C.G.

While at triage one morning, two women walked into the ER. The younger of the two approached me and said "Hi, I'm here to bring in my mother for an autopsy?". I looked at her and the older woman behind her and said "And she would be your mother?" She said "yes". I said "Do you have something with the procedure written down on it?" She handed me a paper that said her mother was due for a breast biopsy at the surgical day. I said "surgical day for a BIOPSY?" She said "Oh did I say autopsy?" We all laughed.

This seems like a good thread going now. I'm just curious, say you are pulled into court five years from now and are asked to accurately describe what a patient was saying. How can you remember it if you don't write it down?

I had a nurse tech pull me aside after a foley was inserted into a male UNCIRCUMCISED trauma patient. She said "I've seen foleys put in guys before but what was WRONG with his member? Why did it look so funny?" Ahhhh to be so young............I busted out laughing.

Great article. Thanks Mark

I'd get at least a year of med/surg under your belt first. There are hospitals that take new grads. Southcoast hospitals have a 6 month preceptorship program.

I attended BCC and got my ADN from there. It's one of the BEST nursing schools in the state. I've since moved on and received my BSN and most recently my MSN and I wouldn't have passed up the basic education I got in nursing from BCC. There is a nursing shortage for a reason and most if it is because there aren't enough nursing educators. And that won't change because they don't pay what the job is worth. When a MSN can make more being a floor nurse than an educator, there is something wrong with this system. I'm off track. BCC is great. All schools have some issues but you'll get a good solid background.

Yes, I do.....25 years at Southcoast to be exact. I worked at St Luke's for many many years. Got burned by administration and co-workers which finally burned me out. I work in Southcoast's best kept secret...Tobey Hospital. If you want to know any specifics, let me know.

I think sometimes it depends where in nursing you work. I agree with what Tweety said. However, if you are in doubt, write what the patient says exactly. You won't be wrong for stating the exact comments. What may be considered profane to one person, is not to another so you can't go wrong with "saying it like it is".

This is terrible! Another case of how nurses eat their young! This makes me sick. Is this facility that you work in unionized? If so, there issues should be talked about in your contract. If there is no union, then get out of there! You will burn out before you even break in your nurse's shoes! I've precepted many nurses and this is NOT the way to keep staff. You obviously have NO support from your charge nurses or supervisors. Giving you a less than standard orientation is horrible! You should not be released from orientation until you feel comfortable. If there is poor staffing (gee, I wonder why???????) it's that administration's problem, NOT yours. Just get out of there and chock it up to experience. At least you'll know what kind of place you DON'T want to work in.....

The critical care course I had to go through (way back when) involved both ICU, CCU and ER nurses. We were taught alittle about alot of things-- EKG's, rhythm strips, A-lines, Swans, Intubating, Ventilators, chest tubes, etc. It made us all alittle more rounded. I don't know if they still do this with everything being so specialized now. When I was new, sometimes it was difficult to learn how to prioritize my patients. Just because some patient is loud or demanding doesn't mean they get all your attention. The quiet "good" patient on a stretcher may be your sickest. The best tip I can give you is to keep up with your documentation. Whether you still use nurses notes or computerized charting, don't let it wait because you will forget......and sometimes forgetting things may come back to haunt you in a lawsuit. Enjoy the ER! It's a great place to work and never boring!

It sounds like this doc has power issues. Unfortunately, by the time this doc orders a lock or an IV the patient may be more compromised and the IV insertion may be more difficult. It only hurts the patient in the long run. The ER I work in uses standing protocols. I've seen more docs get bit in the butt by not giving up some of their "power" from not allowing nurses some slack to start IV's. I'm curious, is this doctor new?

You have an actual ratio of nurses to patients? What a luxury! I work in a 30 bed ER (includes 9 acute beds, 21 non-acute) and nights is staffed with 4 RN's, one triage nurse and a charge nurse. Two nurses take care of the acute side, 2 on the non-acute. Most nights all rooms are full plus patients in the hallways! Talk about unsafe!

I've worked in the ER for a very long time. It's very easy to say to educate the public so they don't abuse the local ER's. It's been tried. They've had it on the local news stations and guess what? They still come in with their sore throats, earaches and stubbed toes. They don't think it applies to them. I think ER nurses get frustrated because sometimes WE are sicker than the patients coming in to be treated. And also you get fed up with the abuse of the system. Don't get me wrong, when someone is truely ill, I'll do my best to help them. Just don't waste my time with something dumb that could wait or be seen in a clinic or MD's office or even be treated as simple as a trip to a pharmacy or the local Walmart for some Tylenol or pseudofed.

How about when someone comes in with one complaint then when you're talking to them they say "oh by the way, can I have a pregnancy test?" and it's in the middle of the night??? That's my pet peeve.