LisaNICUrn

Love this ❤❤ I do wish people would hear our side of things sometimes. Not all of us are crazy conspiracy theorists and believe all the other things politics introduces into the vaccine dilemma. Especially us in the medical field. We have a background, a degree in science. We have learned how to and the significance of doing our own research, of evidence-based practices. We spend our days telling patients their rights as a patient. We teach about informed consent. We believe in science, and most of us are not anti-vax. Our research just comes from articles, from scientists, doctors, and studies not seen on every TV, every news outlet, and every online news source. Our articles aren't necessarily the ones you read, but if you look hard enough, you will find them. We see the side effects, the deaths, the stark differences they aren't splashing all over the media. I'm seeing such hateful comments from fellow nurses, it's so discouraging. We were taught to educate and never judge. But nurses are turning on each other, wishing death to the unvaccinated. I've never heard them say that about the patient that refused blood, or binges on sugar although they are a diabetic and ends up in the ICU. I've never heard it when an elderly person didn't get the flu vaccine so ended up in the hospital with the flu. Sad days We are living in.

OK I will look into the viral load information. I haven't researched it in a few weeks. And I definitely understand the immunocompromised wanting to have the freedom to live their lives as well and rely on responsible member of society. I live in Florida and am one of the few people you will see still wearing a mask at the grocery store. I see family but still shy away from large gatherings just in case. I still use hand sanitizer when I'm traveling and am conscious that I would never forgive myself if I gave covid to a patient. I am conflicted being a nurse and not wanting to get the vaccine. At the end of the day though, I have to protect myself before I can ever protect my patients. But I am not 100% against the vaccine, and I do research and almost daily weigh my options. I will continue to research and wait for further studies and pray the vaccine is as safe and useful as everyone thinks it is and I'll feel safe enough to get it soon.

The whole point the OP is making is there is no science. What science? The vaccine hasn't even been out a year yet. People who say "don't go to the doctor or take medication." That just shows how closed minded you guys are and how you do not understand at all. We are against science, in fact, we trust science whole heartedly. We actually want to see more science, more studies, before we put it in our system. And we are definitely not the gullible ones, we aren't the one out here believing everything we see on the TV and taking an experimental vaccine thinking nothing bad will happen. We choose to wait and make sure nothing bad will happen. Moderna has already been pulled in 3 countries for guys under 30 for heart complication. What will happen in another 6 month? A year? And you do realize this vaccine, the mRNA vaccine has been around for a while but never used? Do you know why? Because when they started the animal trials, the rats, every single rat died. Did they keep at it and finally have rats not die before they sent it to humans? Nope. They went from 100% dead rats to human trials. So no, not all tried and true in multiple countries. So when you guys say "oh don't go to the doctor then, don't go to the hospital if you don't believe in science" you point is mute. We do believe in science, now some don't of course, there are some true crazy folks out there, but for the nurses I've seen on allnurses at least, we all tend to hold out for the same reasons. We want more data. We trust our bodies after contracting covid.

Oh, no I understand, as a BSN prepared RN that it's not specific to the covid vaccine, and that vaccines aren't an antidote. Studies have recently proven that the viral load for vaccinated and unvaccinated people who contract covid-19 are nearly the same, therefore, the unvaccinated isn't spreading it any quicker or easier than the vaccinated. That was my only point. https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/covid-19/news/viral-loads-similar-between-vaccinated-and-unvaccinated-people https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/new-data-on-covid-19-transmission-by-vaccinated-individuals I guess this is part of the problem and misinformation. Part of all the confusion and hesitation. For all the legit articles and studies I can find that say they transmit covid equally, you can find just a many that say the opposite. Then it comes down to which articles do you believe? I am not antivax, I just don't believe this vaccine protects us like they say, I truly question how my body will react to it. I have done hours upon hours of research, I have prayed about it, and I have decided what is best for me at this time. Will I get it, or another form of vaccine for covid in the future? If it is needed and I feel comfortable taking it, sure. I just do not at this time. The problem with taking a vaccine that hasn't even been available a year is we don't know what it will do from one day to the next. Hence why countries are stopping Moderna for guys under 30. Why every month or so we hear of these side effects. We are now learning the vaccine might protect, but it isn't lasting very long at all. It's not political for me, it's personal, it's medical, it's my life. I don't go and scream on top of the rooftops not to get it. Those who do ask me, I explain I made the medical decision not to get it, and that they need to look into it, do their own actual research besides just watching the news, and make a decision for themselves. But I 1,000 % do not agree with people losing their jobs over something like this. I do not agree with mandating something for a virus that has a 99% survival rate. I do agree with people have medical freedom. Sorry, I got carried away. Have a good night.

