niteowlrn29

Wow, that is very sad for your patients and you. I too work on a tele floor post cath, MI, CHF, AMS, you name it and everything in between because internal medicine wants to put everyone on our floor, some who don't even have a cardiac history. For one thing, I have NEVER taken care of more than 5 people at night. If it gets that busy charge will take patients. Now when I worked nights and we were short staffed it wasn't uncommon for us to have 5 and charge take up to 3. But that is if we can't anyone to come in. Now I work days and we never have over 4. Seven or eight patients, my GOD, how can you keep up with all that? Nobody can do that safely. Does your charge nurse take patients to help with the staff? And one tech for 30 patients?? When I worked step down CVICU we had 2 techs on at night and 3 during the day for 18 beds. Now on just Tele same thing but we have I think 23 beds. I agree with several of the other girls. 1) if you aren't getting any results from your nurse manager, go up the chain of command. 2) if that doesn't work or you don't feel like you can do it, then sadly I too would look for another job (for your own sake, license, sanity, health). There has to be somewhere else you can get a job. I just don't think it would be worth risking your license esp if someone could infart and no one notice or was able to do anything about it. If that patient died the family could throw a lawsuit so quick, and of course all the courts have to look at is the charting. And when you (or whoever) goes to court, do you think the court is going to ask, how many patients did you have that night, what was going on that day to where you couldn't treat this patient? No, the charting is soley going to reflect what was done that day. I think that is just a very very scary situation. Like I said I do the same thing everyday and I just could not imagine taking on more than 5 patients. The only way you would know someone is alive is by the moniter but then they could always go PEA. I'm really sorry you (and your patients) are in this situation. You are right it is NOT SAFE!! Maybe even call your board of nursing and see if they can give you suggestions on how to handle that. does your state have a law on patient nurse ratios. Legally can you get in trouble for refuing a patient under unsafe ratios. There is so much at stake here. I wish you the best of luck.

The time that I had to do it was when a patient was on hospice care in the hospital so the loved ones knew what was happening but its still very hard to call the family. In one occasion I had already spent some time with the family and got to know them a little bit. But I called and said, I'm calling you to let you know mrs. sos and so passed a few minutes ago. They were okay but it's partly because they expected it. Its not easy at all to tell family or a patient bad news. I just try to be empathetic.

Title is :Nurse "the true stroy of mary benjamin, RN author peggy anderson

Hey, I did it dimentinal analysis also. (its the only way I know how to) and I got 1.2mcg/kg/min as well. 9ml/1 hour 200mg/250ml 1person/100kg 1hour/60mins 1000mcg/1mg everything crosses out except mcg/kg/min (tried to post it the way i actually would on paper but it kept messing up, so I hope this makes sense to you. Hope this helps. Michele

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone is enrolled in Chamberlain now or have before. I have read older post about it but wanted to see if I get a updated one started. I just started Chamberlain in Oct 2010. I am currently enrolled in Soc 350 Cultural Diversity and 361 Information Systems. So far things are going okay. But oh my the papers we have to write. I hate writing papers. I struggle with it so much. I'm getting thru it though. I just looked at my classes I have to take and posted on my wall 9 more classes after this then I have by BSN. By the end of this year!! I can do it. I hope to get my ANP so I guess I better used to writing these papers.

I would just be completely honest with her like you were on here. Just go up to her and tell her you sincerly are sorry for not attending. you thought so and so about the schedule (what you already explained here) and about you feel uncomfortable in crowds like that. I believe anyone will respect and usually understand if you humble yourself in front of them apoligize. and you know what after you do that you can have a clear conscious that you got that off your chest and you were truthful. if i say something stupid then i end up mulling over it for hours and days which drives me crazy. and by the time i face up to and confront the other person they tell me they haven't even given it another thought. i always make it worse in my own head. i hope this helps and you feel better. and at the very worst... will this matter next month or next year?

I am a RN looking to get my BSN online and eventually getting my MSN. I am seriously looking into taking my BSN online with Chamberlin starting in 2weeks. My question is if anyone knows..... If I get my BSN there would I be able to get my Masters at another University? Is there a way to look up what schools will accept other schools or degree? (I ask this because they have a fast track program with no clinicals. BSN in 14months..) I want to get my NP but Chamberlin only offers Education Masters I belive. Any input much appreciated.

