hipab4hands

. Our unit could be a great place to work, with the right people in control. We thought we might have that when they promoted one of "us" to middle management, but she seems to have forgotten the realities of bedside nursing in our unit and she can't resist the temptation to play favourites... or refrain from yelling at people in the middle of a busy unit full of consultants, parents and visitors. Sigh. That's the problem with our work unit. If management would just butt out and trust that we know how to do our jobs, this job could be paradise. Instead, we have a management team, who are so focused on how our productivity stats look on paper, they don't care about how it effects patient care or staff.

because the bean counters in administration decided that a patient load of 14 post op patients, with no unit clerks or cna's, was ok. i barely had time to see each patient once through out the shift-being able to sit and talk with patients/backrubs/ etc.,went out the window quickly. in addition to nursing duties, we had to pick up the extra duties that used to be performed by auxillary staff, since admin. got rid of them.:angryfire

It's a politically correct way to resign from a position. When a new employer ask why you left your former employer- you tell them "for better opportunities." It's a lot better than saying my workplace was a hellhole/my supervisor was a (fill in the blank)/ or other descriptions of what a horrible place it was to work. If you are honest why you left,then you come across as a disgruntled employee and employers will run for the hills, when you apply.

Yes, you can work as a nurse. If you are suseptible to URI's, you are going to get them no matter what line of work you do. What I've found over the years is that when I go to a new work site, I usually get sick within 1 month. My docs tell me is just exposure to a new set of germs that I don't have immunity to yet.

I had a 60 year old male hit me in the upper back and neck with his fist. He then hit my partner in the stomach. Management "justified" keeping him on the floor by stating he was "agitated", and refused to have him transfered off the unit. The sad thing is he underwent surgery a few days later, got a post op infection, and died several days later.

I'm unable to have children and I was very upset and angry, when I first learn this. I've worked in Pedi and enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed being able to be around the kids. A lot of times it was a relief when the kids did go home, because of the amount of energy it takes to take care of them. In my personal life, I get to be "auntie" to my neighbor's kids/ church kids and love spoiling them. I would have loved to have children of my own, but I feel blessed that I can still participate in a child's life.

Amen. As someone, who has worked at both Union and non Union facilities, I know the rhetoric that Admin. loves to spout to stop unionization. The first one is wages. Admin. always tells staff that they don't need unions to get good wages. Let's see, at my recent job interview, a non union facility offered me $10 an hour less then what I currently make at my Union facility. The second one is benefits. Sorry the non union facilities, can't even come close to what CNA has been able to negotiate at the Union facility. What usually happens is that Admin. is going to promise the moon to staff as long as they vote against the Union. Once the Union has been defeated, Admin. backs out of their promises, and there are no changes in wages/benefits. In some instances, there has been "give-backs", because Admin. will claim they are having financial problems and couldn't possibly give increases or will threaten to start laying off staff. I don't agree with everything that CNA does. However, I'm more than happy to pay $80 per month to get some of the best wages and benefits in the state.

Don't worry about forgetting previously taken material. I had a 10 year break from school, but was able to go back and pick up my nursing prereq without trouble. A 2-3 year break is not going to make much difference. I would encourage you to go get a CNA job, while you are waiting. If you are unable to stand dealing with bodily fluids, you'll find out quickly, and won't have wasted your time and money in an RN or LPN program. If you're only going to go into this job for the money only-- then, don't bother wasting your time. This is a very high stress and demanding field. For the most part, we are well paid, but no amount of money is going to make up for the high physical / mental demands/ high standards of performance that are put on us.

Keep calling around for a worker's comp attorney. If they don't call you back, then they don't need or want your business. You really do not want to deal with an attorney, who can't show you basic courtesy by returning your phone call. If they won't call you back, before you're an actually client, think about how they will treat as a client. There are enough attorneys out there today in need of work. If you are persistant enough, you'll find one. You might also want to expand your search and try an attorney that deals with labor law/employment issues.

Have you heard back yet from the Board? I put my paperwork in earlier this month and am trying to gauge how long of a wait I'm going to have.

LOL-no. you can give yourself cancer and COPD by taking smoking breaks and management looks the other way. Our management has their own little fifedom and makes up their own rules. I asked them to show me, where in the company policy and procedure manuel that states they can deduct my pay for giving myself an asthma tx. So far, they can't come up with anything in writing, but continue to say it's "policy". I'm on medical leave right now, and am going to be laid off at the end of the month, so right now, I just don't have the time or energy to pursue this furthur with this employer.

It's hard to provide positive feedback to someone, who absolutley will not try to make any improvements in thier diet/lifestyle/etc. My father is a prime example. He will not go to any diabetic education classes, will not do fingersticks/ will not follow a diabetic diet. He has seen what the disease did to my grandmother, who had a stroke and heart attack, due to non-compliance. Part of his non compliance is due to culture. He comes from a culture that emphasis "machismo" and he doesn't like being told what to do. He has been in the hospital numerous times, and has been "fired" by several doctors, because he will not comply. The docs have told him that they will be more than happy to see him again, once he decides he is going to do the needed changes. I can not make him or any of my other relatives "change", if they don't want to. I also will not feed into the co-dependency issues that are a part of my family. My father and other relatives have to take responsibility for thier actions/non-actions, and ultimately, they will pay for the consequences.

