Hi! I hope it's okay to post this. ER and psych nurses may have some good input. My poor mom, age 77 with dementia is having visual and sensory hallucinations. I live on the opposite side of the country, so I'm getting this information from family. I...
I'm an RN and have worked in med surg for almost 21 years, although most of that time it was per diem and not a lot of hours. I have kids at home that do remote learning that still need me and I have been pondering for years now trying to find someth...
Hello! I have been a nurse for quite a while, over 19 years. My first couple years were in long term care and the rest in med surg. I only work about three 12 hour shifts a month (nights). I've had that schedule for the last decade in order to be ...
No,your problem is not unique! I worked in LTC for the first 2 1/2 years of my career and have worked in med-surg for the past 8 years. For the past 2 years, I have been working only 1,sometimes 2 nights a week, per diem. Anyway, I seldom have a nig...
I'm so sorry about your precious little baby. My first baby was stillborn 3 years ago. I know how it hurts. I was working in med-surg, though, so I didn't have to deal with the babies. I know that would have made it harder if I had. (((HUGS))) I...
Oh, my heart really goes out to you!!! (((HUGS))) Really, I could have written your post when I started doing clinicals in the fall of 1994. I had just turned 20 and my only experience with working with people was working at Taco Bell! The only diffe...
Hello there. My daughter was stillborn at 27 weeks. I was placed in an antepartum room. I heard no babies crying and no hollering moms. Our baby was sick and we knew she was going to die, so her dying was not a total surprise. Relatively speakin...
Grrrrr. This is one of my pet peeves! A nurse I used to work with who had been a nurse for over 40 years told me that back in the day, when a doctor came to the nurse's station, you were expected to give up your chair and run and get the doctor some ...
Hmmm. I guess it would be a toss up between a demented, combative patient with any diagnosis or the ETOH withdrawal patient. Or any patient that is constantly pouncing on the call light every other minute.
It sounds dumb, but always make sure your stethoscope is turned 'on' by tapping on it. I remember feeling so dumb when I told my nursing instructor that I couldn't hear anything and she told me I needed to turn the stethoscope head to the on positio...
Here are just a few that come to mind: 1. Antecubital heplocks. I know they're easy to put in, but they don't last! 2. Defective equipment 3. Visitors or patients that threaten to sue you for just about anything. 4. Day nurses who think that night n...
I remember the first time I placed a Foley. It was in my OB rotation and I think the lady had an epidural in, so she didn't feel a thing. The nurse was there and guided me. My first couple jobs were in LTC and for the longest time, I could NOT get...
Yes, I think you are being too hard on yourself. Even if below 80 is failing, you still managed to get 84% of your test correct! I think back to college when I took general chemistry. VERY hard class for me. We had a real hummer of a test and I remem...
My husband works in Newark, but we chose to live much, much further south. We live in Burlington county and it takes him an hour to get to work (works the night shift). We were able to find a 3 bedroom 1 bath house for under $240,000. It's one heck o...
Geez! Isn't it the truth that five minutes before you're ready to walk out the door, a patient will fall on the floor? I would always tell my patient, both in LTC and in the hospital, "You can't fall on the floor, it's too much paperwork". When I ...