ICUsleep

Alisha, So sorry to hear about that....not about the panic attack (it happens), but about the ridiculous treatment you are receiving from people who are supposed to be educated NURSES. Without knowing the details, it's hard to say if you were in any violation..i.e., not on a med when you should be, or failure to declare a history of panic disorder if required by your school, etc. It certainly does NOT sound like you put anyone's "life in danger"....sheesh...poor thing, I know you must've felt that your life was in danger during the attack, and now it seems that you are under attack personally by your school. Please seek legal counsel, this is a form of discrimination....also, please see someone for treatment (therapy, prescription meds, etc.) so that you won't have to worry about having another attack that is so bad it interferes with your life. Good luck, ICUSleep :) ...panicker for almost 10 years now, but living my life and doing well with clinicals for the most part...help is available for us.:)

What an odd thread this is....very interesting. Quick question: doesn't the cord need to be cut to count the number of veins/arteries to check for anomalies? P.S. I agree that leaving a rotting organ ATTACHED to a baby is a BAD idea (animals have more sense than that, they EAT it!) However, I also think that the mom should be able to keep the placenta if she wishes. My friend's mother used to breed cats, and every time her cat gave birth, she kept the little placentas and used them as fertilizer for plants....worked great! There is a huge "ick" factor involved here, no doubt, but I have always thought placentas were beautiful in a weird way. They are just another naturally occuring organ, and that isn't gross to me....not that I'd necessarily want to carry one home with me! I just think a person who does want to keep their placenta has a right to do so. BTW, wouldn't that be considered biohazard anyway? I wanted to keep my wisdom teeth after they were removed, but the dentist said I couldn't because they were biohazard.

I can relate to this! I felt loopy after not taking Paxil for just ONE day when I was on about 2 years ago, and I do feel that it saved my life (I was in a MAJOR DEPRESSION at the time). The only side effects it had effected my boyfriend at the time more than they effected me...I never wanted sex, I was a bit goofy for an hour or so after taking the meds, he would have to constantly repeat things he had just said 5 minutes earlier...:chuckle I went off of Paxil after about one year, because I basically thought it had done what it was going to do and that I didn't need to be on a med for the rest of my life...and I couldn't afford it or my psychiatrist anymore. I did half my dosage trying to wean myself off, but that withdrawal was PURE HELL!! Has made me very hesitant about starting any brain-effecting drug again, but I will seek help if I ever again feel that I just can't go on living, but only then. I have found that most of my depression clears up withing a certain time frame regardless and that diet and exercise and taking mental health breaks (and avoiding alcohol while depressed) helps me....what I am saying is not meant to discourage others from getting help. I think if someone is so far down they can't get up they should certainly get help, meds, whatever. Just do yourself a favor and do some research on drug CESSATION before taking any long-term drug (which is what all antidepressants are), because most docs do not do much research on the drug cessation. Please don't see a general practitioner for mental health needs; PLEASE see someone who specializes in psychiatric disease and medicine.

I agree...have your hubby go elsewhere. Once he has a negative PPD reading (sounds like he will be neg.), bring that paperwork back to your MD's office and explain that they may need to train or re-train some of the people reading PPDs there.

Yikes. :eek: Do you honestly think that doctors "don't do anything" and that nurses do "all the real work"? It is a team effort. It is ALL "real work"!! You obviously have no idea what you are talking about, and I can totally understand why some docs might not get along with you if you are openly that dismissive of what they do. :uhoh21: Tolerance and understanding have to flow both ways in order for them to occur.

I agree with Jerry. Are what you signed on for and what was promised to you the same? It seems THEY might have broken the contract FOR you by not holding up to their end of the deal. You need some legal advice on this one. Don't assume that you owe them a dime yet. This kind of crap happens all the time because people assume they have to do what someone says. Please seek legal counsel...it may help you out of this mess and protect others in the future from this apparent "bait-and-switch" they pulled.

I agree that the pt. deserves the right to equal care, and it seems innappropriate IF his history was revealed to a resident by someone working in the facility. As far as his right to privacy, I guess it depends on what state you live in. In Florida, they show photos of registered sex offenders who reside in our area on TV with their name and address so I don't think it could get any more public; that is part of their sentence for committing sex crimes and getting to live in the free world instead of jail, so boo-hoo. The pt's history could have been found by someone other than someone working there, and actually the other residents may have a right to know about his history. It probably violates HIPPA if an employee volunteers this information to another patient. Then again, public record can be discussed by anyone to anyone. This is one of those weird blurry lines, and I commend the poster for redirecting the concerned patient and also for not immediately saying "no, he is not an offender". It isn't his right to be protected from dirty looks from other patients; it is only his right to receive equal care by the staff. No patients there have to pretend to like him.

