mmeow

Thanks for that. 28 years old here and very dedicated to my job, but that's just it isn't it......just a job....nursing is not a life mission it's a job. I love to have fun at work with my co-wokers during breaks and away from patients, most people in their carreers do so and nursing should be no different. Don't take the fun away just be smart about where and when you have the fun....My generation is very different than the older generation and for the I am proud and grateful in many ways. Sure there are negative points about my generation but we are young and we have time to grow and develop. But fingers can be pointed at every generation those before me and after me. My generation may be seen lazy at times to an older generation ...(hopefully not all the time lol :chuckle ) but they have to understand our work ethic is still there its just that we don't work ourselves to the "grave" anymore. we take vacation and enjoy ourselves, something my parents and definetly my grandparents never did very much. We only give a part of our life, our energy to our jobs because it only makes up a small fraction of our very big world. Not all young people goof around all the time or neglect their patients, please don't group all of us into a small category, it's not logical.

Interesting post......don't know if I agree though.....have you thought about this, how would you discriminate between LPN's and RN's would you have them wearing different uniforms from each other? Have you thought about differing work area such as PICU, pediacrics....would all uniforms be the same as sometimes a scrub uniform with appealling graffics can start the rapport needed with children and act as a conversation peice with the kids. Just some thoughts.

I really didn't like my job when I first started nursing.....almost quit every day for the first six months hahaha. Now I have been there a little over a year, and I have good days, and bad days. Crusty patients who expect five star treatment still piss me off from time to time mainly when I don't have time to devote to their comfort measures. I went into nursing to save lives so finding a job that aligns me with acutely ill patients would be ideal, my compassion soars when I have patients that actually can't do things for themselves. For some nurses thier practice almost mirrors the hospitality network haha, that is so not me,,,, anyways I do believe what causes dissatisfaction in part of a job is not getting out of it what you need, or rather getting what you don't need.....I don't need to be a maid lol...... very normal to hate, depise your first nursing job, just means maybe it's not a good fit for you right now..........after all it is only a job.

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I can understand the idea of not wearing scrubs home that you have worked in all day but I do not understand why people have problems with nurses working on general duty floors wearing clean scrubs to work. No different than relatives or friends from the "outside" visiting patients in the hospital, sitting on their beds, sitting in visiting rooms together where multiple "outsiders" have already sat, touching door handles, bringing food in from the restaurant they ate at last night ect ect.

name tags and personal introductions are a great way to identify nurses. hats are a disease petri dish depending on where you work. i clean my name tag, and stethoscope after each shift, how many people will dry clean their hats after every shift? Not realistic.

1. Anyone who thinks that nurses are super humans or angelic creatures who don't and should never get pissed off at their work or their patients! Heaven forbid a nurse not get along with or dislike one of his/her patients.... 2. Anyone who thinks that ALL it takes to be a good nurse is to be caring, when competence, courage, humor, and realism are just as important ! 3. Badges, buttons, bags, banners, that play on the public's emotions for propaganda and say "Love a nurse" ....... sorry but I didn't come into the profession to be loved lol what I really need for my job is to be respected "Respect a nurse" Purrrrr

all I know is this, i haven't worked in a traditional hospital setting where unions don't exist, although there are career opportunities without unions for RN's where I live if they want to be entrepeneurs but regardless our contract is up. Because of provincial health care cut backs the philosophy of medicare is becoming increasingly harder to realize and the employer wants to take away from the nurses wages and benefits to compensate, they also have increased surgical beds without increasing nursing positions so less nurses are taking care of more patients which is a recipe for disaster. In my opinion this all makes working conditions unrealistic because the employer also wants to decrease the number of permenent postions increasing casuals, making RNs float between facilities instead of having a job on one ward alone, and not dealing with patient nurse ratios! along with a while slew of other stuff. Going to my :) unions web site i feel better knowing that i am not the only RN who thinks this is ridiculous! And I feel secure knowing that their are other people out there who will protest these important issues with me as alone I would not know how to even take management on and really in fact couldnlt by myself. labour laws do not protect me from these issues but the organization that represents me....my nurses union who are my fellow co-workers are tying to protect me! That is very comforting indeed!

