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.

In a LTC facility(or anywhere for that matter) sometimes a patients dignity is all they have left. You respected that. It something feels wrong don't do it. I agree that this should be reported to the state. It is a breach of responsibility to the patient for privacy.

Nursing is a unique profession in that there are so many things you can do. Never stop learning. I have sone many things in my nursing career.(ICE,ER,PACU, MED-SURG,CARDIAC RESEARCH,etc) and that's what has kept me in nursing so long. The ability to learn and grow. Some nurses stay in the same job for years and that works for them. But if you have other dreams, DREAM BIG. It is your life and you should be able to get from it those things you want to. Good Luck.

I think nurses that treat you this way are burnt out and like to make themselves feel better by point out what the "new Grad" doesn't know. Everybody was new sometime in the past. Nursing is difficult because some mistakes you make can have horrid consequences for the patient. If you do't know something, ask. But also think of possible solutions to the problem Kill the with kindness. And remember when you have gained some experience and another new grad comes along, treat them with the respect you would have like to have had from your coworkers.

Patients can also experience cardiac symptoms, ie chest pain.

We are a nation of immigrants except for the Native Americans who were just about obliterated. Respect the person and their culture. My husband is from Mexico and is studying to become a citizen. The older you get the harder it is to learn a new language. Don't be an ugly American.Accept people as they are. Many have had more struggles than you can ever imagine.

The last med surg job I had was the same as you describe. I've worked in a number of different areas in my career(ICU, PACU, ER), and I can tell you that med surg was the most stressful to me. I worked 3-llpm and not only would we usually have the most admissions of all the shifts, we would have ICU transfers . The staffing situation was always tenuous, especially if there were sick calls. We had no regular float pool. There was always a disaster in the making. One night I had a septic patient and one with uncontrolled seizures(every 15-30 minutes). Both were supposed to have gone to ICU, but of course, there were no beds availble. One finally went to the ICU and the other to telemetry, although in the meantime I was essentially caring for 2 very sick patients on the floor. This is only one example. If you are the charge nurse, its double trouble, because they carried the same number of patients as the regular staff. (Charge duties were roatated) The nursing supervisors were rarely helpful although some were better than others. I have nurse friends in other hospitals who tell me the same things happen there. The point is that there is only so many things you can do at one time. But you are often expected to do more. And rarely will some one tell you that you have done a good job. Sometimes nursing is an impossible job, and I do believe it is the hardest job in the world because it is intellectually, physically and emotiionally demanding. But my reward was the thank you from patients and families and knowing I had helped someone truly in need of your care.

Having survived breast cancer for 2 years, I live in fear of the same problem.

As a nurse for over 30 years, I have always found this to be offensive. It demeans the profession and all the hard work that is required to be a real nurse. The facilities/doctors who promote this should bd notifed that this is fraud. Maybe they would get a clue.

You will never get over the death of a close friend who took their own life. But time heals many things. Take time to heal and grieve. Talk to your instructors so they are aware of what has happened. You probably can't focus easily at a time like this. May God keep you in the palm of his hand.

Tell the family you are happy they are there to support their family member and if you don't have answers to all of their questions you will find them or find someone who does know.