uRNmyway

Oooh, hold on now. I come from somewhere that is pretty darn left-leaning. Unions are everywhere. If you work for a hospital, it is MANDATORY to be part of the union and pay their dues. Nurse to patient ratio? 8-9:1 med-surg nights. I've also worked post-op ortho where it was 12:1 night shift. Unions did NOTHING to help that, they just used the dues to go have nice dinners and have 'conferences' in nice hotels on nurse's backs. I'm not saying that corporations running healthcare is great. I'm just saying that government and unions being in control is DEFINITELY not better or the right answer.

Ok, I'll bite. What keeps me up at night is feeling like what I do is completely useless. I entered nursing to make a difference, and there are so many patients, or so many shifts, that make you feel you just spent 12 hours just running in place. You try to teach until you are blue in the face, only to have patients keep making horrible choices. You bust your butt getting someone better, so they can go back home, and they come right back in with the same issues over and over again because they don't care half as much about their health as you do.

BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!!! I just...I can't....palpitations... There is NO, I repeat NO other red than cherry. All other red flavors should be shot. Or mowed down. Or whatever.

Well........from what I read, it doesn't seem she was talking about a whole race of people getting mowed down, but those who were rioting and being violent in the streets. Or at least that's what I gathered. So, again, the way I read it would imply she thinks everyone who is rioting ought to be shot, regardless of color. It just happens that most of those rioting are AA, due to racial tensions in that area. That being said, I agree with other posters. If you post something inflammatory and controversial online while being easy to identify, don't be surprised if you lose your job. Or worst.

It's been said, but as a nurse, if people never complain about you, I think you're not doing it right. People will always complain if they don't get what they want. And let's face it, if everyone always made the best choices for their health, well, many of us would not have jobs. So you're going to say things people won't like, and they will complain. And honestly, I'm completely fine with that!

Is it weird that this makes me jealous? Lol... I've been thinking lately that I should start applying for ED positions, I often work so darn hard as it is, I can't help but feel I might as well have the glory and excitement of ED to go with it. OP, I'm sure it will get easier when you get used to it. Just try to chart as you go, like others said, making sure to CYA is really important.

Wooh "You should probably stick to stripping and quit nursing. After all, shifts go much smoother when only men are working. Less drama and complaining. Women should stay where they belong, stripping and home making sandwiches." LMBO! Ok, I know everyone keeps saying this, but I think you win for today. First post to make me snort, glad I wasn't trying to drink anything. Been on AN long enough to know better!

Eh, if paid the wages for your degree of education, it's more a question of 'do I want to work overtime' rather than 'would you work as a CNA?'. Everything they do in a shift, I do as well. If you aren't too tired and want/need the extra cash, go for it.

OMG you guys, nurses are supposed to be compassionate, never ever judgmental, paragons of virtue who want nothing more than to help others! How dare you make fun of people trying to get advice from you?! You all are horrible people, I'm sure you're all horrible nurses too! You should all just get another job or retire!

Just to be clear, i liked your post for the fact that you are defending being uncomfortable with this behavior, and rightfully so. How is this any different than someone on the bus trying to do anything like that? Would a doctor tolerate that? Would anyone tolerate that?! I'm with others, involve police. Threats are useless if you don't act on it.

THIS!!! Seriously, I must have missed the part of my nursing school application or licensing paperwork where I agreed to be a martyr for humanity. No one else watches out for us... Our employers? Um, riiiiiight... As someone else mentioned, it's not the BONs either. If I contract a deadly virus, will the hospital or BON care for my child? Will they provide her the guidance she needs from her mother? Of course not! We make so many sacrifices for this profession, like sleep, family lives, holidays, back injuries, you name it. But say that you would refuse to care for someone with a virus with 60-90% mortality rates, that we have no cure for, that we really don't even fully understand transmission about, and that's something we should have our licence yanked for? Ugh... Sorry for the rant, but that holier than thou self-righteousness really upsets me.

Oh wow. I'm thinking popcorn is going to be needed for this one

I definitely think there is a place for 'herbal nonsense', aka natural medicine. While I may not tell people to stop taking their meds and switch to herbal, I see nothing wrong with telling them to discuss with their doctor taking things like cinnamon capsules (anti-inflammatory properties), or melatonin instead of Ambien, etc. Granted, Melatonin is not herbal, but you get what I mean. Or what about your patients with UTI? Of course, you don't tell them to quit their antibiotics, but have you ever suggested they add cranberries or cranberry capsules to their daily regimen? Nothing wrong with adding or replacing harsh chemical medications with natural products, WITH the collaboration of your physician, and careful monitoring.

I once had a pt who was pregnant with twins. She went into labor at 25 weeks, and had to be rushed to emergency c-section. Unfortunately, despite my colleagues' hard work, one baby died in the OR and the other in ambulance on the way to the children's hospital. It was such a sad case to work with. Mom's level of grief was such that she convinced herself she had been pregnant with triplets, not twins, because she could still feel movement in her abdomen. We kept explaining that this was normal, but she refused to accept it. On her last day, she started insisting that we do an ultrasound to check. I don't know if they did during day shift before her discharge. And while sure, there's always somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who had this happen to them, I strongly doubt it was the case with this could. They were a tad bit off to begin with..

Hey, here's a crazy thought. Did you ASK this nurse why she let her friend chart on her computer?