Sparrow23

Hey everyone. My friend just finished med school and will be starting her residency soon. I'm putting together a little gift for her and one of the things I wanted to do is give her a list of "survival tips" from the nursing point of view. What things would you include? (And be nice, she's one of the good ones!) Here's one to start: Don't tell the patient they are discharged at 8am when the discharge papers probably won't be done until dinner time.... Pretty please. Also open to any general gift ideas! I have a few but could always use some more! Thanks!

Keep a little vial of peppermint oil (or mint extract used for baking) with you. Place a few drops in a mask and wear that for extra-smelly tasks.

I had the same thing happen to me. Had never fainted in my life and never had a problem with any bodily fluids/surgeries/etc. Then one day boom: fainted and threw up, and then passed out again. Came to and was given juice, threw up again as soon as I got up, and promptly fainted again. Ugh. Sooo embarrassing. One thing I noticed- I felt way more susceptible to fainting after that happened, and I think a lot of it was due to anxiety over whether or not it was going to happen again. Fainted once more (watching a PICC insertion of all things... granted it was a million degrees in the pt's tiny room) but hasn't happened since, fingers crossed. Was so nervous about it happening again and felt it coming on during another procedure but was able to walk it off thank goodness. You've got some excellent tips from the other posters. The only thing I have to add is, don't psych yourself out like I did. Do whatever you can to help yourself relax and not fixate on worrying about whether or not you will faint again. Good luck!

One lil old lady (quoting a goodness-knows-how-old book): "Salt water cures cancer." So THAT'S why we give most everyone NS, eh? If only...

Am I the only one who's confused as to why the OP is passing meds as a CNA? Does this happen often?? eep... (To the OP, everyone else has summed it up nicely: nursing is hard (and dirty) but yes, rewarding in it's own way. If you are not 100% in it, then find something else before you end up regretting wasting all that time and energy on a degree you despise. Good luck with your decision, regardless.)

I really like it. When random people come up to me and ask what's going on with my pt, I can actually tell them pertinent information instead of... oh say telling the dietitian how well the pt is ambulating after mistaking them for PT, or mistaking the CHF nurse for the doctor. I can't keep track of who's who otherwise! And we look sharp!

My advice: Be the bigger person. If you feel you cannot work there, then find another place and leave with your head held high. Don't prove her right by making a big scene. You can handle this in a professional manner and still let her know that you do not appreciate all the gossiping you've been hearing. If you do talk to her, keep any anger out of it. Keep your voice calm and don't raise voices. It may be very difficult, but if you do decide to leave this place, it would be better to do so without completely burning any bridges. Give yourself a few days to think things over. It hurts when you hear thins being said about you behind your back; when you feel people have no idea who you really are. It is much better to deal with these things when the anger has subsided some. And lawyers? Really? Why on earth wound anyone want to go through all that trouble and drama? What will you gain except smug satisfaction over potentially ruining someone, whether they deserve it or not? You will become the person you hate. My

For my area, yeah, it matters. Very few of the hospitals are hiring ADNs here, and the ones that are... well, they are definitely not the nicest places to work. A friend of mine has her ADN and she is having such a hard time finding a decent place to work. The job market is sucky for everyone right now, but I'd still say it makes a difference.

Don't get rid of my self-scheduling! Ever! I love it :) Granted, out system is computerized and we can see as we schedule ourselves which days are filled up and which are understaffed, so we all try to be flexible and fill in. Works perfectly. And we can always easily swap days too. I have another job so I personally do not like working a set schedule week after week. But if I wanted to, I would just sign up for those days early, no problem!

Never has happened to me but happens to a friend quite often where she works. They usually disappear and then are brought back to the ER later on in the shift, drunk. They're A&O so more of just an extreme annoyance than anything.

8 in a row once (though one was an 8 and one a double). Wanted to die. Now I even dread going in for a 3rd day.

And I kinda wanted to smack Octo-mom upside the head for not making this choice.

I just learned this. Apparently the CHG can actually go into the bottle and kill some of the potential bacterial cultures giving false results. I can't point you in the direction of any particular studies; I was just told that some studies were showing this.

Definitely different in different places! First med-surg job was a h*!! hole of pure insanity (but loved my coworkers at least). Love the place I'm at now and it is the exact same type of med-surg floor I was on before.

