JeanneRN83

Great article! If one can use those tools listed, it helps to distract from/relieve work stress. Unfortunately, the hospital environments have been overtaken by corporate culture and "do more with less". Nursing used to be a true calling, a fine art, a way to practice nursing, when I started as a RN 36 years ago. Much different now. It's all about numbers and $$ for hospitals. Sooo... take care of yourselves! Do the best you can at work. Then go home and do lots of self-care, be with friends, whatever makes you de-stress and be happy, knowing that you are giving your best effort in a very difficult job. I also recommend the book, "The Happiness Project", by Gretchen Rubin. It's a wonderful book, easy to read. I'm currently taking an online class on Positive Psychology and this is the book we are following. wishing more happiness to all who work on the front lines in nursing!

Thank you, Nurse Beth, for this article!! I have been a nurse for 34 years and still working. The current healthcare environment is the worse that I have seen it. I am really tired of the corporate greed. I most certainly plan to travel to DC for this rally.

Nurse Beth, really, really good article and response to the question of working night shift! I have worked night shift for many years during my 33 year career. Had some daytime jobs also but only for jobs that were strictly days only, such as a research nurse coordinator and an anticoagulation RN job. Always have worked nights though for hospital bedside patient care jobs. Currently working night shift in the ED. To Going to Nights, congratulations on your first job! My biggest recommendation is to give yourself time to adjust and try not to be panicked if initially you feel like your body is not liking it too much. It does take a little time to adjust to the night time schedule and to discern what works best for you. All the things that Nurse Beth mentioned... for instance, is it better for you to go to bed right away after a night shift or do you need time to wind down. My second recommendation is SLEEP. Do not short yourself on sleep which I think can be easy to do. Make sure that sleep is a priority, including having enough hours to sleep, a good sleep environment, no disruptions. The more rested you are, the easier working your night shift will be. Short yourself on sleep and you will not be happy physically or emotionally and also makes for potential for errors when you are way too tired. For 12 hour night shifts, I try to make it a rule for myself to not being doing errands or major chores between consecutive shifts, ie, no major grocery shopping in the am after working, no trying to do laundry or getting together with friends for an early dinner before work. With consecutive night shifts, for me, it is easier to work, sleep and eat and a little time for meditation or relaxing before sleeping and that's it. I find that I can then be rested enough on nights that I am working and also rested enough on my days off to get my errands and stuff done when I am not working. I am also one that tends to stay on a night schedule on my days off. Not always totally. If I just worked a 12 hr night, let's say Sun into Mon for example, and I am not working again Mon night, I'll go to sleep later in the am after work, around 11 am. Then wake up around 8 pm Mon eve, stay up to 2 or 3 am, go back to bed and get up around 10 am Tues am. If I am then working that night, Tues into Wed, I'll take a nap from 2 or 3 pm until 5 pm before going to work. If I am not working that Tues night, then I'll stay up until 10 pm and then go to bed. Listen to your body and when it's tired and it will tell you what to do. Initially, it may feel like you want to sleep all the time. I think that is just your body saying, "Hey, what's going on here??". So initially, you may need more sleep but after a few months, you'll settle into a routine. Everyone is different, it may take just a month, it make take 2 or 3 months or more. There are definitely a few people that just do not tolerate night shift but I think if you are able to get proper sleep, you will adjust just fine. The other thing that I would highly recommend is absolutely do NOT keep your cell phone at the bedside or even in the bedroom. Let your family and friends know that you are now working night shifts and that you will not be keeping your cell phone at the bedside and that the ringer will be off so that you can get some decent sleep. If there is an absolute emergency that they need to wake you, tell them that they will have to come by the house and knock on the door. If you have out of town family, give them the name and phone number of a few neighbors they can contact if they need to get a hold of you emergently and your neighbors can knock on your door to wake you and notify you. I cannot stress this enough. In this age of cell phones, texting and immediate communication, we often take away the time that we need for ourselves to sleep and rest. I used to keep my cell phone at the bedside but would wake up when someone texted or called, even if the phone was on vibrate. Trust me, it's not worth it. If it is not an emergency, it can wait for people to contact you. If your employer tries to contact you and later complains that they couldn't get a hold of you, just let them know that this is what you need to do to get enough undisturbed sleep to provide the absolute best patient care. Those are my biggest recommendations. Many more wonderful suggestions have been made by others, including making sure you are including exercise on your days off and also bringing your own food to work with enough healthy snacks to munch on throughout the night. I make sure I have at least one protein bar available in case I'm not able to get to a lunch break at the time I'd like to go to lunch. Small easy snacks, like nut mixes are good to have in your locker. Oh, and definitely invest in a covered water bottle. Most hospitals are ok with covered water bottles at the nurses station. Stay hydrated throughout the shift. There are many, many positive benefits to working nights that have already been mentioned. I have definitely found that night shift has a more cohesive staff and generally more supportive of each other. I would not say it is necessarily a "quieter" shift but it's a different flavor when you do not have many visitors, no meals to serve and no consult doctors and ancillary services like PT/OT. I'm very excited for you that you are starting your first job and wish you many happy years of nursing!

