NextGen

I have been a nurse for 7 years, worked 5 in acute care and the last 2 in Acute Rehab. Patients are being discharged from acute care much sicker than they were 5 years ago. The theory behind Acute Rehab is that patients are medically stable when th...

My patient's large and deep wound has been intentionally left open. She was transferred from the surgical unit to my unit without adequate wound care orders. The wound is continuously seeping yellow exudate. Yes, all doctors have been called. In t...

My patient was put on a vent during a pneumonia episode and has not been able to be weaned off. Now she is on my LTAC. Her O2 levels are always good. She has coughing spells and periods where she feels like she cannot breath. Nursing and respirat...

This is an example of a poorly trained nurse manager. She does not know how to (1) investigate a complaint made by a nurse about another nurse, (2) differentiate between staff gossip or targeting another staff member, (3) find out if the complaint i...

A cautionary tale: Children are not always the best medical POA. Appoint someone who is able to listen to medical advice and understand it. My mother-in-law appointed her daughter as her medical POA. She spent her last 3 months of life in and out ...

You were in the military. Have you considered applying for a nursing position with the VA?

Can you just keep me till after Thanksgiving?

I agree with your thoughts and advice. All you can ever do in life is what you believe is the right thing to do. You are so very correct about how middle mgmt operates. I went to my manager about an incident and kept the conversation patient orien...

Hers is an answer to this question that is well received: I am looking for a hospital that has a stronger emphasis on patient centered care

What I have found is that lateral violence has been inbred into the hospital culture for a very long time. If you are the nurse or aide who speaks up about unfair treatment to your manager or to human resources, you are targeted that much more. The...

While I understand not wanting to write papers, the articles that you research to write those papers is important. You have a choice in how you get your BSN. You can write meaningless papers just to "get it done". Or you can research articles that ...

I work night shift on a busy med-surg unit. Often, our senior patients get confused at night. These are patients who are not diagnosed with Alzhemier's or dementia and are not confused during the day shift. Does anyone have creative solutions that ...

In EPIC, go to the blank field (or search area) in Patient Summary and type in "ED Encounter Ed Only". This will bring up all the emergency department information on a patient you could ever need. My hospital used EPIC for years before someone stum...

I found out the hard way that if you complain to a manager about just about anything, you are tagged as "not being a team player". Not being a team player has become the euphemism for complaining about anything in the hospital environment. After wo...

We are in a profession that is constantly changing due to new technology, advances in our understanding of medicine and new protocols. We will be learning new things every day for the rest of our careers. So, think of the certifications as a way to...

What are some of the reasons why your hospital's ED turfs patients to other hospitals? My ED often gets patients from outside hospitals for procedures that the outside hospital is capable of doing like a broken leg. I understand turfing if the hospi...

I bought my used Cardiology III for $85 on Ebay between Christmas and New Years. There were not a lot of people bidding! I can hear patients in the next room with it. You will love it and it's well worth whatever price you pay. Just keep it aroun...

My hospital has discharged patients to home as late as 11:00 pm. This includes patients who have a 1 hour drive to get home. At a friend's hospital, they have discharged to home as late as midnight. These are not situations where the patient is stati...

I also earned a MBA and worked in IT for 10 years. I volunteered at my hospital in direct patient care for 2 years then worked the last year in direct patient care while in nursing school. By the time I graduated with my ADN, I was comfortable in t...

Happy Holidays to all! My patient population is adults ranging in age from 18 to 92. Most are around the 50 to 65 year age range. The usual stay on my floor is 4 days. By day 2, they are able to leave their rooms. Many patients have told me that ...

Bravo, Ruby Vee!!!! Well written. During my first year of nursing, I cried on the way home many times. Then I got on allnurses.com and looked for threads on being a new nurse. Most said "just keep going back, it gets easier". And it did. As a ne...

To improve your soft skills, take a class in customer service. Hopefully, teaching customer service skills will one day be part of a nursing degree.

Geographic location: Cleveland Ohio Pay rate: $26.91 per hour In which area / specialty do you work? Med/Surg What type of license do you have (RN or LPN)? RN What type of degree and/or certification do you have? BSN How many years of experience ...

1) Ohio 2) 1 yr 3) Med-Surg in Hospital 4) 25.36 base pay 5) Shift differentials of 1.50 weekday nights 1.00 weekend days 2.00 weekend nights 6) Non-union

Where are all of the attitudes of new nurses coming from? Did they teach you this in nursing school? Did your preceptors teach you this? I am stunned every day to hear new nurses confidently saying things to patients that do not make any sense. T...