margo123

I've been a nurse for 21 years and a charge nurse for the past seven. My unit is under new management and the new boss wants the charge nurse to take more responsibility for the actions of the other staff. I have experienced capable and conscientious...

I'd be interested to hear from nurses out there who work weekend option jobs. My hospital is treating us badly. They are only allowing one weekend a year for sick time. We're allowed a total of three weekends a year off including vacations. Our jobs ...

I really need some help here. I work on a small thirteen bed unit in a community hospital. My boss has opened up six more beds for observation patients. The original concept was for it to be a 24 hr. short stay area, during which time it would be dec...

Your advice is much appreciated and I know I must do something and soon. There was a staff meeting today and I was very vocal about my thoughts re all this. I told my director that I think this unit is a disgrace and a tragedy waiting to happen. She ...

I've been working one day a week for the past eighteen months helping administer ECT. I think the screening process is key. Some of the personality disorders slip by our docs and usually we see no improvement with them. Our clients who have real depr...

This unit will have a capacity of 6 beds. That means 6 beds and a hallway that is the only area for the patients other than their rooms. Yep, no activity area available. The rooms have no tv, so the only distraction other than sleeping for 24hrs is t...

My unit has opened up a new observation unit intended for patients who may only need short-stay care. This might include somebody who has suicidal ideations and no beds are available on the regular unit, or a borderline who was just stitched up in th...

I work on a 13 bed acute care psychiatric unit. Our hospital seems to put the needs of the psych unit "last in line". We have a broad range of patients with diverse diagnoses. Lately, we've been admitting patients who have a history of violence and a...

You're absolutely right about staffing. I wouldn't have any reservations about an open station if we had more staff. True, we only have 13 beds but they're always full and sometimes the acuity is through the ceiling. I've had to beg to get that third...

I'd like to comment on this. If you are moving about in the milieu when a patient is agitated, you usually take a buddy along. Hopefully, a third person is at the desk or close to a phone. Many times a nurse will be alone at the desk and it seems to ...

I've asked myself the same question about HIPPA regs. The patients who are prone to hanging around the desk can hear everything we say, even if we keep our voices low. I've even seen patients run and tell other patients what we've said in re to their...

I wouldn't mind having an open nurse's station if we handled the types of patients that are usually seen on our unit. I do get uneasy when we have antisocial personalities. Some of these people have done some very bad things in the past. Unfortunatel...

Are any of you seeing psychiatrists ordering really high doses of Zyprexa intramuscularly? A couple of docs at our facility are ordering it 10mg tid times 9 doses. This is usually to treat bipolar mania. I have some real reservations about this much ...

I worked ICCU for five years right out of nursing school. I still apppreciate the good solid med-surg base I got there. Psych patients are getting more physically ill all the time. I really love working psych. It sure isn't ever boring! By the way, I...

Thank you for passing this on to me. It alleviates some of my concerns. I have come to see in twelve yrs of psych nursing that controlling mania can become an extremely confusing and clouded issue. Pts get bombarded with so much medicine in an effort...

Wondering if any of you are using the new med admin systems that require pt's ID bracelet to be scanned before giving the med. Are you running into trouble getting paranoid patients to allow the scan? I have a few times and most of the patients with ...

Thank you for this info. It makes me a little more comfortable but still have strong reservations about dosing so high. I haven't been greatly impressed by the results I've seen so far with control of mania and agitation by the third day or so.

Orca, you just described the Gero unit at the hospital where I work. I work the acute adult psych ward and sometimes float over to Gero when they are in a pinch. It appears that we're doing respite care for the ECF facilities. Any of the patients who...

I work in Indiana on an acute adult psych ward. One of our security guards got slugged pretty hard by a patient and pressed charges. The patient was arrested following discharge from the hospital. He went to court and was given a sentence in the loca...

My mother has IC. She has tried many different meds and has gotten the most relief from Tegretol.

Our docs regulary order prolactin levels for pts taking risperdal. I haven't seen testosterone levels drawn on pts taking depakote, however.

Thank you for the link! I had looked for it without success. I appreciate the input from all who have replied. Our security guards have voiced their concerns about this to our director and she has pretty much "poo pooed" them as overreacting. The nur...