dawn30

I'm not the kind of parent who jumps in and tries to solve all of my daughters problems. She's in 10th grade and this is the first time I have felt the need to speak with a teacher. If this was the first time my daughter complained about her and something she's said that ticked me off, I would let me daughter handle it on her own but this is her second year with this woman and things are getting worse. I've contacted my daughters guidance counsler and made an appointment to speak with her and the instructor together. I'll let ya know what happens.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I do intend to speak with this insturctor. My daughter has recently been on the fence about becoming a nurse and I fear that this instructor is going to push her over. I'd hate for her to make the decision not to go into nursing because of one bad high school instructor who has issues. I'd also hate for her to have wasted 2 years of high school working toward a career that she ends up not going into. She is a straight A student. Her only issue is weekly clinicals with this one instructor. I'm going to give her a call and make an appointment to speak with her. I'll update everyone after and let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

I wrote this here to get some insight from MY peers. I'm a nurse too. I'm not just some schmoe who jumped on allnurses to complain about my daughters NURSING instructor. I thought I might get some helpful replies as to why some nurses like to see their young fail.

My daughter is a sophmore in high school. She is enrolled in the biomed. academy at her school and most of what she is learning is geared toward becoming a nurse. Her instructor is a retired nurse and takes great joy in making her students feel inadequate and afraid of becoming nurses. My daughter comes home from school several times a week upset to the point of wanting to drop out of this program. This week the instructor told her she is unteachable and that if she does manage to graduate nursing school and make it into the field, "We will weed you out!". This was while she was attempting to teach my daughters group to do blood pressures and my daughter couldn't hear the B/P. I showed her how to take a B/P and she has no problem with it now. I don't understand this womans way of thinking... Why would you attempt to frighten high school students out of entering a field that they want to be in. The kids in this program are coming out of Jr. High knowing what career they want to be in and working towards it all thru high school. When my daughter graduates from high school, she will have a AA in Science. These kids are ambitious and driven so why would a teacher try to derail them? Any suggestions on what I should say to this teacher/retired nurse when I speak to her?

Nursing is a thankless job. I have been working at my current job for nearly 2 years and I don't believe I've ever heard a "good Job" or you're going great from any of the administration. My fellow floor nurses, now that's a different story. We pat each other on the back often. Don't look at this write up as a black mark on you're work. Look at it as a learning experience. Honestly, I don't feel that the med error was your falt. The nurse who passed the med and the one who was supposed to do chart checks are really to blame but we all make mistakes and you won't make this one again. Don't fret over it.

Hey foley placement is not easy especially on women. don't beat yourself up over this. Everyone at one time or another has missed and placed the cath in the wrong "spot". think of it this way... 90% of the procedures you can do with your eyes closed, that doc wouldn't have a clue where to start. He also didn't seem to know the anatomy very well himself so don't take it personally. I always wanna kick myself after a confrentation like the one you had because I always think of something really snappy to say that would have been perfect ... about an hour later. Just let this one go but if there is a next time, take him aside and tell him exactly how he made you feel. :wink2:

When I was in nursing school, we did our peds clinical rotation in a pedi LTC. It was a very difficult place to work. Extremely sad. you will gain a lot of experience with trachs etc. and that is fantastic if you are planning to make a career of peds. However, be prepaired for some heart breaking days and nights. there's a lot of happiness too, as long as you can handle the saddness along with it. Good luck, I hope it works out for you. :)

It wasn't that long ago that I was in the same postion you are in right now. I too was terrified! The biggest tip I can give you is ... the only stupid question is the question you didn't ask because you thought it was a stupid question. The experienced nurses you're working with do not expect you to know everything and they will be willing to help you. If you're worried about a pt. bring in the other nurse on your floor and ask her opinion, then call the carge and ask her opinion. I was really afraid of calling docs when I first started. After a while, you get to know them and they get to know you (especially when working in LTC) It will get easier but trust me, every night you will drive home thinking, "Did I do this? Did I do that? " You will drive yourself nuts for the first few months, but when in doubt, always ask. Good luck to ya. Let us know how it goes. Dawn:up:

I had a cancer pt. with gas once who decided to let go while I was changing him. I gagged through it but finished the job. Some odors get to me much more than others but you do learn to deal with it... try mouth breathing and humming something under your breath.. usually helps me. And then when you're finished... do not think about it! You don't want any latent gags while doing something unrelated... LOL:imbar

Everywhere I've ever been and taken a drug test, they ask you to fill out a form with a list of all prescription drugs you are taking on it. If any of them come up on the test, they already know that you've listed it and only have to ask for verification of the prescription. I agree that your hipaa rights were violated but would also question why you weren't given a form to fill out to list any drugs prescription or otc that you may have been taking. Very odd indeed. After this clears, I would bring this up to your school DON and possibly a lawyer.

I've broken ribs during CPR before. It's a terrible feeling. And of course you cringe every time you have to do another compression after you know you've already broken at least one rib. Lucky for you, your pt lived. Unfortunately, the last one I had to do CPR on did not make it despite my best efforts and that of my fellow nurses who were helping with the code.