I agree with you 100%. You will need to conserve more energy (and time!) for going to CRNA school and learning about the procedures you will actually be performing than to spending it working med-surg. There is nothing wrong with what you feel and plan to do. Working years on med-surg isn't what will get you into CRNA school anyways...they want to see if and how much ICU experience you have. Good luck!:balloons:

i have heard a lot about poppy seeds causing positives, so yeah, avoid 'em!:chuckle there are many substances that can cause false positives, actually. at our school, if we tested postivie for a substance they were testing for we were given the opportunity to explain why that substance might be in our system....and of course you needed a script or a damn good reason. btw, did anyone from the lab ever call you to inform you that they found a substance in your urine? i thought the lab had to call the person and inform them before they informed the employer. maybe just in florida...don't know.

Marie_LPN: I never said YOU said it should be a law.:) Was wondering why the poster and those who stated they think it should be a law felt that way. I understand the point of view from those who think it is a good IDEA; it is the "required by law" part I disagree with. Again, I'm not saying YOU said that. Also, like I said in my post, I think it would actually make MORE sense to have physicians starting out thay way..so we are in agreement there...but, let's just dream a little dream there because we know that won't be happening!:chuckle

Hi, Trulie.julie! Please don't stop taking your meds! At most schools you need to let them know what meds you are on for safety reasons (your own, mostly, ie; if something should happen to you they need to know your med history so they know how to help you/what not to give you in the case of an emergency). As far as drug tests, I'd like to tell you that these things won't turn up in your urine, but it really depends on what your school tests for. I have NEVER heard of drug screening so comprehensive as to look for antidepressants.I can't imagine how expensive that would be for the school and students. Drug tests are usually 5 panel; they look for marijuana, cocaine/amphetamines, opiods, PCP, and barbiturates. If you aren't doing any of these, I wouldn't worry about the drug test. Some of the tests DO test for benzos...frankly, I'm not sure Ativan would show up, but if it does, you have a script for it, so no problem. I took my drug screen test for nursing school 2 days after taking Xanax and Vicoden. Apparently they didn't show up, but they also weren't high doses, and I did have prescriptions for both. We are supposed to inform our school of meds we are taking, but I have not had the balls to tell them I take Xanax. It is probably not a big deal to tell them, but unfortunately Xanax is so demonized nowadays. I just don't want to call attention to myself...I'm sure I wouldn't be the only person in our class to be taking Xanax, but I just can't bring myself to let the school know. I figure if I take it and I'm fine, then why tell them? I know that contradicts a lot of what I wrote earlier. Apparently, I am better at giving advice than taking it. It is sad that only some health conditions are "acceptable" and that others remain hidden for fear of persecution. Everyone working in health care should know better, but for some reason mental illness is still judged so harshly even in the health care industry.

Hello. I can't see why the poster thinks this is something to be "required by law". Do you also think that med students should HAVE TO start at the bottom of the totem pole to make them more patient friendly? That would almost make more sense to me than requiring nursing students, who will be doing nothing BUT patient care during clinicals take a REQUIRED CNA course, because we act as CNAs all throughout clinicals (without the benefit of pay!) At my school, it was "highly recommended" that prospective students take a CNA course, but most of us have not. The students who have been and are CNAs certainly seemed more confident than the rest of us during the first semester, but guess what....we all learned and performed the duties of a CNA while at clinicals and will be doing so for the remainder of the program save the end Practicum course (at least I hope to have a CNA to help me then, since I'll be on my own with 5 to 6 patients!) Ponder this....did the students who were CNAs before nursing school walk into their jobs as a confident CNA? NO. Everyone has to learn these things, and after the first semester, I am much more comfortable at clinicals, as are most of us. It took some getting used to...cleaning, bathing, bed making, but these things can certainly be learned while in school, and it seems that most nursing schools do incorporate this into their teaching. Some of us actually think that the CNA duties are OVERemphasized in our program. No offense, but a lot of what I'm doing I will NOT be doing as an RN, and certainly not as a CRNA, which is the field I plan on working in. I realize other areas of nursing will require the nurses to perform CNA duties. If those nurses haven't figured out how to bathe or clean a patient after two years of doing it in nursing school...then they probably won't be passing the N-CLEX either.:chuckle I have (and will be doing for the next year) the duties of a CNA plus those of a nurse all WITHOUT PAY, so believe me when I say I will always appreciate good CNAs because it is a tough job and CNAs are greatly needed. I couldn't help but notice from most of the posts on this thread that the majority of people who feel this should be a requirement happen to be CNAs. Hmmmmm.

