Roseyposey

If you have no problems with any sticks besides this one, let someone else start his i.v. and get over it. Accept that you are not perfect and quit wasting so much of your mental energy worrying about your imperfection. Why can't you start this one i.v.? Does it really matter?

I did not see this show, but feel the need to comment anyway. We could all take better care of ourselves - eat better, exercise, etc. Will it help us feel better? Probably, but speaking from personal experience, when you're so depressed that getting up and taking a shower seems like a Herculean task, going for a workout at the gym is out of the question. What really bothers me about this, however, is that this guy has a lot of followers and a lot of influence as an "expert." I worry about how many people who watched that show may just go cold turkey off their meds and end up in serious withdrawal or having a serious crash.

What I don't understand is how the staffing is not any different for caring for this patient population. It is not fair to the patients or the nurses. My job description requires that I can lift 50# - that's it. I am quite fit and can lift my 50# without difficulty. However, I am 40+ and weigh 145#; I cannot even be a safe stand-by for someone 300#. If they go down, I can't help. I am not risking my body, because I won't be able to catch them anyway. This is not safe for anyone involved.

Oh, I certainly hope not. I have two per diem jobs instead of a full or part time job. I can work when I want, don't work when I don't want to work, and no holidays. No benefits either, but it works out perfectly for being a full-time student!

It sounds like you have learned from the experience, and that is all you can do. The patient was not harmed, and you will be more careful next time. There's not a nurse who's been in practice for any length of time who has not made a med error. It feels horrible. I thought for sure I was going to be fired and lose my license when I made my first med error (which in the grand scheme of med errors, was not a big one). I called the doctor, wrote myself up, and told the patient's family. The nurses I worked with were very supportive, and they all told me about the errors they have made. It happens; go on and be the most careful, fabulous nurse you can be!

"After one failed semester." Maybe I misunderstood this statement and you passed your semester and then withdrew. If so, I am terribly sorry and apologize. You shouldn't feel guilty if you passed all of your classes and then formally withdrew; you can probably pick up again at a later time.

I agree with GrnTea - the OR would be a good fit, plus you would have the benefit of working more independently, so you wouldn't feel compelled to "help" everyone else see their mistakes. You may not work well on a team if you feel that you need to correct everyone else, especially as a new nurse - it is a good way to get yourself eaten.

This is definitely a system-level problem. I would take the advice given here and not only talk to your manager about it, but bring a couple of ideas on how to prevent this from happening in the future.

Danskos hands-down. They are ugly but I have zero joint pain. They are about all I wear besides my running shoes (which I only wear, oddly enough, when running). I even have sandals. As far as the cost goes, I have one pair I bough 7 years ago. They look beat to heck, but the soles don't break down.

I was wondering the same thing.

I think ONLY a NP should be allowed to do this - not an RN. APRNs have additional training in the lady partsl exam that RNs do not have. Only an NP can Dx what any other issues may be with the victim; any underlying medical problems. An RN can not follow up and treat any problems from the assault that a Nurse Practitioner can. Also, an RN cannot treat any problems that are secondary to the assault - infection, anxiety,STIs, that an APRN can treat. Once a woman is assaulted, the last thing she will want is to have to re-live her story by telling it to many other providers.

Nope, don't talk about it...other than "crappy day, leave me alone." No desire to talk about nursing if I am not getting paid to do so.

Nope, if they're not making a big deal out of it, I wouldn't. If they have a plan for you, take advantage of it; they must see your value. I constantly review my performance and see what I could change; keep evaluating yourself and you will be able to improve.

I'm sorry, I am going to be the meanie here. Really? You had a scholarship and just decided to give up? I'm sorry, I am not going to give you permission to flush that down the toilet. You should have at least finished the semester on good standing; that way you may have been able to enter in later and finish. It is a shame that you got a scholarship and then decided the timing wasn't right. It could have gone to someone who needed it. Okay, flame away.

Really???? They criticized you for that??? I have given the iv Morphine while the patient is taking the po Percocet. Of course, pain management is my passion, so I am probably over zealous. If someone has cancer pain, they should be treated!!! If someone is tolerant to meds, then the "norms" are out the window! One or two milligrams of morphine for a chronic pain patient or a cancer patient who has been on opioids is like injecting normal saline. If we don't want to create patients who are tolerant to opioids, then we should prescribe the darn things. Someone who is already on MS Contin is not going to get pain relief from a couple milligrams of Morphine or 0.5 mg of Dilaudid. You know what? We are not here to wean people off of pain meds! If they can tolerate it, and they need it, I give it. Of course, I do not work "the floor" anymore, so my view point may be a little off.

