it's a moment where the patient is truly afraid, you might ask them, "Do you? Is there someone you would like me to call to come be with you/pray with you?" I'm not sure if they truly want to know what you personally believe, or if they are reaching out for spiritual help/guidance. That might be a good time for a chaplain referral.

I am not an atheist, but rather a Christian. I am not responding to your post to engage in a religious debate, because I certainly believe in free will and the right to your own beliefs. In my experience, I cannot recall being asked even once to pray with someone. I can't imagine this happens very often, if at all. If it does, you can always put in a chaplain consult. Most people who want prayer will contact their own clergy or ask you to have a priest come visit them. If it were to happen and you don't feel comfortable lying, there is no reason you would have to say okay. Just ask if they would like to speak with a chaplain, since prayer is their specialty. I would not be comfortable being asked to participate in a Hmong chicken sacrifice ceremony (yes, people actually sacrifice live chickens in patient rooms), so I would just contact the right staff member to arrange it and otherwise stay out of it. If it were left up to me, I'd just want to get a bucket of KFC and call it a day, so I know I can't be very supportive in that situation, and that's okay. Hope this helps, even though I'm not an atheist. :wink2::wink2:

I don't know what it is about nursing that attracts the kind of people who are hostile to others they deem as weak or less experienced. I don't really see this among doctors, who tend to be much more professional in their interactions with one another, at least in my opinion. Come on, it takes hard work and intelligence to complete a nursing program and pass the boards. Can we treat one another with respect and professionalism? I know not every nurse "eats their young," but too many of us do. I am not new in this field, I graduated about ten years ago.

Wow, I wonder if any of my coworkers have a voodoo doll in my image and are trying to eliminate me! Wouldn't that be interesting? Ineffective, but interesting. I think it would be very interesting to encounter a ghost in the hall. I don't know that I would find it frightening, though. If someone is not of this world, can they truly harm you? Is it scary more because of the unknown and unexpected? And why does it always seem that on each unit there are just certain rooms that more people die in than others? I can remember an experience from my first year as a nurse when I did subacute care. A woman was dying and we couldn't place her in a private room. Her roommate was aware of what was going on (the dying woman was a dnr, so we weren't coding her or anything), and she told me she was scared until an angel came and told her it was okay, that she was not going to die there. Interesting.

I personally see nothing wrong with going into nursing for good pay, job stability, etc. Those are more concrete reasons, and more likely to be consistent. There are some days I love what I do, and there are some days I would rather be doing just about anything else. I still am able to provide good care, no matter which kind of day it is. I am grateful to work in a field that provides job stability and decent pay - it allows me to function as a single mom and not have to rely so much on the ex, who would love to see me fall flat on my face. I certainly do NOT want to find some doctor to marry because he has money. It's much cheaper to earn your own, believe me. A marriage is something to go into because of love, a career can most certainly be chosen for the money and benefits.

Running a bolus over a pump for 30 minutes gives him more time to digest the formula as it goes in. Feeding bags are generally good for 24 hours, so if everyone were bolusing him the same way, it really wouldn't be a waste of a feeding bag. Is it possible to start the feed 30 minutes early, with the same 30 minute time allowance we have for meds? Then he wouldn't be getting down so late, and the extra 30 minutes might help keep him from aspirating. I understand being uncomfortable confronting someone about something you think they are doing wrong. Just think about how you would want someone to let you know, and follow that as a guideline. Just a friendly, hey, did you know the doctor ordered that pt to be upright for 2 hours post-feed might be all it takes. The ADON shouldn't mention you, that would be unprofessional. When I've seen someone doing something they shouldn't, I just pull out the order or policy/procedure manual and show them, assuming they didn't know. Most people are receptive.

It's good to know the questions they ask on the nclex application. I had a friend in nursing school who had been arrested for heroin use in the past. She had been completely clean for years. She had to undergo further questioning, but was able to get her license and has been practicing for nearly 10 years. She is an awesome nurse! Be aware of the questions they will ask so you can be prepared to answer. They may request a psych eval, and if you're doing well on meds, you should be fine. It's worth it to try if this is where your heart is.

I am an RN and work in a Peds ICU. I am also a retired AF Reserve nurse. I also have been diagnosed with major depression, PTSD, and borderline personality traits. I am on psych meds and doing well. I also see a therapist regularly, which definitely helps me learn better ways to cope with the BS and drama at work. I have never been an inpatient in a psych facility, but have been very close to being admitted. I don't have to report anything to my employer, not even the reason I was out on disability for three months. It was medical leave based on a doctor's evaluation. That's all I had to disclose. No one needs to know I'm on meds. I have learned to keep out of the drama at work by focusing on my patients and ignoring the gossip or even speaking out against it when people are gossiping around me. Then I go home and leave work at work. I have a life outside of work, and I keep myself busily occupied with many other things. I figure I have enough drama in my own life that I don't need the c**p that goes on at work piled on. I also work with an LPN who is bipolar and on meds. She has had to leave work on a bad day from time to time when her symptoms were overwhelming, but she is a good nurse and has worked there for more than 20 years. She gives good, competent care, and I am proud to work with her. Get whatever help you need, and don't let the military scare you off from pursuing your dream. You've probably learned better than most civilians how to deal with workplace politics. You made it through boot camp, you can do this, too.

