ERnurse07

Hi to you both and thanks for the replies - Krissy I also had PTSD many years ago and thankfully I was able to over come that challenge - pyschotherapy works if you have the right therapist - that can take time. Zoe - thank-you for the message - I had a thought that perhaps someday writing a book about being a nurse and dealing with mental illness - but who knows - at least it wasn't a manic thought LOL - I hope you decide to come back to nursing - we sure need nurses - I am going to read and practice as much as I can - to try and keep the next job :icon_roll anyway thanks for the welcome and I shall keep you all posted.

I am also a nurse who has bipolar II disorder - my challenge is keeping a job - and I wonder if anyone else has had this difficulty - I find I do really well - then I have a mood episode at work (usually crying for whatever reason) - anyway - I am trying to tackle this from a counselling and medication aspect - I concerned that I will find myself with too many burnt bridges - I really hope someone else has had this challenge and that you might have some advice. I have yet another interview this week - and lord knows I have had enough orientation sessions that I could run one myself - looking forward to hearing your comments and suggestions. Jen

Hello everyone - well I will share with you my illness - I have clinical depression and I think there may be hypomania involved - I take Effexor XR OD and jsut this week I had to increase the dose from 75mg/day to 112mg/day with hopes that the severe depression will not attack again when I hit the pre-menstrual time next month - over the last several months it has become progessively worse. To make matters more interesting I started the mental health rotation of my BScN and that has been a nightmare for the most part because of the professor - she is a shrew :chair: and we all try to avoid her at all costs. Therefore the stress is extreme. I will be attending a mood disorder clinic to get myself straightened out. As for the research - do you believe there is NO research about nurses with mental illness - at least that I can find - I am going to search more but I am appalled that there is hardly anything - there are a few articles about PTSD - but nothing about depression - I am going to do a search about bipolar disorder. Looking forward to talking to all of you more :)

Wow - it seems like I have stumbled across a place where I will not feel so alone - I am so glad to know there are other nurses out there who have been through this frustration and difficulty!!! I will post about myself later - I was currently wondering if there is anyone out there who has found any research on this topic? I am doing a research course and would like to see any paperwork on this. thanks in advance - looking forward to hearing from you! Jen

Great idea - think I will email Larry King about how Canadian nurses wnat to help and that we are being turned away because of licencing - I also read on one of the US websites that nurses going to Texas from Lousiana are required to pay a $200 dollar fee to get a Texas licence - I am thinking the bureaucrats need to let some things go in this time of crisis - these nurses are voluntarily going to transport patients to safety - for them to be told to pay is ridiculous :angryfire To all of you nurses dealing with this tragedy - I wish I could help - I am sitting here biting my nails wishing I could jsut go down tehre and help you I felt the same way during 9/11 - I am praying all the time for your safety and relief.

I am also a Canadian nurse interested in helping if I can - if anyone knows of a group of Canadian nurses going down to help please let me know. Glascow...I cannot imagine what you are dealing with down there - you are in our thoughts and prayers

One on nights another nurse and I went for a walk to an old part of the hosptial - we ended up in the old nursery/maternity floor. It was really creepy and all the hairs stood up on my neck as soon as I entered the hallway - a few minutes later one of the call bell lights lit up at the nurses station - we got out of there quick!!!:chuckle

I am currently practicing as a RPN and I am in school for my RN/BScN - my plans are to travel nurse to Florida or Texas during the winters since I am a winter hater :chuckle So the issues will affect me either way - whether US based or international - I have noticed that terrorist stuff is now included in the US textbooks - my interest is in the ER and I am assuming that hospitals want you to be prepared in this aspect? Talk to you soon!:)

Thank-you for your suggestions dynamite :) I will have a look - does it apply to Canadian's as well? thanks! ERtraumanurse

Really sad isn't it? To know that people do value us - but we do not see the monetary value - I think the same for police officers, paramedics and firefighters - honestly when you see the fat cats sitting in their offices - and who looks after them when they drop with a MI??? - arghhhhh :angryfire

This is obscene - I know what I would like to do with that surgeon :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire He is likely one of those surgeons that has a hissy fit in the OR !!!!

Hi everyone, I started reading a book last night about Canadian nurses in various areas of clinical practice and I began to think about how much we do - the author started by saying how nurses are there when we are born and nurses are there when we die - and we are there in many instances in between. Anyway, I started discussing the wage rates with my hubby this morning (he is a police officer) and he says that at the very least nurses wage rates should be on par with firefighters and police officers. The more I think about this the more I keep thinking - we need to be paid our value - I know this is an old issue - but it is getting under my skin - I am getting a degree which is now required to be a Registered Nurse in Ontario - spending thousands of dollars - re-mortaging our home - and there are bankers making more money than we do - and they are shuffling papers - not holding people's lives in their hands - where the hell is the justice?? So that is my complaint - I just needed to vent - thanks for reading

I am in the process of getting my BScN and I am a RPN - you need to have your 4 year degree in order to write the National RN exam in Ontario. RPN's are able to to look after patient's that are considered "stable" and if that changes the RPN is responsilbe to seek out the assistance of a RN. Good luck on your visit here!!

:angryfire Hey everyone, I am a mature student RN/BScN - One of the young ladies in my clinical group from last semester had a horrible day in clinical today - she is a smart girl and nice too - today her clinical instructor chewed her out in front of a patient and another nursing student - even when people are making mistakes I have a HUGE problem with this type of thing. :angryfire The instructor in question is very high strung and rubbed me the wrong way the first time I met her. I guess I just wanted to see who else has had this problem - the young lady was in tears to boot!!!! :angryfire :angryfire I am very protective of most of the girls I am training with because I have been there when I was very young too (I am an RPN). Anyway, just wanted to vent cause I am mad and frustrated that there are still nursing teachers out there getting away with this kind of crap :angryfire

:angryfire Hey everyone, I am a mature student RN/BScN - One of the young ladies in my clinical group from last semester had a horrible day in clinical today - she is a smart girl and nice too - today her clinical instructor chewed her out in front of a patient and another nursing student - even when people are making mistakes I have a HUGE problem with this type of thing. :angryfire The instructor in question is very high strung and rubbed me the wrong way the first time I met her. I guess I just wanted to see who else has had this problem - the young lady was in tears to boot!!!! :angryfire :angryfire I am very protective of most of the girls I am training with because I have been there when I was very young too (I am an RPN). Anyway, just wanted to vent cause I am mad and frustrated that there are still nursing teachers out there getting away with this kind of crap :angryfire