Is this your homework?

I absolutely agree that the patient does not go to the ER with the diagnosis, so let me get that out there. We are all taught that chest pain is serious until all red flags are ruled out. period. That being said, the #1 unnecessary ER complaint paid with Medicaid funds in my state....drumroll please: URI. This is a patient education problem. Some hospitals are responding to ER clogging by opening urgent cares, which my hospital recently did. The problem, IMHO, is the logistics - they opened it six blocks away. I am certainly not as smart as the powers that be; however, "if I ran the world...." I would open it within spitting distance of the ER.

I know you are venting, and I agree with you. That being said - how can this be solved? Do you have volunteers that would come and visit her? Is there a chaplain in the hospital, or does she have a church? If the leader of her church could be contacted (yes, of course with her consent before someone HIPAAs me) maybe a group of visitors could be arranged. Are there any parish nurse groups in your area? If you are unsure of what's available, try one of your staff social workers - they can be an awesome resource. Do you have a hospice program? Contact them for help with this. This woman should not have to suffer alone. There are people out there who would help; it's just a matter of connecting with the right resources. If there is nothing available, maybe this is your opportunity to shine and start something wonderful.

That's so familiar. We have a doc who hates all anti-emetics except Zofran. When it didn't work, I called for further orders and was given an order for Anzemet. uhhhhmmmmmm......So when that didn't work, I stopped our on-call anesthesiologist and asked him for another order. He said something to the effect of why did you give Anzemet when Zofran didn't work, they are the same drug. I wanted to say, "Well, I'll be darned, when I was giving meds without an order, I just liked the pretty lids on these two!" What I said to him was, "Tell that to your peer, because he doesn't seem to know that."

Very cool! If I was in the market for a new stethoscope, I would definitely get that one! I am one to be a bit "off-beat" myself, and I have found that patients love it. I have never been accused of being unprofessional. I think it lightens up my normal intensity by showing that somewhere, well-hidden, there is a sense of humor. That rainbow effect is so subtle but really interesting.

Had a job that I would have owed them money every month to cover myself and family. Thank goodness nothing happened.

Nope, I'm at the other end of the spectrum. My poor son (who is an adult) still has people who think it's me when he answers the phone. I would love to have a voice that doesn't sound like a baritone trying to sound feminine. I don't even sing happy birthday out loud to my kids - I have the Milli Vanilli act down pat. We just need to embrace who we are. I have a big, booming, deep voice that doesn't fit my appearance at all. Your voice isn't taken seriously, and I sound like I am ticked off at the world. Wouldn't it be nice if people could appreciate us for our actions and our competence instead of how we look or sound?

This is just horrible. It is so unfortunate that something like this has to happen to bring about change. It can be a hassle, but I think our policy of the PACU nurse not leaving the room until an RN comes into the room and acknowledges the patient is a good protection for everyone involved.

I'm not going to flame you. I understand the patient safety issues regarding shift change. Nobody should be rude; I don't understand why nurses don't support each other better. It is courtesy to inform about delays. Also, you struck one of my nerves regarding the write ups - that is an ongoing theme it seems, nurses using incident reports to write each other up just for spite. I have, however, been held hostage for up to an hour in a room waiting for a floor nurse to come accept their patient (when they were given report 15 minutes prior to transfer). (for the record, though, I did not write this nurse up. I prefer to talk things over) Maybe a change that needs to happen is that hospitals shouldn't have every nurse coming and going at the same time? This seems to be a widespread problem. I know in my PACU, we stagger in and out - not one of us works the same hours as the floor nurses to try to avoid this problem.

You guys are way more organized and prepared than I am! I have a Target Mossimo limited edition bag - only about 8 zillion made. In it I have food (always my #1 priority), stethoscope, a pair of socks, an outdated Sanford's guide, miscellaneous receipts, some unwrapped pieces of gum, a couple of broken pens, and the random alcohol wipe and saline flush.