Southern Charm

Hi, I am bringing this back to the top in hopes of a response. I am considering applying for a patient safety specialist position, and it would help me tailor my cover letter if someone could give me some feedback on these points as they relate to the role of Patient Safety Specialist/Clinical Risk Manager: 1. Role within the health care team. (Work with all staff or predominantly around them? 2. What you consider to be the most important part(s) of this type of job? 3. Most frustrating or difficult aspect(s) of this type of work. Thanks!

Hi Nichole, Does it have to be a dress? You might be able to find a nice skirt and blouse that would work well. :)

Where were you nurses like you when I was the new nurse??? I became an RN at 30, and I felt like I was the old RN on staff! When I graduated, it was hard to find a job (can you believe it??? ), and the first place that was willing to hire me was an LTC center. Unfortunately, they had also hired another new RN, about 10 years younger than me a month earlier, and I often felt like the child who is big for his or her age that people expect to be more developmentally advanced than they really are - I just couldn't perform at the level they expected upon arrival. I was slow though. I think I was so concerned about doing the right thing that I had a tendency to overanalyze everything I did and the outcomes - especially at first. We had mostly LPN's at the facility, and I also concluded that one of the issues I faced probably involved the fact that I had set my sights on being more upwardly mobile, and was already enrolled in my BSN program at the time, whereas I think they were all pretty comfortable where they were. That facility had a lot of issues between the RN's and LPN's though, and especially from the LPN's toward another LPN who was working toward her RN. The younger RN that I spoke of seemed to be the exception. They took her under their wing - maybe because her personality was more malleable. I received very little help most of the time, and it was a rough way to start a career. Additional Thoughts . . . As I wrote this, I wondered if perhaps it is better for a new RN to be trained by RN's versus LPN's due to the possibility for resentment to surface from LPN's who have more clinical experience than the new RN, but are lower on the pay scale and may be under the "supervision" of the new RN on a particular shift - even if such "supervision" is primarily on paper at first. Hmmmm . . .

Hello All, Can those of you who work in the capacity of patient safety specialist, clinical risk manager, or under similar other titles, please give me an idea of 1. your role within the health care team, and 2. what you consider to be the most important part(s) of your job, and 3. the most frustrating or difficult aspect(s) of your work. I realize that the titles probably seem rather self-explanatory, but I would like to see how my impressions stack up against the descriptions of those who are actively working in this capacity. Thanks in advance!!!

Hi Louisepug! I would have to agree with those who encouraged you to go ahead and take the class. It will be a good skill to have, and you will have a better understanding of the venous system and its anatomical geography. It will serve you well when you are a new nurse having to start an IV - no anxiety for you!!! Actually, nurses in research often draw blood and spin it out in the centrifuge themselves. The phlebotomy class will probably have labs and clinicals to help you develop proficiency. :)

" I've had office jobs in the past, I wasn't always a nurse. I prefer office work. I like quiet, I like to read and write. I love helping my patients, but the hospital is too much for me sometimes. LOL. However, I was never treated like crap anywhere else EXCEPT hospitals. My former bosses, even if stressed, never treated employees like nurse managers/etc. treat nurses. You have to admit, the hospital culture is bizarre. Offices can be weird too, but it's better than the hospital. I've been on both sides." Good luck with the new job! I can completely relate! I left the direct patient care arena for the same reasons that you cited. I believe that nursing seems to condone and encourage the very behaviors that would be considered rude, ill-mannered, and unacceptable in other circles. Otherwise, the behaviors would not persist! I also saw fraud in every clinical setting in which I worked. I have all but decided to let my licenses go into inactive status, and use my education for more desirable/fulfilling endeavors.

