momangel29

I have a baby so I work Tuesday, Thursday and every Saturday and Sunday 8am-4:30.I usually run over on the weekends.I plan on keeping this schedule until she goes to kindergarten.It works much better for me than 12 hour hospital shifts.I see my family for dinner.

You cannot force your patient to take his meds even though you know it will do him a world of good so: Pull a chair up and sit down and listen to him. Let him do the talking. Call on your other disciplines to help you like the chaplain or social worker. Do what you can to get yourself destressed before you get there. Take a deep breath and count to ten!:roll

Why not come down to the Palm Beach area or the Treasure coast.Great weather and plenty of work.Lots of area hospitals to choose from.It used to be more seasonal,busy in winter,slow in summer,but not anymore.My hospital is cranking all year long.

I would definitely want to see change in the way we are treated.I would also like to see lower patient ratios and I would like to see nurses sticking together instead of tearing each other apart.I'm going to try to keep the rose colored glasses on now!

:uhoh21: Believe me it is not just this girl's hormones talking.The way we all have an idea of what nursing should be and then the way things are are a completely different picture. I myself work in a hospital setting and I am not happy with the way things are going.I see too much focus in technology and paperwork (computer work).It appears that none of us have time for our patients much less time to care about them.I understand the frustration.I also know me as just one person cannot change the system so I feel beaten by it.

Hi! I work in a hospital on a busy med-surg floor and I have been asking other coworkers if they like their job and if they are happy and I haven't gotten positive responses.I have been working there a year and a half and Ihave considered getting a different job but I won't leave this one until I have something secure(health insurance is an issue).That's why I cant work per diem. Any suggestions for a nonhospital job?

:) I like to know that I am not the only person in the world with thoughts and opinions about nursing.I like that I can feel free to express myself here.I think the latest news stories are interesting too.I don't have much time and before I know it a half hour has gone by or more!

Well we started the bar code scanning this week and anxiety was running high all over the hospital.I don't think it helps when people are nasty with each other. Pharmacy was going wacko.Right now we are all in a pit. The system itself is not hard to use.A few cliches here and there but nothing difficult.The time factor involved because we are still using the omnicell to get the meds out first is a problem.And the cosigning of insulin on the computer is also time consuming.We have quite a few diabetics and give alot of insulin. Well I must continue on.

We start the new system on June 1st so I will let you know how it goes.

Exactly.All you do all day is spin your wheels and you don't have time to even say how are you doing to your patients.I'm sure this is not how nursing was meant to be.

:uhoh21: No matter what I do I can tell you that it is never right for night shift.I have been working on my unit for a year and a half as a new RN and that saying nurses eat their young applies here.I can think I have done a good job and still come out of there crying.I get admissions at 6 or 630 and I get as much done as I possibly can and still there is always something to say.Most nights I leave at 830 at night.I am convinced that I must get thicker skin. :imbar

I still truly think that this will be tough to deal with.I work on an unrelenting floor that is fast paced.I average getting off from work an hour later as it is and I have certainly stayed alot longer than that. I know that I will do the best I can but you know it seems like no matter what you do there is always more that you can't do. And this is before the new system!

We won't be getting medcarts which is part of my point.We still have to take the meds out of a suremed first and then go scan.We will be doing double the work and I'm sure I will be home late every night.

At our hospital we are now instituting a bar code scanning system for meds that is linked to our computer system.We will have to get our meds out of the omnicell,suremed computer first anyway then scan all the meds and then scan the patient.If the patient is on isolation we will have to enter the meds in by hand.We will no longer have a paper m.a.r.We will have to enter everything by hand also if we give meds late because patient is off the floor we have to enter those by hand as well.This system is going to take so much longer.We hear that this is going to be Florida law so we don't have a choice but all the nursrse are up in arms about it.How much more time are we going to take away from our patients to spend on computers? :imbar

:uhoh21: Once every couple of months I might get to leave on time.the hospital isreally busy and there is just NOOO WAY!Iam trying harder though.

When you become a nurse working part time or full time ,your HEART has to be in it full time!Ever heard of a part time mother? No such thing! That is how it is in nursing! If you are going to make it you need to put your whole self into it. The best advice I could give you is don't concern yourself with your earning potential;people who go into nursing for a pay check burn out really quickly! I worked part time for years as an LPn and then I have been working for a year full time as an RN.So many things are open to you in nursing.Explore your options and decide to do what you like.I couldn't imagine being anything else but a nurse! Think carefully and work hard to make your dreams come true!

I am an LPN in the RN program currently and I have two little boys. I am not kidding you when I tell you that when I was in labor it wouldn't have mattered if you were an it instead of a male or female I would not have noticed! Do what you would like and be happy.

I am an LPN for two years currently in an RN program. I work in LTC and I have had family members call me the pill pusher and then ask me when I'm going to be a "trained Nurse". I try not to let this upset me and I work very hard. I love being an LPN but I want to do more things in healthcare so I am going on. I think anyone in nursing who has a "real heart" is the real nurse.

Let your heart guide you to nursing if that is your wish. Do it because you want to make a difference or because you love people.Think of all the benefits of helping others. I never regret being a nurse and I am furthering my nursing education right now. I wouldn't be anything else.Trust yourself to make the right decision for your life.

How would you like to work in a place where your total shift report given to you is everyone is okay. I work in LTC but I have patients with feeding tubes and a trache and some decubitus and these people require alot of care. Even the RN's are acting this way. A new patient came in and they tell me in report he's okay and I say who is he? I always have to dive into my charts. I am an LPN going to school for my RN. I like what I do I just wish there was more leadership in the facility. We have no evening supervisor and almost 200 patients in the building.Hope we all have better luck soon.

I work in long term care. I have thirty residents and do everthing you described. I have been working on one hallway unless I am needed elsewhere and have to float. What I wanted to say was I am quite happy working in long term care and I enjoy bringing smiles to people's faces. It seems to be the norm down here to have only one nurse and this many patients but you get used to juggling.

I have been an LPN for two years and I am now in RN school and I have always longed for more time with my patients. I work in long term care and I have thirty patients. By the time I do what needs to be done I have very little time for one on one care. If I see someone who needs a little extra attention I try to get back to give them some. I try to remeber that I am there to care for people, not to try to fix the broken computer or do miles and miles of paperwork.I wanted to help people feel better and it is hard to remain focused on the patients and not the crazy stuff that is in every facility.

I don't know how to get that out but I can tell you that I have had problems with granulex that you spray on people's heels so they don't break down.I have had to throw out three tops for this. I am definitely sympathetic.

It is very difficult with families when you have so many patients.I can be more empathic with a difficult patient but a family member who hounds me is another matter.They just do not understand all that we do. ------------------