maybug

If I can convince one person to steer clear of nursing, I'll feel I've made a difference. RUN!

What do you think is the most important attribute of today’s professional case manager? Empathy is the most important attribute because all the rest will follow. If you are able to understand and truly relate to the situations our patients face, you will be more willing to go above and beyond to help them. Empathy motivates you to advocate, educate, find the answers/resources, make all the phone calls, take your time, follow-up, and learn more to become the best case manager you can be.

You make a great point. I doubt there is any nurse that WANTS to put their lives at risk, and we are fortunate that our roles are not putting us in danger (so to speak). Your last sentence sums it up. We are still needed where we are.

It’s unfortunate that I provided such a supportive comment on your article yet yours is so negative... another great example you can add to your perspective of how nursing is not worth it. Lots of nurses that are unsupportive of their teammates. I bet you are a joy to work with. Otherwise, it appears you barely read my article or at least did not comprehend it correctly.

I hear you and I am with you. My only hesitation is your obvious love of medicine in general - the same as mine. You also love to teach. The best thing about nursing are the opportunities. Working from home now as a case manager I honestly feel I use my critical thinking skills more. I get to scour medical records and spend time researching. Yes, I have time! On the other hand, I totally feel the same as you on all fronts. I would also choose a different profession if I could go back. I realized within my first 2 years that nurses are expected to work until they are in tears and demoralized and then keep going. Part of it is our own fault. We have allowed this. They take advantage of our caring nature. I agree that it stops now. This pandemic is causing nurses to leave, though not nearly enough. If nurses do not fight for their rights nothing will change. Again, I ask you consider other avenues that would allow you to continue teaching and pursuing your learning, maybe not as a nurse but as someone you brings benefit to healthcare. But if not, I am right there with you uncovering nursing as the fraud it can be.

I think this is a great reminder as well. First, I am so sorry for the loss of your father. This time of isolation must make that even more difficult. I hope you and your family have support you can count on, even if it's through a screen or a phone call right now. I trust that we will come out of this stronger and so much more grateful for what we have.

WOW!! That is a great reminder and so very true. We can only be responsible for ourselves and our own decisions. Everyone (nurse) must do what is best for them.

It feels good to know we are not alone in our feelings and can come together to share our thoughts.

Great point. Thank you for that.

You are making the right choice. Our own lives and our families are just as precious as those we serve. I hope you are able to overcome your feelings of embarrassment and not feeling like a "real nurse." As long as you are in a specialty and environment you love, that is all that matters. I'm assuming you left those others roles for a reason. Don't forget those reasons. We all have to do what's best for ourselves, and hospital nursing is not for everyone. Some nurses thrive on the adrenaline and assessments/interventions of acute care and some of us (me) work better behind the scenes. We are so lucky that our profession offers so many opportunities!

The money also makes it oh so tempting... I have to remind myself I am so blessed that I am not in a position to contract this disease (at least very unlikely compared to working 1:1 with infected patients). How would we feel if we became sick, potentially losing our lives or infecting those we love?

Anyone who makes a tough decision right now to make themselves and their family a priority is making the right decision, IMO. Thank you for making a difference in your community!!

Haha, I definitely don't miss bedside nursing.