If you are uncertain what you saw, you are not in the best position to make a report against this person at this time. Do you use a notebook when you take report prior to your shift, or to jot patient information to pass on to the nurse during your shift? If you remember the date, time, patient, etc., you can document what you think you saw this time (like a late entry), and then try to watch and document (discreetly) any similar occurrences that you may encounter in the future. I used to use a small spiral notebook to capture information for charting purposes when I worked on the floor. It fit in my labcoat pocket. If you did report the other CNA, and it turned into a legal issue, you wouldn't want your assertions to be framed with statements like, " I am confused to what I saw, I'm not sure what she said or what I saw, I just don't know." An attorney would destroy testimony that was laced with those phrases, and very likely, if the nursing administration where you work were to seriously consider discipline or termination of this individual, they would not consider it when you expressed uncertainty about what you saw or heard - particularly if the other CNA is respected. Just my $0.02 . . .

I read up on this a few years back, and this was really the predominant reason why female nurses might appear to earn less. When women step out of the workplace to take maternity leave, some extend that leave, and then re-enter the field later. That can count against you in the experience category. Also, one source indicated that not only did men tend to stay in the profession on a "continuous" basis, but they tended to move into positions where the compensation is more generous (CRNA and administration come to mind).

Only as a means to a different end . . .

Sounds a lot like nursing!!!

Unfortunately, because it is hard to find CNA's in at least some areas/markets, facilities will keep "problem people" like this on staff as long as they can. It seems that this is especially true if the person manages to look like they do a decent job overall (primarily in the area of "moving" the residents through their ADL's as efficiently as possible), and they get done on time. In some nursing homes I have seen, it appeared that the CNA's ran the facilities. I can only guess that this relationship between senior nursing staff and the CNA's was allowed to exist because the nursing staff was afraid of losing the CNA's it had, and the RN's and LPN's did not want to work in the CNA role if they were short-staffed. It is a sad situation, and the resident/guest/patient suffers the most - particularly those who cannot speak for themselves.

WOOHOO! :balloons: Congratulations!!! :balloons: Hope your new position is everything you expect it to be!

If you are having doubts now, you may want to investigate career paths that are more appealing to you. If you get into a career field just because there is a shortage of people in that field, and NOT because you have a genuine interest in that type of work, you will feel trapped and unfulfilled in your work. If you are paying for your nursing education yourself, you will be reminded of what may not be a good decision for you, personally, on a monthly basis. You should definitely try to work in a field that you find interesting or exciting. Nursing is HARD WORK. Some people feel called to the profession, love the work, and find great satisfaction in it. The down side is that there is not always a great deal of respect for the sacrifices you can end up making in helping others. Compensation and the number of hours you may be asked to work may be unsatisfactory - especially as a new nurse. The patient load can be difficult to manage and still provide high quality care. Despite universal precautions, there is the risk that you can become infected with different illnesses by the people under your care. In some employment settings, you are also more likely to be abused by your own patients (dementia and psych patients come to mind). Nurses also are reputed to "eat their young." As a new nurse, you may not get as much support as you would like. These are just a few considerations. You really should determine if nursing would be "just a job" or a labor of love for you. If the former, you would be better off seeking something that you would enjoy doing even if you didn't get paid for it. You would then be able to work at something that you looked forward to doing, and you would probably find yourself very well-compensated in the long run. If you like working in and around the healthcare professions, you might look into some of the allied health professions (radiology, occupational or physical therapy, speech therapy, audiology). Good luck to you in your decision and in all of your endeavors!

Hello! A career in nursing may actually provide you with more flexibility to meet your family's needs. Regarding the pursuit of a nursing education: Occasionally, you may find some of the course work demands a significant amount of time, but you have already demonstrated your ability to be successful with your prior educational endeavors. While you are going through your future nursing program, you may see some condescension in the instructor-student relationship that may be bothersome to you given the fact that you are already a degreed individual who has achieved success. Your business experience/education will nicely augment any work you might do in nursing. Best of luck to you!

Here are a few additional abbreviations that you might come across in nursing (some are duplicates of those originally posted with different meanings): LNCC ~ Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (This is the certification offered through the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants/AALNC. The Vickie Milazzo Institute/National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants offers the CLNC Certification, and I think was the first credentialing entity for certified legal nurse consultants.) CRA ~ Clinical Research Associate CCRA ~ Certified Clinical Research Associate CCRP ~ Certified Clinical Research Professional CRC ~ Clinical Research Coordinator CCRC ~ Certified Clinical Research Coordinator