Okay so recently I have been looking at my states board of labor and licensing of nursing and reading all of the disciplinary actions against nurses. Of course I do see a lot of "nurse diverted percocet for personal use" and can see that as a disciplinary action. But some of the things nurses get in trouble for I didn't even know that was wrong or could get a disciplinary action from the state board for. Some people get in trouble for administering medications early or late. Some I have seen they marked off on the MAR late. (which i know i do and everyone else i know at work have done. We have electric MAR that we mark off on the computer. well there are several times at the end of the shift i realize i didn't click on the 2100 meds and mark them off at 0700. so am i supposed to click the the exact time and make a note (late entry)? that is what i heard to do before. okay and like the other day i realized later in the shift i was supposed to give a med to my patient, well looking at it, i thought it was something that RT was supposed to give. then realized i was. okay so i marked "missed dose not given" another thing i did was this lady wanted one of her meds early it is for gas and bloating it is written for four times daily (not prn) well her next dose wasn't due until 0900 but i gave it to her around 0600 and documented it. i did the math and it had been at least 6 hours since her last dose so i figure it would be safe. but my point is i know i do things like this and other nurses do to all the time. are these things that i could get a discplinary action against my license for. I am just terrified of getting in trouble now. i feel as if i do a good job and cause no harm but some things you can get discplinary actions against are things i know we do all the time. okay and as for documentation, im not sure i know what is legal and not legal in documentation. ive heard we have 72 hours to go back and document or modify. but is that real or something just one person said. I mean ive only been a nurse for almost 2 years so i am of course still learning. But most of the things I have learned are from experienced seasonal nurses, but I have also learned that just because someone has been a nurse for 20 years means she does things right or legal for that matter. its not like im getting in trouble at work or anything but after reading what some people get in trouble for it scares me to death. i almost want to get a job at like a doctors office or something where i feel like i won't be carrying such libility. so anyways im just wondering if anyone else feels this way. i mean my job is my livelyhood. i take my job very serious and enjoy it for the most part but i didn't realize we carry such legal libility. and a lot of these discplinary actions i read happened years before they actually got in trouble. so that means something i did when i first started working or yesterday i could get in trouble in a couple of years for. so any advise? how do i learn what are things that are legal or things i could get in trouble for? i want to keep my license.

WOW!!! I can't believe some of these patient nurse ratio.... makes me think I got it reeaalllyy good!! South Carolina Stepdown CVICU 18 beds Days 3-4 patients with 3 techs Nites 3-5 (rarely 5 only if there is a call out) with 1 to 2 techs.

Wow, I feel the same way.... I have been battling in my mind what to do about my job. I work 7p to 7a. I hate being awake and asleep during all odd hours on my days off. sometimes i wake up at 8pm or 2am and it completely throws off me off. I feel more depressed and just don't know what to do with myself. I love the job and most everyone i work with. I just don't know how much longer I can take working nites. Good luck to you.

Thank you all for you comments and suggestions. I have not yet decided what to do. I know my current nurse manager will probably not be too excited about me wanting to transfer. There is the possiblility of me going to days where Im currently at right now which I would love to go to days. But I know that is not promised to me and things can change all the time. I still think I would love the ER. Still just really thinking about it. Plus Im sure my manager will say something when she sees I worked in the ED when she does payroll. So maybe I will see if she says something to me. I will probably try to do a list of pros and cons and just pray about it. @MassED.... working nites can be great it is a little more laid back environment. But it can be hard on the body because of your sleep wake cycle. What I have found to be best for me is to work all three of my nites togethor. so that when i have four to 6 nites off in a row i can be awake during the days and be productve. If i have one nite of in between working that whole nite is just wasted for me. cuz i sleep all day then when im awake most everyone is asleep. having two nites off in a row is much better. of course 6 nites off is even better. hope you enjoy the change. good luck to you

