CMALynzer

How in the heck did she get hired by these places? Wow, that's some scary stuff!

In my experience, the jobs of which I had accepted on the spot were bad places of employment. Either the administration treated staff poorly or work quality was poor. It's usually indicative of a place that is desperate for employees and has a high staff turn-over. Be careful about the places you accept offers from. Study up on the organization/company before applying and interviewing and ask questions at the interview. Networking is a great way to get aquainted with human resources and leads to more offers, and it also is a good way to learn about the organization/company. Good luck to you on your job search.

Thank you to all the positive support, it's nice to be able to talk somewhere and get good advice! :) It is sometimes hard to avoid all people I know here. I work in a very small town in the Iron Range of MN, so everyone here knows everyone lol. I try to avoid having to room someone very close to me, but in this case my family had requested I roomed because I knew the situation. But I never would have guessed that it would have come to all that. I think it was just a lot in one day. But I will try taking a few days off and maybe go spend some time with my girl friends. Thank you all again.

I would appreciate if this discussion would stick to how to separate work from home life and how to de-stress. Thank you.

That's just fine, i just get frustrated with the whole title argument. Please forgive me as well.

Lillymom: I will restate that, I work as a CMA in the nursing department. My nametag says my name followed by CA (because we all work together and both LPN and CMAs are called Clinical Assistants in the Job Title where I work) then after that it says Nursing. CMAs and LPNs work together and it is rude to think that CMAs or LPNs are above or below eachother. Where I work we have the same exact job duties and responsibilities. We have a great team here because predjucies like that are not present, we are equals. I have been through the LPN program but decided to instead go back and take CMA so that someday I can work in Lab or X-Ray if I ever get bored of "nursing". Please do not make personal attacks. Thank you.

It's only Tuesday, and already it has been the most stressful week I've had since I've became a nurse. Yesterday, it seemed like everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I work in a clinic as a CMA, I've been here for a year and a half. I've seen all sorts of things, but as any nurse can tell you, "there's never a boring day in nursing". I work part time here and I care for my Grandfather who has Alzheimer's disease at home full time. We are in the process of placing him in a Nursing Home because he has advanced to the point where he is unsafe in his home. He has sundowner's very badly and wanders and has become destructive and he doesn't know me or my Grandmother or his own home any more. Furthermore he has become extremely destructive and needs full cares. This is the hardest decision my family has ever had to make. He was supposed to be admitted in the nursing home yesterday. My grandmother called and left a message yesterday that his chest CT came back positive for Lung Cancer, and that also there were no open beds available at the nursing home and his admit was moved to next Monday. This was upsetting, but not a surprise as he was symptomatic for cancer and smoked for 50 years. As far as the nursing home went, I figured we'd be fine having him home another week. But things started to get real bad when in the afternoon my Great Aunt (my grandfather's sister) was brought in by her sisters to see my physician about recent disturbing behaviours and memory loss. She was seen and my physician came to me at the nurses desk and asked me to call the Crisis Team. I was shook up but did as I was told. To make a long story short she was transported to a Senior Behavioral Health Hospital for a 72 hour hold. I was so shook up from all this happening I went home, turned on Dancing with the Stars and had a drink. I had a very hard time waking up this morning. I suppse my body wants to shut down and rest, but I couldn't because I had to be back to work at 8 a.m. How do you deal with situations like that? How do you separate work from you personal life when they bleed together? I want to be like everyone else and go home and forget about work and vice versa... Any advice?

My response to this is "that's what the nursing assistants are for" Yes, I believe that nurses need to pick up the slack and help when it is needed. I have no problem giving a sponge bath and helping toilet patients when the nurse's aides are too busy, but it is true that our workloads are just as heavy. I appreciate my nursing assistants because they do the gruntwork that I don't have time always to do.

Most days, if you were to ask me I would say yes. I do enjoy knowing that in a small way I am helping others and making a difference in the world. But there are times when my answer would be no. I don't enjoy the lack of gratitude from anyone, not you boss, not the practicioner you work for, not your co-workers, and the least gratitude you get is mostly from the patients. I'm not asking for a medal or a pat on the back or anything...but a thanks would be nice once in a while. Kind words seem far and in-between anymore. Right now where I work I'm dealing with a lot of back-stabbing and smack talk and I'm getting blamed for things I have not done. I don't appreciate it in the least. I was very hurt today when I was called down to the supervisors office and all this was made aware to me. I feel as if I hate my job and I want to quit. But right now, (trying to be rash and not do something I would regret) I'm trying to remember the reason I became a nurse. I'm trying to remember that I want to help people and make a difference and save lives. Sometimes, this job can be very stressful and upsetting and you have to do that. If you forget the reason you chose this path, you will surely burn out and be very unhappy and maybe even quit the career path you had chosen.

I live in Northern MN and we always have snow in the winter, but this year has been especially bad. I've been snowed in 3 times this year and I've been in the ditch/snowbank more thimes than I can count trying to get to work in the morning. It's unfortunate that so many employers care less about our safety and weather conditions. I work in a clinic and not once have they closed due to the monstrous blizzards. Then I and one of my co-workers got written up for missing too many days of work due to the weather. I live 45 minutes away and when I'm snowed in or stuck in a snowbank...what am I supposed to do??? I can't walk there. It is frustrating.

One thing I'd like to mention also is that many piercings close quickly. I once had my tongue pierced, I took it out because after 3 years I had grown bored of it and it only took 4 hours for it to close. I'm too afraid to take my nose stud out because I know it will close before the end of the shift as well. I don't think the way a nurse looks should really affect her effectiveness in her work. If she is a good nurse who works hard and cares about her patients' care and safety, it shouldn't matter if she has ner nose pierced or a tattoo. I do agree that dangling jewlery should not be worn for your own safety. That's common sense. but studs should not be a problem.

:yeah:I completely agree with you 100% We all need tyo understand that this is a different time with different people, we don't live in the 1950s...

I don't know about all of that. First of all, you must not have young kids if you have time to do all that! lol Second: I agree with the fact that you should be clean, but if I just don't have time to do my hair, well then whatever, just so long as I'm clean. Everyone I work with and my patients take me just as seriously when my hair is in a pony and isn't perfectly falt-ironed and with my nose stud as they do everyone else or when I am perfectly trimmed up. I have never had a negative comment about my appearance. Third: The majority of people that watch the news are older. Fact is, most people in their 20's and 30's tend to be more interested in reality TV and MTV.

It is true that it is rare that a lawyer has a VISIBLE tattoo, but i'm willing to bet that some do have hidden tattoos. And there may be a day that we could have a president with a tattoo or piercing. Being professional is in the actions more than visual appearance. Plus...my tattoo is a baby cradled by it's own wings to represent my baby who had died. Why should I decide to hide something like that which is so personal to me just because it's not "professional"??? It's rude to judge people. Just sayin...

I totally get your point. I've had that happen to myself. I have learned the hard way that if you are offered the position on the spot or if they are too eager to get you in the door, then they are desparate and there is always a reason for desparation. It's a hard decision to make. I would take the job offered and if you get the other job offer, give your 2 weeks notice and start the other place. That's what I'd do anyways. Good luck to you in whatever you decide.