angeloublue22

That's crazy! I quit after a pt ripped a 2x4 off a door and was swinging it at staff. Police refused to arrest him because he didn't hit anyone. I guess we shouldn't have been jumping out of the way. The officer in charge then asked, "Don't you guys sign up for this? We aren't your security." I guess if a person is swinging a weapon at a cop then they shouldn't get arrested either since they "signed up for it." I'm away from pt care now.

Go to YouTube and go to simplenursing. He has great videos that help you fully understand the concepts with easy ways to remember. He saved my bacon in my advanced medsurg class. It's not an advertisement, but I got through NCLEX on the 1st try and in record time. Everything you need is free too.

A very similar thing happened to one of my friends as well. She has long COVID now but back then they didn't know it existed. It took her a year to get help. I'm sorry this happened to you.

First of all, good job reaching out. I'm so sorry this happened to you. My advice is to talk about it until you are tired of talking about it, then talk about it some more. Also, of course file a police report. Take some kickboxing class or some strength training, not only for strength but to help yourself feel stronger and more confident and get yourself feeling like a badass. Your work should offer that employee free counseling service too. Take advantage of it. Give yourself some time and room to breathe. Get yourself outdoors if you can as well, just to get yourself out of your head. It's OK to not be OK right now. I myself have gone through similar things more than once and I've helped my coworkers get through it as well. This happening too much to us. Ugly crying is amazing too! I hope this helps and I wish you the best.

This is going to be a long one but I had an interaction with some providers today that lead to me think about some things. I'll start this post by sharing my own experience. I have Hashimotos and was diagnosed 3 years ago after trying to tell multiple providers that I had a thyroid issue. My journey started 20 years ago when, my normally energetic self, found it hard to get out of bed. I started gaining weight after losing 100 lbs. Since my teens, I've always followed a strict diet based on recommendations and I loved exercising (I know I'm weird) but I always had trouble with my weight. Anyway, those years I lost all energy, started losing hair, and gaining weight even though I was still forcing myself to exercise and follow my diet. I went to a doctor, I mentioned my family history. I told her about everything I was doing to lose weight (now I know that was my 1st Hashimotos flair). I kept a food and exercise journal. My provider told me quote,"I think you are lying to yourself. That's impossible to not lose weight if you're telling the truth." She said the lack of energy was because I was depressed. I am a very happy person and loved my life, I just didn't have the energy. She then gave me a pamphlet about walking a hour a day (I ran, yoga'ED, kickboxed, wt lifted 6 days a week for at least 3 hours a day) and gave me a diet to follow (I already did). She didn't even run labs. I was young and didn't know to fight for myself. I felt defeated and stupid. I did not go to another Dr. for 10 more yrs. Through that time, I got up to 310 lbs following the same diet and exercise routine. Then I decided to try keto and lost 120 lbs and kept it off and my hair came back and I felt great. My next doc ran labs and they were all normal at that time. Four yrs ago, I started losing my hair in clumps, I had no body hair, mood swings, no energy, gaining weight again, brittle nails, brain fog and dry skin (textbook hypothyroid symptoms). So, I decided to see another doc (I had moved) to see what was going on. She said I had low T3 but that's not a big deal and that's nothing to treat. I told my friend who was becoming a NP about it and she asked if they had done a TPO test as she said it's sounded like Hashimoto's (I didn't actually know much about the disease) and when I asked my provider she didn't see a reason to draw it. I was so angry and so was my friend. Two months later, my friend became an NP and said she would make it her mission to find out what was wrong with me and she did! My TPO was in the 50's. I started lio and levo and I'm doing better. Anyway, this brings me to my frustration with providers not listening to pts, especially women (even if you work in the medical field). This has given me unique perspective and now I make it a soapbox issue to advocate for pts and encouraging doctors to not immediately go to - it's all in your head. I have a new job where I facilitate transfer of pts to a large hospital including facilitating provider consults and giving advice. The other night, I had to advocate hard for a female pt and that's what triggered this post to remind us that we do have some power to change this issue. It was a really interesting case. I don't want to give too much info but it was a pt that was having paralysis on one side after syncopal episodes upon waking with t wave abnormalities that happened 2 times is 2 days. No history of this and no history of mental health issues. We had the sending doc, our neurologist and cardio on the line. Both the neuro and cards couldn't really figure out a diagnosis, so both suggested conversion syndrome because she has multiple kids. I stopped that right in its tracks. I said, "hold on, are you saying that because you can't figure out what is wrong with this woman without any further test, you are going to mental issues?" I reminded them that she didn't just have 5 kids 2 days ago, and let's not be the providers you hear in the news that chalked pts real symptoms to mental issues and then something really serious happens. "Can you think of anything else that might be going on?" (They're are used to me being a little prickly, LOL) Thank goodness we have a good team that respect nurses because all 3 told me I was right and brainstormed some more and ended up admitted pt to our seizure unit. Frankly, I'm getting tired of hearing stories in the news and from women in my own life that were not listened to and ended dying or have serious medical issues that could have been prevented. I would love to hear stories about how you advocated to pts getting a medical diagnosis over mental health and how you approached it.

