merlee

My MIL had been in an LTC facility for 9 years. She had Pick's dementia. When we placed her initially we decided then on 'no feeding tube' or other extraordinary actions. Recently she developed a UTI, and her fever wouldn't break. She simply stop...

Well-written article, many good points. Long before unit dose and automated systems, an instructor taught us that if you need to give less than 1/2 or more than twice of what is conventionally available then go back and read the entire order from it...

You say that your husband is retired but not eligible for Medicare, then I am assuming he is under 66ish. Could he possibly return to work? I am only asking.

I did a long stretch of nights after my divorce. Two reasons. One, they were offering a 20% diff if you signed on for at least 6 months. The diff applied to any sick time, vacation, overtime, etc. Major money in my pocket! The second reason is ver...

Many many years ago, in Philly, we had a gypsy queen as a patient, and lost a massive amount of linens in 2-3 days. This was before most places had an entire security dept. In those days, the supply rooms didn't lock like they do now. When she died, ...

Excellent article with very pertinent information. Thank you!

I never received any extra pay for being a preceptor. Sometimes the assignment was a bit different, but not always. One placed I worked had a clinical scale for pay, and those of us who were willing to be preceptors were higher on the scale overall....

There certainly needs to be a Fall review committee on your unit, or in the facility. 20 falls this year?? Wow. Scary.

In over 30 years of direct patient care, I can count on one hand the number of times I have done a favor where money or off-duty time was involved. One was actually in nursing school! and not my patient, either. I came on my own time, in the even...

WHAT WE NURSES HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS BETTER STAFFING = BETTER CARE BUT WITHOUT THOSE RESEARCHERS CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS NO ONE EVER HEARS US. B E T T E R S T A F F I N G = B E T T E R C A R E There has never been a...

My comment has consistently been - - who wants to spend 40-100,00 bucks on an education to work weekends, nights and holidays, ad infinitum? If you do, then so be it. But is there compensation for your education? Best wishes!

Sigh. In the early '70's we were told that a BSN would be mandatory by 1985. Or 1992. Or 1999..... Still hasn't happened. There are, however, as noted, some facilities that are attempting to go all BSN. This reminds me of a wave of 'primary nurs...

I could understand looking at the meds to see if they were something that the child had to have that night, ie, antibiotics, something for an ongoing problem, etc. and needed to be returned right away. I was a camp nurse for a few summers; although H...

I have actually called 2 codes on pts that were AAO! One was about to go into anaphylactic shock - and would need to be intubated, the other was severely fluid overloaded and drowning. Both survived. In the first case, a doctor told me to just cal...

In some facilities eating something off of a patient's tray, regardless of the circumstances, can be cause for dismissal. Frankly, I would only eat something that was store-bought and individually wrapped. 'Thank you for the offer, but not today....

Since I found out that the exam could be as short as 75 questions I have been amazed. That covers 4+ years of schooling? Wow! I don't believe that 2 days of testing is necessary, but one hour cannot be very inclusive. Also, if you failed a specif...

Someone at your agency should be able to give you the expected guidelines. 3,3,2,2,1,1-,1 is not uncommon, but could be fewer, like 3,2,1,1,-,1-,1. Depends on the individual case. Hopefully, the last visit is discharge, and pick up the monitor. Alw...

Never a good idea to 'not tell' the nurse that you are taking you own meds - what if it interacts with something, or makes you sleepy? I am surprised you would do this. Why do they charge so much for a Tylenol, or similar product? The order was tr...

If they are asking for a 2 yr commitment, then it is likely that the bonus will be divided up, with the last part given at the 2-year mark. Make certain that you completely understand the premise of the bonus - is it just for the position you hired i...

Medicaid is an income-based supplement that has nothing to do with your occupation/license. Apply for ALL of the services you may need. No one ever needs to know at the nursing board in your state, or at any facility you apply to for a job. Best wi...

So why can't the pharmacy person bring the groceries? Or maybe even though they are the same company, the products come from different locations?

I can't speak for your job, although this doesn't sound too bad to me. But this is definitely not something the BON would be too concerned about. Nothing happened to anybody, and it's unlikely that the facility would report this.

Got a call to see a home care patient 45 miles from my home. Went out to my car and my driver's side window had been destroyed. Arrggh! Luckily, the local auto glass place was still open, and they were able to help me out right away. Still needed...

I am diabetic, and when I am finally terminal, I want my doc to write for 'anything she desires to eat'. And I want my man, if I have one at the time, to get in bed with me and make love to me as much as I can tolerate! I want to have one last orga...

Yes, liquid cocaine is still out there. Some years ago it was used to stop a bad nosebleed that my son had. And my favorite story about paregoric -- More than 50 years ago, one of my mom's good friends told everyone that she gave her kids some parego...