notyetnurse

With all due respect is it your business? I understand standing up for patients and by all means reporting an impaired nurse who may well make a mistake and cause a person harm but truthfully, you've already approached your DON. several times as you say. To me, once should have been enough. You aren't the charge and you aren't the DON so why is it so concerning to you? Is there something else going on behind the scenes?

To all thank you so much for the input. I really have been questioning it and feeling bad but you are correct and the input solidifies my position to take this up the ranks if need be. At this point only the night shift has documented the fall and I have done no paperwork etc because I had already handed off the patient. I'll keep you updated on the results. Thank you again

@boomer thank you very much for your thoughtful and kind reply

And you are correct - there is no way a chair alarm would have gotten anyone to bedside quicker than a nurse that was already at bedside

Yes the oncoming nurse was in the room and says that the patient attempted to get up on her own and the nurse broke the fall. I have my doubts as to whether the pt attempted to get up vs the nurse attempted to move her but regardless

According to my facility "any unplanned descent to the ground" is considered a fall. So I guess if the patient plans to fall we are in the clear 😡

Agreed on both counts. I did make it very clear today that I will not be signing anything and that I will take this further up if necessary

Hello all, I have a question maybe you can offer some input. Even if you can't I need to vent a little to people who may understand. I'm a relatively new ICU nurse. I've been on the unit for about 2 month now, 5 weeks or so on my own. I have never had less than 2 patients. Several weeks ago I had a very confused patient fall while I was next door working on a spontaneous breathing trial for a vented patient. I was told it was my fault because I should have asked someone to watch the confused one any time I stepped away from his room. OK I accepted this and took responsibility. Fast forward to yesterday. I have a patient who is alert and oriented x 3. Orders are to get her out of bed and to bedside chair, commode, etc. I get her out of bed to the chair (with multiple BMs in the commode along the way). I look for a chair alarm - there are none - and I request it from our charge nurse. None can be located. Throughout the day we find 2 single alarms but utilize them for the 2 most confused patients on the floor. Come shift change - this is long I know please bare with me - I give report to the night nurse and let her know about the lack of chair alarm. I also explain to patient that myself and night nurse will pUT her back in bed shortly. 5 minutes later I'm documenting and night nurse calls me and says she was in the room, saw patient attempt to stand up, aND she lowered the patient to the ground. Charge nurses are made aware, director is made aware. No injury. Today I get in and am told that I am being held accountable for the fall because the patient was out of bed without a chair alarm which never should have happened . Finally the meat and potatoes - your opinions are requested. Was this my fault for allowing patient to remain in chair with no alarm? Does the fact that we didn't have alarms matter? Would this fall under my shift given that I'd already endorsed the patient? I should note that my employer is a huge corporation and that we are not provided sitters (not that an aox3 patient needs one), and we are unable to use restraint of any type except chemical if patient is agitated. Should I have left this patient in bed all day since we had no alarms? Moreover I pointed out today that the nurse being IN the room meant she was able to respond much faster than anyone would have upon hearing a chair alarm. No dice. I feel this is going to become an issue and it looks very bad considering my newness. Would appreciate feedback.

So I've spent the last couple nights looking for the best route in order to obtain a Family Nurse Practitioner degree. I currently hold an Associates in Nursing RN as well as a Bachelors in a completely unrelated field. Ideally I am looking to get my FNP (whether that be direct or an MSN in Education perhaps then bridge to FNP) but trying to find an ONLINE program that is affordable. I am currently a registered nurse in Miami, FL working at a hospital in the neuro-telly unit. Any thoughts? Am I asking for the world?? Thanks very much, Heather

Thank you to all, love the heart block poem and the website suggestion plus general input. Much appreciated!

Good morning all, Taking a very intense program to transition to the RN role in the next 6 weeks and a big part of this is EKG. We did cover some of this in school but not extensively and it may sound funny but I am having a hard time differing between P waves and T waves on the EKG. I see where the normal placement is for the P wave but sometimes they come early, etc and I often see P waves when there aren't any. Googling hasn't helped much. Any suggestions for distinguishing what the true p waves are?? Thanks, Heather

Sorry, I don't see anything wrong or rude about the email either. My LPN and RN programs were both at a Catholic hospital and perhaps that is why, but we were always subject to being inspected by faculty. In actuality, I find it hard to believe that the students were allowed to get away EVEN ONCE showing up out of uniform.

