TheMoonisMyLantern ADN, LPN, RN

I really agree with this. We can get very valuable information from other parties even if we can't release information. Now, sometimes it's a load of bull and the person is just trying to stir the pot but many times they provide a more complete picture to the story. This seems especially true in cases of suspected neglect, failure to thrive, mental capacity, etc.

I'll take as little or as much report as your want to give, but I prefer little, just hit the highlights cause I can look all the other crap up. Right now my facility is on a big kick about ted hose, and I could give a rat's behind when I first come in on my shift about knowing who has ted hose. But I better know because I got told off one morning for not knowing if suzie Q had her ted hose on and was told that next instance would be "reported" if I didn't pass it on. I just chuckled and told her to do what she felt she needed to do to keep the patients "safe". People get so wrapped up in certain details.

I think it's unusual to be so wrapped up in this relationship when it ended 2 years ago. Should he have been up front about being married? Yeah, he probably should have, but people keep secrets and it truly takes years of being with someone before really "knowing" them and even then you NEVER truly "know" somebody. But, isn't that water under the bridge? What's it matter now, it's over and he's getting married to someone else. It's one thing to reflect on our past relationships in order to learn and grow, but just from the window we get to peer through on this forum it seems as though you engrossed in this instead, which is neither helpful or healthy.

I'm not familiar with either of those schools, but what I would consider more than anything is the cost of school. Community colleges will generally give you pretty good bang for your buck. Private schools, in my opinion are really only worth it if the degree conferred is a BSN because usually private schools that have an ADN program are quite expensive. I don't think one education is superior to the other, I've worked with excellent nurses from all types of programs, just be careful with how much debt you get saddled with.

If you don't get paid for the extra time you've said you do then you are crazy to stay there. Just no way a unit manager position is paying well enough to justify 16 to 20 days without getting overtime. Why don't you work for an agency, a lot of nurses make pretty good money doing that. Corrections in my area pay out the nose but I know in some areas it doesn't pay well.

That is an excellent tactic. Some people you just can't please no matter what you do so don't even waste an iota of energy worrying if you could have changed the outcome, for some patients short of letting them snort the percocet off the bedside table you're not gonna make them happy. When patients have demands or desires that are not met it is not uncommon at all for them to start refusing care as a form of "that'll show them" kind of attitude. But hey it is their body, their health so if he wants to refuse his morphine, thats on him, not you.

When I did acute care and would come in at 11pm I would wake folks up for assessments, however usually that was when VS were due or often they had midnight meds so I would have woken them up anyway. I wad criticized a few times for waking people up to assess them by my co workers. I always figured if the patient declined the doctor wouldn't want to hear about how I didn't assess them because they were sleeping, just my opinion.

I think your mileage may vary depending on where you live. I bought a very cheap home that was actually quite nice for the price and am extremely glad I did. Having a mortgage payment that I don't dread paying because it won't leave me broke is worth not having a more desirable home. I do have friends that have an entire paycheck dedicated to their mortgage, and they're always picking up overtime and usually quite stressed. I think as a nurse you can have a home but I think it is wise to live below your means so that when times are bad you still have a roof over your head.

Does this rule only apply to narrative notes? On the floors the bulk of charting occurs within various assessment tabs/screens, will those be made available as well? How are hospitals making this available in real time, are there monitors put up in each room that has the notes populated for the patient to see? I'm trying not to be negative or judgmental about this. Everyone better make sure their liability and malpractice premiums are paid up. I don't think I would want to read my nursing notes if I was a patient, I don't want to read about the episode of explosive diarrhea I had, etc. I think for a lot of patients it's just unnecessary. Now obviously for more complicated patients I could understand how it would be more appealing.

Is this "supervisor" a charge nurse, preceptor, floor nurse, assistant manager? Does she actually have any type of managerial position? If not, then I would not hesitate to stand your ground when they try to dump on you and make you take a heavier assignment. I worked on a floor that did that to new hires, and sadly it was tolerated by management. A baptism by fire may be beneficial for some people, but for most I think it's a poor way to acclimate new people to a unit. Don't let these people roll over you either cut your losses or if you really want to stay, stick up for yourself.

I hadn't heard about this new rule. On one hand I have nothing to hide but people are such jerks you know there's a lot of people who will go over them with a fine toothed comb and critique everything mentioned and not mentioned. I'm fine with patients having access to their information but real time is a bit much.

A radiologist's interpretation doesn't provide context and ultimately the attending physician has to determine clinical relevance. I think results should be released with the ordering provider's comments providing context for what the radiologist saw. You are right, there are a disturbing amount of findings where follow up is recommended, and it flat out doesn't happen.

I can understand the temptation to snoop further at his girl but nothing positive will come of it. Any perceived successes she has posted will just lead you to continue to compare yourself and wonder what your deficiencies are. I understand the grief and anguish that can come with the end of a relationship and how it can rear its head even after a significant amount of time has past but allowing that anguish to effect your self esteem and life decisions isn't helpful. I think that your thought processes are being heavily influenced by the fact that you have a significant amount of work related stress as well as very poor sleep patterns, and that can certainly effect your ability to see things objectively. Maybe that's why you're feeling less than when compared to this girl. I think you have some major decisions to make in your life because it really sounds like you're stretched too thin; trying to be super nurse at work, working crazy hours, getting calls and texts all hours of the day and night, school, and then in the time you have left you're dwelling on this relationship that is over. Maybe seeing a therapist would just let you get a handle on things and add some perspective. If you don't have time during the day there are a LOT of online services that have availability almost 24/7. There are a couple where you can even communicate with a therapist via correspondence which since you're a very effective writer may be an option that would be better than nothing.

