Retired R.N.

Wangensteen suction device was used to handle secretions after cholecystectomy. Emptying and cleaning the big glass jugs was obnoxious task.

My solution to this problem was an answering machine. I NEVER returned the calls until I had finished sleeping. If that happened to be inconvenient for the person who called me while I was asleep, that was not MY problem. :-) Retired R.N.

Why are today's nurses so darned incapable of standing up for their own needs when it comes to meals and bathroom breaks? These are issues that my husband and I brought up with our children while they were young pre-schoolers, and we reinforced the teaching as long as they were living at home. A nurse would probably be fired for abusing mechanical or electronic equipment, so why can't management pay more attention to the wellbeing of their staff members? Why are today's nurses willing to work under conditions that are so unhealthy, and often unsafe for themselves as well as their patients?

As I read these posts about the atrocious health habits being practiced by nurses today, I wonder just what are you learning in your high-priced schools of nursing these days? What part of A&P has been eliminated? As a patient, I am not thrilled by the idea of being cared for by someone who is probably not functioning at an optimum level simply because of his or her neglect of common sense rules of personal hygiene.

So how does this practice affect this student's basic knowledge or clinical skills? No matter how she learns the information, she is the one who needs to pass her exams. Do you consider this a personal threat to you?

I think you understand the present sytem very well. As long as we continue educating nurses to escape the Med-Surg scene, that is what they will do, and why should anyone be surprised when patient care suffers?

Your answer proves my point! This division of ranks in nursing was originally begun after the "White Paper" issued by the so-called "leaders" with the advanced collegiate degrees. We don't like to attribute to malice that which can be explained by simple incompetence, and we sincerely hope that this effect was a case of unexpected results. When the nurses in the executive and educational hierarchy do not respect the role of the bedside nurses, why should we expect the hospital business administrators to do so? Where are the good "old-fashioned" head nurses who felt it was their responsibility to look after the welfare of their staff, and made it a point to see that everyone in their unit got a decent lunch break and their staff nurses's schedules allowed them to get enough sleep to maintain their health? Where are the directors of nursing who would not ask their staff to do anything that they themselves were not willing to do? When you say you get no help from diploma and ADN nurses, all you really seem to want them to do is go back to school and spend thousands of dollars on getting those magic initials behind their names because you seem to think that it will make them the equals of other professions. Why are we not strong enough to stand up and say that nursing is not just another profession, and we don't need to be equal to anyone. We are different, and we set our own standards for education and promotion based on peerformance.

So, while the BSN prepared nurse is getting that experience (s)he cannot carry a full patient load, and the unit remains inadequately staffed. The problem we were originally discussing was that the BSN education was not appropriate for the duties the student would face on the job immediately after graduation. Do the BSN prepared nurses use that extra education to do anything concrete about improving the working conditions for nurses or the nurse/patient ratio, or do they escape the world of hospital nursing as soon as they possibly can?

A hospital diploma program for RNs is not less education because the students must learn all the same nursing principles in order to be able to pass the NCLEX. It is however, much more intensive in the clinical experience area, as the students put in many more hours under the supervision of their clinical instructors and they have many more opportunities to observe experienced nurses in their work. By the time they graduate they are able to cope with a full load of patients, and have been able to learn the duties of a charge nurse while under supervision.

How can you accuse U.S. employers of such dastardly motives? I had one administrator defend this process of raiding foreign countries for nurses by claiming that the U.S. paychecks those nurses earned were good for their countries because they helped to support the families they left behind. Do you know that the visas and work permits for these nurses often state that they must work for the same employer for a stated length of time or they will be deported? Should we call this slavery or is merely a case of being an indentured servant?

Thank you for your support, but I don't think I really want to get into politics at this time. The nicest thing about being retired is that I can say whatever I think is true without having to worry about getting fired. I fully realize that not everyone agrees with my criticisms of the present system of nursing education, but I do think that a more realistic education would have a significant effect on conditions for nurses and lead to better care for patients.

Instead of waiting for the government or a union to "Fix Something," why don't we professional nurses take on the responsibility of doing it ourselves? First, we start by admitting that the present system of expensive, taxpayer-subsidized nursing education does not adequately prepare students for the reality of the beginning jobs that await the students after graduation. Once upon a time, when most nurses graduated from hospital diploma schools, they had all the clinical experience they needed to hit the ground running. However, the self-appointed (?) leaders of nursing decided that everyone needed a baccalaureate degree to be considered "Professional," They did such a good job with their infamous "White Paper" in dividing the ranks of practicing nurses that they spent all their time fighting each other instead of being concerned with what was happening to the employment status of hospital nurses. If we nurses won't make the necessary corrections, we probably won't like the ones made by the government or the unions.

