Sdee

If your doctor told you to "go to the ER, you will be seen right away", please know this is a lie. You will be seen in the order of the severity of illness or injury. Our doctors order diagnostics and treatments based on their own clinical judgement and do not take orders from yours. Calling ahead does not reserve a bed, you may well be in the waiting room for some time. If your doctor says "go to the ER, you need an MRI" for your chronic condition, you will not get one. Finally, if you come to the ER with an EKG done in an office or urgent care, it will be repeated.

Not every nurse has to be rainbows and sunshine; not all patients respond to that anyway. I was very socially awkward, I still am even as retired RN with 40+ years as an ER nurse. Early on, I listened to and watched nurses I admired and patterned my interactions with patients similarly. As I gained confidence in nursing, I became more confident interacting with patients and team members so that I didn’t even think about it. My nurse persona, call it acting if you like, was like armor, and made it possible to really help my patients without feeling awkward. Some people are naturals, I was not, and perhaps you are not either. But it can be overcome. Great thing about nursing is there is a place for everyone. I wish you all the best.

It is sometimes hard for a nurse to find the right environment. I’m retired after 40+ years, most as an ER nurse. I always had 2-3 different per diem jobs, I was fortunate that my husband carried health benefits so I could be flexible. Some jobs were a nightmare of just the kind of mean-girl, petty, gossipy bullies you have described. That kind of culture is fostered by the more experienced nurses and ignored by management. I made it a habit not to get sucked in to their drama, stayed friendly, polite and helpful and didn’t count on making lifelong friends. With more experience and a charge position in a busy ER, I managed to turn a toxic environment into a better workplace. I don’t expect you to do that, but know that while there are no utopias in nursing, better work situations exist. Keep looking, find your nursing joy, and best of luck.

The germophobe in me died a thousand deaths with the thought of not washing scrubs after wearing. My routine is to remove my scrubs in the garage, and throw my clogs into the woods. Not actually. They get thrown into the washer after each wear. On another note...how many of you Lysol/bleach wipe your badge, computer, phone at your workstation?

42 years an ER nurse. I presently work per diem, cut down to 2 days per week about 15 months ago and found that, financially, it will work. I like my job but hate the useless, feeble clipboard carriers who can’t do my job, love the flexibility, and have great coworkers. I’m happy to let the kids do trauma and STEMI’s, and spend most shifts in triage running protocol for those waiting. Tried urgent care but was bored out of my tree. I think I may have just retired since the hubs just had open heart surgery unexpectedly. Ww shall see. Where I am in tne internal “oh how can I ever retire” debate is a completely different dialogue than it was 12 months ago. I am the last old fart standing. It’s a process as you say. We will know when it’s time

Exactly this. Well said.

The necessity of benefits may trip you up, otherwise working PRN would allow you more freedom to schedule vacations. Shift stacking is doable, but find that some employers get kind of tired of accommodating this kind of schedule manipulation on a regular basis. If you are pro-active and make some swaps to cover a shift or two, you should be able to work things out. Being flexible when others need time off, too, will improve your chances. Have worked with frequent vacationers who would never make a swap to accommodate the scheduling needs of others, so she burned all of her coworkers and found it much more difficult. Good luck, I work per diem and am fortunate to work when I want.

I have worked in Union and non-Union shops. I have instigated and established the organization of nurses at two different hospitals, one with excellent and one with disastrous results. I worked for a time when a large corporation bought our non-Union hospital and another hospital which did have union representation. then merged us. The pay was better at my hospital. I convinced my small shop of school nurses to join the teachers union where they had me sit on the negotiating team Which was a great experience. So, not the end of the world. I have had both good and bad experiences. Well established Labor Organizations with dedicated employees at the helm who actually work and advocate for employees can be of tremendous benefit, but if you are being offered your dream job in a non-Union hospital I would take it. A Union is no guarantee

No. No. No. I am not available. We now have a system where group texts are sent to all off duty staff requiring contact with admin only if you want to work. As the night resource likes to send them around 5 AM, I enable the Do Not Disturb feature on my phone Really, as I am up there in years, I do not have any desire to work any extra. After years of being guilted to work an extra weekend, extra holiday, cover for coworkers kids' birthdays/concerts/sports schedules....I'm done. This is my time. Sorry, but not my problem. Saying no does get easier