Most of the docs do listen to us. We are their eyes and ears after all. Very rarely do I have a doc argue with me over the phone or completely disregard what I'm saying. They know that we know our patients better than they do.

I found myself in a very similar situation when I started my job at the LTC I'm currently working in. I have been there for over a year now and finally seem to have earned the respect of the CNA's. I was a newbie fresh out of school and this was my first job. The aides are predomanatly black and some, not all of them have the attitude that you described. In the begining, I had a LOT of trouble getting them to do anything I asked or even to just do their job. I am not the type of person who likes confrontation and was also a little uncomfortable being the one in charge. My DON however, is a barraccuda. She sat me down and explained to me that if I was going to continue to work in this facility, that I had to learn to manage my CNA's. First thing I did after this was try to get to know my aides. Ask them questions about themselves, family, life, future and offer some info about me, my family background etc. Sometimes and fortunately in my case, once my aides realized that I was intersted in them as people not just butt wipers as they called themselves, they were much more willing to work with me. I also showed them that I was not afraid to or above getting my hands dirty. When I have the time and they are short handed, I jump right in there and help out with meal passes, feeding and changing residents. I also had to write up two very outspoken aides at seperate times. They didn't like it and they let it be known to everyone within ear shot, but I let them know that it was nothing personal and explained to them why they got the write up and that if they didn't do it again they wouldn't get another. However, if they continued what they did to get the write up in the first place, I'd do it again. There was tension for a little while but when I didn't change my behavior toward them and continued to do everything I was doing before, it blew over. Just keep trying with your aides. Earn and keep their respect and stay firm when you need a task done. If they give you a hard time, remind them that you are only asking them to do their job. (sorry for the long winded answer) Good luck Dawn

I agree that the media should be tipped off to this little game. I'd write a letter to my local newspaper and make sure every news station in the country got a copy of it. It is outragous to treat anyone that way. What happened to the right to rectract the DNR. In my facility, we have many patients who are DNR's but, we also get orders to DNI and DNH (do not intubate, do not hospitalize) these orders are usually made by the family and doc of a long suffering patient who is obviously not long for this world. It still does not mean that if they have a common cold we do not give them something to relieve their symptoms to make them more comfortable. A hospital refusing to treat any patient is unbelieveable. Start writing those letters!!

The nurse responsible for this patient (not the student) should have been checking on her throughout her shift to make sure that the student was doing everything correctly. That nurse is ultimately responsible for this patient even when a student has her for the day. She/he should have known exactly what was going on with this patient. Also, the instructor should have been monitoring his/her student and been with that student during the med pass etc. I hope that when you discovered your patient in that saturated condition with such a low bp that you immediately informed the oncoming nurse who should have gone directly to the unit mgr. or DON so that they could inform the instructor of that school before they return to your facility. When I was in nursing school, the instructor had a conference with the mgr. of the unit we were working on before and after each clinical we had and the mgr. also had her cell number so that she could call her if anything amiss was discovered after we left. Feedback from the facility is very important to the instructor because he/she only has two eyes and can't always be on top of everyone of the students. More importantly, your patients need proper care given to them and if a student isn't capable of giving proper care, the instructor needs to know as well as the nurse responsible for the patient. If you feel that a student isn't taking care of your patient properly or is causing or potentially causing harm, the nurse can request that the student be removed either from caring for that patient or from the clinical. (Sorry that was so long winded)

I too was terrible at math my whole life. Dosage calcs scared me to death. I was so scared that when I started the class, I psyched myself out so much that I failed the first few tests!! So I bought the book dosage calculations made incredibly easy from the nursing made incredibly easy series. I sat at home and used that book every night and did my home work with it and it helped more than I could have imagined. After reading the book, the formula just clicked in my head and I realized how easy this math was. Don't psych yourself out. If I can do math... anyone can!

That's not something that you'll ever get used to. And... if you do, it's time to change your line of work. You'll always be affected by codes. Even elderly codes still get to me. Peds are worse but they all have an impact on you. Part of being a nurse is having empathy not only for the patient but also the family... and sometimes that means sitting in your car on your lunch break and crying your heart out for them then going back in there and treating your next one as well as you treated the last. Hang in there.

wow does this bring back memories!! Sounds a lot like something that happened to me in nursing school. my question tho... how come they were going to offer a refresher for the calculations but not the pharm? and why did you have to pass the pharm test in order to do your final clinical? that would almost make the pharm test an exit exam and you should have had way more time to study for that. what my class and i would do in a situation like yours is... have a group of students who feel the same as you on this go to your instructor or director and explain to him/her why you feel this is unfair explain that you had very little notice of this test and are also in the middle of studing for your exams... sometimes (not always tho) your insturctor will be sympathetic and make some changes. especially if they didn't realize how much they were actually loading on you all at once. don't give up. go up the chain of command if you feel that this was really unfair.