You know Finland, Sweden, and Denmark all stopped their vaccinations for males under 30 because of pericarditis.

Wow so simple yet so rationale. Wish everyone felt this way. I don't understand how we are supposed to all of a sudden throw away all of our patient rights when it come to covid. They still have a right in deciding what they do with their medical care. We don't hold people against their will and make people stop eating fast food or sugar if they are overweight or diabetic. We educate, provide education, and keep it moving, because at the end of the day, it's their decision and we are not here to judge. Yet all that goes out the window when it come to this particular vaccine. Get your vaccine if you want, if you feel it is the best way to keep yourself safe, wear your mask to protect yourself from those who chose not to get it, and keep it moving. I'm not changing my medical decisions based on what you want or how you feel. I feel I am safer not taking a brand new vaccine with limited studies and that is my right. Yet I'm the devil, I'm the anti-Christ, shouldn't be a nurse, putting the entire world in jeopardy. Well if your vaccine works, then my vaccination status shouldn't matter.

Why do they need to be vaccinated when all it can possibly do is lesson their symptoms if they get sick? If they get covid (whether vaccinated or not) they can still spread it to you, and you (whether vaccinated or not) can still get covid. Only thing is if you are vaccinated, it will decrease your chances of ending up in the ICU. Them getting the vaccine doesn't do anything for you. You take a vaccine for yourself, not for others. Have you ever asked someone or said you wouldn't visit if they didn't get their flu vaccine? No, because you get your vaccine and then if you go visit and they have the flu, your vaccine will protect you and fight off the flu. Whether they have it or not doesn't matter ?!?!?

Everyone has a right to choose what they put in their body. Your vaccine? That doesn't even last 6 months before you need a "booster" because you're no longer protected? Or the chance of you having a severe adverse reaction to the vaccine vs the chance of getting covid? I'll take the chance of possibly getting covid and the unknown consequences of what it will do to my body vs knowingly putting something in my body that is still being researched, is being stopped in other countries because of their side effects, will require a "booster" every few months because it doesn't last that long, and I have no idea what it will do to me. My health will always come first and I will NEVER feel guilty for that, nor will I let anyone guilt me into getting the vaccine before I feel it is safe to take. I hope the barber you dropped is singing praises that someone like you is no longer sitting in their chair. The fact that I'm seeing registered nurses on this site blatantly say they see people and hear they are unvaccinated and hope they die!! What?!? Are you kidding me? Do you feel that way about overweight people who still eat that fast food and ice cream and end up in DKA and lose a leg? Do you say that to the older generation who ends up in the ICU because they didn't get their Flu shot for the season and has the flu? At the end of the day, when I take off my stethoscope, I still have to protect myself! I will not take something because I have RN at the end of my name simply because the government or my hospital tells me to. I teach my patients about doing their own research, about informed consent, about their rights as a patient, and I will do the same when it comes to my health as well. I have done my own research, I am not anti-vax. But I have questions on this vaccine, It doesn't stop anyone from getting covid, and it doesn't stop anyone from spreading it, so why would I chance taking a brand new vaccine. Not only new vaccine, but mRNA technology is new. Sure, it's been around a while, yep! But it has never been used because all their test subjects (I.e rats) die. Every single one. So forgive me for not trusting something that hasn't been properly researched? There were no human trials before it was given to millions of people at the same time. What will happen to people in 2 years? In 5 years? How often will we need boosters? Every 6 months (or 2 months for the J&J vaccine) for how long? This thread has disgusted me, and I pray my family members are never taken care of from some of you. You all need to learn compassion and acceptance again, realize even nurses are entitled to their own medical decisions. The hospital wouldn't be in such dire circumstances if they weren't firing nurses for not getting the vaccine. Why don't you blame them for firing your help? Then they bring in the national guard? You know they don't have to be vaccinated until at least the beginning of the year right? So you're still stuck with unvaccinated people. opps.

