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thanks guys! I am just kinda scared because this is my first time doing it... lol, not like I wanna do it again but, blurg. thanks! :)

Also, right after I noticed the scratch, I washed the site with soap and water ASAP, and took a whole bottle of Hibiclens to wash the site. lol

Well I didnt have the scratch beforehand I know that much, but as far as him scratching me or any blood coming into contact I dont know since I was trying to calm him down and not making him pull his ETT. I didnt see any blood stain on my uniform so if anything, probably not. I filled out an incident report, went to the clinic, and now taking Kuletra and Tuveda? Also, I got another question, I am now taking these meds, assuming I didnt contract it, what am I gonna expect S/S wise from these meds? I know diarrhea, fatigue, vomiting, but diarrhea is the main S/S so far lol.

Hi guys 2nd year RN here just wanna ask what are the chances of getting HIV from a patient? In my case, i received a superficial scratch when the patient was being ocmbative and pulling out his IV lines, so blood was there. But not sure if my scratch was in contact. So, the clinic said I have to take the medication regimen for a month, blurg. But they said its a small chance health care workers get it, so what are your experiences? Thanks!

I think that RNs in general think that the night shift is the "clean-up" shift where it is ok to leave stuff undone. For example, this guy's hemo was 7.5 and had orders to transfuse 2 units of PRBCs since 11am....... and somehow it wasn't done when I arrived at 7pm........ that is very absurd and not good nursing practice!

Have you ever heard this one: "You guys at night do not do anything but babysit the pts until the dayshift gets here, so I expect everything to be perfect when I come in the AM." ...First reaction? Slap the taste out of that mouth! Babysit? Night shifts is as hard, if not harder! No aid from supervisors, 1 CN for the whole floor (thats 3 depts, almost 60 pts), and PCAs that goes on break when you need them, oh yea We babysit them. And then when we received the pts at the beginning of OUR shift, we get "IMperfect" pts.

To the OP: You know i read somewhere that the economy slump is hitting the NE the hardest so I think you should critical think about how to get an RN job... I mean think about it, you need to go to a place where alot of people live, vacation, etc. More often than not they'll get sick. I live in FLA, and hospitals are hiring like crazy still! But i dont know if FLA is a place you'd consider to move with your fiancee... I mean cmon! Beaches, sun, job, who can ask for more? lol But anyway good luck getting an RN job, pulling for ya.

sounds like you did everything you could for each pt that you cared for i mean the K WAS 4.8, but the thing about that is WHEN the K was 4.8, how long the K was 4.8 and how long in between the 4.8 and the K you infused. also, it all depends on how he is, granted that hipaa wont let you discuss his history, so, if no one is talking to you about this, YOU have to step it up talk to the manager or charge or someone in HR to know your options. And the 2nd pt you cant really ask to be judged because again, you'd have to discuss history and blah blah... But I think you just needed to vent this one out, instead of having strangers asking for advice lol. Ask any of your colleagues who were there, if they're not talking to you talk TO THEM. ASK ASK ASK!

i read all the posts and thanks by the way, but i worked at fast food for 3 long years and you know what i figured out? we (the nurses) are glorified waiters. i hit on it when i was running from a patients room to the medroom when another patient called for me and i said the very words: "Wait for a moment." THAT very second, i was transported back to highschool, wearing a Johnny Rockets hat and uniform, yes I worked at johnny Rockets, its so degrading when they make you dance...blah.... think about it: patients' rooms are customers' tables, meds are their food, pharmacy is the kitchen, and the accudose is the register lol....anyway, thats what i arrived to... and i havent even worked a year, isn't that scary? but anyway i agree to most of you that said patient satisfaction isn't all about the RNs, but management comes down to us the hardest, like how waiters get the shouted at if the food is late when they dont realize the cook COOKS the food not the waiters, so yelling at the waiters is not gonna make the food come faster... sounds familiar? patients yelling at you because their meds are not on time, but they dont realize it takes the pharmacy SOME time to get it out.

the LPNs we have can push IV meds so i guess it is different in other places

I was thinking about a story someone told me the other night, and it had to do something about LPN and RN differences. Where I work at, they tend to give the LPN's a lighter load than RNs. The other night a patient was taken away from an RN because he was thought "stable" but then had a psychotic episode later that night. The RN was chuckling as she told me that since he was taken away from her because someone said during the day shift he was "stable". HA! But anyway, the point is here: what is the difference? And does it happen anywhere else?

I say it starts with whoever is giving care to that patient, and those are RNs. But, what happens if those RNs are not "satisfied" and I use that in a broad sense. It could be the unsatisfaction of the administration, patient workload, the fact that you still have to document with paper and pen when all other hospitals are using computers! Thoughts?

