fungez

Okay, let's all tell a good medical related joke. The one who gets the most kudos wins. I'll start first. It's a little off-color but don't worry, I'll asterisk the bad words out. Question: What's 18 inches long, black and hangs in front of an *$$*#**? Answer: A stethoscope on a surgeon! Yeah, I know, pretty bad. Okay, let's hear yours.

I've yet to get a job with an online application. Never. What I do is this: I go up the unit in my scrubs, resume in hand, and say "here I am, I'm ready to work today". Yes, it's cheesy, and it doesn't always work. One manager looked up, said "you need to take that to the nurse recruiter" and dropped her head back down. Her loss, because after that I wouldn't have worked for her after that for a million dollars. Also, you might want to volunteer, because those contacts often lead to jobs.

OT, but goes so well with your story. Pt who'd been self administering interferon in his leg muscle comes in c/o redness and swelling at injection site. Me: Let's have a look at that. Pt: I don't wear underwear. Me: That's okay. -----we both go behind the curtain, but in earshot of other staff, pt drops his jeans--------------- Me: Wow! Look at that! Pt: Yeah, look how swollen it is. Me: That's very impressive!

Well said, wooh. "If nursing doesn't have time, don't worry, there will be some holier than thou nursing student or administrator that will opine how it will only "take a minute" and then it will all be ok, because if it only takes a minute, then I guess it will be ok to put off CPR in the other room for just "a minute" to take out the trash. " It always cracks me up when a STUDENT takes it upon herself to lecture us about to get the job done.

Wild guess here - was it Lucy and Desi?

Amen, sister! (but you're preaching to the choir). What job do you have now and are there any openings?

Okay, so we've determined you think the sky's the limit with CEO salaries. I, and it seems other people, acknowledge that companies can set salaries however they see fit. However, we also think that these companies are making a big financial, professional and ethical mistakes in paying CE0 a hundred times what the average employee makes, while said employee works short staffed or in unsafe working conditions. We also maintain that these companies could find competent leadership while paying them, let's say, what Whole Foods (a very succesful company) CEO makes, which is 14 times what the average worker salary If you find it really necessary to get the last word in, by all means, be my guest.

From the article: In 2006-07, the year Central Maine Healthcare made up for Chalke's retirement contributions, his compensation was six times that amount. A year after that, back on track with retirement, his total compensation was triple what it was when the MPA protested. I am not from Maine.

There is a salary cap for staff. I am capped off on my salary due to years experience. I don't recall anyone here saying that CEOs don't deserve a decent salary; in fact, the highest salary in the facility. As the person with the most responsiblity and accountability, he or she deserves it. What is being objected to is the astronomical, multimillion dollar compensation packages the CEOs manage to procure for themselves while low-level employees are forced to work short-staffed, with faulty or inadequate equipment.

"Client" I can sorta tolerate. But I can't say "customer" without gagging. And it really messes with my internal mission statement. A patient is someone I feel a huge responsibility for, someone I would do almost anything to help. A customer? Not so much. To me a customer is someone who wants fries with his meal. I've served customers and I've taken care of patients and there is no comparison. This customer thing is a new phenomenon. Of course, if administration were to really be honest they'd call them what they really think of them: "revenues" or maybe "$$ signs."

You're saying all the docs in Nicarugua harass all the females around them? Seriously?

http://mt-pub2.seiu.org/mt/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=22&tag=hospital%20CEO%20salaries&limit=20 scroll down to: The government move to regulate hospital CEO pay came from public outcry over soaring executive compensation at the same time that frontline healthcare staff and services are being slashed. http://www.sunjournal.com/node/792174 But it also quietly more than doubled its CEO's [of Central Maine Healthcare] compensation to about $2 million, making him the highest paid hospital administrator in the state. http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/878769 Wages have been frozen. Most hiring for new positions and replacement workers has been suspended. Differential pay for after-hours workers has been reduced. Central Maine Healthcare has also issued a two-month suspension of its earned-time program, the mechanism employees use to earn vacation days.

If these were directed towards female nurses only, you might have a good case for sexual discrimination.

I hardly think an open debate constitutes a witch hunt.

You ever researched the Ford Pinto case? Ford could had used a safer design, but it would have added $11 (in 197x dollars) to the cost of each car. However, they also estimated, using X amount for each lost life, the benefit of paying out lawsuits vs. the safer design, it would be cheaper to pay out lawsuits. So, there is a precedent for companies to compromise safety for financial gain. No one has suggested that CEOs make as a little as a staff nurse. That's not the issue. The issue is the CEO making million, sometime multimillion dollar salaries while employees are counselled for as little as an hour's worth of OT.

Truman had a sign on his desk saying "The Buck Stops Here". I think the same thing should apply to the highest ranked, highest paid member of any organization.

I understand talent costs money, but it seems like some of these CEO's only talent is figuring out how to cut staff, wages, and equipment. In the early 90's hospitals tried to cuts costs by getting rid of the RNs. I saw, with my own eyes, a nurse assigned to EIGHTEEN patients on night shift. Meanwhile, this hospital chain (largest for-profit in the US, you guys know who I'm talking about) was raking in record profits. A few patient deaths, bad press and multimillion lawsuits slapped them back to reality, but unfortunately a lot of innocent people got hurt in the name of shareholder profits. When I retire next year I'm going to get a job at Whole Foods. The CEO is allowed to make only 14X the average employee's salary. Well, full disclosure -he does get stock options. But at least it's a step in the right direction.

I've read that some people, especially men, don't like the title "nurse." It has a feminine connotation, such as nursing an infant, or it just sounds outdated - handmaidens, doctor's helpmate. I confess I don't care much for it either, mostly because I've too many people shriek "nurse! nurse!" when their water is lacking a few ice cubes. So what should we change it to? This is probably a pipe dream, but it could happen. I remember the days when airflight attendents were called stewardesses. Anyone have any ideas? Me, I like RN and LVN. Still familiar, but more up to date and kinda snappy sounding.

lol!!!

Okay, I just have to ask. Did you pee yourself? Obviously, you don't have to answer. Except if you don't, we know you did.

Oh, bring it. Just tell them it's a new-fangled way to cardiovert the more annoying patients.

Which is why I hated the ER!

Oh, yeah, you sound like you'd be a great ER nurse. Former law enforcement? Former paramedic? Trust me, they'll be drooling over you. It's ironic you should bring up rehab because I've done both and I liked rehab and I hated ER.

I had a coworker who always seemed to need surgery right before Thanksgiving and would off 'til after New Years. One year it was her gallbladder. The next, a hysterectomy. The year after, her thyroid out (no, she did not have cancer.) We used to joke she have to work Christmas one of these years because she was running out of body parts.

Some things are better on nights, but it's still plenty busy. When things go bad, they go really bad. Oh, "building time management skills." Please. What they mean by that is figuring out shortcuts and learning which things I can safely blow off. Time management is a blame-the-victim phrase management uses to guilt trip its staff.