onlyserendipity9

Whereas you may control their blood glucose with diet and insulin when the client is an inpatient, you are not going to help them to a normal BMI during an inpatient stay. I agree with many of the posts above. Lastly, we don't want to insult the patient by giving them a skimpy diet that is TOO terribly far from their baseline diet. We have to remember holistic care ... psychosocial can be very important in bariatric care.

I expected to open this thread and find a mean, bitter nurse with nothing but complaints. Instead, I found an emotionally healthy, knowledgeable nurse who knows when it's time to make some changes so to avoid unsatisfactory patient care. KUDOS TO YOU! Hang in there, you can do it

I totally disagree. A lot of people don't like their jobs, but if you DESPISE your job as a nurse where you work, this WILL be conveyed to your patients through your work. That will hurt them because as nurses, we need to strive to provide the best care possible! Additionally, healthcare professionals are a team. If you're having a miserable day and end up transmitting these feelings (intentionally or unintentionally) to another person ... say an aide or an xray tech, etc ... then that can be hard for them too - seeing that you are not performing up to par. Everyone has bad days, but if your bad days outweigh the good, it's time to start looking for another job. My advice? ....... just don't quit the miserable job until you have another lined up. Hang in there chica, you can do it!

I also work at a hospital like this; you have to sign a contract to work there for a period of time after grad school is completed. If you quit before your contract is up, you will lose all of the financial reimbursement they provided and have to pay it back! (yikes!)

Thank you for sharing. Very well put. Any death is always hard ... I still remember my first -- I did chest compressions on him during a CAT call in the ICu and had taken care of him for almost a week. We were getting ready to transfer him off the unit when he coded. So sad. I must have cried intermitently for almost a week. I still think about it.

You've received three awesome replies thus far. I agree with much of what they are saying! It may seem like a lot because you DO have A LOT of options still ... the most importnant thing to remember is that there are a lot of choices, and none of them are wrong! However, you have to pick the path that is right for you!!! Are you wanting to do RN or LPN? ... Currently, I am a CNA in an ICU in my hometown, but I will be finishing my bachelors degree in May! I would recommend that you try an accelerated RN program. A LOT of othe people that I know have done that ... it's usually a 19 month program, year round. Most of the people I know that do it have kids and also work as CNAs or something! Good luck to you!

From some of these replies, I can tell which nurses are close to burning out and may need some time off to refresh! :icon_roll

Just released: 100% pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam for FOUR consecutive years now! As a senior nursing major at Waynesburg University, I hope to uphold this great standard when I graduate and take my NCLEX-RN licensing examination in May 2012! ~ Rachel