srerrn2

Well done Anonymous865.

i asume you are being sarcastic. Otherwise you have a really F'ed up code of ethics and I hope you do not work in healthcare in any capacity.

Just a quick reply to CeilingCat: First, congratulations on your graduation:yeah:. As you enter the exciting, frustrating, rewarding(I could list many adjectives)world of registered nursing you will have many questions. Hopefully, you will have questions every day of your career as there is always more to learn. I am so proud that you will soon be joining our "ranks". Clearly, you are trying to find answers in a non-judgemental way in order to best treat your patients. As long as you keep doing this you will do just fine!! I am an ER nurse with experience in treating women who just found out they are pregnant and are already expressing the plan to electively terminate, women who arrive to the ER hemorraging s/p miscarriage or termination and women who actually miscarry in the ER. I am not going to go into how I approached each patient as there have been many great posts on this. It seems to me is you want to get the most information possible the two best resources would be OB/GYN nurses from your hospital labor/delivery unit and Planned Parenthood. Again, good luck in your new career .

OHHH, there are two words right here besides the obvious one...sputum, which seems to gross out most nurses. I have alway hated the word purulent. It just makes me want to gag!!! Also, the word fecal. Just sounds gross even if you don't know what it is yet. Thanks for reminding me of these GROSS words. By the way, there are plenty of words that might make me sick to my stomach but that does not make me a less effective nurse.

I don't want to discourage anyone from posting on this site but your answer really does not make much sense. To compare smokers/non-smokers to slaves/white people is strange. Also to compare the smell of smoke to the smell on someone after using public transportation is again off the mark. The question is whether smokers should be admitted to nursing school. :confused:

Have to agree with the other responders. Try to get all that judgemental attitude out of your system BEFORE you become a nurse. Otherwise, how are you going to provide compassionate care to the 450 lb patient or the patient with stage 4 lung cancer who has smoked 2 ppd x 40 years(and is still smoking). As far as excluding other potential students from the program d/t smoking, I just can't say any more than others have already said. I am a smoker and I have so much to offer to the profession and my patients. I think it would have been a loss all around if I had not been "allowed" to become a nurse because I have a habit that is perfectly legal. Good luck in your chosen career and really try to get past your judgements. Maybe THAT could be your topic.

I have worked in ER's for many years and we do clean up the patient as much as we can. We then place a clean gown on the patient and a fresh sheet on them before closing the body bag. It may take a few extra minutes but the dead deserve this respect no matter what the situation.

WOW!!! Pretty judgemental of you after only 2 years as an RN. Tread lightly as Karma tends to get back at us.

Well, I can't speak for the person who originally responded to you but I was also put off by your original question. When you use a public professional forum then really you are addressing everyone on here. i think just about every nurse has had a near-miss. If they say they haven't they are either lying or didn't catch it. We are human and we do the best we can. You just seem a bit judgemental in both of your posts. One should probably not use the words "always" or "never". I would say that I "always" have my drips double checked. As soon as I say that we will get 4 gunshot wounds into trauma within 20 minutes or maybe running 2 codes at the same time with docs and nurses running all over the place. By the way, that little parting shot at the end of your post about it just being good nursing practice wasn't really necessary was it? That was just mean spirited of you. Don't be so quick to judge.

A number of really good points here. My experience with study groups was positive. We had a VERY carefully chosen group of 5 students and we studied well together. We learned pretty early on not to mess with our mix. If another person wanted to study with us it just didn't go as well. I would study the material very well and make up note cards(a nursing students best friend I think). We would all meet up on study day and go over the material. As many have pointed out, others may pick up points you missed. Also, the more you use your 5 senses the better you retain material. Read it, write it on note cards, speak it out loud with one another.... Remember, this isn't about studying with your friend. This is about doing well in nursing school. If you decide to go with a study group choose people who have like-minded study habits, keep it small and as awful as this may sound be somewhat elitist. No outsiders and noone who can't keep up as they will slow you down. Good luck!! :redpinkhe

@2out1togo: good for you!!! do not let anything hold you back now. choose your path and follow it. if sadly, your spouse chooses not to support your dreams then you need to decide what you want to keep in your life-your husband or your future. only you can make that decision. i had posted earlier that i was someone that started nursing school at 30. i barely scraped by in high school. i was a bored gifted underachiever. in high school i really had no say-so about what classes i took(this was early '80's). in nursing school, i was like a sponge. i absorbed all the information i could. was it easy? no. was it always interesting? no. but i was there by choice and i was also paying for it myself(also a great motivator). my spouse at the time was not terribly supportive. not cheating, drinking or abusing. i think he felt we were growing apart so he would hinder me by not helping with the small children or around the house stating that i was the one who wanted to go to school, why should he have to pick up my slack? i think this is not terribly unusual so be sure you really talk this over with your husband so neither of you are blind-sided by the others actions. my husband and i did end up divorcing for many reasons, not just school. i am now married to the most wonderful man in the world and working on my masters in nursing(with his full support). i guess what i am trying to say is to definately follow your dreams and your heart. noone can stop you except yourself. as a bonus, you will be setting a strong example to your children that people can achieve anything they are willing to work hard for no matter what their age. good luck and god bless!! p.s. don't assume we are all ladies just because we are nurses. there are many male nurses who are wonderful care givers and can also provide great insight.