Oh gee. How about HIPAA?

Eww, flipping back and forth just makes night shift even worse for those who loathe it. At least if you were straight nights your body could some what get used to it so you could function. I know it might not be your ideal unit, but you sound like you know what you're getting yourself into with the ortho unit, I would go for it. Even with the short staffing/craziness, you'll at least have a good schedule that you love, you won't be a tired, it's only 8 hours vs 12 hours to deal with, and like you said, you'll learn a ton. Your personal life and your body will thank you for the 3-11 shift. Go for it. If you really regret your decision after, try and find an ICU that doesn't require the switching back and forth. Unfortunately, many specialties require newbies to start on night shift, but you may get lucky and only spend a few months on nights before being able to switch. Seems you know you'll be miserable on night shift so I would go for the day shift. good luck.

Congratulation. Well your orientation will probably be 12-16 weeks depending on what level NICU you are at. NICU is different from any other unit. What should you expect. Well my "normal" shift (nights) starts with report, then we do our safety checks to make sure our suction and bag/mask is working in case we need it quickly. Then I look over orders to make sure nothing was missed and make myself my hourly sheet, write down times I have meds or labs, BS at a weird time, anything I need to do I put down to keep myself from getting behind. Our babies generally eat every 3 hours. So we do our cares every 3 hours. Depending on if they are a stable level 2 baby getting ready to go home or a critical level 3 baby will determine how often we do a full assessment. We do a full assessment on every baby during our 1st cares. Then we change them, check their vitals, blood pressure, temp, measure their abdomen, listen to their heart and lungs, determine their work of breathing if any, check pulses. Then we feed the baby via tube or bottle. If they don't finish the ordered amount of feed then we tube the rest if they have a feeding tube. Then we move on to the next infant. Most hospitals have a 3:1 ratio for level 2 stable kiddos, and a 2:1 for the more critical babies, like if they are intubated or unstable. Babies tend to eat on either an 8:00 or 9:00 schedule, every 3 hours. For level 2 stable babies some hospitals require a full assessment each time, but many just require you to get a temp and vitals off the monitor, change their diaper, and feed them. Of course you are monitoring them throughout the evening for any acute changes to their conditions. Level 3 critical babies we generally do our assessment each time we do cares because they are more prone to changing quickly and catching it soon gives the best chance of recovery. So we do our 3 assessments and feed our kiddos, then chart. Then we do it all over again 3 more times. Now of course that is an uneventful level II assignment. We also have other things like night shift bathing and weighting them, one of the shifts will do line changes. There's also parent teaching, helping parents do skin to skin, breastfeeding, or any other necessary teaching. You can also have a busy assignment where you infant drops their saturations every hour and you have to go in and stimulate them to breathe, sometimes multiple times an hour, your infant has more to monitor like central lines, they are intubated or on higher respiratory support, chest tubes, infants that are post op, have trachs, g-tubes, ostomy's. You could be doing ABGs or glucoses often, titrating drips frequently, changing respiratory settings (RT does that but you have to be aware and chart it). And on top of your critical busy infant, you probably have another patient to take care of. Hopefully your co workers or charge nurse will help with the other infant though. So you can have a simple night or a night where you barely get to sit down, and that's with just 2 infants. There's also a chance, depending on your specific unit, you'll have the opportunity to attend deliveries, and you'll get admissions as well. Oh, and discharges as well. Now please know you'll never get the critical babies until after you feel comfortable. The amazing thing I've found at every NICU I've worked at (Im a travel RN) is there's always someone around to help you. Just ask questions, if you question something, get a co worker to take a look with you. You'll have months of orientation, then you'll start out in the lower acuity patient population. Once you get your feet wet and feel more confident they will no doubt give you more unstable infants. Welcome to the wonderful world of neonates. Good luck