And to ICUenthusiast, no offense meant with my previous post as I see you do have this disorder. I am happy that those meds have worked for you. I just really really hate those ads!

Sorry, but first thing that popped into my head when I read this was those stupid radio ads that play constantly: "Do you suffer from shift-work disorder? Try Nuvigil!" Note: I am NOT suggesting this!!! This awful ad is just always on and it's stuck in my head! But seriously, try switching to days, or even evenings. It's amazing what being alert can do for your work and, oh yeah, your life. Good luck, and I hope it's nothing more serious.

Take the day shift. I had the same dilemma... loved my night shift team and was less than thrilled about those on days. It's been ok though! I still see my night shifters at change of shift and they day shifters haven't been all that bad. Less teamwork, yes, but I can usually find someone to lean on if need be. Day shift has oddly been easier than nights for me. And, my life outside of work is oh-so-much better. (Heck, if you end up missing your night buddies that much, offer to fill in here and there if they are ever short a nurse. Just don't become a doormat with scheduling...) Go for it!

Don't wear white under white! Nude/flesh color only. Everything else will show through. Bring a spare pair of white ones just in case you have some psycho inspecting your undies (I doubt that can or will ever happen). And why the heck can't you wear bikini style?? Who is gonna know? Do ya'll have to strip down for inspection before clinicals or what? Such bizarre rules...

If you had a pharmacist giving a general presentation (to you and other nurses) on how drugs work in the body, what information would you want to learn or have a mini-refresher course on? What would be most useful to you? Any other pharmacology topics you would find very useful? Any ideas would be great! Thank you!

It is a very bizarre interview process. They do "performance based interviews." The link below tells you all about it. Good luck! http://www.va.gov/pbi/

Yeah, 7 months out at my last job they had me charge and precepting the newer-than-me-grads. That was because most shifts, there wasn't anyone else that had more experience than me b/c they were all smart enough to get the h*!! out! One shift I had a new orientee I was precepting, a new nurse who had been out of orientation for a month, and another new nurse who had been out 2 wks. I also had to do all the tele monitoring for the entire floor that night b/c I was the only one who could read strips! SOOOO glad to be outta there. Disaster waiting to happen. Hope you can find something better, and asap!

Take some of the pressure off of yourself. Whenever you have an IV or foley to start, just tell yourself that you are gonna give yourself 2 shots at it. Best case senario - you get it! yaaayyy!! Worst case - you grab someone else to give it a shot. Yeah, the pt will endure another minute of discomfort but it is a necessary evil when you are admitted. Oh, and if the person is a screamer/super anxious/etc, don't feel bad about getting someone else to help (even to just help distract them). This one hysterical lady is one of the few IV sticks I have been unable to get... their anxiety will just pile on yours and kill your confidence. Another thing - I consider myself pretty darn good at IVs but every now and then I will still find my hands starting to shake once it's done! Don't focus on that anxiety. It will get the best of you. And just keep practicing! Good luck! :)

Thank you for those responses Tyvin, ShayRN and FLArn! I don't take care of hospice pts that often and I guess like anything else, it's going to take time for me to develop these skills... Looking back on some of the pts though, I am glad I went with my "instincts" and provided the care that I did. It's always so hard when you are first assigned a hospice pt whose been on the unit for a while and everyone is telling you different things regarding how they were acting previously, etc.

I have a question related to this. For hospice pts with morphine drips, if they become lethargic do you turn it down? Obviously I wouldn't want to decrease their pain meds if they were still in pain, but where do you draw the line in hospice pts between making them comfortable and causing an OD on morphine? In these pts (who were even a day before, A&Ox4 and still with some mobility and who are now lethargic/more confused/decreased respirations etc.) how do you tell the difference between signs of "actively dying" and the effects of pain meds, and how do you handle this? I want to make these pts as comfortable as possible, but I don't want to be responsible for inadvertently speeding up/causing the inevitable either! So much to learn...

Yeah, the pres of the last hospital I was at told everyone the hospital was failing because of the nurses. Riiight. One of the many many reasons I left that h*ll-hole excuse of a hospital... I say start applying elsewhere, the sooner you get out the better.