@cheyfire: i think you answered this question quite well, taking into consideration both the ethical and legal ramifications. as nurses, it is our nature to want to reach out and to help and comfort others. however, we are held to a higher standard than others. clearly, the op wants to help this family but i think it would not be a good idea to have the patient staying in your home. maybe while the child is in the hospital, you could invite the mom to stay for awhile. or, if you know this is a financial burden for the family, you could go to your own church or some of the local churches and synagogues if you aren't a member anywhere and ask for donations to help the patient and family stay in a nicer hotel and spend time with them there. there are many ways to reach out and offer friendship without crossing a professional barrier and possibly putting your license on the line. then, you wouldn't be able to help anyone.

Nursing school at 45? Heck yes!!! I started nursing school at 30(with a 7,3 and 1 year old). Best thing I ever did. Strong sense of accomplishment. Did extremely well in my classes because this was what I had chosen to do. I had been concerned that I wouldn't "fit in" because I was older then the typical student. My worries were unfounded. Really we were all in the same boat...studying our brains out, completing care plans, taking a patient's vitals for the first time. You stated you will be in your late 40's when you graduate. So?? I am 45 y/o now and going back for my Masters in Nursing Education. As my wonderfully supportive husband:redbeathe(and a supportive spouse is REALLY important) told me "Either way you will be 48 in 3 years. You might as well be 48 with a Masters". Good luck and enjoy the heck out of your new career path.

Lots of good advice here. If assaulted, by all means call the police and press charges. Assault also includes spitting. One word of caution. While it is VERY important to document the heck out of these situations, do NOT copy the actual charts and remove them from the facility. There can be legal and HIPPA issues with this. Rather, keep a notebook for personal use and document these incidents in this manner. Many people have suggested you leave this facility. Personally, I would not want to work for this type of company where management does not back up its staff. That being said, I understand jobs can be difficult to find right now and/or you really enjoy your other residents and co-workers and don't want to leave. You should not be forced out because of one resident who sounds like a pretty classic case of Borderline Personality Disorder. Good Luck!!!

What do you mean it isn't up to you? We are not mindless robots here simply to "follow doctors orders". As nurses, it is our responsibility to work as a team member with our docs and to communicate with them. I spend much longer with the patients and observe their actions, facial expressions, etc.. The doctors I work with(NOT for) count on us as experienced, knowledgeable nurses to communicate with them in order to provide the best, most appropriate care for our patients.

Not sure what part of Ohio you live in but this ER nurse in Cincy is a hell of alot more than a monkey and I believe my Docs would agree. Get a little more experience, spend some time working in a large ER and then come on back and put down others in our profession. Shame on you! All fields of nursing should be treated with respect, especially from other nurses.

Good for you!!!I have been ER and level 1 trauma for a long time now and still have shifts like this. But we keep coming back and doing the very best we can because we are smart, tanacious, tough, compassionate, quick thinking. In short we are the best...we are ER NURSES!!!!

I love this. ACLS got rid of the precordial thump but damn, it really works.

Congratulations to you. You absolutely did the right thing. You advocated for your patient. Don't ever say "I am just a student". You are a part of the care team. The argument that nothing bad happened, well the nurse just got lucky. I have children and they do get sick but I think it is always inappropriate to have a cell phone at work. They have my work number and call that if they need me and if they are very sick, then I stay home. If it is a boyfriend problem, etc. then keep that crap out of work. Remember to trust your gut instinct. If it feels wrong, it probably is. And even as "just a student" you can already lead by good example so always remain professional and caring towards your patients.

I have worked in the ER for last 11 years. Every person that walks in has the potential to be very sick. Someone comes in w/ a toothache and has undiagnosed htn of 225/170 or the nausea x 2 days, undiagnosed diabetes with a blood sugar 1100 mg/dl(yes, I had these patients). As far as the doctor "being right there". Well, that is true as long as he isn't in a code or even better, if it is a teaching hospital then your doc may be 2 months out of medical school. Sure, there are attending MD's but it is up to the nurses to know their stuff. We have to know something about every type of patient that walks in the door cause you better never count on just reading back the results and getting some orders. Like they say about ER nurses "Jack of all trades" and we are proud of it. As far as ICU being more detail oriented and having to dot your i's and cross your t's. Well if you think it is less detailed in the ER then that is not the place for you. That attitude of not being detail oriented will end you up on the wrong end of a big lawsuit and I sure as hell wouldn't want my ER nurse not being worried about the "little" details when she/he took care of my aging parents or my baby.

:redbeatheWelcome to the exciting world of nursing!!! I have been an ER nurse for over 10 years. The thing with ER nursing is you either love it or hate it. No middle ground here. I would not recomend it to a new grad. Get some tele experience under your belt. Remember, if you can read a monitor you can do anything because the heart runs the whole show. Also, you better have a very thick skin. You are constantly being yelled at by someone(often a doc)and getting the "hairy eyeball" from someone else who wants to know why they don't have a room upstairs yet, haven't received their d/c instructions and another patient who is demanding mso4 and a box lunch. But an ER nurse must get thru all this and do it with a smile. That being said, it is a really exciting place to work and if you work in the ER you will know you can handle anything!! If you are a true adrenaline junkie(like most ER nurses are) then this is the place for you. If you don't like it you can transfer out in 6 months but you will NEVER forget your gig in the ER. Good luck!!

:redbeatheA big thank you from this ER nurse. Nice to be recognized but we don't see ourselves as heroes. We just do what we have to do.