@ Vintagemother, exactly. It's the routine, the comfort of it all. I know it goes away eventually - LPN school took months to get over haha! but we were all very close. In this case, I will certainly miss the professors and the routine of having to study more than anything. It's so strange. Glad you are happy at your work place now :)

Well, I have been doing my research on this topic so I know I'm not the only one but just wanted to share that I will be graduating in less than 4 weeks now. Yes, it is supposed to be one of the happiest times of our lives and, yes, everyone I mention this to gets the same wide eyed happy expression as they congratulate me. And no, I don't understand fully why I don't feel so happy about this change. But I DO get the basics of it: Graduation from nursing school = leaving behind a year (or years) of routine, comfort and - at least in my case - caring professors who take an active interest in you as a person. I like studying, I like the shared experiences of clinicals and going through "firsts" with some of the other students, and I like being able to walk into any of my professors doors at a moments notice and just talk to them. Sure, I can still do these things after graduation - Ill probably be working at the hospital I am graduating from after all, but it's a different dynamic. There goes the routine, the certainty, the friendship, the... I don't know.. the whatever that special thing is that has made the past year what it has been. It may be me - I don't handle change very well. Goodbyes have never been my thing; that's one of the reasons I went into nursing, to get better at goodbyes. Ironic huh? Just wondering if anyone has been there, done that, bought the t-shirt? PS - I get that it's a great thing and I AM extremely proud and grateful. Just gonna miss some of this is all :)

Wanted to take a second and thank the folks who took their time to reply. In the end I did go up the ladder to HR - risky, yes, but in my mind I figured there wasn't much to lose. I made sure it wasn't a bashing session, simply told the person the facts and expressed what I'd heard from others. The person I spoke with seemed very interested in making the situation right and maybe something will come of it, maybe it wont, but at least I am sleeping better at night knowing that I've said my peace.

A little personal but I'll tell you this - I used to leave work at night (long before nursing was a thought in my head) and spend hours wondering if I did something wrong. Did u put the money bags away? Did I leave something valuable on the counter? Had I forgotten to do something? It was intense and only after talking with a therapist in years later did I realize that this was just a manifestation of some extreme form of anxiety. Don't misunderstand me please - nursing is one of the few jobs where it seems to make sense to leave and wonder because your actions can surely be life changing for a patient. But that being said, it shouldn't be your entire life. When you leave work you have to be able to mentally check out too or else you are never getting a break. And anxiety just build upon itself. My advice - try the therapy route and if you need some low dose anxiolytic go for it

Oh and OP if it makes a difference I don't know of anyone who didn't question their motives during the first (or first 10! !) Clinical. In my experience it takes quite some time before you feel like you belong there and maybe it doesn't happen ever in certain places. But it becomes more natural. As for your kids I bet all they see is their mom kicking ass and being a good example.

Check in with the school to be 100% but as a nursing school they should realize that not everyone had the series as kids (or maybe they did but don't have records) and will usually allow you to begin with just the first shot. Hep B is a three part series so if u take the first injection today, the second would be 1-2 mons and the last would be 6 mons from now. I highly doubt they'd make u wait 6 months

Just for the sake of argument, if you applied for a student position at the advice of your nursing dean and several teachers but was given the run around by one particular person in the HR department - who doesn't even work for your organization but rather a staffing agency somehow related- what would you do?* I've been fighting this since August, watching people all around me get placed on floor positions while I have been continually told that there is nothing available. Took the initiative finally and went up to introduce myself to the floor manager on a unit that has some openings and he really liked me and encouraged me to apply. Today I wrote an email to the same person in HR that's been giving me the runaround and was told that I cannot apply until I have my RN license but to try back when I do; pretty interesting considering that all of the recent hires are in my class - thus none of them have anything more than an LPN license like myself.* I don't know what to do at this point. I am not one to complain to higher ups but it feels like I've been backed into a corner and not given a fair shot. Please don't misunderstand - I realize that NO ONE is entitled to to a position however I do believe that all qualified candidates should be entitled to a fair shot. Somehow this person in HR just keeps blocking me.* Would you file a complaint to someone above him? I am concerned that it will just look like I'm upset over not getting a position. (If it makes any difference this guy has several complaints against him already, accusing him of hiring based on physical appearance vs qualification but that is not a road I'm willing to travel) I simply want the chance to prove myself as a newer nurse and really hate that my introduction has to begin so dramatically. I'm a good student and to be frank, the majority of our nursing faculty supported me and wants me to work there. I just can't fight this guy in HR. Any advice is appreciated. *

Thank you so much! I tried posting reply earlier but it didn't work. This info is helpful as I wasn't aware that dtap and forms of this were painful as well. As the day progressed I ended up giving a bunch of shots. Thus far I'm just trying to split to the less painful with the more painful ones, maybe I got lucky maybe not but most kids said the shots didn't really hurt them today; hope I was doing it right - lol!! I appreciate your help again. Really hoping ill be able to develop a system to remember the shots better soon. Like PCV/HPV/DT or TD in the left side and others in the right side. We always do PPDs on the left anyway where I work so... Heather

