minnymi

i was assuming that you were talking about a nurse who is employed by the hospital and just happens to get pulled somewhere else. however, the hospital where i used to work as a nurse intern had an agency that staffed nurses just to float or fill in gaps where there was a need. the nurse might be on our floor for one day or she might be there for several months. either way, i was shocked at the way they were treated. for example, i had one of the agency/float nurses ask me to fetch one of the "regular staff" nurses to help her do something. when i found that nurse and told her the agency nurse needed help, her response was: "i have my own work to do. she's getting paid twice as much as me so she can get her own stuff done." they really were the black sheep. nobody really talked to them or socialized with them during lunch. they were downright jealous that they were doing "the same job" and getting paid less. i was always extra nice and helpful to those nurses because i saw how they were treated and they were always grateful to have at least one ally. i once asked one of the agency nurses why the other nurses didn't just go and work for the agency and "get paid double" and i found out that many of them WANTED to, but the agency had an agreement with the hospital that they wouldn't hire any nurses who had been employed by the hospital until they had been separated from the hospital for at least one year. it made sense because if that rule wasn't in place then the hospital would lose it's nurses in a heartbeat! i'd HAVE to get paid double to be an agency nurse that floated. besides all the instability....they'd have to pay double just for me to put up with the way i'd be treated! it really was elementary.

there used to be LPNs in the hospital where i work, but not anymore. they stopped hiring them and the ones who worked at the bedside either left, went back to school, or took other positions in the hospital. some of them are discharge planners/case managers. there are a couple who work basically as EKG techs. i don't know their real job description. i just know anytime someone needs an EKG an LPN shows up to do it. so, there are still some LPNs in the hospital, but they aren't at the bedside. i guess they offered other jobs as options other than going back to school, but they are definitely not hiring. oh...this hospital is magnet.

after seeing how you jump on every bsn thread and get so personally offended by any statement that implies getting a bsn in this job market would be wise.... quite frankly, i don't believe you.

i know it's the technology age and everything, but you're the most advanced two week old i've ever seen! sorry, couldn't resist.

congratulations....i hope you like it!

i would think, "oh, great. i'm going to get stuck with the load nobody else wants." i used to work on a unit where one of us would have to float pretty much every shift. NOBODY ever wanted to be the one to go. we were supposed to take turns, but it almost never happened that way. if it was the person's turn who was best friends with the charge nurse then the charge nurse would have some reason that that person couldn't go. it's one of the many reasons i quit that job. i hated the floor i got floated to and i was just about working on that floor more than i was the one i was hired for.

uhh....requiring a bsn in order to practice is raising the standard. who said they shouldn't have a voice? don't take one part of what i said out of context (literally) and twist it to fit whatever on earth is inside your head.

sure you can. just choose not to have a life!

my guess would be because there are too many ADN educated nurses who have a voice and they are more worried about their pride so instead of raising the standards they keep them the same. some people take things way too personally as is evident on this very board. they feel that raising the standards will somehow take away their worth. heck, why don't we just go back to the good ole' days and start plucking prostitutes off the streets.....it's just nursing.

you said your pay doesn't cover much more than childcare, but you work part time. wouldn't the solution to that be to work full time in a job that you actually like. it sounds like you want to quit the job you have for other reasons than wanting to stay home.

why don't you take her aside and be very kind, but straight forward about it? maybe the manager addressed her needing to iron her scrubs, but wasn't able to address the odor. it's not an easy thing to do. i had to tell a co-worker she smelled one time. it wasn't a nurse. i approached my manager about it, but my manager didn't feel comfortable doing it and asked if i would. the girl later thanked me and said she went to the doctor and had something going on that caused the B.O...i can't remember what she said it was.

good news! i've never understood why anyone would do something like this when it's not like they are paying for the supplies out of their own pockets anyway.

some of them might be jealous and your acceptance is a reminder of them being stuck where they are. it's nothing personal and there's not really anything you can do about it. i used to ask some of my co-workers why they didn't go to nursing school (and i was sincere with some of them who i thought would make great nurses). some of them would say they didn't want to be a nurse, but most of the responses were, "i want to, but i can't start until next semester because (fill in the blank)" i would just encourage them and say something like, "well, you should do it as soon as you can. you'd be a good nurse." then, even if there is some envy there they at least know that you see them as capable and not "better than them."

whatever you do - don't badmouth your former employer and don't make excuses. i know it's hard bc it's natural to want to defend yourself, but the best thing to do is to explain that you made a mistake. explain that you learned a valuable lesson from it and you are now more cautious than ever.

this may be the case where you are, but i doubt that it's typical. i have given many baths and inserted many catheters alone. i stated previously that i doubt the OP will have an issue while giving care, but to say "none of what you will do will be alone" could be very misleading. in fact, there have been times where trying to find someone to help was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.