jett01

While it is never easy to confront someone in a situation like this it is important to do so. The behavior was inappropriate and was made even worse by the fact that the patient heard it. This is part of being a patient advocate. You want to make sure that you approach them away from patient care areas, keep your cool and focus on how their specific behaviors impacted you and the patient. For instance, you can say something like, "when you said..........I was shocked and so was the patient." "The patient expressed concern that they would not be cared for." You may want to take someone along if need be for support and if the response from the offending nurse is not appropriate then go to their manager. You will have earned some respect even if it may not appear that way at first. Good luck.

I was 39 at the start and very motivated to do well. Work hard and be confident. That will get you most of the way there. BTW, I was the only guy in my class.

Had another fella who had an order for a rectal tube prn with some parameters. He called me in and said he needed it. As I got some things together he rolled over like a little kid with a big grin on his face and said, "boy when they put this in down in the ER that baby cracked like a shotgun!"

One night shift had a patient roll out of bed onto the floor. There were three of us in there talking about the best way to get him back to bed. All the lights were on in the room. I step back from the fallen patient for a moment and the roomate tries to hand me his water pitcher and says, "Hey buddy could you get me some water?" When I responded that we had a guy down on the floor he looks over and says, "Oh, I didn't see him."

Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 with bedliner and tonneau cover bought new in 2002. Wife drives 2000 Ford Windstar purchased on ebay (saved over $4.000). Picked it up in Charlotte on way back from family vacation to Florida. Runs fine.

Ya wanna hear something funny? I've been asked to apply for a clinical manager position on my floor. It's a union environment too. When I say I've been asked to apply - they came to me, along with several of my coworkers. I'm trying to resist switching over to the dark side.

I get called often (but not harassed thank goodness) on my days off. I simply say no thanks and they move on. I will not run myself into the ground for an employer. Like they care. I look at it this way. There are many opportunities out there. Nursing is my career and I intend to continue with it as long as possible. My current position is only a job ... and if necessary it can be replaced.

BA in Behavioral Science (long ago). Graduated with ADN at age 40. Tough work, but a good move.

Unwind after work with the internet. Enjoy days off with my wife and soon to be 4 year old son adopted from Cambodia. When time permits I go hunting and play church softball. I'll also go out on the links occasionally and lose a few golf balls.

Med-surg/ortho floor since graduation 4 years ago. Trying to figure out where to go next to save my lower back.

Getting surgery now merely delays his goal of playing in college. Playing a contact sport competively (at a high level apparently) with a very unstable knee is an invitation to even more damage that might just completely kill his chances in the future. I tore my left ACL about 5-6 years ago. Heard the pop, limped around a little and never had it checked. I've been increasingly sedentary over the years and it didn't handicap me that much until I tried to play a sport again. The knee buckled within 15 minutes of my first church softball practice. Not an intense workout believe me. The result was a torn meniscus. MRI confirmed and also discoved the ACL tear. In fact, my ACL was totally gone-body just reabsorbed it. Doc told me that without the surgery I could live a sedentary lifestyle but would increase the likelihood of early arthritis. I will be able to play golf again this year, go turkey hunting up and down the steep mountain ridges and will (more importantly) be able to chase my son around the yard this summer. Will be post op 1 year in May. I've been lugging heavy orthopedic patients around for 12 hour shifts since Aug/Sept. Here's another thing. Post-op rehab takes about a year to complete for those returning to competition. The sooner he gets the surgery the sooner he's ready to go in college. Finally, the injury and a bulky brace will almost certainly affect/diminish his performance this year. The scouts will notice and they will notice the brace. They'll have questions. They may want to see medical reports. Unrepaired ACL/MCL/meniscus? Not worth a scholarship. Too much risk. Take the academic scholarship and show up at practice healthy and ready to impress.

You only have one license;you can always get another job.

If you can help it, don't bother doing a dressing change on a surgical patient until after the surgeon has rounded. If you do the change, the surgeon will be there in about 5 minutes to rip it off-almost guaranteed. Nursing care plans are not what drives patient care. There's no time to mess with them much anyway. You can't please everyone. Some days you can't please anyone. The saying that people don't care what you know until they know that you care is mostly true. Often the most significant things you do for people (and what they remember most later) is the "little things". Even on the worst days, what you do matters, a lot. You will change lives, including your own. You probably won't even realize it most of the time until someone tells you. Some of the best lessons you learn will come from people who don't even know that they're teaching you. Watch what others do, good and bad. Adopt the good. Going to the bathroom is less of an issue if you don't stop to eat or drink. There's a lot of healing in laughter if you use it appropriately. Stay away from the desk. The doctors with the worst handwriting complain the most when you call to clarify orders.

Here's a few. A few years back my mother was asking if we had seen the Julia Roberts movie "Sleeping with the enema?" I explained that sleeping and enemas don't go together. During nursing school we were discussing various disorders and the instructor began talking about chorea. I turned to a classmate and said, "if that occurs in your lower extremities would that be South chorea?" Occasionally I bump into former patients dressed (obviously) in street clothes. I've never been good at recognizing people outside a context I'm used to seeing them. My response to these patients is often, "I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you standing up with your clothes on."

$1.70 an hour where I work. How much extra per hour would make it worth it, really?