One factor that seems to be completely ignored, however, is the fact that we, the taxpayers, are subsidizing some very expensive educational programs for R.N.s that do not adequately prepare the students for the realities of the jobs that await them after graduation. This "elephant in the living room" topic needs to be addressed if we are ever to solve the so-called "shortage of nurses." How can we nurses even pretend that we respect the professionalism of our own fellow workers when we are so blind to the working conditions that they face every day of their lives? When studies have shown that driving an automobile when sleep deprived is equally or more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol, how can we in good faith approve of mandatory schedules that do not permit nurses to get enough sleep? Since when have the benefits of regular meals become unnecessary for nurses? Should nurses have to consider Depends an accessory to their scrubs? Why do nurses have so little control over the practice of nursing?

I agree wholeheartedly! You have a dream job, and if you have any spare time, you can take on writing assignments and/or private consultation work. Your present job has benefits that money can't buy!

Having had some personal experience with walking on crutches while temporarily disabled due to broken bones, I know how pain and helplessness can cause a sour outlook. As others have already pointed out, it is impossible to carry a cup of coffee without spilling it while walking on crutches. Instead of responding to this "rude doctor" with rudeness of my own, I would cheerfully get the coffee for him, and be thankful that I can walk without crutches! There will always be doctors who seem to delight in being unreasonable, but they are the ones who need a kind word and a smile more than anyone else. One of my favorite mentors taught me to "Kill them with kindness because it confuses the hell out of them!" Not only did it work, but those very doctors were the ones who would lean over backwards if necessary to do favors for her when she needed help.

If relieving pain enables a patient to accomplish things (s)he would not otherwise be able to do, what's the problem? It seems to me that you might be letting a short-term situation irritate you entirely too much. A patient who does not get enough sleep on account of pain is going to "drain the life out of the staff" much faster than the one who gets adequate pain relief and plenty of sleep to aid the healing process. Since neither you nor the call bell goes home with the patient, you won't have to worry about it after the patient is discharged. Retired R.N.

Stacey, Before you write that letter, please think about what is going to happen to it, and what the consequences might be. Would you like to have that letter published on the front page of your local newspaper? Would you like to have a copy of it go to a prospective employer at some time in the future? The present administrators of your school may not be there when someone asks for a reference, but your permanent file will be there. Do you really want to give any hint that might lead someone to think that perhaps you had an "attitude problem" or that you have a disability that could interfere with your professional performance? If it helps you clear your mind, go ahead and write the letter, but do not leave it where ANYONE can read it. If anyone who already knows about what you were intending to do asks you about it, you might consider just smiling and saying something to the effect that you were temporarily overly stressed out and tired, but you are feeling better about it now, and have moved on to better ways to spend your time. Nobody has the right to invade your privacy, nor are you obligated to give them the opportunity. Best wishes! Retired R.N.

In my opinion, the best thing you can do to promote "greener healthcare" is to take care of your own health and save your community the cost of educating your replacement when you are unable to work because you have damaged your own health. Be aware of studies that have shown that driving an automobile while sleep-deprived can be more dangerous than driving while under the influence of alcohol. Avoid self-inflicted diseases that result from unwise diet and spare the taxpayers having to enlarge the system to take care of someone who should have known better than to risk diabetes, heart disease, or any of a number of communicable diseases that can be prevented by careful attention to good nursing techniques. To paraphrase an old cliche: "Charity begins at home."

I agree that this kind of resignation letter is far wiser than one that puts anything in writing about matters that are really your own private business. Don't handicap your future job hunt by announcing that you have had any kind of psychiatric problem that was severe enough for you to quit your job or even to need a leave of absence while your were recovering.

Has anyone ever considered that having to work excessive hours is one of the chief causes of the so-called nursing shortage? When an employer can demand mandatory overtime, and the nurses have no union to defend their right to a healthy lifestyle with time for adequate sleep, you should be thanking the BNE for their attempts to promote good patient care! Just wait until you are an older nurse who gets laid off because (s)he is no longer able to put in those ridiculous hours. Or, wait until you are the victim of an automobile accident because a severely sleep-deprived nurse ran into you on her way home from work. Where is some evidence of the critical thinking that is supposed to be a part of the modern nurse's education?

"You'll Never Walk Alone" - or - is it "You Will Never Walk Alone?"

I think C. Diff smells like a mixture of Texas road kill in the summer plus the dirty feather odor of the vultures that come to strip the edible parts from the rotting carcass.

Have you thought about what your arrangements for the children will be when you start classes? You get only this one chance to be with your children, whereas there will always be other jobs and/or other classes. I think you need to take enough time to make sure you really know what your priorities are and whether your husband is enthusiastic about your plans or simply agreeing with you to avoid an argument. Best wishes for success, whatever you decide!

An answering machine is a wonderful device! I have had one for so many years that I can't imagine living without one. What I found works best is the tape one of my son's friends made for me that says (in a nice deep voice that none of my friends or my employer recognized) "You have reached XXX-XXX-XXXX. At the tone, please leave your message and a phone number where you can be reached." You will notice that it doesn't say who will call back or WHEN. And, yes, there were times when I had my son's friend make the return call for me, saying simply, "You called?" A couple of calls like that were usually all it took to, shall we say "educate," some of my formerly clueless callers.