AsatruRN

People in general can be so hateful. What if your colostomy bag was leaking? What if you had thyroid storm? I'd curtly ask her (him?) If she knows that lactating mothers are a federally protected class and wonder aloud if you'll need to go to HR for discrimination. If this becomes a problem go to your boss. They're required to let you go separate from a lunch break.

that's like my boyfriend who works in a pizza place: "go run to the other store and ask them for a dough patch" Or in the military: "I need you to go get me an ID10 - T form" Or also the military: "I need the keys to the hum V" (they don't use keys on military hummers)

I think the general anxiety should subside by six months on your own. One year should be enough that you're mentoring others and anticipating your day. You should be able to see complications that may come and prevent them. However every now and then you will either be unable to sleep or wake up in the middle of the night with something that you "forgot." My nurse managers have mostly told me that after 10 years of nursing you will stop "doing that to yourself." You will learn to tie up your loose ends, document, and basically really leave your shift at home. I've been a nurse for 6 years now - two jobs in two specialties so far. I feel that this is mostly how it works.

Wow...that was the norm when I worked in dialysis. Basically if the b/p was over a certain amount pre treatment we had to give PRN, and hold HD until b/p came down into range. During treatment same thing - it should trend down and we can give PRNs. Still high post treatment they're supposed to stay unless MD says it's OK to be discharged. As far as your AMA patient - if you called the doctor and left a message that is proof on your end that you attempted to contact the MD. Then the patient goes AMA...at that point I suspect the patient has to sign a form for AMA and you have to do some documentation of your own. You know - patient is encouraged to stay, high b/p, asymptomatic, left anyway. Were you supposed to continue calling the MD about this one patient for the rest of the night? The policy is not very specific. From what it says however - you are required to call unless "It's typical for the patient." From what you are telling me you followed policy. The hypertension is typical for the patient. Your nurse manager seems like she is jumping the gun for calling corporate. If I may ask is there bad blood between you guys? Incidents such as what you described happen all day every day for a Chronic HD unit. The doctor was probably angry with the patient because the MD has probably tried and tried until blue in the face to get this patient to comply - and is taking it out on the nurses. Did the doctor give a specific order to notify him or her about this patient's hypertension with specific parameters? I'm guessing not. We cannot keep the patients there against their will. The patient left AMA. Furthermore if no harm came to the patient it would be really hard to prove anything with their investigation. If the investigation concludes and you still work at that clinic I suggest you work with the regional management, your (evil) nurse manager, and the (evil) doctors to provide a unit based guideline or protocol so this doesn't happen again to you. A protocol with actual numbers. And next time page the silly MD like, every 5 minutes until he or she calls back If this fails you could get a job in any of the other thousands of outpatient HD clinics in half a second.

That's the thing! I mean - you never noticed that you pee and have sex in two different holes? Maybe it is our society being so harsh about young girls and women touching their EGAAAAD private parts. Because they're apparently "dirty." I can remember being very young - maybe 5 years old and wondering where does the pee come from. One day when I was peeing I put my hand down there to feel where it was coming from....and at that point I knew there were two holes. Of course I washed my hands by the way. I imagine the part that irks an RN so much is when you have to hear it 30 different ways every day. It can wear on you. You think "if people weren't so ignorant it would make my life so much easier." I imagine that if you can have sex you can know about the urethra vs. lady parts. Doesn't anybody masturbate? Was she not paying attention in health class? Srsly.

Apply to outpatient hemodialysis clinics. They'll hire you

I wish I could quadruple kudos this one because of the points proven. Especially the part about the cigarettes...and nurses disappearing to leave YOU to handle their crap. A patient's trust CERTAINLY can be betrayed with legal substances. Sneaking off to get a coffee or a bite to eat and then your patient codes. Is that nurse impaired? He or she is having a craving for a substance which happens to be legal. Having said that there is such a thing as responsible drug use. Especially MJ. Come on - the chemical compounds are fat soluable. Detectable in the body long after the effects have worn off. The only reason it's illegal is because of DuPont. They ran what amounts to propaganda ads in the early 1900s because they saw that hemp was/is a major competitor to their carpet fibers. Maybe I've got a soft spot because my parents, aunts, uncles - grew up in the 1960s and they're smoked a whole lot of ganja. AND GUESS WHAT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE. Totally not monsters. People need to actually question what goes on in legislature. I'm not in a position to quote but a few pages back it was mentioned that we don't question our rights being taken away when it doesn't directly apply to us. If we can examine what happened in a certain European country in the 1930s and 1940s NO NAMES we could learn something. Kind of an extreme example I am aware.