Hello new nurses and seasoned professionals alike! I am a new nurse, been in my clinic about 5 weeks now, and just starting peds. Was wondering if I could pick your brain about where you, personally, give vaccinations to your patients. It seems each of the nurses I've trained with has a different system and they assure me ill develop my own but I'd love to get a head start. My thoughts are giving vaccines to a baby or even older child is scary enough without second guessing where I put 8 needles (worst case scenario) With children of writing age I would think that PVC, VZV/mmr/mmrv, and HPV would go in non dominant arm side since those are more painful or uncomfortable as I understand it. For younger ones it makes sense to follow suit. Any suggestions for someone trying to gather their own system and to make memory recall easier? I've considered printing out pics of babies and kids and drawing a "game plan" ahead of time to chart right after. Any advice and or techniques for peds is much appreciated. Thanks! Heathwr

Good for you; arguing with an instructor is NOT an easy thing and it is only now that I am a working nurse that I am even starting to find my voice. The truth is, being new is equivalent to being unsure of ourselves and, as students, we are certainly both. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had been a student and been faced with the same situation. So again, good for you. Sounds like you're going to be a great nurse.

So a year after graduation, it looks like I'll be officially starting as a clinic nurse in a local branch of Community Health Clinics. My classmate and good friend started about 2 months ago and she is grateful for the job but totally overwhelmed. The training is awesome - about 6 weeks worth and there's some great benefits. Their mission is really nice too. After the 6 weeks, once you get to your individual outreach site, it's just you (the one LPN), a manager (title is LPN 2 but they are instructed NOT to help us for whatever reason), and a PCT plus the 3 doctors. So it's basically the one nurse to 3 doctors doing blood and lab work, etc. This part kind of scares me but being scared also makes me sort of feel like a big baby because I waited a long time for a *legitimate* job and feel like all new nurses are going to be overwhelmed. Besides, is 3 doctors to 1 LPN really that scary of a ratio once you know what you're doing? Oh, side note - starting Excelsior program in August... planning to ZOOM through it as quick as possible, and as quick as I can afford (new job pays very much on the low side at around $14 an hour). But who knows, maybe in 6-9 months I'll be an RN and will have a bit of clinical experience to match. Better than none, that's for sure. Until then, going to def need some anti-anxiety meds (really really low doses of course) to get through these first months... Goal is to look back at this post in a year and go, "Oh jeez, what the heck was I so afraid of?" Heather

Okay, sorry, venting and self-pitying a bit here. One year anniversary for LPN graduation is quickly approaching and still nothing. A stray interview here and there, but no call backs so to speak. And then, two weeks ago, a dear friend whom I went to school with (who also has zero experience) tells me she checked out this new facility that's hiring and how to go through the process. I went as did another of our classmates, also with zero experience. Flash forward, my friend got in and has been training for over a week. The other friend (whom I interviewed with on the same day) got called back already because they want him. I have heard nothing. No acceptance call, no rejection letter. Which leads me to think negatively and believe ultimately it will be the latter (but who wants to think that way)... I don't mean to be down, I really don't. I'm (relatively) young and healthy and have a *very* part time job right now which at least pays bills. But I'm not working in my career field that I worked so hard in school to achieve. I know this is the case for a lot of people. It just really bums me out that I seem to have been overlooked yet the other two of my classmates somehow shined. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. But it really makes me wonder about throwing another $10K down the drain to go on for an RN when I haven't even been working as an LPN yet! That's just kind of embarrassing.. Tell me there are others out there feeling this way...

Justbeachy, this agency calls themselves home health but they seem to have a mix of cases (all Medicare from what I saw) with some long term and some visits. I don't know what that means. Dragon heart I've never heard of state surveys - not surprising, haven't heard of many things yet :) but that's a good idea. Ill know for future to look them up or ask about them in advance. Good insight into what others think! St Claire I absolutely agree that it's the agency's responsibility to train and orient if they're going to hire. I can tell you without a doubt that if I'd had a full day's orientation with each patient and someone on call for emergency situations I would have felt fine with the situation. But putting a new grad who's had limited clinical exposure and doesn't have the evaluation skills developed yet is irresponsible on the agency's part and certainly would have been irresponsible on my part to have accepted the role. Salvador dolly, that's a good thread - thanks for pointing it out to me. I can also see the value of using many of those questions in an interview setting! Always grateful, Heather