jkaee

I'm sure they do, and the reason they probably have to is because most people lack common sense and will use their phones inappropriately and inconsiderately (exception: areas where cell phone use can interfere with electronic monitoring). That doesn't mean that we should lack common sense as well. If someone's phone beeps once during an appointment, you don't just up and walk out on them. However, if the phone keeps going off, or if the patient expects you to wait for them while they finish up their conversation, then by all means do what you have to do. I'm just saying, indicriminately walking out on pts because a cell phone goes off is not the answer.

Have to disagree with BlueDevil.... I am on call frequently for work. I have 6 children, half of whom go to school. I have a stay at home hubby who has 2 children under 3 yrs old at home. If my cell phone beeps during an appointment, I'm checking it. I'm certainly not going to interrupt your time for something trivial, but there are times that I MUST be reached. If you walked out on me during an appt because I checked a txt or to see who was trying to call.....truly, I'm speechless. I've had doctors tell me that it was ok to check my phone when it beeped (not rang obnoxiously) during appts before. Understand, I'm not saying that you or any other provider should be held up while someone finishes a non-essential conversation, nor am I advocating using your cell phone at work or during meetings/inservices. Cell phone use in patient care areas is an automatic write up where I work. But I'm definitely not going to say it's ok for a provider to walk out on a patient simply because their cell phone goes off during an appointment. JMHO.

Let me tell you a little story.... I had just delivered my 7th child, and that labor was by far the worst one. I was pre-eclamptic, delivering at 34 weeks. I was in labor for over 30 hours with mag and pitocin running the entire time. I finally had a c-section (my first and only). I was brought up to the PP unit, still had mag and pit running, and a morphine drip as well. I was sick. I have never felt that way in my life. During the night shift, I had a nurse that came in religiously every 2 hours. Keeping the lights dim, she warmed some water to clean me, change my chux, help me get repositioned and do her assessment. All I could do at that point was open my eyes to watch her. To this day, I could not tell you what she looked like. I wouldn't be able to pick her out of a line up. All I remember was how kind, gentle and competent she was when caring for me at a time that I couldn't do it myself.

I agree....scales are evil. So are numbers for that matter. I can relate...my primary MD's scale always, ALWAYS has me about 8 lbs heavier than any other scale I step on. I tell them their scale is off, but they don't believe me....

I had the procedure done with my last pregnancy (had to be induced at 33 weeks due to BP issues turning into pre-eclampsia) and, as Heather mentioned above, it got be to 4 cm and then I stopped progressing. Considering that I had Pit and Mag and PCN running for 30 hours before I asked for a section, I didn't see the Foley bulb as really doing much of anything.

My facility has just gone thru the process of phasing out alarms. We have a couple of residents with alarms on our Dementia unit, but the rest of the building is pretty much alarm free. The units are so much quieter, the residents are less agitated, and our falls have not increased due to the elimination of alarms. Other interventions, especially when you involve other disciplines, are much more effective. In fact, our dementia unit has seen a sharp decrease in the number of falls simply by offering a group activity at shift change. Of course, it's a culture change, and every culture change involves a lot of staff education and changing the way we ordinarily do things. Frequent checks, more activities and assessing even the smallest changes in resident's status will all help decrease your fall numbers. Believe me, we didn't think going alarm free would work either, but it has. It's been a wonderful change to our environment and for the resident's peace of mind.

I really don't mind doing any of those things. But I hate doing routine vitals. I don't know why, I just do. Mind you, I do them, and most often I do manual BP's because I don't trust our electric cuffs, but even in nursing school it was something that I just didn't like doing.

Short, sweet, succinct, and RIGHT ON! I'm sorry, I know you are in a difficult position, but why are you even concerned with your CNA license? What does that have to do with the fact that you've witnessed an elderly woman who cannot defend herself being abused? Family or not, it needs to be reported. Like another posted mentioned, if you saw a caretaker hit an infant over the head, would you question your responsibilities or ask about what the legal ramifications were? I would certainly hope not. The elderly are just as helpless as children. Even more so, because in some societies, they have no value. We will have to answer for that one day. Make sure you don't have to.

I agree...I lived in a Philly suburb growing up, and my husband went to Temple University. It is not in a safe neighborhood. I was offered a job at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and declined it, due to the fact that I did not want to be driving or taking public transportation at night. Septa (train) is absolutely horrid. Frequent delays, frequent breakdowns, not enough express routes, not clean. Not to mention expensive. You are looking at $200 plus per month to be spent on a train pass. Add to it the Philly wage tax that you pay, and you have to figure if your paycheck in the end will be worth it. My friend was a patient at Lehigh, and absolutely loved it. That's all I really know about that hospital, though. Think long and hard....it will definitely be a culture change. I will never work in that area again, and not only for the reasons I mentioned above. Good luck.

Does your facility offer an Employee Assistance Program? They offer counseling/therapy free of charge. Refer her to Human Resources. Or, if you feel that her personal problems are interfering with her ability to do her job, you might want to go to HR yourself with your concerns. Otherwise, I would just stay out of it. I disagree with letter writing or even talking to her about it...that's not your place.

Well, it's like this....how the heck are we supposed to know what's going on with you/other women? If someone is missing their periods, take a PG test and/or call your doctor. Just like if someone who is pregnant comes to my office and reports spotting, I would try to reassure and explain the possibilities but I am going to send them to f/u with their doctor. If your research couldn't give you conclusive information, then chances are we won't be able to, either. And giving out medical advice in a non-clinical setting is risky business...you might want to refrain from doing that. I think it might have also been the way you phrased the question. If you asked, "Could frequent UTI's cause hormonal imbalances?" you might have gotten different responses. The way you asked, it sounded like you were looking for medical advice. I'm not saying this to be snarky, but as a new poster, it easy to not realize how things come across. This is coming from an Employee Health nurse who has to tell this to people who expect me to manage their chronic conditions or chronic complaints all the time....

Thank you, Leslie, very well put. It does exist, and acting indignant towards the OP is only another form of "sweeping it under the rug." A few years back, I had this happen to me big time at work. It was horrible. And there is nothing more detrimental to staff morale and trust than a problem that gets turned into a race issue. Racism is a multi-faceted dynamic that affects all people in many different ways. As Leslie said..."read, listen and learn."

What I took away from this post is this (and correct me, OP, if I'm wrong)...I think we are conditioned to want "instant gratification". Meaning, immediately after graduation with our brand spanking new degree, we expect to reap the rewards of our hard work...new jobs, new opportunities, new growth, more money. I know I'm like that...I have not gone back for my BSN because it would make no difference in my pay, my immediate job prospects or what my immediate plans for my career are. I simply cannot justify getting myself (my family) in more debt for something that is not going to benefit me at this time. Does that mean that if I did get my BSN, it would be pointless? Of course not. But, like others, in order for me to pursue that route, I'd want concrete results at the end. And with so many nurses of all types struggling to find jobs after graduation, I think this disillusionment in normal and to be expected.

Coffee filters....put them in every fold the patient has to help control the yeast infection. I learned this at a Skin Care seminar and tried it at work. It works when nothing else does.

You do not legally have to give any reason to your employer as to why you are calling in. And they can't demand that you tell them. If you choose to tell them, that's one thing. But they can't ask. (Unless you are using FMLA, then you do have to tell them that.) Employers will do whatever you let them get away with. Just don't pick up the phone. What you permit, you promote. Cliche, I know, but very true.