Despareux

Yes it is very disheartening, and I understand I won't cure them; nor would I want to put my energy into doing so, simply because I'm not an addiction nurse. Any time I have a patient who generally has normal baseline vitals and I suspect they may be drug seeking, I always check their vitals after they request something for pain. I do this because many times, their bp and pulse ox will fall out of normal; especially on IV pain meds. I take this as an opportunity to discuss the dangers of the adverse effects of these meds and inform them the physician will be notified of the abnormal vitals. If they claim to be allergic to acetaminophen or nsaids, then we will work together to seek alternative methods of relief, at least until their vitals reach normal values. I also set boundaries making it clear I'm not going to stand there continuing to take their vitals until they're wnl. On the other hand, if their vitals are stable and they can handle the meds, then I just give it to them, on one condition: that the pain is not a headache. If it's a headache, then most likely it's a rebound pain from the opioids and obviously giving more of those will only make their headache linger, so they get a non-narcotic for that or an ice pack or no meds until the headache subsides. There's a lot of individual factors that must be investigated before giving pain meds just because the patient asks for them. Thats our job as a nurse: investigate within the constraints of your time, and within the subjective and objective data. After a combined 7 years of ED and floor nursing, I've decided to venture into homecare. I love it because there's rarely any of that drug seeking behavior you have to deal with, and if there is, you educate, inform the doc, their family member, and other staff; and of course, make sure you chart your *** off.

Always after work. I shower the next day if I have it off, but if I'm working, I won't shower before work, because I don't smell bad and I'm not concerned about my own germs.

I bought the NB Minimus and wore those for several years, exclusively until the summer of 2014, when I tried on my first pair of Five Fingers and fell in love instantly. I mostly wear my VFFS ( I own 6 pair), but alternate with my NB Minimus every couple of days. I work 12 hour shifts and experience no knee, back, hip, or foot pain when I wear VFFs. I started placing tape over the tops of the shoe to protect my feet from spills or needles, which I've have yet to encounter.

I'm going to add chest compressions. My entire torso would be sore after doing compressions. Squatting, turning pts frequently, some lifting of equipment/supplies, transporting pts on their big, awkward beds, and miles of rapid walking. It's really good you are being proactive with injury prevention.

I've been a nurse in a large city hospital for 2.5 years on a telemetry med/surg floor. I'm considering changing career paths and would like to see if home health care is a direction I'd like to go. I was offered a casual position in home health care, but I'm not sure what an acceptable wage would be; nor do I know how to calculate my hours charged/billed or whatever. I've been asking around and searching online, but I have no clear answer. So here is what I was offered. SOC 85.00 (start of care) ROC 75.00 (resumption of care) Routine visit 45.00 DC visit 65.00 I make fabulous money at the hospital as a full-time RN. I'm changing my status to casual/prn just to keep my "foot in the door", while I explore my career options. My goal is to make as much or more money without working more than I already do.

I don't think it's a good idea for a new patient to arrive right before shift change--I think it's a safety issue. I would much rather take report for the new patient and do my own assessment, rather than getting a half-assed report from the previous shift nurse who barely lays eyes on the new patient.

I'm not sure, but I don't think my son remembers what his father's member looks like. I could be wrong. I cannot believe how painful the procedure was for my son. No doubt about it, he was in pain. Both my husband and I agree if we could go back and change our minds, we would have never allowed the procedure to be done. It's not my member or my husbands, never was, and really should have left the choice up to our son. I do respect other folks choice for choosing to circumcise their infants; it's a complex familial custom you either agree with or disagree with and move on.

I wish I had more time to BE with my patient, to sit with them and really hear what they're telling me, but sadly, acute care just doesn't seem to allow that. By the way, Margaret Newman was my favorite nursing theorist. I really want to know how to interject her theories into my own practice. I'm hoping going into hospice care (eventually), I will be able to do that with the patient and their family.

It takes 5 minutes to do a complete head to toe. How can you give a heart or BP med without first assessing the systems they're prescribed for? There is at least 5 minutes in a shift to at least do a focused assessment and inquire of other issues; especially if the pt is A&Ox4.

