radgey

hi i am fairly a new nurse since sep of 2011 but didn't get my first job until dec in long term care worked there for about 2 months it didn't work out. now i work in homecare for peds with trachs my orientation for trachs was putting a trach in a dummy. since then i have had only one opportunity to put a trach in and that was with help from the lady i work for. she is a great person willing to teach her nurses that care for her child the things they should know how to do to do a good job. well i also work for another lady and she is just the opposite so quick to get on the phone and call the agency for anything and everything. well to make a long story short i have never had to put a trach in by myself i know its easy to do but have never had the opportunity to do so . well last night at this homecare job the childs trach came out and i had not notiiced it because the stem was under the gauze and he had a trach mask on an it looked fine to me. well the mom noticed it and i was honest and told her i had never had to put a trach in so she called the agency and told them her childs trach came out and i never put a trach. the agency called me and said why did i tell her that that it made me look incompentent. again its not like i put trach in everyday and i know i could do it just never had opportunity to do so, and that they had other cases coming in that they thought about putting me on but now they are not even sure. i am so sick it makes me so mad that they are treating me this way. i was honest but i am feeling like i should know everything no questions asked. I am so sick of nurses scared not to ask questions because then they will look like they are incompetent and when something does arise they get shafted because the employer will say you should of asked, its a no win situation. what do you think about this situation. oh by the way i work 3rd shift and the one case i work at the mother changes out the trach and other place i work at the first shift nurse changes out the trach and i am sure she was trained because she too is brandnew like me and the women we work for well the first shift nurse went to school with her so i am sure the mom helped her change her first trach. I think i need to get out of that home. And it makes me mad that the care coordinator of that agency was once a homecare nurse and i am sure she must have known everything and never made mistakes (yea right) I feel just like calling them up and say I quit give my two weeks and find something else. I don't know who you are but i read your post. any suggestions or opinions or am i just a incompent nurse. thanks

hi i just happen to run across this posting and like the others said i wouldn't do it to have to move your family and then you don't even know if you will like it and then what, I wouldn't take the chance

i would have screamed. speaking of ghost stories in the nursing home where i used to work, i was sitting behind the desk with another nurse finishing up last min charting and there were a couple of CENA's on the other side standing in front of the desk. Well over to the side of the desk there was the med card with a blood pressure cuff on it. well anyway it was late and a couple of the girls were talking when all of a sudden the nurse next to me said did you see that, i said see what she said that the blood pressure cuff did a 180 really fast. there was noone standing there and the funny thing is i heard something but i didn't see it happen. i asked her if she was sure and she said yes it flipped around in a circle really fast. now i don't know what to make of that one, that was really weird.

Hi sounds like your just overwhelmed if your working in a nursing home i can understand why. I have just recently started working homecare and its so much more relaxing and i am actually applying skills and learning new ones along the way. the money is good in a nursing home and i enjoyed the residents...actually they made me laugh but the stress level is something else.more politics and paperwork then anyplace i have ever worked and you barely have two minutes to spend with each resident. you rush around and do treatments as fast as you can because there is always something else that needs to get done before the shift and it is very easy to make a medication error....when dealing with polypharmacy, i totally understand where your coming from. i have never cried but i worried endlessly and would beat myself up. homecare is very different and it takes an adjustment but so far its working out and i have 3 cases working with pediatrics clients with trachs and vents. i have been newly trained with vents so i am still learning and yes its kind of scary but the more you learn and become comfortable with you gain self confidence with your skills. those feeling your having are very normal and will be very difficult to combat as long as your in a nursing home caring for 25 or better residents. I think the crying has to do with your trying to hard and beating yourself because your trying to do the best you can. I worked as long as i could at this nursing home until i quit or else get fired, so i quit before they had the chance to fire me. i do not normally go around qutting jobs but i took the chance and now the good lord has opened another door/avenue of nursing

Hi sounds like your just overwhelmed if your working in a nursing home i can understand why. I have just recently started working homecare and its so much more relaxing and i am actually applying skills and learning new ones along the way. the money is good in a nursing home and i enjoyed the residents...actually they made me laugh but the stress level is something else.more politics and paperwork then anyplace i have ever worked and you barely have two minutes to spend with each resident. you rush around and do treatments as fast as you can because there is always something else that needs to get done before the shift and it is very easy to make a medication error....when dealing with polypharmacy, i totally understand where your coming from. i have never cried but i worried endlessly and would beat myself up. homecare is very different and it takes an adjustment but so far its working out and i have 3 cases working with pediatrics clients with trachs and vents. i have been newly trained with vents so i am still learning and yes its kind of scary but the more you learn and become comfortable with you gain self confidence with your skills. those feeling your having are very normal and will be very difficult to combat. Right now i am trying to study about vents i am alot intimidated....but i have reason its what keeps the child alive. i was told today that before a family can take there family member home from hospital with vent they have to be trained for two weeks, us nurses get two hours:( I think the crying has to do with your trying to hard and beating yourself up its very easy to do so. I worked as long as i could at this nursing home until i quit or get fired so quit. there was no way i was going to listen to them tell me all about my mistakes and run me down.......that's what there good at and i wasn't goona have it....normally i do not go around qutting jobs but i took the chance and now the good lord has opened another door. I am still trying to get adjusted to this change my now i can actually do some decent charting:) So dont think its not normal to feel that way or that your not as good as the next nures because that is so far from the truth!

