Pinkmegan

Love it!! Interesting to read that you can have shared rooms in LTC. These a very much frowned upon in the UK.

CNA to patient "Do you want to see the Chiropodist?" Pt was an above knee amputee, both legs!!

Hi. I am struggling with the problems that you reported right now. If it's not to much to ask, can you tell me how to go about getting help?

Oh at last!! Someone with common sense and who thinks like me!! Crush the tabs separately?? Give each med by gastrostomy tube separately and flush with water between each! Where are they all going to end up?? If anyone can give the rational for this I would really like to hear it!! As for the BS, what do people in their own homes do?? It's like when patients at home are on diamorph suspension. 'Take 10mls!? No way! Swig it from the bottle!!

Defo neurological system! I never bothered much with anatomy, after all, we are not diagnosing! Apparently, don't quote me & I've no refs. to hand, the neuro. system is still not totally understood!

What is 'per diem'!!?????

PRN staff can't be an option surely if they don't know the area??!!

4 of us share the on-call. The 2 senior nurses & 2 of the staff nurses. We are rostered for on call on the days that we work so this does not impinge on our days off. On-call, basically, is for someone to call for advice. On the odd occasion that someone does not turn up for a night shift, or that they have phoned & the message has not been passed on, we are expected to do the shift, whatever we have worked during the day! A while ago, I was getting ready for bed, had put one leg in, when the 'phone rang! The night shift nurse had rung in sick but the message had not been passed on! I had no choice but to get out of bed & do the shift! This back-fired on the rest of the staff as the next day was my 60th birthday & they had arranged surprises for me! After a few hours sleep I went back to accept the gifts, eat the cake &, generally, accept all the good wishes!!

What is the hourly rate for RNs in the USA??

Nothing, again!!!

What a load of rubbish!!!! I am almost a professional mourner after working as a nurse since 1989. We don't attend random funerals but, if I have built up a relationship with a patient, and their family, I would feel extremely guilty if I did not attend. At most of the funerals that I, and my colleagues on our unit, attend, positive mentions are made about us! Sometimes we are asked if we will speak at the funerals. I don't know where you work but, wherever it is, I feel that you should consider your future there as it sounds to be a cold and uncaring environment.

OMG!!! My usual day!! So glad to hear from other nurses of my own age!!! We still manage to do a really good job between changing continence pads (our own!!) don't we????

My point exactly!!!!

Over the last 20 years plus I have attended every funeral of a patient that I have been able to. So have my colleagues. Go with your own instincts.

I'm now entering my 26th year in nursing & it has not hardened me at all, in fact I get even more emotionally involved with patients than ever! My eyes were opened when I did my training as I 'presumed' that all nurses would be lovely kind people! I found out on my very first clinical placement that this was far from the case! Not only were some off-hand & unkind to students but some were unkind, sometimes verging on cruel, towards patients! As most of the ward staff worked together on a regular basis some would even plan ways to deal with patients that they did not like! I hate myself, to this day, for not reporting the nurse who I saw slapping an elderly lady in the face. It was shameful but we all knew that we would be branded as 'trouble makers' & then given an even rougher ride! Although I enjoyed most of my clinical placements I quickly knew that hospital nursing was not for me due to the poor standards, which existed in the NHS back then & which have not improved since! On qualifying I managed to get a post with a charity run high-dependency neuro unit &, other than a few years when I tried a new venture, which did not work out, I've been there ever since. As all our patients are with us long term we build up relationships with them & with their families. Most of the families are lovely but we do still get some for whom we cannot do anything right! (Perhaps due to guilt at not being able to care for their relative??) Many of our patients are young (we take from 18yrs) and many of the history's are very sad. We have had young patients left brain-damaged due to elective surgery, some with genetic conditions which no one in the family was aware of, patients left paralysed due to RTAs and recently a young girl who tried to save her children from a house fire. The children all died and she has severe hypoxic brain damage. We have a wonderful team of RNs and support workers who care for the patients as if they were their own family. It is impossible for most of not to get emotionally attached, myself included, and I have shed many thousands of tears over the years and still do so on a regular basis. I always said that if the day ever came when I felt, for whatever reason, that I did not want to go to work, that would be the day that I would have to leave. This happened in 2005 when a new manager changed our rota patterns making home life difficult and also resulting in loss of income. I chose to leave &, with my husband, managed caravan parks for 8-9 months a year. After the first year, when not on site I went back to my previous employer on a relief basis. After 4 years of this I was missing nursing so much & felt that I was 'wasting' my hard-earned qualifications! Luckily a position became available & I was welcomed back. When I left I had been a charge nurse but now am happy to be just an RN! You MUST enjoy what you do as a nurse. If you don't you can't do your best and the 'hardness' might creep in. When you qualify you need to find the job which is right for you! There are still kind and caring nurses out there! If you are ever in the UK let me know & you can come & meet our team. Best of luck for your training. xxx