I had one gentleman call the 911 line and make an obscene phone call to me. He even invited me out for dinner and drinks after my shift ended. What he didn't realize is that the calls are recorded, and the phone number/address comes up on the computer screen. He was even kind enough to give me his first name.:roll Needless to say, by the time the call ended, several police units were at his home and he was arrested for making obscene phone calls.

I worked for a Police Department before becoming a nurse. We used to have one person with psych problems, who would walk a mile to the Police station, go into our lobby, and call 911, because his feet hurt from walking to the Police Dept. (he actually only wanted the ambulance to come out, so he could get a ride back home.) This person was so well known by the local fire/ambulance companies that they refused to transport him to the hospital anymore. If he had a non emergent complaint, he was told to have a family member transport him or call a cab.

Diabetes is like any other chronic health problem. You only have control to a certain degree, but diabetics can improve their quality of life. I come from a family of diabetics-grandparents, aunt, cousin, and father. I know that I'm high risk for getting this disease regardless of what I do. However, I've chosen to be proactive. I watch my weight and excercise. My relatives with this disease refuse to follow any diet/ lose weight/ or excercize. As a result, they are experiencing the complications of this disease-stroke/heart disease/eye problems/ etc, They are very well versed on what they need to do enhance their lives, but refuse. They have seen for themselves what has happened to our family members with this disease, who are non compliant You can not "make" someone comply. The patient, who is successful, is one is motivated to make changes.

Never, Never, would get them. I took care of one patient, who had a botched breast implant surgery and then had to have multiple surgeries to try and correct it. This poor woman had horrible, keloid scarring over her entire chest area by the time all the corrective surgeries were done. , I'm entirely comfortable with my body. I'm definately not "Playboy" material and never will be. I refuse to make a plastic surgeron rich, because men in our society are fixated on boobs and woman have been been brainwashed to think that our personal worth is connected with our bra size.

I would let the Veternarian know that his tech is using the term RN when identifying herself. Let the vet know that this carries a legal liability and the person identifying herself as such, could be brought up on charges by the State Nursing Board. I'll bet the person will go back to the correct title. I know this sounds petty, but this is the same problem we have with MA's and other non licensed personnel identifying themselves as "Nurses". It is a legal designation and does need to be protected.

Lord, give me strength (and a job!) I'm in a similiar situation. I'm being laid off after almost 8 years with the same employer. They told me that would help me to look for another job with one of their other facilities- that was 3 months ago and haven't had even one phone call from them. I'm a big believer in the old saying that when one door closes, another opens. I've decided that whose ever in charge of the universe wants me out of nursing for the time being and when the time is right, the correct job is going to be offered to me. Take care of yourself and I would encourage you to take a week or so off, before job hunting again. You'll go back refreshed and ready to take on the work world again.:icon_hug:

Some people just can't cut it....period. I'm with you. The nice part of nursing is that you can try different areas to find your niche, if thats what you really want to do. I've had to train MA's. I'm a good teacher and try to provide them with every opportunity to succeed. I've gone out of my way to help new hires "get it", so they can move on. However, there is always those one of two folks, who absolutely refuse to learn. I've had conferences ask them what I can do to make their training successful. For whatever reason(s), they decline any additonal help or tutoring. Unfortunately, they are also out of a job, once they are assigned and can't even do basic tasks.

It's medical information that anyone who goes into the room has access to. It's the equivalent of the old days, where patient's charts were left in the patient's room for anyone to browse through. I guess if the patient gives permission for this info to be displayed on the board, then it's not an issue. But, some patients may not want their visitors to know what meds they are getting.

I'd argue privacy violation (as in, advertising that this person is even on meds)[/qiuote] I'll second that. It's a Hipaa violation.

Age can be an issue, but no employer is going to admit it. I went on a job interview recently, where the hiring manager told me that she didn't think she could hire me, because their retirement plan wasn't very good and I was going to need a good retirement plan. I was so shocked that I couldn't even think of a response.

My CNA union dues are $80 per month. So that is about the going rate. As far as insurance is concern, I don't carry any. I really don't have any assets to go after anyway. When patients have threaten to sue in the past, I've told them if they want 100% of nothing, go ahead and try. No takers so far (evil grin)

The longest patient on our unit was 6 months. Pt. started out with spinal surgery, developed a wound infection, and was hospitalized. pt then picked up various noscomial infections/decubitus ulcers/ and psych issues. (No wonder after being in the hospital for so long). This patient was one of the most difficult persons I've had to deal with. Most of the nurses refused to take care of her because of her verbal abuse of staff. Some how, I was able to make a connection with her/ negotiated with her about tx times/ pain meds/ and had no problems with her.