nursemike ASN, RN

Rodeo Nursing (Neuro)

Member

All Content by nursemike

  1. nursemike

    Is it worth it?

    I'm still pretty new at this, and still have days when I wonder whether I made the right choice. My first six months or so were pretty rugged, and I spent a good deal of time wondering whether I was...
  2. One of the things they've done at my facility is to start classes so a few of our ancillary/support staff can train to become nurse's aides. So you can get a job as a housekeeper or dietary assistant...
  3. For sure, there are two sides to that coin. Then, too, even non-union employees have some recourse for wrongful terminations, although it sounds like a pretty big ordeal. It's bound to be easier to...
  4. You said a mouthful, there, Babe! Back in my carpenter days, when we ran a crew, my dad always said it only takes one guy to screw up a whole crew. It was true, then, and it's true in nursing. My...
  5. nursemike

    What's the truth?

    You may well be right, but I prefer to take what people say at face value. I generally take this approach at work, too--if someone wants to vent, I listen and nod sympathetically. If they ask for...
  6. nursemike

    Charting Bloopers

    I once had an aide point out that I had placed our entire six-bed epilepsy monitoring unit on suicide precautions (check box right above "seizure precautions"). Also transfered an off-service pt to...
  7. I agree with others that a transfer to a different unit might be preferable to resignation, if it's feasible. The climate can vary a great deal from one floor to another. At my facility, new...
  8. nursemike

    The fatting of America.

    Definitely. My "drive-thru diet" wasn't a bit helpful. And who has time to exercise, what with work, household chores, and surfing the internet for hours at a
  9. nursemike

    The fatting of America.

    Well, I have to admit, I've skipped a fair bit of this thread. Probably I should just keep skipping, but I feel I need to contribute something useful to the discussion. Years ago, I could lose weight...
  10. nursemike

    Do patients rarely catch a cold?

    Same here. I've only been a nurse ayear and a half, but I was in healthcare seven years before that. Other night I had a trach I thought might be developing pneumonia, but the doc said it might just...
  11. nursemike

    Sometimes I Miss Being a CNA

    While I was in school, I was encouraging a friend of mine--an aide--to get into nursing school. Many, many advantages for a young, single mom. Her big concern was that nurses don't spend time with...
  12. nursemike

    Phenergan IV changes in policy

    That is so cool--to see results that soon! Good for you and your manager. We've had a lot of education on phenergan, lately, too. We do give it IV, and I've never had a pt complain of it burning--I...
  13. nursemike

    Why are Newbies Such Whiners?

    25 yr carpenter, here. I didn't find this to be anywhere near universally true, though I certainly did see some of it. Well, the laughing at the next guy--yeah, that's pretty universal, but usually...
  14. nursemike

    Why are Newbies Such Whiners?

    I guess maybe I'm not entirely a newbie, since I have been allowed to orient some people--Ye Gods! Who's idea was THAT? But I'm still new enough that I can remember your situation pretty vividly....
  15. nursemike

    sexual harrassment

    It's a sometimes unfortunate, but nevertheless unavoidable fact that women are often, indeed usually, no match for most men in physical conflict. Even when approximately matched in size and weight,...
  16. nursemike

    sexual harrassment

    I don't think any attorney is going to consider a sexual harassment inservice an adequate remedy. If you can show, by a "preponderance of evidence" (not as stringent as "beyond a reasonable doubt")...
  17. nursemike

    dealing with perverted patients

    Been there, done some of that. As a male, I don't usually get sexually inappropriate remarks from male patients, and while female patients can occassionally be inappropriate, they aren't usually as...
  18. nursemike

    Do you feel more is expected of you...

    I find I get called for combative patients and heavy lifts, but I don't wait to be called if I know either situation is occuring. I have a lot of experience with pt transfers from my previous job, so...
  19. nursemike

    Posters that are not nurses

    I hope you enjoy your visits, and that they help you as much as they did when I was in school (all those many months ago...). I must admit, I haven't looked at the Terms of Service in awhile, but I...
  20. nursemike

    still overwhelmed

    Here, here! I sometimes feel like I'm running my butt off to do things that a year ago I didn't even know I needed to do. I'm not making myself sick with anxiety, so much, but I'm still nervous on...
  21. nursemike

    Careplans in your head?

    We use a sheet(actually several pages)that you just check off problems or potential problems, goals, and outcomes. Pretty convenient. Our Clinical Preceptor told me she lays out her notes on her...
  22. nursemike

    sexual harrassment

    Yes, this is certainly a police matter (in addition to the other remedies already mentioned.) Poking your breast against your will and other incidents you mentioned are not only sexual harassment, but...
  23. Had a patient ask me, awhile back, "Have you been doing my assessment last because I talk so much?" I told him, truthfully, that I had been alternating him with another fellow down the hall who also...
  24. nursemike

    Son of a bad patient

    My father, whom I dearly love, is in the hospital tonight, should come home this morning. Had a femoral artery stent, which I'm hoping will relieve some of his ischemic leg pain, improve his quality...
  25. nursemike

    Son of a bad patient

    Thanks for all the advice and support. Dad's home and fine and in a much better mood, and a little sleep did help my outlook, too. He wasn't demented--just very grumpy. I guess there's a good reason...