Commanderzoom

My job let's me pretty much work whenever I want as long I work every other weekend and inform them of needing a schedule change ahead of time. I mean, I can't just call out for the heck of it but say I want to work Mon, Wed, and Fri + my weekend then I have to tell them a week or two in advance. I do have to work the full 8 hour shift on the days I'm scheduled for. If I wanted to, I could just work 12s or 16s every weekend and take the weekdays off. I might do that if I get into LPN school in the fall.

I work in LTC and some of the residents push the call button for the strangest things. Last year I had a real PITA who was CONSTANTLY on her light. Most of the time she pushing it just for the hell of it . After awhile, she started demanding that I find her artifical big dog. I couldn't figure out what in the world she was talking about. Turns out she wanted the stuffed dog back that she stole from her roomate. God, I miss her. She died last summer. The other day a guy called me into his room wanting me to score him some weed :chuckle. Right, like I'm going to do that.

If that actually worked, I'd make more of an effort with my appearance at school.

I wanted to add that I've seen the horrifying effects of CPR on a person when there's no hope. I was at work (LTC) when the nurses had to perform it on a woman who was already dead but was a full code. They did it to cover their butts. This poor little old lady was in her late 90s, skinny as a rail, and was in "good" health but died suddenly. I could hear the ribs breaking and I was out in the hallway. Her entire chest caved in. It's something that will probably haunt me forever. Did it hurt her? Nah, she was already gone. It traumatized her family and it messed with all of our heads.

LOL, I didn't take it personally. I don't even eat at McDonald's unless I'm desperate, away from home, and extremely low on cash. The food makes me physically ill for some reason and has since my second pregnancy. I was pointing out that in that situation, the woman wasn't sue happy. McDonald's had already been sited for keeping their coffee way too hot and she suffered, what, 3rd or 4th degree burns? I'd at least expect them to pay for the medical bills. We're going to sue the neurosurgeon who ***** up DH's nerve stimulator implant--he implanted it incorrectly and has all the electrodes wired to one nerve instead of multiple nerves so it would cover his entire back and upper legs like it's supposed to. He has it so screwed up that the electrodes are touching and shorting out, so the manufacturer had to deactivate it. He's lucky it didn't kill him. You want to know why he has the nerve stimulator in the first place? It all started with a herniated disk that needed to be replaced because it was pinching a nerve and progressed from there. The neurosurgeon told him (it's even in the medical files) that he was going to replace the disk but instead shaved it. He didn't shave it enough and the nerve damage became more severe. Without yet another surgery in the near future, my husband is going to be paralyzed. All he needed was to have the disk replaced and instead, he's 25 years old, permanently disabled, going paralyzed, and has a hunk of metal in his back that he can't even use. At first we thought we were going overboard with the lawsuit but the manufacturer of the nerve stimulator and the neurosurgeons he's seen for second and third opinions agree with us. Sometimes people need to be sued when they cause permanent damage to a person. Sorry for the book. I tend to get upset about "frivolous lawsuits" that really aren't. If someone sues because a nurse doesn't perfom CPR on a body that's already in Rigor Mortis, that's frivolous. If some sues because they've received a permanent injury from something beyond their control, that's not frivolous.

Oh please. McDonald's should not have served a cup of coffee that was capable of scalding a person. They were found guilty of having their machines turned up way too high. She had every right to sue and win. OP, if you were told to perform CPR then you did the right thing. Obviously there was no point but you have to do what you have to do.

What a freaking waste of money on the hospital's part. Hair analysis isn't cheap. Why ban something that isn't illegal?

Man, I wish I only had 12 ambulatory patients. That would be nice.

I would and I have. When I was considering law school, it wasn't for the money. It was because I wanted to help people and planned on working for a non-profit like Legal Aid. I don't think that people in helping professions (and yes, I do consider a lawyer to be in a helping profession) should go into their line of work just for the money.

LOL, I don't know where you worked but CNAs in LTC typically have MORE work and a FASTER pace than CNAs in a hospital setting. I have 14-18, sometimes up to 24 residents to myself on any given day and most of them aren't able to do much of anything for themselves. I wouldn't work in a hospital. I prefer to take care of the same people each day and I like the faster pace.

I'm scratching my head over here wondering how you could have possibly not known to put the PT on isolation precautions immediately. I'm not even a nurse yet and I know to do that. Oh well, live and learn. It sounds like you learned from your mistake and won't be making it again.

I'm a CNA in LTC and am assaulted at least once/week. Sometimes it's physcial, sometimes it's verbal. One of the Alzheimers patients attacked me so badly it looked like Freddy Krueger had gotten ahold of me. Nothing was done because "she didn't know what she was doing". I don't think it should matter. I shouldn't have to just take it when someone gropes me, punches me, scratches me, bites me, etc.

This thread is making me want to send my husband out for a vasectomy. I had a tubal last summer and I hate reading about people getting pregnant after them. I don't know what I'd do if I found myself pregnant again. I had a tubal for 2 reasons: I don't want anymore children and 2) pregnancy is not healthy for me. I'm very pro-choice but don't know if I could actually go through with an abortion.

I work in LTC and have to deal with some real crazy *** family members from time to time. One woman comes in and spends all freaking day long with her husband, who has cancer and isn't all there mentally anymore. She's up our butts constantly with stupid demands. She expects us to drop everything and lay him down or get him up when SHE wants, even if it goes against his wishes. A few weeks ago she demanded I stop feeding on the hall and put him to bed because he was "tired". I don't think so. Feeding people is more important than forcing a wide awake man into bed. She's also been caught following nurses and CNAs into patient rooms to demand things for her husband. I've personally had her follow me into two rooms--both times I was toileting people! ***??? We have another dude who let his wife OD on Lithium and is demanding we get her "back in shape" immediately so he can take her home. He wants her home because he needs knee surgery and wants her to take care of him. OMG. He's another one that will demand we stop feeding on the hall to "take her to the potty because she has to go RIGHT NOW, not tomorrow, not next week, NOW!". She can walk again and take herself to the bathroom and does exactly that when he's not around. He also likes to steal food and beer out of the activities room refrigerator (the residents can have beer if they want) and routinely steals food out of the staff refrigerator. He follows us outside on smoke breaks and goes on and on and on about the most inane crap and we have to smile and take it. Can't even get a freaking break from him. I hate him. Most of the family members that come in are very nice but the nightmare ones are just that. It's like there's no middle ground with these people.

I'm so glad that people are saying they wouldn't stay in nursing if salary caps were put into place. That's an excellent way to weed out the bad nurses who are only in the profession for the money.