I have a job just started homecare its different but i am learning and applying nursing skills. I am even fortunate enough to have the mom of the child i take care of to teach me things that we did not even get a chance to learn in nursing school but only talked about. I feel like a nurse now not just a pill pusher. Hope this job leads to other opportunities where i can gain and use more nursing skills. God does answer prayers i have been praying and trying to keep my faith that the lord will allow me be the nurse that i want to be. Thankyou lord for opening a door. thankkyou thankyou. and to others just keep praying

hi i know what you mean about job however i did have a job for a couple of months and worked my butt off in LTC and did the best job i could caring for 24-27 residents. i did however make a few mistatakes but no harm was done. to make long story short i qut that job not that i really wanted to but i had feeling that i was going to be fired so i thought if i quit it would look better then being fired, so now i am having a hard time finding a job. its very depressing knowing you worked very hard for your license and the money into the education and no job. i totally understand. I keep hearing from others something will come around you will see everthing will be fine, well i just wish i could see, it makes you feel good though when others have such an optimistic outlook and brings your spirits up for a while. I have been to a couple of interviews and it ****** me off to hear questions like "have you ever been promoted" or what are your greatest achievments what does that have to do with nursing. Well i hope you find a job and me too. I am so sick of this nursing market. Well i hope you find a job. God bless and best regards and keep your chin up you worked hard for your license and are just as good as the the next nurse maby better.

Fake it until you make it trust yourself, trust God learn from your mistakes and move on. Having a good mentor helps:)

thankyou the bottom line is i have thought about how can prevent this from happening again. I quit that job before they fired me just because i had a hunch,gut feeling instinct. My instincts are usually accurate. Well update: my instinct was right on but i will not go into detail how i know this. One thing i have learned from this is your right Frankie Trust Noone. Sad to say but watch out for those wolves in sheeps clothing. Pay close attention to body language, eye contact and read between the lines, don't say anything that can and most likely will be used against you at some point and time. Be strong, self confident even when you don't feel that way sad to say but i guess that is the only way to survive nursing. Thanks for your support

Frankie I have read some of your post and i have to say that i did get a good laugh or two, you sure don't hold nothing back.

Frankie you crack me up, i have read some of your post and i have to say i did get a good laugh or two, you don't hold nothing back.

Get it

:nono::nono::nono:

You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him. Now that is volume......Maturity Games?????. Get Real

Ruby negativaty breeds negativity please keep in mind the words you choose when posting comments to me and to others. "have you walked in their shoes"

Ruby i am offended you do not know me from jack and i am sorry to even mention the word coward to have it thrown back in my face....just as well.... and lacking maturity and growing up well until you can say you have walked in someone elses shoes please keep the negative comments to your self....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Dang if nobody can be trusted i feel sorry for the residents (LOL) just a little humor:rolleyes: I see what your saying but on the flip side i can understand where the other individual is coming from to:no:

hello thanks for your response. yes it was a few norcos that i had overseen and did not give. no harm done to patient they were not in no pain. i turned in my own med errors. I really did love my job but i was afraid they were going to fire me and so i resigned from my position. I have only been on the job for two months so i am still learning. I usually caught the med errors at the end of the shift when i was doing count. yes i have heard stories to where i worked at about how some nurses cheat on their med pass or give them all at once and i think that is dangerous and you do have to be very very careful . I was very careful to give meds at the right time and i know that i am not a slow person not by a long shot and i could see other nurses were getting there meds out alot faster then i was but i guess having practice will get you to that point at some time. I am so mad at myself for missing those doses and at the time i couldn't figure out how i could have missed them but then again i tell myself i was passing a good amount of medications to many residents and the right thing to do is to turn in your med errors but guess what i did and by doing so resulted in .......NO JOB. I am not a job jumper never have been I just couldn't face them running me down (been through that experience before) when i know i am not a bad person/not perfect but not bad and i loved the residents and i gave good care. I am now starting to second guess myself now as to whether or not I am nursing home material. I worked as a cena for 8 years and then went on to be a nurse and i am scared to death that maby i made a mistake at going into nursing. i have spent so much on this education and i don't want to throw it down the drain, i really need to get started on this career but i feel like i am going nowhere with it. It's a shame that being honest will get you out the door in a hurry. The DON even told me at one time that she has made tons of errors in her career but i feel like I have to be perfect or else. I realize meds are important and i do get the right meds to the right patient but yes in those two months worked at the nursing home i screwed up. I know i will NEVER be perfect but as i look back i see what may have happened and what i can do in the future to prevent it from happening again. i was so hoping that they would call me home and ask me to come back and to let me know that there plans were not to fire me but to talk about the problem but they didn't so i guess they didn't value me that much and with that said i think i made the right decision to resign even though i miss my job i just hope that someplace else will be willing to hire me, nursing jobs do not come by that easy. I didn't mention that when i resigned i informed my employer regarding my resigniation that i know i had made a few mistakes but i couldn't face the consequences of being termintated so that i why i am resigning i sent this is a note. I am not a coward but i have had negative experiences in the past and there was no way that I was going through that again being belittled,or run down. They had previously told me that i was doing a good job but after that last mistake i had a gut feeling and not a good one. Right now I just dwell day in and day out what if , what if. would i still have a job if i didn't quit would they had terminated me. I don't know. Well hope to hearing some postive feedback really need it now. Thanks