That was great! Well, and being a cat lover makes even more enjoyable. Thanks for posting.:clphnds:

Yes, that would be great. Thanks, Jeanne:nurse:

mercurykoki, hi, i am also considering a mph but concentrating on epidemiology and/or biostatistics. i have some links that might be helpful for you. the university of north carolina at chaple hill has a nice section describing different ph careers. http://www.sph.unc.edu/student_affairs/careers_in_public_health_324_7817.html unc also lists two more websites for career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos045.htm[url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos045.htm#earnings][/url] http://www.explorehealthcareers.org/en/career.68.aspx i think the salary range listed on the second website is way too low. on the first website, see what the govt is paying statisticians! now this website from rollins sph is very interesting! it lists different alumni and what careers they are in. http://www.sph.emory.edu/bios/careersinbios.php here's what the cdc is paying for statisticians: http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/search.aspx?jbf574=he35,he39&brd=3876&vw=d&ss=0&sort=rv&fedemp=y&fedpub=y&jbf571=16 (scroll down to "salary range" listed at bottom of the job description) epidemiologists at the cdc make a little more than biostatisticians, 70k to 127k. fyi, epidemiologists are listed in the top 10 jobs at cdc (most common positions): http://www.cdc.gov/employment/menu_topjobs.html of course, who knows, maybe in the rest of the us, biostatisticians are wanted more than epidemiologists. i've been looking at online mph degrees and i'm leaning more towards epidemiology. well, i hope this helps and good luck, jeanne

Better nurse-patient ratios No back biting. I see very few MD's back bite. Jeanne

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. And even if you didn't take any narcs at work, with people saying you were acting strangely, well that's gonna be enough "evidence" for the Board.

Well, that is a good point. I guess if I were in this situation, I would consult a lawyer. Especially since James is being accused of something that the hospital doesn't even have evidence for. There has got to be some kind of legal intervention if this hospital does tell another hospital about their dealings with James. Isn't that slander if the original hospital doesn't even have proof on the "HIPPA violation". I would think that James could sue if the original hospital if they told other hospitals only because their accusation is unsubstantiated. Morte, do you really think that one hospital administration would forwarn other hospitals? Why would they care? These other hospitals are their competition, why help them out? But I am sure that the nurse recruiters from the various hospitals know each other or network. Or you think others would spread it around to nurse recruitment? Curious, Jeanne

James, don't worry, I was not insinuating that you had loose lips. I just know that it's very tempting to ventilate to friends/classmates when you've had something really stressful happen to you so I had to throw in my Your answers for your friends are excellent. Well, I hope things go better. Keep us posted. Jeanne

Sadly, how true, how true, about the possibility of getting rid of you because of your surgical history. They're thinking, hey, we don't want an employee who may be out on disability for awhile. Right to do, no, of course not, but I am sure it happens. Crappy thing to do to someone, but I'm sure it happens. Definitely worth at least a consult with an attorney. Perhaps a nurse attorney. Good luck, Jeanne

