VORB

' HOW IS NORMA? A sweet grandmother telephoned the hospital. She timidly asked, "Is it possible to speak to someone who can tell me how a patient is doing?" The operator said, "I'll be glad to help, dear. What's the name and room number?" The grandmo...

' Seems they like to take away the unit secretary right at evening shift change where I work, when call lights and phones are ringing off the hook. Administration makes their choices I guess, but it's the pts & family that suffer. It'll get worse...

' "Most people will need one shot for the regular seasonal flu and probably two others to protect against the new swine flu. For the regular flu vaccine, elderly people, health care workers and pregnant women are among the priority groups. For the sw...

' Since an M.D. has to order them, I would check the orders and follow them. Pretty straightforward.

' That's dizzying. All I can say is that a government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it all away.

Unfortunately, the top 50 percent of wage earners pay 97 percent of the federal taxes in the U.S., while the bottom 50 percent pay just 3 percent. Ironically, it's usually those in the bottom 50 percent -- who essentially pay for little or none of th...

' You might get a better response with a more-descriptive thread subject title than "Changed".

I just did. And it is. That's the term for publicly-funded healthcare.

' One thing's for sure: The plan is to raise taxes to pre-Regan levels, which will unfairly impact doctors and advanced-practice nurses. Congress and the president have already admitted that those levels will have to be adjusted in the future to make...

Why work, indeed. Welcome to the United Socialist States of America.

' http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/07/21/obama_not_familiar_with_key_provision_in_health_care_bill.html

' The point is that the market within which we now work will change with reform. And most would say not for the better. Three out of three who've answered the question are in agreement. We would not stay.

No. I got into nursing not because I wanted to be a nurse. I went into nursing to find a career -- which I have done. I made way more than that my first year -- something that surprised even me. I have never felt underpaid since starting. I would mak...

' First, don't worry about something that hasn't happened yet. Second, it may be in your best interest to hire a lawyer for the hearing. If your nursing career depends on it, it may be worth it. A judge will listen to a lawyer more than he/she will l...

Like I said, licenses are good until they expire. You do not lose your original license when you obtain another by endorsement.

You can have as many licenses as you want. Licenses are good until they expire.

' I've seen it once -- written by an old doc, of course. In the real (hospital) world, you dial the pharmacy with such questions and they'll figure it out if it's in reference to a med order.

Half of our janitors look like surgeons.

. Our hospital staff wears different colors based on their role. No two roles share the same color. That way patients & staff know who's who.

Hopefully at the age of 13 you were a striper and not a stripper. I, on the other hand, did not get into nursing because I wanted to be a nurse. I was looking for a career after 20+ jobs, and I have found it. Or it has found me.

. Nurses are much more verbally abusive toward doctors. They just don't hear it.

. I see nurses lose their cool much more often than doctors.

I used to like to use fat-tipped pens - the fatter the better. But I now use the fine tipped ones to great effect - especially on those tiny report sheets and with presbyopia issues. Recently discovered the Pilot Ultrafine .038 G2 gel pens. Oh my gos...

After you've been at it awhile, it's best to come up with your own note sheet on the computer and make copies at work as needed. I happen to work the same 3 nights each week and usually have the same pts all 3 nights, give or take. So my sheet allows...

I find myself looking at the patient through the "chart's eyes". Is their IV access where the nurse said it was? Verify their IV fl settings (and make a mental note of when that bag may go empty). What do their dressings look like? Do they have SCDs/...