Cmenurse

I worked in a LTC where several staff members saw abuse by a CNA; it was reported to the DON and the administrator. We were told in staff meetings, repeatedly, that if you suspected abuse you were to report it to "the chain of command". For whatever reasons, the chain of command did nothing and finally someone called the state. During the state investigation the staff were castigated for not reporting the abuse to someone outside the facility, even though they had been told the administration was the one to do that! After that experience, I would report abuse anywhere I had good cause to believe it was happening. BTW-the CNA who molested the elderly is now in jail; the DON lost her license. The administrator who turned a blind eye and didn't want to believe what was going on is now working at another facility.

My husband has a baseline temp of 97.0. when he gets up to 99.0 it often turned out he had an ear infection or something like that.

Do a time-management study on actual nurses...focus on how much time they must waste on duplicate charting, getting food trays sent, emptying trash, changing beds...and DO SOMETHING about it. Most of us don't mind doing nursing work-we mind all the extra stuff that PREVENTS us from doing it. Also, I may be in a minority on this but I like 8-hour days, not 12 hours.

I work in Quality Mgmt entering incident reports-unbelievable how many intelligent nurses report patients were found "in the floor". Really? How deep were they?

Like Mommy19, I have found that what you keep OFF the wound-heat from briefs, pressure from sitting on it, poop and pee-are as important as what you put ON it. Is your gentleman bedbound? Keeping him turned is major. Decreases pain and pressure. try not to let him sit on it more than 15 minutes without changing position slightly (I know, no one has time for it but that is what works) And of course, nutrition. Is he eating or drinking enough protein to grow new skin? Mepilex, medipore, any good dressing that doesn't remove the skin when you take it off will keep the wound clean and catch the drainage. but it is the offloading and nutrition that really starts the healing. Hope that helps you some. Pressure sores on elderly people are a real challenge.

I probably sound jaded but looking back I think nursing school mainly taught me How To Pass the NCLEX. Work is where I learned how to be a nurse. I have learned more from working with and observing the really good nurses at my job and modeling after them than I ever, ever ever would have learned from our nursing instructors, many of whom had not worked in a hospital in years, if at all. In that vein, barely passing a test is not an indicator of how good a nurse you will be. If the question was unclear or poorly worded, that is not your fault. Take the points and keep going. Keep learning how to read the questions and look for what they are REALLY asking-nursing exams have some really oddball wording-I remember all the questions that would give a list of symptoms or indicators and then end with "the nurse knows that one of these is NOT what you're looking for...". And it is hard. Passing a nursing exam by a hair is an achievement to be proud of. You passed.