Nemhain

Geez... the average sick days taken on my unit per year is 7 and I've used 4 so far.

I hear ya! I've heard many nurses say that they used to be able to spend more time with patients 6 + years ago when ratios at my hospital were much higher. The paperwork is taking us away from the patient and we have to get after the MDs to sign this and that. I get fed up having to chase the doctors down to sign medication reconciliation sheets (which they should be doing anyway). The simple solution would be to start holding doctors responsible for doing their own work... but that won't happen because it's too logical. Charting will only get worse... no wonder there is a revolving door of nurses, old and new.

I have to say that I've heard nothing but good things about TMC's L&D... seriously. I know that there are approx. 4,000 births a year there! That 's a busy L&D dept. I can't say I've heard the same about the Med/Surg units. I heard that the Med/Surg floors are carpeted (I'm just imagining the spills... gross).

That's what I see coming. Not only what you mentioned above, but my hospital has part-time nurses going to full-time and some inactive RNs returning to the workforce. The "nursing shortage" was created by many RNs leaving the profession or going to part-time status, not because there weren't enough graduates. Those aforementioned RNs who are coming back to the profession (as a result of better working conditions) and hordes of new grads are going to make it a tight job market. I feel bad for someone who's just starting school; they may have a difficult time finding the job that they want.

Maddie, I'll PM you.

Maddie, If you look under "Article 2"Licensure; persons and activities not required to be licensed of the Arizona Massage Therapy Board's website, you will see where Licensed health care providers are exempt providing they do not identify themselves as a massage therapist.

maddie, I was a massage therapist for 10 years before becoming a registered nurse, and yes, massage therapy IS within the scope of practice for RNs and has been for quite sometime. Actually, it is within the scope of practice for Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, MDs and NDs as well. However, one cannot identify themselves as a massage therapist (in most states anyway) unless you hold a license saying so. Just as prescribing medication is within a nurse practitioner's scope of practice she can't call herself a Physician. That being said, however, I feel that someone who hasn't been to massage school isn't prepared enough to make a business of it.

:rotfl: I with you!

1) No, I wouldn't be a nurse again. 2) Yes, you should use your MPH.

Yep. At my hospital there is. We've benefited from the local schools hemorrhaging new graduates. We now fight over who gets to work overtime.

I keep a line KVO if I'm going to hang another bag with in two hours during the day or within three hours at night. I find alot of times at night that the pt. would rather be KVO 'cause they don't want to be too disturbed with the flushing. I don't know why, but they don't seem to mind sleeping hooked up to the pump.

No policy at my hospital, but almost everybody dilutes 25 mg of Phenergan in 50ml of normal saline and hang it as a piggy back. We don't need an order to do that (hang it as a PB).

You said it, sister! I want to add "management". I've had three other careers before nursing and all of the nursing managers I've had so far (although I know all aren't like this) act unprofessional, are vindictive or are completely clueless about bedside nursing. It truly is sad and very disappointing.

I'm jealous! Very very jealous!!! I want to go down to two 12's a week with the option of working the occasional 3... but you get overtime for it... you lucky devil!!!

According to Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical Surgical Nursing (10th ed.), "...because hypoxemia stimulates respiration in the patient with severe COPD, increasing the oxygen flow to a high rate may greatly raise the patient's blood oxygen level. At the same time, this will suppress the respiratory drive, causing increased retention of carbon dioxide and CO2 narcosis..."