Yeah there wouldn't be very many children if that were the case :yeah:

I am such a tomboy - I didn't even know this existed! Nursing school is one thing but the clinic where I work will allow nail polish. I just wash my hands so much that it is chipped before an hour goes by. What is the point of that. I am going to find a local salon that offers this!

I am glad someone asked this. I am in the market for my BSN or MSN and I am looking for schools. U of Phoenix came to our clinic and did an inservice. The guy made a compelling argument that in Texas ALL clinicals that are required are done when we get an RN so everything would be didactic from here on out. However I can't shake my own discrimination. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned. When I'm on the internets I pay like 25% of my attention to facebook, allnurses, email, etc and I'm constantly clicking from tab to tab. Plus this guy who I work with went to online nursing school and he's terrible about infection control. He drew up saline from one patient's IV lines and was about to give it to another patient who sat next to her. (I work in a dialysis clinic and there's 20 patients sitting next to one another on the treatment floor) I was like...whoa wrong machine...and he really didn't know. He had no clue what he was doing and I had to in depth explain why that was wrong! Capillary action, etc etc, there could be viruses in the saline even though there's no blood etc. That is something you get in clinicals from the floor nurses and your instructors. If the online school is accredited and their after graduation hire rate is commendable then that is a completely different story. I would look at the resume of the person, and of course their accomplishments as well as what school they got their degree from. I wouldn't NOT hire them but I would hire someone from a brick and mortar school FIRST if accomplishments and resume were comparable.

"catheter exit site positive for gram positive cock site"

I do know that when machines are disinfected with bleach there are special reagent strips that must be verified no bleach prior to patients being connected. There were two eyewitnesses who saw her drawing up bleach and injecting it into bloodlines. The facility had higher than usual death rates. And after these incidents, investigations, and a staff overhaul it seems to have improved there. If bleach is accidentally given to a patient via a disinfected machine where reagent strips weren't used the reaction would be immediate, it wouldn't be halfway through a treatment now would it? Each time the machines or the bicarb loop is disinfected with bleach there are warning signs posted, and the RN must sign off that machines have been verified with reagent strips that all machines are clear of bleach before treatments start. PERIOD

I had a baby while working in dialysis. When I went back to work my fiancee quit his job while I went back to work full time. We didn't really get much sleep whatsoever, a new baby is pretty much up every 4 hours. There was relief when the baby started sleeping through the night but even that isn't that reliable and he is 18 months old now. I had to go on bedrest at 30 weeks because I couldn't seem to stay off my feet enough and I developed preeclampsia. I would suggest somebody should be able to stay at home with the baby and the other go to work full time. My OB/GYN expressed some concern that chemicals would harm the baby but he was under the impression that we still use formaldehyde to sterilze the dialyzers but that isn't the case anymore. I went through the entire MSDS and there is no harmful chemical in my facility. I hope this helps.

I had to start out like you, tearing down and setting up machines. After you go through these ropes you should be promoted to charge RN, and then you will begin to feel more like a nurse. It's good that they are giving you a strong foundation however because learning how to run a "pod" is valuable experience. If you find you don't like being a charge nurse however I would encourage you to actively apply elsewhere. You may become pigeonholed as a dialysis nurse after too long. I do not have a bachelor's degree either. Most hospitals strongly prefer BSNs however if you apply and rock your interview you will get another job. Best of Luck and hang in there!

I think the gown is necessary. The MRSA is in the wound only in theory. You don't know how many folks before you might have cross contaminated any surface in the room. Did your scrubs touch bed sheets, curtains, equipment, any other surface? So then when you left the room you are cross contaminating everything in the hallway - in theory. This is how we bring superbugs home to our families.