chacomom

There were many useless things I learned in nursing school(Class of 1974) I think I knew so little about medicine and nursing that I felt like I needed to know everything. As a new graduate I started out in ICU working nights at a university teaching hospital. Only by listening and learning about taking care of patients and working with many nurses and doctors (the interns could be pretty scary) did I learn the most important thing . If you have a question you don't know the answer to, keep asking until you get the answer you need to solve the problem. It works every time and kept me from making preventable mistakes. No one knows everything but there are many well educated smart people in the hospital setting. Use those resources and you will end up knowing a lot more than you did. You will then realize that people will start asking you your opinion.

Try the chair yoga if you have a class available locally. There is also a DVD by Peggy Cappy called "Yoga for Arthritis" which might be helpful. Either way give it a try. I have found it to be very beneficial.

My experience with knee replacement 3 years ago was somewhat similar-second knee was much more painful post op and not adequate PT(insurance issues) Wish I had water therapy available but didn't. Have started yoga 6 months ago and have seen overall improvement in knees and general strength and flexibility. I take a chair yoga class and am able to get to the floor and back with just some cushioning of my knees.

Everyone is a new nurse at some point. Accepting the fact that we have all asked a stupid question or two as new nurses should allow us to give them some slack. My favorite new nurse story is about a friend of mine who as a new ICU nurse was so proud she had weaned her patient off IV nitroprusside and the patients pressure was back up. We all had a good laugh at her expense and then reviewed the reason for use of nitroprusside-something she never forgot.

You go girl! I started in ICU in 1974 fresh out of graduation from a BSN program It was hard and at times a little scary, but after a year I had acquired most of the skills I needed. The most important thing is to ask when you don't know something-which can be pretty frequent. Also keep asking until you get the answer you need. Everybody has to learn sometime. Go to conferences and read. You'll be surprised how fast you become competent. Show the naysayers they are wrong.

You are going to see plenty of bedsores in nursing. Get used to it .

I am going to reply to you rquestions as you asked. I would prefer to do this by email. Is that OK? If so, I will send you my email address . How do you think would be the easiest way to do this?

I would be glad to help you with your project. I have been a nurse since 1974. Your questions are very thought provoking. I have printed them and will respond in the next few days, if that would be OK.

Yes, I think it did.The addtional sciences and other subjects that I studied has helped over the years. I started out on nights in ICU and quickly learned what I knew and didn't know. I also learned when to ask questions and if I didn't get the right answer, kept asking until I did. I have worked with some excellent ADN nurses over the years. I think that learning to trust your gut is very important. You will make mistakes, You are only human. You must learn by those mistakes and not beat yourself up. Patients lives literally depend on you, I was not very assertive as a new grad, but soon learned that sometimes you have to be a patient advocate. Having a BSN also sllowed me to work in clinical research. My opinion is that if nursing is to be considered a profession and recognized as such by other professionals, a BSN should be mandatory.

Sounds like my last job. I have way more experience than you, and think you handled yourself well. One brutal night(3-11) we had 3 RNs for 33 beds.(one staff member was a very new but competent grad) I happened to be in charge. Had lots of discharges and admissions but the clinical supervisor couldn't give us any help she said. By 9 pm we were full.The new grad had 2 pts needing transfusions, so I took the last two admissions.At 930 we got a LPN for medication passes. I was there for 2 1/2 hours charting. I was ready to quit. The next day administration rewarded us with a certificate of appreciation and 50 dollars. I felt like it was a slap in the face. If some bad had happened or something missed, guess who would have been held responsible.. Me. I had other crazy nights, but none like that. We also had a clinician on days whose "help" was no help at all. Too many chiefs and not enough indians. Good Luck.

Reconnect with your father how ever you can. God has provided the opportunity for you. I lost my father in 1993 to cancer . We had a great relationship and I still miss him. You will be so glad that you did. Stepfamily relationships can be toxic. My first husband and I divorced over his daughter(my stepdaughter) Do not let your dad's wife interefere in you relationship with your dad any longer. The only time we have is now. God bless you.

I would be a weaver of silk or wool or a motorcycle librarian.

Compassion fatigue has happened to me many times in my 30 plus years as a nurse in various capacities. ICU is where I started out asa new graduate and I lasted about 4 years there before I went on to do cardiology clinical research. The point is, you have to recognize that you have some burn out. You are the only one who can change that. Nonmedical family truly cannot understand what you do and how much emotional and physical eneregy you have to invest in work. You have to be kind to yourself. My suggestion is to make the time to be with your family. Leave work at work when you walk out the door. Find time to do something you enjoy. Hope you find your path. Nursing takes its toll on you, but don't forget why you became a nurse in the first place. Try to find some inner peace and everything hopefully will be easier.

1. Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. 2. If your gut tells you something is wrong, it mosy likely is. 3. All bleeding stops eventually.

My feeling is that our society has become more violent in general. Plus the fact that there isnot the respect there used to be for nurses, teachers,etc. When I worked in a small town ER 7 years ago I had to take out a restraining order on a family member of a patient who was being very threatening and disruptive after being asked to leave the ER due to his behavior.(He was also intoxicated and well known to the police dept and ended up getting arrested after the police were called and he led them on a wild goose chase while drunk) I think that not knowing whether someone is carrying a weapon, especially in a place like this where there is no on site security, is hard considering that people come to the ER in various states of alcolhol/drug use,psychosis,etc. I am glad not to be working there for that reason. Just hoping the police will get there in time is scary, especially if it is in the middle of the night.