I love that you want to set an example but you'll be fine. I do recommend weight lifting though because it will help those "old" joints when taking care of patients and it can help protect your joints. I was 150 lbs overweight when I started but lifting weights (and yoga) helped so much with the pain of being on my feet and transferring patients. I'm now 130 lbs down which shows you can still continue to lose weight, if you want to, once you become a nurse.

I'm loving that nurses are finally getting together and telling admin that we aren't standing for their crap anymore. We have power together folks!

Not a board game but Pictionary is always a huge hit on my unit. Yahtzee, Uno, Skip-boa are also good. Just try to pic a game with limited pieces because they will get lost or used to harm themselves. That's why card games are good.

I work in an inpatient psych hospital and they have now stopped requiring masks. Only visitors wear them and we wear them if we are working with pts with symptoms or COVID positive pts.

You are not responsible for their short staffing. No you don't have to pitch in and help by picking up extra shifts. You already help out by coming in to your scheduled shifts. But, yeah, they can do whatever they want on your eval. Please, don't them push you into it. You have so much going on right now, and you and your family are the priority. Work doesn't give a crap about you or your mental health. "No" is a wonderful word.

I think the replies sounded snarky because it sounds so ridiculous and outlandish that this would even be a thing! I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I had no idea this COULD even happen. Yes, get a lawyer. You can get one through NSO ASAP, if you are able.

I've worked at several hospitals and every one I never had the same one twice. I know it's frustrating.

Just tell them that that schedule doesn't fit your schedule. Nurses are a hot commodity, especially in LTC. Most likely, they hired someone else who wants days and they are giving you this spiel to make you feel like you did something wrong. Their are sooooo many other LTC's who are in desperate need. You have power, knowledge, courage, and skills. Please don't let them tear you down. Their short staffing and doing more with less expectations are not your problem. If they think they can do better ask to follow one through a couple of shifts to show you how it's supposed to be done. I had 30 clients (as a caregiver) I had to get ready for breakfast and admin complained I was late with a couple residents regularly so I quit and moved to a kitchen position. They had no one else so that admin had to do it one morning and she only got 10 done on time. She finally said, "This is impossible. How did you get all these people ready on time?" I said, "Looks like you need to get better time management skills." I laughed and walked away. So freaking satisfying. Since she wasn't my supervisor anymore, I didn't give a crap anymore.

I'm snarky today. My work said they had exciting news! What is it? We have T-shirts! They passed around the sizing sheet and I wrote, "I don't want a t-shirt, I'd rather have a bonus." Hope I don't get fired. Oh wait, we have no staff. Lolololol!

Unfortunately, a lot of this is typical of nursing school either with LPN or RN. I've done both and unless you're lucky it doesn't really change when you become a nurse. That is why so many people are quitting. We are asked to work in these conditions then called a "trouble maker or not a team player," if we complain. COVID has definitely made the problem worse but those conditions are not unheard of. Some places are better than others.