I, too, have come out of report having heard much said about a "difficult" pt. by female nurses, but I think it has more to do with the fact that there are MORE female nurses out there, not because female nurses in general act that way.Once there are more male nurses in the field, I'm sure we will see plenty of men describing patients as "difficult" as well. What I am trying to get across here is that the vast majority of nurses are female, so it is unfair to generalize the behavior of "female nurses", because there is not enough male nurse representation to accurately compare the behaviors of female nurses and male nurses. Make sense? It seems that the original post was asking if people have noticed a difference in the WAY male nurses are TREATED vs TREATMENT of female nurses, not the apparent differences in the ways that male and female nurses act....although it has been an interesting thread.:)

Yeah, they do have to make accommodations. They also can't refuse to let anyone sit down. Why do some people make life hell? Ridiculous.

Hey....that whole "barrier" theme is VERY MUCH like the topic for the latest NSA writing competition. I can't help you there 'cuz I'm thinking of entering that competition, too. I want that trip to Scandinavia and some ca$h!!

She told you it DIDN'T MATTER that you had been DRINKING??? :eek: Makes my head hurt to think of how much that DOES matter and why. Sheesh!

Heh heh! I love those great CNAs! Too bad that wasn't done IN the facility, though. I've been told that a good way to stop an aggressive employee (or anyone) in the hospital is to call a code...armstrong or other which means all employees come out and surround the offending aggressor. People tend to stop their tantrums immediately with a large group of people staring at them in disbelief....works better than everyone running away and hiding from said offender.

Thank you, Angie! I am a patient advocate, but there isn't a whole lot I can do when the doctor WILL NOT prescribe an effective pain med for someone with a broken leg and I have to be the one to tell the crying patient..."The doctor says for you to take some Motrin".....aaaaagh! Breaks my heart....they have pain meds for a REASON!!:angryfire

Wow. A "lot" of your female co-workers have a "serious" mental illness? Did they disclose that information to you personally or is that just an assumption? I wonder if they have been driven mad by a general lack of respect....like people assuming that they are mental.....

I have noticed that some male physicians tend to speak differently ABOUT male nurses...usually with more respect. Example would be overhearing a male physician referring to a male nurse as "Mr. Jones" or "Nurse Jones"...."ask Mr. Jones", or even first name used, "ask David to do that" instead of how he refers to the female nurses as a group, i.e., "get one of the girls to do that". Whatever. I know life can be difficult for male nurses, so I'm not even going there...except to say that I have NEVER heard of a physician screaming at or throwing things at a male nurse....which is silly...'cuz chicks can knock out teeth just the same as a big guy can.:rotfl:

Santana, I respectfully but absolutely disagree with that. One person can make ALL the difference.....that has often been the only thing that HAS spurred changes throughout history. Unity is important, yes, but sometimes one person has to get the boat a-rockin' before others join in...and then sometimes people don't join in. I do guarantee that a defeatist attitude will never make a difference....nothing personal towards you; I have felt that way before, but I know that one person can make a difference and that there is no excuse besides fear for not standing up for what is right.

Yeah. I have noticed some of that....I don't tell most instructors that I plan to go into Anesthetism unless they specifically ask about long-term goals...and even then it depends on the type of nurse/instructor that person is. I think it rubs some instructors the wrong way...and some students probably do have some attitude...like "why should I care about this, I'm going to be a CRNA!" I would never say anything like that. I am there to learn as much as possible, just like everyone else.

Absolutely, report those conditions! That is a lawsuit (several) waiting to happen. You don't want to be there when that happens. Especially if you blow the whistle on it.... hehe. I would blow the whistle, but that is just me. Someone is paying to have those patients there. They are someone's mother, father, etc. That is not what you'd want for your loved ones. I wouldn't stay if I were you...things were like this before you arrived, and I doubt you will change anyone's mind...they will probably turn on you if you challenge them. Find another job, and then report those conditions...the folks in charge of that facility know better and need to be held accountable....and the staff needs a serious attitude adjustment and some education in patient care. :angryfire

WOW. That recruiter sounds awful! Trust me, you wouldn't WANT to work there if that is the attitude the RECRUITER for the hospital has. I'm a US citizen, and I wouldn't want to work for a place that condones that type of discouragement to prospective employees because they aren't "from here". Yikes! It would have been enough for her to gently tell you why THAT particular place might not hire you, but it is bordering harrassment for her to tell you how you are going to have a "hard time" in life, blah, blah..personal opinions, etc. Now I feel like calling that recruiter's boss!:angryfire Good luck with the job hunting, you WILL find a job. :)