Plasticgloworm

Thank you all so much, you've helped alleviate my guilt about calling off. Plus, within the last seven hours it's started hurting like a ***** and I can just see myself crying trying to lift someone. I do agree that nothing is more important than my health, and if anything, you guys have shown me that if your gut doesn't agree, don't go with it. much love

Thanks for all your help guys! I

Oh, and by the way, the stitches are still oozing. Not sure if that makes a whole lot of difference, but I guess at the end of the day it really doesn't matter since I already called off.

I work in an assisted living home, we don't have any medical supplies like tegaderm or the like. Plus they say to keep your stitches dry for the first 24 hrs, and not to scrub your hands, just rinse them under water. I'm fairly ocd about hand washing.. ARRGG! I have such a guilt complex whenever I call off work. Thanks for your reply though, Flare. I appreciate it.

Hello everyone! Yesterday was a very exciting day for me, I have a lovely head cold and was trying to do the dishes. I let out a massive sneeze and shattered a glass cup in the sink, giving myself a nasty 2 inch and fairly deep laceration on my finger. Luckily my sister's significant other is an ER doc, and came over to sew me up. (no lidocaine, by the way. Yeah I know, pretty much made me feel like a bada**). Anyway, I ended up calling into work today because I was paranoid about infection and the like, and I was afraid that all of the heavy lifting could potentially tear the sutures. (I only had 3). Well jeff said it would be fine to go to work, and my supervisor stated that "you wear gloves at work, so I don't see the big deal". I work in an assisted living home where hand washing areas are pitiful, and the amount of bodily fluids I deal with on a day to day basis is of epic proportions. So has anyone gone to work with finger sutures? Called off because of it? I'm just feeling really guilty about calling off, and wondering if I did the right thing. Thanks so much everyone, love you all! - Rachel

Thanks everybody for your advice and most importantly, your words of encouragement!! It really appreciate all of your help, and I'm going to stay focused and do my best.

I found the flashcards that were recommended, and hopefully they will help. I've just been studying as much as I can, hoping the material will stick. By the way, my professor likes to remind us all that this is a short semester class, and we have very little time to waste, and then he goes on a 15 minute rant about how drinking cow's milk is horrible and it is the reason that all of the children are fat. Everyone was rolling their eyes, but it seems like once he gets himself going, he just can't stop.

My class is 6 and 1/2 weeks long. My thing is trying to figure out how to study. It seems like quite a bit to retain in the short amount of time that I have. I am fully committed to this class, I'm just trying to figure out the best way to study. Any tips? -Rachel

Thanks! :-) I'm not going to drop this class, for sure. It's just daunting because it's so fast paced.

Hello all! Because taking a summer semester of A&P I will help me save a year getting into the program, I decided to be gung-ho so that I could take II in the fall. I'm already regretting my decision, but trying to give myself the positive encouragement that I can do well in the class. My professor is about 80 years old, and absolutely insane. He gave us two tests on our first day of class!! Because it is a short semester class, we have lecture and lab monday and wednesday. Lecture is from 8:30 am to 11:25, and lab is from 12pm to 3pm. I work everyday that I'm not in class. To make a long story short, the first thing my professor said to us is, "When people take this class, I tell them 'if you're married, get a divorce. If you have children, sell them to a circus. If you have a job, quit. Because your whole life will be devoted to this class, or you will fail.' " Lovely! Just looking for a little bit of encouragement, because I'm trying to tell myself, "Can I do this? Yes I can!!" :-) Thanks

amyrose, I completely understand where you're coming from. Many people are intimidated by those of us who have a solid knowledge base, and prefer to think instead of just do. Critical thinking skills are a part of every healthcare job, and if I don't feel comfortable with a certain order, I think about it, look up that patients history, and call the doctor if need be. I'm sure they think i'm a know-it-all too, but we just do the best that we can, knowing that we're doing the right thing.

That's what I asked when the hospice nurse brought it, and she told us to keep it in the narc box with the rest of the narcs. I was under the impression that it had to be refrigerated as well.

Thank you all so much. As I continue to look for a new job, I will document every infraction that I see. I'm not sure going up the chain of command will help, but I will definitely try it. Thanks, you are all awesome :-).

I appreciate your input, it means a lot to me. Unfortunately, the company I work with is rotten to the core. The area supervisor hangs out with my area supervisor on a regular basis. They have created a "paper trail" on me, by writing me up for trivial things, such as not signing for one service for one patient in one day, and I feel like they are trying to get me fired. It hurts, because I am intelligent, confident, and good at my job. Do you think that making an incident report for every time my supervisor makes a harmful mistake will help? Should I send it higher up to corporate, above my area supervisor? Any input helps. I looked up lateral violence, and it really does apply to me. I might be able to use this for my advantage. Thank you.