Each day I wake up for another day the same as yesterday I make my coffee and turn on my computer, browsing my emails before anything else. For the last several weeks, there are constantly new updates surrounding Covid-19. New training guidelines, new questions to discuss with patients, changes from the CDC and updates regarding medication dispensing. Help for the fight There are also constant requests from state governors, healthcare agencies and boards of nursing requesting additional healthcare personnel to help fight this virus. Requesting nurses to come out of retirement. Waiving reinstatement fees and extending licensure renewals. They are almost begging. My heart races and my stomach drops – I feel guilty My social media feeds are flooded with pictures and videos of nurses crying, quitting their jobs due to fear, risking their lives working without proper PPE, or simply braving the virus and taking a risk because of their oath of caring for others cannot be shaken. Should I be out there? I stepped away from the bedside in 2018. I was fortunate to find a position as a Case Manager with the added benefit of working from home. I am young and do not have a family I am supporting or worried about spreading the virus to. I should be out there. In fact, I did reach out to my employer about the possibility of taking leave to help on the frontlines, but this was not granted. I would be lying if part of me wasn't a tiny bit relieved. I believe that most nurses, healthcare professionals in general, have a sense of needing to help. If you ask a nurse why they chose their profession, that is likely the answer you will receive. We seem to naturally possess traits of compassion, selflessness, and empathy. We are also (usually) stellar at teamwork and critical thinking. Unfortunately, the traits of a nurse can be detrimental. To ourselves. We tend to put the oxygen mask on someone else before ourselves, metaphorically speaking. We do not often make ourselves a priority. I partly blame our healthcare environments for this. They have conditioned us to accept more responsibility with less support. To be a "team player.” To pick up extra shifts when we are exhausted. To work when we are unwell ourselves. And now, nurses are being exposed to a deadly virus and are not being provided basic PPE, yet they are expected to accept these conditions without complaint. There is not a soul that does not support our frontline nurses during this time. Truthfully, I do not feel there is enough being done to support them (free donuts and shoes is barely a band-aid) but that is an article in itself... I am grateful and I am necessary At the end of the day I am grateful I do not have to make the decisions our frontline nurses do. I must remind myself that the work I do is also helpful and necessary. That I am still supporting my patients in a different manner by educating them, ensuring they have necessary supplies and medications and that they are staying home, in turn hopefully making a small dent in lessening the burden of hospitals and our brave nurses. I hope that nurses are feeling confident enough in their WORTH to make the decisions that are right for them and their families. To know that their fear is valid and if they are scared or feeling unsupported that they need to use their voices. Remember that nursing is so vast with so many opportunities, and if your employer does not value you in a crisis, they do not deserve you. Lastly I want our frontline nurses to know that we stand with them in solidarity. We are crying and praying along with them. We admire their sacrifice and will never judge whatever tough decisions they may make during this time.

How coincidental.. I literally just purchased an online course for Tapping/EFT before coming here and seeing this article. The course I purchased is more related to love, but I'm excited to learn to use it in relation to trauma and triggers as well.

I started as a new grad doing home care hospice and excelled. It takes a lot of autonomy because you are essentially alone assessing and providing care. Anytime I had a question or felt uncomfortable though my supervisor or another nurse was only a quick call away. I stayed in this position for a year before realizing that I wasn't utilizing most nursing skills I had learned. The hospital environment and acute care is golden but not for everyone. After working in acute care for a few years I landed a great case management position and it wouldn't have been possible without my home care hospice experience.

I worked in an IP hospice unit and we do not suction. I have been taught that suctioning at the end of life makes secretions worse. If anyone has any evidence based practice proving that wrong I would love to read it. Of course I think suctioning of a trach continues to be necessary and is performed as needed. But for "death rattle" secretions we educate that this is a common symptom at the end of life and causes no distress to the patient. We given Levsin, scop patches, etc.

I get what you are saying. I've always thought to myself that if I were a patient in the hospital and a nurse tried to give me protonix I would refuse.

Ditto to what everyone else has already said and also, Meditech is a terrible charting system and does take considerable time to learn compared to other systems.

Sounds like my story! I have 6 years of experience, hospice (love) med/surg, and PCU and worked 1.5 years as a travel nurse. I had a travel assignment get cancelled halfway through due to low census and I was so relieved because I realized how burnt out I was. I came across an amazing opportunity working from home with a company called Accordant, under CVS. Look it up. They require 5 years of experience, but you're almost there. And even though I'm not providing hands on care anymore, I feel like I utilize my nursing skills even more. I literally educate all day.

...Them asking me to "clean off their bedside table." And without a please or thank you of course!

I've been training for a case management position for the past 5 weeks. I'll start working from home next month and I'm so excited!!

Hahaha! Awesome point of view

Thanks so much for this.

Of course there is a skill list I fill out as a traveler, so it's no secret that I have no experience with codes. but obviously I cannot help that I've never had one.