Certainly it is frustrating being written up by a patient and/or family member especially when you really put alot of effort into finding the patient, trying to get the right story, trying to triage hime approp., etc. Look at it this way. Writing you up was just another tool in this daughter's orificenal of manipulative tactics. Trying to manipulate the system, trying to make you nervous, get her father seen faster. It is very annoying. However, I think you did just fine. At my work place, even if a family member speaks the native language, we cannot rely on them to tell us the story. We have to get an interpreter or use our interpreter phone to triage the patient. I suppose most ED's do this? And what did she actually write you up for? Just curious. Jeanne

I'd have to say, yes and no, as to whether it is discrimination. I think if you had said, hey, I'm bipolar and the hospital said well, you are not working here, then yes, definitely it would be discrimination and you would have a case. But I think the whole sentence made them nervous. Now when I read your sentence, I think, yeah, it's got to be hard to have the ups and downs and deal with nursing school. At least that is how I interpreted it. Today James, it is all about the "Almighty Dollar". Any little threat to the sanctity of the "Almighty Dollar" will be eliminated. It is that unfeeling in today's workplace. Not just hospitals but all of corporate America. That is what it has become. So, in a way, I do understand why the hospital would come about to the decision to bar you from doing clinical or working there. Fair? No. Smart on the hospital's part? Sadly, yes. James, I agree now with others who have said to cut your losses. The hospital, fair or not, has made their decision. And yes, it would really make me angry also. But it is one of those things that are not worth fighting for. As you move through nursing school and become a nurse and enter the workforce, you will have already learned one of the biggest lessons that many of your colleagues have not learned: keep your personal life close to your chest. Don't share alot. Well, ok, I like sharing with people at work but I have a good sense of what to share and with whom. And even then, someone that you are close to at work can forget that you said, "don't tell a soul". What your co-workers will realize and that you have already learned, is that others can take something you said and turn it into a hornet's nest for you. Now, that makes it sound like working is a horrible thing, however I think that the people who do these types of things are few. Well, on the bright side, you have had a really painful lesson early on in your career. Yeah, I know, you are saying "Whoo-hoo". :wink2: Good luck with your studies! And resist the urge to bash the hospital with your nursing school friends. Jeanne

tmarie, thank you so much for the advice. i think that's what i was missing is phn vs. ph career. two very different things. i think i am just going to go with a mph. and i really appreciate the book references. the books will be a big help in defining more clearly what i want for my career. i'm sure i will be getting in touch with you to ask some more questions as i move along this path. thanks, jeanne

You know, James, this whole story just smells like there is something else going on. There are too many disconnects. Ok. #1 - The hospital says HIPPA violation but they cannot produce evidence. What's up with that? #2 - Then your Dean says, oh, no HIPPA violation but we do see here that last October you stated that you were bipolar. A+B does not equal C. Personally, I don't think there was ever a HIPPA violation. I think someone, somehow clued in the hospital of your statement "Bipolar can make nursing school tough". Well, think about it. If bipolar can make nursing school tough, does that translate to "Bipolar can make taking care Hospital A's patients tough". Do you see how that translation and inference turns your initial statement into something real serious. And then the legal dept at the hospital says, "No way, Jose, can we ever have this nursing student/nurse work for us". If a patient you are taking care of, James, goes down the tubes and dies and the family decides to sue, well your statement just made for a close and shut case and a multimillion dollar payout. And the hospital can't afford that. In our business world of today, your Dean is no way, no how, going to go to bat for you. She does not want to be involved in a lawsuit. Let's say that your Dean insisted with this hospital that you be allowed to continue your clinicals at their hospital. God forbid but something happens to a patient that you are taking care of. Now, not only is the hospital screwed but so is your Dean and your college since she insisted that you cont your clinicals despite the hospital's objections. I am sure you can imagine the headlines that the media will come up with. At first, I thought this was about discrimination regarding mental health. But it just smelled like something bigger than that. I think it is a hospital covering their butt. Life's toughest lessons are the ones we grow and learn from but not something we enjoy. I think i will cancel my Facebook account. Seriously. Best wishes, my friend. You will weather this James. Jeanne