Last nite I shadowed in the ED. It was a good experience. It was not a crazy nite but it was steady. I got to see a gunshot wound to the head. gunshot wound to the knee. Pt was astolye came in with the thumper. One guy came in thru EMS because of constipation.... went the bathroom when he got there, took a crap then left. Ankle dislocation. It was a good variety. I saw pretty good teamwork. Overall I thought it went well. What worries me is that I hear you gotta know what your doing, gotta know safe dose on drugs, ect because of residents are still learning. Another concern is that I heard you may have two ICU patients, CP, and more for other stuff. That doesn't sound so safe to me. So Im just racking my brain on what to do. I really think I would like the variety. I have been in my job now for about a year and a half. Its a great job. Great staff, management, pt nurse ratio, but i am getting bored. I work on a tele floor. So it has just gotton so repitious. Just looking for a change. Some nites are very busy and crazy and doen't get to chart until like 3 or 4.... but then other nites I am finished at 930 at nite and then I feel like I am staring at the clock for time to pass. So I have itch to do something different. My other thing that I am thinking about is going back to school for my BSN. ( i have my ADN). So if I did go back to school (which is something i def need and want to do) my current position would probably be more ideal. I would have more time to do school work while Im working. So anyways these are just some thoughts that are crossing my mind. So just wanted to put this out there and would love to hear you two cents. Thanks

i consider myself very blessed with my job. i was a nurse tech when i was in school and i do remember very much how i felt with certain nurses. (that was on a different unit that i work in now)hopefully not all the nurses make you feel bad where you work. but i also have to say that the role of a nurse tech vs a nurse is soo much different. i remember looking at nurses thinking well why can't you do that? or whatever it may be. but i had NOOOO idea the real responsiblity a nurse has. i think one of the big things that i didn't understand is how much charting we have to do. if we didn't have sooo much charting, checking paperwork, following up with orders, blah, blah, blah we would have so much more time to do actual patient care. so i know how it may look to a tech when we are sitting at the computer documenting. but when the shift is over the tech can leave, nurses however have to stay until all the charting is done for that whole shift. there are times i don't get out of work until 9 or after because i have to finish charting everything. i don't ask anyone to do anything i haven't or wont do myself. there are many nites that i have to toliet my patients, bath them, empty urinals, or fill up water pitchers. (i tell you this because i have been in both roles and do understand how you feel) however the unit im in now is great. my nurse manager is wonderful, one who you can talk to, is encouraging, and easy to get along with. the team of doctors we work with truely care for their patients. my coworkers are great. i feel that most everyone has intergity and has the best interest for our patients. when i give report to the next nurse i don't worry what type of care they recieve. i trust the care they are in. we have a really good nurse patient ratio, which after reading a lot of post on this website, makes me feel very lucky. we have 3 to 4 on days and 4 sometimes 5 on nites. for the most part we staffed. but one of the best things i enjoy about my job is when i patient really sees that i care and they thank me and tell me i do a good job. there are some patients i truely just fall in love with. some may be because they are just soo sweet themselves. some are because they are soooo sick and to have to see what some people live with just makes me want to do everything i can for them just to make them feel better even it is for a short while. i have had several patients tell me that they love me and talk about a tug on your heart. what other job can you have where you can hold someones hand, give them comfort and show compassion and love to strangers. i hope i am a blessing to my patients because they certaintly are to me. they help me to put life in preprective. what matters most, what is important in life. and they help me to enjoy my life more, because it is so short and precious, and it can be taken away at any moment. i have cried and prayed with patients on their bed with them. i have done the most degrading and uncomfortable procedures on patients and they thank me for it. i don't know how some people live thru the things they do and still have a smile on there face and be soo sweet. nursing can be a such a rewarding job but at times it is emotionally draining as well. i thank god for the job that i have and pray that he uses me for his work and that my patients see it.

unbelievable!!!! truely disturbing. what an awful way to go? im wondering was this patinet on a monitered floor? how often are they supposed to take vital signs on there patients. I work on a post cabg floor and its not uncommon for at patient to come back into the hospital for a sternal wound infection especially if the patient doesn't use sternal precautions or if the patient is overweight becasuse that puts extra pressure on the sternum. on our floor we do vital signs Q4hours and we have recently started hourly rounding. how is it this pt went this long without being checked on. and what about his O2 sats? 35% below what does that mean is sats where in the 70's and no one did anything about that. well how could they if they were not checking on it. how and why would anyone refuse to give a patient the basic necessity of water? from what it sounds the pt wasn't npo. and so what he spilled the last water cup. how many times do we have to clean up urine and feces a day. and yet she didn't want to get him water because he spilled the last cup. are you serious?? i CANNOT understand the mentality of some people. its stories like this where nurses can get bad reps. all i can say is that i thank god i am in a hospital where i know we provide good care and when i pass report onto the next nurse i don't worry about my patients because i know the next nurse will provide excellent care as well. im am soo saddened for this poor man who passed away and for his family. god be with him. (sorry for the rant)

Dr. Frank Pusey pronouced (poo say)