RyanCarolinaBoy

OP, sadly the situation you describe is all too common currently with the (never ending) Covid pandemic. I have been an ICU nurse many years and have seen and synthesized much knowledge over the years. This knowledge base came from a huge variety of settings and ICU teams. To be a new graduate in Covid pandemic is very narrow focused. I am seeing many new nurses who know nothing but how to run a vent and sedate/paralyze a patient, yet know very little of the fine assessment skills required for ongoing maintenance (not to mention good basic skin and oral cares). My advice to you would be to find another position. You have only been in this unit two months. You do not have the knowledge to define “emergency” yet under your belt to double a prop gtt rate. Saying “I’ve seen others do this” will do nothing when the facility gets petty and turns you into the BON. and yes that CAN happen. I am sorry this has been your experience. I have seen the mean girls club before thru the years. They leave me alone. I know my s*** and they know it, thus I have little issues. But he Covid pandemic is bringing out so much burnout in nurses. It’s a scary and sad time in ICU settings.

Law...this ole ADN versus BSN debate just keeps on raging, year after year. can I just reply that if you are going to use data to back your statements, please make sure it is peer reviewed articles. one thing about nursing “together we are stronger”. I have seen many great CNAs, LPNs, ADNs and BSNs in my years. I have learned something from many of individuals in each role. I would encourage you to rethink the attitude that BSN is superior in confidence. Competence is fluid and is determined by a multitude of factors. Having precepted new graduates with ADN and BSN, there is no difference in the clinical acute care arena. Neither is superior when starting as a new grad.

I would decide what route I wanted to go prior to spending the time, effort, and money in a masters degree. without a specific focus area, I wouldn’t think there is much value in a masters. The goal is to focus on your desired area of expertise and then become a subject matter expert/graduate in that field. good luck with whatever route you end up choosing.

Mandate vaccines. Save lives. End of story.

Well, I have personally worked in many different healthcare environments, both profit as well as not-for-profit back in my travel nurse days. I can attest to the fact that, in my experience, the for profit sector is literally that-FOR profit. Supplies, education, and staffing bare bones. in contrast, by and large, the not for profit sector seems to have more supplies, better (newer) equipment, and staffed better. Companies such as the largest for profit system in America love to boast of their commitment to outcomes and “excellence”. Yet when you dig deep, you find they are understaffed, and have a high proportion of new grads in their skill mix due to nurses moving on once they have gained experience. btw-that “robust” word sounds like a corporate HCA word. It gets tossed around frequently in the “for profit” world.

Considering the level of abuse that is present in elder care facilities, I think it is a great option to have a camera present. Honestly, if you are just doing your job-it shouldn’t bother you. If it’s my loved one, you can BET I’d have a happy little camera sitting right there to monitor how they are treated. I’ve seen some god awful situations come in from the local nursing homes to the hospital before. just a sign of the times-increased transparency. And if it keeps a loved one a little safer from the potential abuse subjected from nursing homes-I’m all for it.

Ummm...is there going to be an OPEN BOOK on the crash cart when you are the responding RN responsible to code a patient using the concepts covered on the exam? pardon my bluntness, but if you don’t plan to know the concepts inside and out, your certification is useless.

I have considered this issue from multiple angles again and again. Having worked in staffing (direct care) as well as leadership roles (manager/director), I fully support legislated action to FORCE mandated ratios. I have seen the evils for-profit healthcare can do to the bedside RN. Ratios are unheard of. As a manager, I vividly remember the shift in which I was in staffing with THREE acutely I’ll ICU patients (two vented and the third one who should have been). and sorry, the arguments about supplies be d****d. Cut the overhead and supplies will still find their way. Perhaps the senior leadership bonuses should be reduced instead.

No offense, but you are using research data cited from articles that are 20 years old. This information is not accurate in my opinion. Please find (and utilize) up to date research if you wish to be accurate. I find that as a man in nursing, you are probably not giving the most up to date statistics on this. I see lots of guy nurses around these days and I don’t hear any of this information you mention.

Short answer-NO. Working IMC does not qualify one to adequately train for CRNA school. Knowing vent management, sedation support, and gtt titrations are all key aspects taught at the ICU level that you simply don’t do/see on IMC-regardless of location.

When you say your personality was suited for non-management roles...please describe? As in not liking to “have” to be the voice of authority?

To those who of you who have served in formal leadership positions (nurse manager, clinical supervisor, etc) what was the breaking point or decision factors that led you to step back down into a staff RN role? was it one specific thing or a combination of events/items?

Agreed. Every facility I've ever worked runs NS with heparin gtts

The portion of this scenario that is unreasonable is the fact that the Board of Governor who is responsible for granting those requests to online or out of state schools is extremely slow and not motivated to grant those schools the ability to enroll NC students. I have talked to admission counselors at multiple colleges who state that NC is difficult to work with and not worth the red tape. I have been told That the compliance paperwork has been submitted for up to one year ago and they are simply being told that it takes time. That signals to me a board that simply would rather not do what is in the best interest of the studengs, but would simply delay the process. One cannot tell me that ALL of the programs that are online or out of state are subpar. I would rather live in a state that is flexible and attempts to work for their students by granting access to as many college choices as possible rather than one that seeks to force it's students to attend the state college university system simply due to lack of access.

The real problem is that The state of North Carolina does not see any revenue generated from schools outside of the state. So some years back they clamped down on schools outside the state under the guise of "the best interests" of students. It is a crock. Instead of granting nurses mobility options and increasing access to advanced degrees, it has severely limited options to residents of the state. One of many reasons my wife and I moved out of state. All of this hype about decreasing diploma mills is bull, it's simply a way to keep student dollars in state.