Maybe things are different because I work in Peds, but we DO do bolus feedings over a pump, usually over half an hour. Kids with GTs tend not to tolerate gravity boluses well. However, we also put them in an infant seat or wheelchair or mom's lap if they need to be upright. Putting the feeding on a pump doesn't change the need to be upright after the feed. Many of our chronic kids have had to change to GJTs and have continuous feeds in the J-tube, simply because they cannot tolerate GT feeds at all. So nothing but meds go in the GT, and feeds in the JT. Sounds like the nurse may have thought that putting the feed in longer would help prevent aspiration, but she should have followed the orders as written and asked the Dr if they thought feeding over a pump would help. I wonder if she's ever tried to eat or drink in the semi-fowler's position. Might give her a fresh perspective. But, like the OP, I wouldn't want to completely discourage her. She does need to be confronted about what she is doing that may harm the patient, just not in front of the patient or family. Part of how we learn is when people confront us about our mistakes. It can be done in a professional and caring manner, rather than being confrontational. Personally, I appreciate feedback directly from my fellow nurses than hearing it from the manager or nurse educator after everyone has discussed it at the nurses station, which is what often happens where I work. When I hear nurses complaining about others, always when that person is not present, btw, I ask them if they have talked to that nurse. If they say it hasn't worked, I ask if they have talked to the ANM, then the next person up the chain, etc. Talking about it at the nurses station is unprofessional and unproductive. This was happening in front of nursing students, and I felt I had to say something so the students wouldn't think this was okay.

Not to sound stupid or anything, but what is it about LTC that makes it "okay" for slackers to get away with calling off over and over again? Does anyone other than the staff care about the patients? It sounds like everyone who has posted on this thread genuinely cares about the residents and the care they provide for them. Are these people less valued by management, etc that it doesn't matter to them how well the patients are cared for? Or do they just assume that they can always lay the blame at the feet of the poor bedside nurse who has to pick up the slack?

nysvetnurse, That sounds like the first job I had in nursing. I stuck it out for a little over a year, but I hated it! I became depressed because I felt like I was constantly set up to fail. There was no way I could possibly give good, safe care. The CNAs basically ran the floor, and the RNs got in trouble for the mistakes the CNAs made, even though they refused to listen to us and went the managers over everything they didn't like. It was horrible! Management would prefer to pull us out of report to give a pain med rather than actually get the med out of the Pyxis and give it themselves during report time. They NEVER did patient care. I was afraid to change to another unit or hospital because I didn't want to end up someplace even worse. I finally changed to a different hospital and went into Peds, where I feel I get much better support. We still have the stupid politics and cliques and management favorites, we still have nurses who love to gossip about everyone else and drag down nurses they deem as "weak" or "bad" nurses. But the ratios are so much better, it's pretty much an all RN unit, and I can just do my job and strive to make a difference for a child or family and stay out of the pettiness. I don't know what your options are, but I found that when I took the risk of changing, it worked out. And I know I can always go to a different area of practice and be okay. It sounds like your choices are pretty limited. Do you have any options such as same day surgery or an outpatient clinic that might offer a better environment? Just someplace where at least you know you can give safe care and ignore the stupid BS that inevitabally occurs in the workplace?

I applaud you for even considering going back to such a demanding job after what you have been through. How long ago did you finish treatment? Radiation therapy wipes out your energy for quite some time, even after it's over. Same with chemotherapy. My mom underwent chemo and radiation for breast cancer over a year ago, and is still experiencing some side effects and definitely is not completely up to speed as far as her energy level goes. She retired, and works through an agency periodically to supplement her retirement income. Good luck, and I hope you continue to get better.

I pumped at work with both my children. It wasn't easy, but I was dedicated to breastfeeding (it was important to me, however, I respect each individual mother's choices), so I made it work. There was no completely private place to pump, so I sat with my back to the door and kept myself covered up. Most of my coworkers were very supportive, a few were not. Many of my coworkers have decided it's not worth the hassle and switched to formula after the first 3 to 6 months. It's entirely up to you, based on your situation. Do what works best, your baby will be okay either way.

We really don't have a problem with slackers calling off where I work, because we get in trouble for calling off more than 3% of our scheduled days. It is on our evaluation and can affect our pay. The only thing protected from that is time off for a sick child or family member, and it's only protected if you have PTO to apply to that day. We have system in place for holidays, and usually people don't want to be called off because they want holiday pay. We only get holiday pay if we actually work on the holiday, PTO is straight time no matter what. If we want to be off, we can request a schedule change or ask to stay home for that day if staffing is adequate. It works, we don't have an issue with being constantly short-staffed.

Okay, why are people arguing this incredibly silly point on CHRISTMAS??? Do you not have family to spend your time with? I'm on here from time to time to get a moment to myself from my kids, and I admittedly have no life, but, please, couldn't your time be better spent studying or something?