Just wondering what the child/adolescent psych units do to treat their ODD patients. Not what meds or things like that but what do the nurses to do care for them when they are in the hospital. I work in an inpatient acute unit and we have a lot of patients with ODD. They end off being very defiant when they start making the unit unsafe. They antagonize other patients and cause commotion on the unit. Time and time again I just see them sent to their room, sometimes an entire day. They get bored and oppositional and argue with staff, and then end up in the "quiet room." Then after hours and hours of sitting there doing nothing, naturally the 14, 15, 16 year old child gets bored and wants out. Since they are so defiant and such an antagonist to other patients, we fight back an make him stay in his room, he fights back even more and comes out, then we put hands on or give "Emergency treatment orders" to give medication to make him stay in the room. It's a vicious cycle. I hate it though. It's not therapeutic at all. The patients learns nothing, has nothing achieved from staff or the patient. Of course he wants to come out of his room or the quiet room after sitting there for hours doing nothing. How do you guys handle these patients on your unit? My manager is asking for suggestions. She doesn't want the unit to "punish" patients. We are not their parents, we are a hospital and we are here to help them. We are here to treat them, care for them, not punish them. But it's so hard with patients with ODD. That's who they are. Any suggestions? Thanks

Well I for one knew I didn't want any traditional bedside nursing. I started out in psych and went to NICU for 3 years, and now I'm going back to psych. I missed it tremendously. I did travel nursing for a year and had to float to mother/baby at one location. I absolutely hated dealing with the mom. I was clueless and had no desire to be their nurse. I was a NICU nurse, precisely because I didn't want to nurse adults. I knew that from day one, and now I'm going back to psych because it's my passion. Yes, they have a little medical, I'm going into adolescent psych. I could never do cardiac, med-surg, oncology, heck, I could never do any adult, so I understand hating where you are at. If you know it's not just new graduate jitters, then if it was for me, I wouldn't stay. The thing is though, units spend a ton of money to put you through orientation and train you, so think very hard before you accept a position. Ask to shadow maybe. Also, make sure you talk to your unit manager. You don't want to get on their bad side and be put down as a no rehire, especially being so new in nursing. Most of the time they are going to tell you to stick it out at least 3 month, 6 months or a year. Most hospitals wont let you transfer so soon, you'd have to switch hospitals and let the hiring manager know why you might not get the best review from that hospital. Let them know how much you are interested in psych from previous clinicals. You seem to really dislike cardiac, but is there other things? Cardiac isn't the only thing that's going to bring codes and what not, is it just that you don't want to work with adults, maybe look at peds, or maybe you just want psych, which is completely normal. Some people know what they want, and that's it. Be prepared to tell them you didn't apply before or wait for that position. I'm only saying all this because if you decide to leave a position so soon, it will follow you. You'll just have to explain it. People understand that all specialties aren't for everyone. Trust me, I did hospice for 3 weeks, and dialysis for 2 months and left both because I knew it was not for me at all, I wasn't going to stay somewhere I dreaded every single day. Thankfully I still had my old prn job. So good luck to you and follow your heart, your dream. I recommend keeping your cardiac manager in the loop though because they will probably have to replace them. Offer to stay until your replacement is found, that's a great idea too.

Hi, I truly hope it gets better for you. Are you understaffed every day? Is management in the process of filling positions or does it seem that that's the norm and nothing is going to change? Like you, I feel a big part of psych nursing is talking to our patients and not just passing meds and doing assessments. I was in psych for 2 years (I've been out 3 but start again in a week), and we never took care of that many patients. We were an acute facility. When people were picked up by the cops they were brought there. The other facility would be a long term facility, and I believe they take on more patients, more like a nursing home. I don't know what kind of unit you have, and it's ok to have a few bad days here and there and be short staffed if someone calls in or something, but to feel horrible every day you come to work, is toxic. You're new, so that can definitely explain having to stay late to finish charting or what not, but that shouldn't be an every day thing either. I hope you have other co workers who can possibly help or let you know if it's the norm so you can make a better judgement of your future. Good luck

I don't know if you'll ever see this, but yes, the baby did survive. He's doing great now, I see his mom on FB all the time.