Our census has always been low this time of year. Goes up and stays up after the holidays are over.

I found it. Thanks.

Thanks. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

With permission I started one of my classes today. I took the performance assessment and did not receive a score; the pop-up message stated something about my mentor contacting me about my score. I tried locating information about whether or not this is common practice, but was unsuccessful. So now I'm here, asking you... Thanks, Despareux

Up until about 8 or so years ago, I didn't even know what a nurse was or what they did. I just knew I needed something more in my life. An acquaintance recommended nursing. I took a few years to research what nursing was all about and looked into schols and voila! Here I am. I wish I knew about nursing when I was younger. I'm fairly certain this is the career path I should have started 20 years ago.

Thanks. That's what I was looking for. I don't have a laptop yet, so I was hoping my phone would be an option.

I start November 1st and need 49 credits to graduate. Kind of bummed about how many credits I need. Oh well, it is what it is. Anyway, I'm excited about learning new things and the prospect of potentially leaving acute care for something more community oriented.

Thanks. I guess I should have clarified that I'm in the RN-BSN program. I was looking for something specific for that program or a WGU app.

I start my BSN course work November 1st. I have a desktop computer and it's not so great. I do plan on purchasing a cheaper laptop for school, but I use my phone a lot and was wondering if I can do some of my studying via phone apps? I have a Samsung Galaxy 5.

I'm at two years and yes, my confidence is high, even higher than some seasoned nurses. I'm still asking questions and looking for feedback from my fellow nurses; thankfully, I have enough confidence to do so. I also have enough confidence to ask for more training in areas where I know I fall shortest. I'm always looking for ways to improve my practice. One of the reasons I went into nursing is because the learning never stops and for someone who has a very thirsty brain, nursing simply fits that bill. With all that said, I admit that I am game for something a little more challenging, which is why I'd like to work day shift. On days, you really have to know your patient in a very short amount of time to be able to answer questions from families and at least five different specialists at any given time. In the two years working on my floor, I've come across one "overly-confident" new nurse who also seemed very lazy. I don't know if she was truly over-confident or if she just simply didn't have the confidence to ask any one of us for feedback or whatever, but she made some questionable decisions with disastrous outcomes. I'm glad she's not on our floor anymore. I work with a very supportive and knowledgeable team of nurses and NAs on nights; we are not mind readers and if you say no thanks to our unsolicited help or advice, then we assume you got it under control.

As long as they do their job and do no harm, I could not care less why someone becomes a nurse.

For me, I think it's absolutely incredible to have a complete stranger put that much trust in me to ensure I advocate for their safety, provide the best assessments, follow up on all of their labs/tests, and to be able to communicate effectively with all those involved in their care. Other than caring for my own children, there's nothing else in the world that would compare to being a nurse. I feel so privileged to care and advocate for these folks.

I think healthcare workers are far better at hand and respiratory hygiene than the majority of the population; especially compared to those who are sick, as the sick tend to not really care. Most hospitalized patients have no qualms about coughing in your face and despite educating my patients over and over again about hand hygiene, they still refuse to wash their hands. Then you have folks coming in from other countries who are not familiar with hand and respiratory hygiene customs of the U.S., probably because they just don't have the facilities where they're from. While I may be washing my hands and covering my mouth and nose, I think it decreases my chances of coming into contact with viruses, but it doesn't completely eliminate the chance. There is still a chance.

I prefer admissions over discharges any day, simply because during admission process, it is an opportunity to learn a ton about your patient. Discharges are a pain mostly because of how unnecessarily time consuming they are and they usually happen during a new admission and med passes; especially when you have patients who have been ready to go and your once pleasant patient is now suddenly turning into one of your worst patients.

Yes, my perspective has changed; I'm more informed for the better. I,too, need and advanced directive. I'm currently faced with the prospects of surgical intervention. I have a ton to consider, as the surgery could take me down a path I'm not willing to venture.

INTJ I currently work in telemetry med-surg/ortho/nuero, but looking to get into Hosice care