NurseCallus

I am a mid shifter in a busy ED. I work 3p-3a most of the time. More often than not, when I come to work I have to take a busy patient assignment from another nurse so that that nurse can then go float, or take a less busy assignment. I feel this is unsafe for the patients, and unfair to me. There is no continuity in care when this happens. Last night I took over for a patient, whom I was then rushing to surgery 30 minutes after I took report so that that nurse could sit in triage. Last week I took over for a poor man whose oxygen saturation was in the 70s and we were about to intubate...Why? So that nurse could go sit in our fast track area. There are many examples of times like this. Anyway, is this a normal practice? Am I wrong if I refuse the assignment? Help me out nurse friends.

What a great thread!! I joined this site with this on my mind (see my username). I am tired of taking care of people, but feel like I am stuck. My friend wants me to switch to paramedic/firefighter with him. He made 5k less than me last year. He works every third day, 24 hour shifts, which he stats he spends most hours sleeping and playing video games. He says he probably gets 4-5 calls a night. Sounds good to me, but the whole running into a burning building thing kinda throws me off a bit, if you know what I mean. Ultrasound tech school sounds interesting though...

Are you guys all responsible for figuring out every medication your pt is on? I sit down with the pt, find our every medication name, the dose, the route, the frequency, and enter it all in the computer so the doctor can come by and just check boxes. If the pt tells me the wrong info, it is my fault. even though the doctor is ordering it. I personally think it sucks. edit. i work in a very busy ER as well, just annoying.

Hey man. Different perspective from me. I am two years in. I don't like my job much at all. I started with telemetry which I could not stand another minute of, then moved to the ED. The ED is about 100x better than the floor, but I still dont feel like I am happy. I am constantly thinking about what else I could go into with my education. I have come to the conclusion that I am pretty much trapped for the time being. It is pretty sad actually. Considering Paramedic and accepting the fact that I will make less money. MAN oh man, what did I get myself into?

I think its funny when I am responsible for getting consent for surgeries that I dont even fully understand. I am told to get the consent and inform the patient that the surgeon will answer all questions before the surgery. So the pt is basically consenting, and I am witnessing a consent that the patient isnt really consenting to, yet if i dont get the consent signed. Nurse = in big doo doo.

Was talking about this with some other nurses. I am not sure if it is like this everywhere, but where i work, the nurse is responsible for everything. Any situation that occurs in the hospital can be manipulated to put responsibility on the nurse. Doctor's orders don't matter. Pharmacist verification does not matter. It is the almighty nurse that is responsible for all. How did it become this way? Has it always been this way?

Hey Guys. I need some advise. I have been a nurse for 2 years. I started off in telemetry, and have been in the ED for about 8 months. I know a lot of ya'll would think that I am still a rookie at this, and of course there are times when i feel that way, but I am just loosing interest in this career. I found myself the other day looking on the internet for a position in nursing that doesn't involve taking care of people lol. I really am getting tired of caring, even though I feel bad admitting it on here. I like fixing people, and making a difference. I do not like, excuse my attitude, kissing someone's butt for hours at a time. I feel like I walk into my assigned rooms, and it goes something like this, RM 1: "Grandmaw needs to pee!!" RM 2: "I am cold, I need more blankets!!" RM 3: "Grandpaw's finger is shaking!! and so on... I find myself interested in switching to paramedic, but the pay cut seems painful. In reality I am very nice to my patients and get complimented often on my positive attitude, but at times...although it doesnt show..I think I would just like to roll some of these people off of the ER ramp. Anyway, I guess my rant is over. What should I do? Does anyone ever feel like this? Even a little? Thanks for any responses, will check back soon.