Considering the COL is higher where you're at compared to me I'd say 7 dollars is a steal! If you start shipping out nationwide for a subscription service you might be rolling in the green. Honestly though, I don't think people are getting COVID from the vending machine food, I'm no epidemiologist though. Our management thought that the ice machine was causing our COVID outbreaks, I can't remember what the reasoning was, it didn't really matter for us peons since it was a little late by the time they came to that conclusion.

Okay, so this has the potential to sound very strange. I have noticed that at work the past couple months when a co-worker slips their mask down for a moment to take a drink, eat, readjust the mask, etc. That from the nose they just look strange almost deformed and it seems to be with all of them even the folks I knew before the pandemic their faces just look off. I figures it's just becoming so ingrained to see the masks that seeing a full face is disarming. Is anyone else experiencing this? I really hope someone is that I'm not having a COVID psychotic break 😂

I think it really depends. Most schools are not really empathetic about medical problems that arise, your mileage may vary but I doubt they're going to be very accomodating. Recovering from back surgeries can be a bit more delicate than other types of surgeries, pushing yourself to the max or beyond what your physician or PT recommends can do serious long term damage and undermine the procedure you had. Because of this, I just don't see how you could participate in clinicals even if you were functioning in a "light duty" capacity without the potential of getting hurt there are simply too many variables and potential dangers in an acute care environment. A busted back can be career ending for a nurse. How urgent is this surgery? Are you in a great deal of pain? Do you have impairment in your mobility? What is the maximum amount of time you can post pone this surgery without risking further injury? A lot of back surgeries take a lot of time to even be approved by insurance so usually there's not a ton of urgency, but obviously this is between you and your surgeon. I honestly don't think there's a wrong or right decision here because either way you're going to face challenges! It's a really sucky situation, but I'm sure regardless of what you choose you will succeed! Good luck!

Absolutely. I know several people that started out in an RN program but changed to an LPN program due to grades, life, etc. LPN programs are typically more condensed and can actually be quite intense but people seem to find it a bit more straight forward. Taking this route doesn't make you less than or dumb or inferior or any of that nonsense. We all have to take different paths to complete our education and achieve our goals, and there's nothing wrong with that! I would caution you to choose your LPN program wisely, it has become common stance where some schools are charging ridiculous amounts of tuition for their LPN programs, don't be lured into that type of scam. Try to stick with community colleges or vocational schools for more reasonable tuition. Good luck!

I'm not an NP. However, most providers I've worked with would at the very least assess to make sure the patient wasn't in immediate danger and then refer to the appropriate service. I've also worked with providers that were squeamish at the thought of taking on more than their 6 inches of the body they specialize in. Given our litigious society I can appreciate that. I've had the situation occur where an issue with a patient arises and the attending is pointing fingers at another specialty and they're pointing fingers at another and so on and so forth and interventions get delayed due to the confusion of who is "responsible". I've also experienced this first hand as a patient, I had a problem arise that needed to be managed and my providers were kind of treating me like a hot potato. It was very frustrating, expensive, and for a period of time my quality of life was significantly effected until a provider finally decided it was within their purview to address. If I were a provider and I discovered a problem unrelated to their visit or the service I were providing, at the very least to do right by the patient, I would have to ensure they received proper follow up particularly if the matter were urgent. Ultimately you can only do so much legally and ethically, but I think it would be hard to just flat out ignore a significant abnormal finding that needed some sort of remedy or follow up.

I think shaming can go both ways. I think it is commendable of those who work hard to eat a healthy diet and I actually really enjoy hearing their stories and perspectives as well as their habits. I have witnessed healthy people be insulted over their habits which is just crazy.

Very true, part of being a "good nurse" is having a good poker face.

Lord knows we've probably ALL worked with a few nurses that despite being there to "help others" also presented as some pretty terrible people!

The more "functional" higher income non "underclass" have disgusting habits as well. Apathy, avarice, egomania. Except with their accumulated resources and influence their disgusting habits can effect all of society versus just one individual drown trodden person's health.

I don't think you should feel guilt for finding a job that doesn't wreak havoc on your mental health and personal life. I can relate to you in the sense that I've always enjoyed working with the less desirable patient populations homeless, mentally ill, substance users, elderly, ID/DD, forensics, etc., Mainly because I just felt like maybe that's where I could do the most good. Nursing is just an occupation, but the fact that it allows me to help make a person's life a little bit easier, comfortable, or better is very important to me. Realistically you can do this with any patient population regardless of their income or privilege , they still are deserving of high quality care and kindness.

Thanks for the info. It's obvious you have a lot of experience with this. It would make for an awesome article or thread discussion if you have the time and desire to share your wisdom.

Have these court cases been federal or state based? Where I live antiunion propaganda videos are shown during system orientation and company statements posted in breakrooms that under no uncertain terms threatens separation of employment if unionization attempts are made. There are no nursing unions statewide where I live, and what little union presence there is in other occupations boast an anemic influence at best. I say all this just because I just don't have confidence that us peons can make meaningful change without jeopardizing employment.