Define civil and adult? I believe the above post started our little tango.... i was adding humor shall i define that for you?

opinions are like noses....everybodies got one, some are just longer than others hahaha

Utilitarianism within unions not the world! if you want to get into a philosphical discussion concerning theories and world views e-mail me sometime but lets keep focused here we are discussing unions remember!!!! Greatist good for the greatist number! Example: most nurses have families ect. in our collective agreement we bargained family leave whereas mothers and fathers could take family days with pay when their depedents were sick and they needed to be home with them instead of using up their sick days with pay. For nurses without children or dependents family leave really doesn't matter but since the majority have famiies the concept of Utilitarianism was utilized and family days were adopted for THE GREATIST NUMBER!

Highlighting autonomy could easily be mistaken for selfishness, thread carefully!

If you want to make personal comments on these threads i suggest you get to know the person first otherwise everything else is heresay.

it's all in my previous posts so i'm not going to reapeat myself! Utilitarianism ROCKS!!!!

Provincial unions are formed by nurses, run by nurses and have nurses as members! There's a reason why all provinces in Canada have followed suit...... UNIONS WORK.... the nurses unions in Canada are comprised of NURSES, who work for each other sharing each others struggles, values and wants AS A WHOLE.. Individual differences will arise but the majority of issues are agreed upon. Being a nurse in canada means being organized and that also menas that our union dues are spent towards bettering my profession. How can that be a negative thing? Sure it could be done other ways but currently it's done through unions and collective agreements that have legal ramifications if both parties do not adhere to it. If management Tells you to take on two other patients in an ICU unit, or demands that you stay 1/2 an hour for overtime or cutbacks on wages due to deficits or cuts back on staff........................... you can protest your little heart out honey but that doesn't change the fact that you just may have to comply for job safety (meaning you'll lose favor with the boss if you don't and hence lose browny points and then your job). With collective agreements management cannot do those things against the agreement without legal ramifications. Meaning worker job safety!!!!!! Both you and your pateints are safe! I cannot comprehend how any individual would want to engage in discussions concerning the betterment of the urseing profession without having the majority of nurses backing you up, which is union philosophy.

Counter check.... your forgeting a big part of the pic. that unions are made up of the members at large ... not "they" or "them" but fellow co-workers people you can place a face to. In essence Imake up my union and I like being apart of a fellowship that shares my same views and frustrations and together we can take action as a whole! if people have a problem with union philosphy them they should (as per my previous post) get a new career or voice up to take another route of action. and further more, each province in canada has it's own unique nurses union formed by nurses and run by nurses, and there's a reason why..... UNIONS SIMPLY WORK!

But you have no guarantees....... that's my point, you may have won the battle with your administration but honey you haven't won the war! there is no guaratee that what they have given you cannot be just as easily taken away, that is unless you had a union!

All these people complaining that unions don't recognize every single person's veiw is ridiculous, welcome to REAL LIFE!!!!!! Give your heads a shake and wake up! Not everything is fair play in this world nor will it ever be, point is utilitarianism, greatist good for the greatist number. You will never please every Tom, Dick and Harry but come on give us a break and get out there get heard. Stop complaining and start acting. If you don't like what your union values as important to it's workers change it and start where ever it works. Go to local meetings, get involved, start talking to co-workers start changing their minds ect ect. remeber your co-workers are the ones to vote on union issues! And remeber what your union has done for you! Better working conditions, wages, benefits and the list goes on .....on and on and on........! Here in Canada unions go hand in hand with the job, you need to accept being part of one if your going to become an RN, if that's tooooooo much for you to handle then look for another carrer or learn to deal with it instead of just B******G about it.