Just to clarify a few things... i was not the only witness to this. several aides saw what happened from begining to end and one even told me that the man had been at the nurses station most of the day asking for his tube to be changed. I guess what has me taking this residents side as opposed to the supers is that i have worked with her for more than a year and have seen her way over react in many situations. she gets extremely stressed over very mild situations (having more than one admission per shift, two call outs etc) when she is stressed she runs around the buliding yelling at everyone who gets in her path. I'm not saying that the man was not getting any air but if you've ever felt like your airway was obstructed you panic. this trach is also new for him. he was in a serious accident that damaged his throat. he's scared and nervous. i'm mostly angry with the unit nurse who didn't do anything after being told by me twice that the man needed his tube changed. the situation never should have gotten to that point. as for me telling the police officer that the man was no threat at that point... i guess you just had to be there. if the officer disagreed with me he would have taken action. as it was, i took the man to my unit and had him sit in a chair until his transportation arrived. i could see him at all times and our male behavior monitor stayed with him. i'm sorry if i didn't give enough info this morning when i first typed this but it was 1am and i had just finished the shift and was begining to see double

I work in an LTC that has 3 units. 2 units are connected and one is a locked unit. tonight while doing my med pass, i heard yelling coming from the other unit and see the nursing supervisor go flying by the opening between the 2 hallways w/ a resident on her heels. I heard her yelling " you assulted me" so i immediately went to the unit to see if she needed help. (we have very few men working in the facility so all available nurses respond when there is a problem) when i reach the nurses station, the unit nurse(agency) is sitting behind the desk looking like a scared cat and the super is on the phone w/ the police. the resident is standing at the desk holding a replacement trach tube package in his hand and gesturing wildly at the super. I asked the unit nurse what happened and she said he hit the super. the supervisor then yells GET HIM AWAY FROM ME so i escorted the resident to the lounge and got him to sit down. when i got him calm enough that he could talk to me he stated i can't breath and need my tube changed. (he's not on o2 just has the tube in his trach) i go to the unit nurse and tell her he needs his tube changed. she doesn't move. i check the resident and again go to the unit nurse and tell her he needs his tube changed NOW.... still, she doesn't move. I grab gloves off her cart, take the replacement tube from his hand and change it. The old tube was extremely dirty. he instantly calms down and begins to apologize saying he just couldn't breath. he explained that he had been asking to have the tube changed for hours and they kept ignoring him, walking past him etc.. the last time he stuck his arm out to stop the super and that's when she said he assulted her. the police arrived and so did the assistant administrator. i explained to the officer that the resident was not a threat to anyone and was completely calm now. the administrator said we still had to send him to the crisis center as per protocol. the super had to be sent home early because she was crying and SOO upset!! i gave the administrator a written statement of everything i saw heard said and did. there is now a strong possibility that this poor man will not be allowed to come back to our facility becuse the super says he assulted her. I am furious at the super and the unit nurse. why didn't anyone take the two seconds and change the poor mans tube??? any opinions?

Graduated 2006 we were capped, pinned and had lamps. Our RN grads wore lab coats and didn't have lamps or caps. However, they were each handed a white rose and the LPN's only got pink carnations.

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. I'm starting to relax a little. My D.O.N. is going to get try to get consent from the resident on Monday for lab. She's AAO and knows I got stuck so she will probably consent. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my weekend and not think about it... much. Thanks again to everyone.

Tonight I was nearly done my med pass in the LTC I work in. I was giving my last resident her insulin injection and after finishing I was engaging the saftey guard when it stuck and my hand slipped and I poked myself in the finger.:trout: It bled right away and I squeezed as much blood out of it as I could get then washed my hands with soap and water right away, cleaned it with alcohol then reported to my supervisor. Because I work the 3-11 shift, I have to wait until MONDAY to get a script from the facilitys' Dr. so that I can get blood work done. I know this pt. pretty well and none of her DX are blood borne but I'm still nervous.:uhoh21: I have been a nurse for exactly 1 year and 2 weeks and this is my first incident! I'm just wondering if I should be worried or if I'm getting myself upset over nothing. I have a huge knot in my gut right now. I hate waiting.

I work in an LTC in south Jersey and we DO borrow meds from other patients when we need one. Most of the residents who are in my facility are on psych meds and MUST have their meds. We only borrow from a resident on the same med who has enough of that med that one dose will not be missed. We must fill out a borrowed medication form and fax it to the pharm. and also give a copy of it to the D.O.N. A lot of the times that we need to borrow is when we have a new admission who comes in on the 3-11 shift and we know we won't be getting his/her meds until the morning when the pharm delivers again. This new resident needs pain meds or psych meds or anti seizure meds. We can't let this resident go without, so of course we borrow for them. I don't see this practice as lazy at all. I see it as doing what I can to make sure that ALL of my residents have the medication that they need when they need it. The resident borrowed from is NEVER shorted meds. When the pharm gets the borrowed med fax, the reimburse the resident borrowed from.

Wow...absolutely get a restraining order. She had made terroristic threats against you that absoultely warrants a protection order. Also, security should be escorting you to and from your vehicle when you are teaching. Take those threats very seriously and protect yourself! Take care and let us know if anything happens. Good luck!