rlene1275

Hello. I am pcu nurse with 7 years experience. I work/ live in Orlando fl. Im looking into working with parallon staffing (formerly all about staffing) because they are one of the few agencies with per diem rates that are reasonable about $40-46 per hour. THAT BEING SAID...i am aware they work with HCA hospital that have a horrible reputation. Again, im doing this on a trial basis...if i dont like i will move on. I would like to know if anyone has had a good experiences in any HCA hospital in the central/southern Florida area. I know they are all mostly bad...but there has to be some that are better than others. I am terrified of getting a ridiculous nurse/ patient ratio. that is my main concern.

Before I posted I took the time to carefully read each and every post and I must say I am disgusted by some nurses views on IV DILAUDED>>For the people who claim "if it ordered i just give it" you guys are in for a pretty rude awakening and I hope what happens to you isnt half as bad as what happened to me. My Story: I was a MS nurse for 4 years. I worked on a "dump" floor.(this means the patients who no one else wanted came to our floor) We had a majority of the mentally ill, drug abusers, suicidal, and sickle cellers, cellulitis, pancreatitis and lap chole on our floor. Giving 4 mg of dilauded every two hours was like a standard tylenol order. There were patients who needed it, and others whom just requested it. Like may nurses here "i just gave it". ONe day last year my patient died in the middle of the night, two hours after I gave 4 mg of dilauded the patient had been on for 4 days OTC. THe patient has no signs of respiratory depression, she was alert and oriented and when I checked up on her 15 minutes after giving the med her level of sedation was 0. She was 31. She was one of those people who always wanted to be medicated. She would set her cell phone alarm to wake her so she wouldnt miss a dose and call the nurse 30 min then 15 min prior to make sure her meds were on x. That day, I was scarred. Autopsy revealed she died of cardiac arrest. Her opiod level was very high. I have since been fired from the facility i worked at, spent several thousands on lawyers, to prevent a black mark on my license, all because "I just gave it". The MD that ordered it wiped his hands clean because he wasnt the one who gave it and "it is per nurses discretion". My facility didnt have any monitoring guide lines for patients on high pain medications. But when all is said and done, she was the daughter of a doctor that worked at my facility. So they wrote me a check and sent me on my way. I have never heard or gotten support from any of the "so called" friends I worked with. Nurses whom gave her the same dosages before or charge nurses who knew she was drug seeking but did nothing about it. No one spoke up for me when I was let go. Many of the "ignorent" nurses on this post who ask "who do you think you are" are nurses who have obviousley never been to a meeting with a lawyer representing a client's family who blame you for killing their daughter or a deposition. Nurses we are all burned out with the non compliant, manipulative patients. Sadly, those nurses who think we are fools to try to make a difference during a twelve hour shift are a glimpse into the sad life of a careless nurse who just needs a narcan scare to jolt them into reality. We as nurses CAN make a difference. Although there a positive and negative ways of going about it, the point is that we do something. Ill tell you WHO I AM: I am a professional nurse. I have the right to investigate and draw a conclusion based on my findings. I CAN HOLD PAIN MEDICATIONS if i deem it necessary, and if you think Im wrong, then you can go in there and give it yourself. 1 MG OF DILAUDED IS = 5 MG OF MORPHINE. dont let yourself be pressured by other nurses or the patient because when the dust clears youll realize youll be standing there alone. Licenses are individual. And our job is NOT to cator to those who abuse the system.