I didn't pass the prenclex exam that was given to us in nursing school and they said i had a very slight chance of passing boards on the first try but i proved them wrong and i did pass on the first try. I do believe there are students who have to work very very hard to get through school and are not that great of test takers but make awesome nurses and on the other hand some are students who are great test takers but do not make good nurses. A test is just to get your license you learn real world nursing on the job. I am new a nursing and my goal is to learn as much as possible and do the best job I can and feel good about what i am doing knowing that i am making a difference in ones life.

hi Ruby where i live you can only take nclex two times, i am actually surprised as well for the one who took it 8 times. i have to kind of chuckle at that one because like you said he/she didn't give up.........they finally......and successfully achieved that trophy.... a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.......they didn't give up. I wish i could say that i am experienced. these days nurses can hardly get a foot in the door. I have worked in longterm for two months and resigned recently fearing i would be fired for med errors. So again you are very fortunate to have a ton of experience I would be so happy to have that kind of experience and expertise and knowledge....thanks for your posting i found some humor in it

Resigned from first LPN Postion hope this article is somewhat comforting to other nurses that are in the same boat as me: http://www.lovesark.net/everlastinglove/closeddoors.html

very well said. I do not think LTC is the place for me. I think i will try homecare "one on one" There is way to much room for error working in long term caring for 24 residents. I will be having a meeting with the DON tomorrow at 10am sharp (yikes). I found out that i am not the only one making these same errors, its a ongoing problem where i work. I was offered a homecare nursing postion caring for children on trachs and vents, and gtubes. I have one resident in the nursing home that i care for with a trach and two who have feeding tubes so i do have a some experience in that area. My med pass is not perfect and that is what scares me in Long Term because i have a ton of meds to pass that need to be passed in a timely manner, not including all the interruptions that happen in between. I have been working as a nurse now for two months and feel like i wish i chosen a different field to go into. I love nursing but the Nursing home is getting to be a tad too much. I just pray that the good ole lord will open another door of nursing for me........maby homecare is it. I am tired of going home after a nights work at the nursing home and not being able to shut off, i sometimes stay up for over 24 hours because i am constantly worrying about what i might of forgot to do or didn't do. I hate that feeling. I never thought nursing would be this way, i sometimes feel like i should have not become a nurse.

thanks Brandon. being human is no excuse for med errors when it comes to med pass. I hear that all the time we are just human but being human isn't no excuse and that is what scares me because "I am human" and i do make mistakes. I need to figure out a way that i can get a ton of meds out in a speedy manner and safely without overlooking one or two. I read about all these horror stories of medication errors and it down right disturbing. I love my job as a nurse and i so want to perfect med pass but when it comes down to it if i had to look 3 times for each med to make sure i get the right ones i would be there all day just passing meds all day and nothing else. I usually double check and the printing in the mar is so small that sometimes i overlook a med. Any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks

hi everyone i am a new nurse been on the job for two months and have already made 6 med errors five out of the 6 were missed doses of norco. i feel horrible and cant sleep and i think about it all the time. This experience makes me feel so inadaquate as a nurse. i pass meds to about 23 residents. i feel like i am alone in this boat, i don't feel like i can talk to other nurses about this because they tell me that they don't make errors. 6 med errors in my opinion is alot even though its a missed dose of norco and thankful these people were not in pain a med error is a med error, i feel like i am prone to med errors, i am not perfect i am human and keep trying to convince my self of that but that is not excuse i need to be perfect with the med pass. i am beginning to hate that word med error. Can someone please enlighten me and tell me that i am not the only one who has made this many errors in such a short period of time and i also would like some advice in ways i can improve med pass in a speedy manner. thankyou