sunsetsrn

My other fav was the aide that said "she pulled out her IV and her wound vac" (semi-common occurance for this pt) me-"when?" "This morning" It's 1:55pm(aide shift change is at 2) me-"didn't think to tell me sooner?" "You were busy" Thanx for being thoughtful... :)

I have a 3 syllable name--apparently the last syllable goes up in tone on the end and becomes drawn out if something is wrong. I've worked 3 places as a RN now and the aides have done it all 3 places. I don't know how many times I've taken off down a hallway from hearing "Tristannaaa!!!" I also had an aide that would give me odd respers-- like 64. Everytime- even with rechecks, even after I'd tell her that person's norm and then go check it myself and have her check again 2 secs after I left. Sometimes higher than the pulse. I still have no idea what she was counting.

For the last 2 years I've worked full time with DD adults in a group home type setting, however, our clients are extremely medically fragile and require a RN on staff 24/7. Best job I've EVER had and excellent staffing ratios. (6 clients 1 RN 3 aides). My younger sister is also developmentally disabled. And I'm sure there is a way to open your own facility, I don't know how you'd go about it though. I'm not sure how you'd set up funding for it. (That's why I'm a nurse, I don't do the money stuff! :))

ThePrincessBride: Did you work as an Aide before you started nursing school? Have you been around a lot of nurses other than your teachers and clinical setting? I've worked in healthcare and only healthcare since I was 16. I've been a RN for 6 years, and I've never found that trend to be the case. I've worked with young nurses that are 'cold' and I've worked with older nurses that are the most caring people I've ever met. And vice versa. But it's because of those older nurses with the experience that I finally went for my RN. I've worked places as a nurse and an aide that I'm sure they thought I was evil. I don't like hospitals. I'm good at the skills and suck at the politics. I love long term care, though. I like walking in and seeing the same people every day and knowing they know who I am and building those bonds. I think nursing has made me more compassionate. It's also made me more efficient, more vocal and much more able to stand up and advocate for my patients, which depending on what side of the fence you're on is going to get you looked at like you're the wicked witch. As for the addiction statistic If that's roughly the average anyway, why wouldn't nurses be affected? Although, I admit... I know more than 7 nurses and while we all have the occassional beer, I've never caught anyone popping illegal pills, smoking weed, or snorting anything (contrary to the popular tv show).

I'm good with that.. I have apps on my phone relevant to drug interactions, labs, etc. I also think many of them need to be advised how much can be learned from spending some quality time looking at their patients, maybe in the eye, while they're talking to them, rather than looking at the phone. Get the relevant info and put the phone down.