I had a patient that was born in 1909. He only passed a couple of weeks ago. Whenever I asked him to transfer to the W/C, he would say, "get in the buggy?!". I finally asked him, "when did you get your first car?" "1922". "what kind of car was it?" "A ford. Had to crank it up!". "How did you get around before your car?" "Horse and buggy!!!" Warms my heart to this day. I still think of him and the things he said, and I miss him like my own family.

I currently work in an ALF, usually passing meds but occasionally on the floor. I am very good at my job because I care about my job. If I'm not sure about a medication, I look it up. I want to know what my patients are receiving, possible side effects, ect. The supervisor I am currently under is completely inept, rude, and unprofessional. She should not be passing medications; it is a safety issue. In the last week alone, she has made 3 med errors. We have a woman on hospice, who has most of her meds in liquid form. Well super-supervisor didn't check because she's lazy and doesn't take her time, and the patient received ativan instead of methadose two :eek:days in a row. She completely forgot to give a patient her AM meds, and she gave a medication (tylenol 3) that had been D/C'd for a week because she didn't look at the MAR before she administered the drug. She refuses to admit any time she makes a mistake, and she wrote my fellow hard worker up for not (!) pulling the tylenol 3 from the day cart as well as the afternoon cart. She also tried to pass it off as she punched the med, but did not give it because she saw that it was D/C'd. She's rude to the residents, rude to her coworkers, and it really starts to get to me sometimes. I love my job, but the workplace is becoming very hostile. I'm trying to find a new job, even though i'll hate to leave all my residents (especially when there are unlicensed individuals passing meds that have no idea what they're doing), but I need to do the best thing for myself. Anyone else work in a hostile environment? Thanks for the chance to vent, everyone

I currently work in an ALH, usually passing meds but occasionally on the floor. I am very good at my job because I care about my job. If I'm not sure about a medication, I look it up. I want to know what my patients are receiving, possible side effects, ect. The supervisor I am currently under is completely inept, rude, and unprofessional. She should not be passing medications; it is a safety issue. In the last week alone, she has made 3 med errors. We have a woman on hospice, who has most of her meds in liquid form. Well super-supervisor didn't check because she's lazy and doesn't take her time, and the patient received ativan instead of methadose two :eek:days in a row. She completely forgot to give a patient her AM meds, and she gave a medication (tylenol 3) that had been D/C'd for a week because she didn't look at the MAR before she administered the drug. She refuses to admit any time she makes a mistake, and she wrote my fellow hard worker up for not (!) pulling the tylenol 3 from the day cart as well as the afternoon cart. She also tried to pass it off as she punched the med, but did not give it because she saw that it was D/C'd. She's rude to the residents, rude to her coworkers, and it really starts to get to me sometimes. I love my job, but the workplace is becoming very hostile. I'm trying to find a new job, even though i'll hate to leave all my residents (especially when there are unlicensed individuals passing meds that have no idea what they're doing), but I need to do the best thing for myself. Anyone else work in a hostile environment? Thanks for the chance to vent, everyone

There are many hardworking NAs in the industry. I don't think it's fair to say whether or not an individuals situation that you have no personal involvement in is valid or not. Your assumption is an insult to hard working support staff everywhere.

I'm glad you appreciated my story. :). I think this was a really great thread, and it's nice to hear people's positive experiences about the field. I enjoy a b**** session as much as anyone else, but it's good to hear a heart warmer every once in a while. I'll definitely split a box of kleenex with you, especially after all of these great stories!

Several years ago I worked float at a small hospital. When I was in acute care, I met a patient who had just had a massive stroke. Even though she couldn't move or even talk, you could see a bitter, angry look in her eyes. This woman had the most amazing husband, and he always seemed to be by her side. It seems like every unit she transferred to, I was taking care of her. She went from ICU to telemetry, and then was on a general floor. She kept getting better, her speech was slow and labored and she still couldn't walk. She was prone to bouts of anger, swearing and spitting, and she frequently told her husband how she hated him and wanted to die. He would look at her and say "Honey, I love you with all my heart. We're going to get through this, but I won't let you give up." Several months had gone by, and one day when I was working in the rehab unit, lo and behold, this patient was on my roster. It was her husband's birthday that day, and when he came in to visit her, she smiled. She grabbed her walker, stood up, and sang happy birthday to him as she walked across the floor in her room. Her husband started crying, and I started crying. It was a beautiful thing to see, and it still brings tears to my eyes to this day. -Rachel