We get 5 accrued hours for each paycheck, and that depends on if you work the total 72 hours a week. What a jip. And Quafetti got it right. I hear patients telling me "oh you're so good to me" and "you're my favorite nurse" but none of that reaches to the ears of the administration. All they care about are the negatives and none of the positives.

to flygirl43: right on! thats exactly what i am saying, doing meetings like that endangers yourself and others. also i forgot what that violation is called but it is as bad as a DUI. Some doctor told me about it. to LHH1996: maybe u can talk to my manager! LOL to lpnflorida: if the meeting doesnt take like an hour long, which ours does, sometimes the meeting doesn't end as late as 0930 or 1000 and I haven't even finished my charting AND some have to get back to work that night! to ruthigal: our hospital isn't even using computers to chart, much less equipped to do a teleconference to vito andolini: don't you think I already voiced my concerns to her AND via the proper channels? I mean I am the forerunner of complaining about these stupid meetings. I tell her about the dangers of us driving 40 minutes on the road to go home half asleep and sleep deprived. Yet, this practice continues! We already told her that she can come around 0100, but do you think she does? Please, these meetings are done as a convenience to them, not the employees. Can she stay a little bit after HER shift and the beginning of the night shift to give meetings? No, because she leaves around 1700, and comes around 0745 to do a meeting scheduled for 0730. So, you can tell that this hospital does not cater to their employees. to tait: i like the way your hospital works lol where do you work and are you hiring?! to rn power ohio: you are so right man! i had to like follow up with my manager so much just to get my BLS to be updated.... after 6 months of it being expired! Can you believe that? 6 months I did not have a valid CPR card! They think we do not do anything at night and we just babysit the patients while the day gets all the action. PLEASE, we get all their admissions so they people from the day can have their shifts. Like last week, they only gave us 3 nurses on one department, but pushed us to 8 patients each so they don't have to cancel 1 nurse during the day! And they actually give us crap when things aren't done?! Anyway, I feel sorry more for those who have families and are working as agency RNs because they don't get paid past their shift. Sometimes I feel like I should get a police officer or something and bring her/him with me to the manager and try to explain to her the effects. I wonder if the hospital can be responsible for the accidents caused by these meetings right? I mean I guess i am asking you guys if they can be? Can they?

tait, care to elaborate?

Don't you hate it when your managers or team leaders make a meeting the FIRST thing in the morning? Everybody has to come, even the night shift! AUGH! :angryfire I mean, really, I spend about 12 hours running after doctors, meds, technicians, then now I have to spend a couple more hours listening to inservice that I will forget 5 minutes after the meeting is done? I mean what is the point of the inservice/meeting/whatever if you're not going to retain it afterwards? And then the safety repercussions! SAFETY! You're tired, sleepy, and you probably have a huge headache. That's after 12 hours. You have to stay for a couple more, then drive home! I do not care how near you live; with those kind of conditions, you are a hazard to yourself and others on the road! Sometimes I even find myself dozing off between lights! And that's without a meeting in the end. I mean CMON! Why do they do this?! ARGH! How do you gus handle it?

Thanks iluvivt, I guess I know how a private hospital with no union works now. Never again will I work here!

"You came in after calling in with a headache??? Great, now you'll have them making stupid suggestions for years to come. Once you call in that's it, you're out, and don't even agree to try to come in. " what do you mean by that?

Thanks for all your input and experiences. I will try to be more assertive next time, and not let them bully me into work. Also, I always try to call in waaaay before my shift starts at least 4 hours before so they CAN find my replacement. But, it seems like our manager doesn't want, or like, doing her job. It is, to me, the same as me saying, "No I do not want to take care of that patient." *sigh* O well.

"I speak some Spanish, and I have no problem speaking Spanish to Spanish speakers, but a few have refused to speak Spanish to me. They will talk to the translator, but not to me. One guy just said "No speaky" to me over and over, when I told him (in Spanish) that his wife had arrived. I've never understood that. " That NEVER happened to where I work at.

"No I do not speak Spanish and NO I SHOULD NOT learn how to speak Spanish because we live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!! YOU should learn how to speak ENGLISH!" MAN I wish I said that to the family member.....that just infuriated me. To think I had to learn English, and they insult ME for not speaking Spanish.

I really do appreciate all of your guys' input.

how do you quote stuff? lol sorry new at this

I should have been more specific then... I told her I had a severe headache 4 hours before my shift, ample time for them to find a replacement. I felt like if I would go to work tonight, it wouldn't be to the best of my ability, hinder the patient care, will not satisfy patient satisfaction, and most importantly endanger my well-being when driving home after my shift (I live 30 miles from the hospital). That's when basically she told me to take a Tylenol and go back to sleep. I'll be fine by the time I get to work, she predicted.

" think if you come to work ill to take care of ill and immunocomprimised patients you are also doing the patients a great disservice and certainly are not advocating for your patients What kind of manager/human being tells you to come in sick!!!!!!!! I wish these managers would get a grip and think past their immediate staffing issues and budget " I agree with that also because your not doing yourself and your patient a favor if you come in sick. Its a sick cycle: the patients are already sick, you make them more sick, in turn, what they have you might receive because of your already weak immune system. Also, our floor is always expressing the importance of patient satisfaction, BUT how can you satisfy somebody else when you aren't even satisfied yourself? One thing I observed about patients is that a warm, genuine smile and kind demeanor means so much more than anything else. You do not get that if snot is hanging from your nose, your eyes red and itchy, or your throat sounds like a frog died in it. We also have to call 2 hours ahead before our shift starts. Who wakes up 2 hours before their shifts? Seriously?