All for unions! I can go to work and concentrate on my patients. i don't have to worry about losing my job because I didn't sweet talk my boss. I can refuse unsafe working conditions or overtime without making excuses. and without fear of fallout from management All because I have rights set in place in my collective agreement that was gained from my union. I have benefits dental, eye, medical, life insurrance that are set in stone because of my union, and right now since our agreement is up... the employer wants to take away most of our benefits and pull back our wages regardless of inflation issues. My union is currently fighting these issues and the fact is that by having a united front on these issues...nurses in my province will likely prevail. I seek comfort in that. i also seek confort in knowing that because each province in my country is unionized no matter where I go in this great country my rights as a worker will be protected! peace:smokin:

This is calm for me hehehehe. Type A all the way!

"Oh well, I suppose no matter what one wrights, someone else will surely misunderstand it" First: ............my previous post wasn't directed towards your posted comment .......don't know how it got mixed up with your thread soooooooo do not personalize what was not meant personally towards you in that post. However....The rest of this post relates to your previous thread and comments. "Yes, the scope has increased in some areas for the LPN since I graduated in 1977, but in other areas, it has decreased as the push for BSN entry level continues." Second: That's too bad that your professional organization has allowed that loss in scope.....in Canada LPN's have unions ie:cupe / SEIU that have fought and lost few but won many such battles through grienvances on individual and organizational platforms. I am proud to say that our sister organization of LPN nurses here in canada is fighting for their rights and I hope they continue to win and move forward as the RN profession is currently doing and will continue to do. "We are talking only about LPNs who have taken upon themselves to continue learning, without the benefit of college credits and a method of allowing them certification or something to further their career as an LPN." Third: of course they should take it upon themselves to continue learning, my word what profession are we in again, oh yeah we deal with life and death situations, where what we learned in school could be irrelevant the next year! it would be irresponsible of a professional ie: RN LPN MD ect ect not to keep current within their profession and on current health trends. RN and proud, peace:smokin:

Ever try to compare a fresh grad LPN and a fresh grad RN,,,,, well I have ...guess what ...No comparison! Grad RN's have a wider base of knowledge, more competent thinking for medical and physiological problem solving when compared to grad LPN's. WhY???? Simple. Because grad RN's are prepared to function at a higher level than LPN grads right off the bat since day one of their schooling. The lessons are more indepth, intense, comprehensive, and hell just plain longer.... to be able to cram all that info in 4 years!!!!!!!!! Of course theory can be learnt on the job, during the years, as it should be in order to keep current, up to date and competent. But take that grad RN 5 years into the futute and if they maintain their professional obligation to stay current and up to date they will still be far ahead in their knowledge base and thought processess than the LPN grad in 5 years as.... they (the grad RN) started out way ahead of the LP grad to begin with! Bottom line LPN's as a profession in whole (individuals aside) cannot currently function to the capacity and extent of Registered Nurses, (and why would they want to... I mean in that case they should have gone to RN school) News FLASH....... as the LPN course increases in scope and education so does the RN's scope and education increase. Yep oh yes it does....hence and case in point....On my unit alone management is already discussing RN's transering over the medical function of chest tube removal. Oh and the fun doesn't stop there. Hello that's an MD's job. But hey that's how it goes... MD's over burdened with work shove extra tasks over to RN's who overburdened with work shove extra tasks over to LPN's. And down the proverbial ladder we go untill unit aides are doing nursing assigned tasks. Get real , real quick...everyone is needed in our health care system and everyone has a job to do. So just do it and quit being so darn territorial Everyone! There will always be crappy nurses RN or LPN who cares, as the LPN's scope increases so does the RN's. Lah dee Dah. RN and proud, peace:smokin:

Standing up on a table with a fog horn...clicking my heels....hooting and yelling to the world that finally someone has worded it accurately. The exra training, or educating I prefer to call it, that would increase an LPN's scope is redundant, their role in general does not require it as...... that extra training is already being utilized in the RN program. Way ta go.... woohoo. Proud to be who I am, which just happens to be an RN! "Let's not get into the "you could do what I do with just a little more training". That "little more training" is the educational path that leads to being an RN. Therefore the point is moot"

A couple of minor changes to scope and practice and taking courses in the theory and education that goes along with those changes in scope and practice. :Melody: