crystalbluern

Just a little more information....It was called a shift to the left because back in the Ole' days the CBC lab slips were short and wide. The immature cell counts were on the "left" of the lab report and so if the increase in immature cells occurred, there was a shift from the mature cell count on the right of the lab report to the left

AND...It is not a train :rotfl: I changed to a Pediatric Clinic position, a little less pay, but the hours are wonderful. I am also working with the most wonderful, christian group of doctors and nurses and support staff. I am still in counseling, it will help me adjust from a high stressed workplace to a more organized regulated workflow. I just have to say this...WHY didn't I do this years ago. If you are feeling burned out and highly stressed, consider a change to a different venue of nursing. Sometimes you just need to be "repotted into a different garden to bloom". Thanks to all for your support.

Well, I saw my new counselor today, will be meeting with him for a while I suppose, it feels so surreal. I mean I am not tearful since starting the cymbalta, and I slept a little better yesterday, but still having alot of anxiety about my workplace. Still cannot go very long with out thinking about them and feeling guilty for not being strong enough to keep going. That will change with work and time, but right now it is a real struggle. My counselor wants me to make a change to another unit, one without such a critical bedside care patient load. I have been selected to transfer to the Pediatric Clinic, but that was put on hold due to staffing concerns on the LDRP/NICU unit where I now work. My counselor said "how do you spell BURN OUT", well I guess I sorta knew that one was coming...just feel like a failure. My bedside manner and skills are tops, but the confusion and logistical problems on the unit have doomed me. I just cannot handle it anymore there. The counselor wants me to "play" more and give him reports...sorry to say, lately all I do is work and sleep. I feel guilty going out in public to do stuff when I am off on sick leave, but I have my orders and that it is much needed therapy. I am afraid that I will become "the flavor of the month" on the unit gossip circuit.

Well, I saw a psychiatrist today and I really do feel a little hopeful now, I also am starting on Cymbalta SNRI, which is ironic because I also have fibromyalgia, Irritable bowel syndrome and a few of the other twisted sister syndromes that go with these...recent studies have shown this drug to also has some promise in treating the symptoms of these as well as my depression...I will call my insurance tomorrow to see what is available for me to get counseling also. My sister and neice came by this evening and kidnapped me for a trip to walk around the mall...they did not want me to turn into "Mr Monk's brother" :chuckle The only rule was to NOT THINK ABOUT WORK FOR TWO-THREE HOURS. That was really hard...I feel guilty for letting the depression get so bad and letting the unit down by missing work. I KNOW that is that is the problem...MY ILLNESS, taking on the responsibility of the world and beating myself up for not being able to handle it, unfortunately there are some in my workplace who ENABLE me to think that way... I found a little book at the mall and bought it, "I AM MOVING ON"...motivational stuff. Still praying. The Church leadership came by and gave me a blessing...yesterday, I really appreciate their support.

Think good thoughts for me...after fighting "the blues" for a few years, I am finally admitting that I have Depression and will be seeing a doc tomorrow for treatment. I had a "breakdown" crying jag at work and am feeling really isolated right now. I love being a nurse, but feel I have lost my professionalism in front of my peers anddon't know if it will ever be the same again.

I had a weird experience a few years ago...I have given blood many many times before...I just love the T-shirts. :chuckle Anyway, I ate breakfast and drank a large juice before going to the donor station at work. They said my HCT was really great and did I have time to donate platelets or plasma?...or something, instead of whole blood. They put you on a machine and you have a IV. You get IV fluids and some of your red cells back during the process. They said it takes more time and you usually feel better because you also get fluids. Anyway, they had a problem with the IV part way through...a supervisor came over and they tinkered with it and decided it was OK. Afterwards I had two more cans of juice and some cookies. I drove around town and made two stops at stores before going to our market to pick up something special for dinner. It was my birthday. I was at the checkout when I felt really really bad. I noticed it was about 12:30 and said I should get something to eat. I grabbed some juice from the stuff I was buying and chugged a good drink. I felt better and paid for my groceries and went to the bank counter near the checkout to get cash for a sandwich on the way home. I suddenly felt a whole lot worse..."feeling of doom" comes to mind. I sank to the floor and put my feet up, but I had trouble staying concious and they called the paramedics. Rescue fire department arrived first. I told them I had given blood...they checked my pressures...they were fine and my blood sugar was 124 (with all the juice I had been drinking). When the paramedics arrived they put me on a monitor and oxygen as I was passing out again. When I came to, I heard the paramedic say she is brady...her heart rate is 40. They had me chewing aspirin and ran with lights to ER where I was worked up as a cardiac patient. Although my heart rate stayed in the low 60s for about five hours (I am usually 80s at rest), they could not find a reason for the bradycardia and kept me on the cardiac unit all night. My doc came in the morning and ordered a holter monitor and said I probably had an arrythymia that was transiant and I would probably wind up in the ER again and get a pacemaker. After a FULL CARDIAC workup by a specialist with all tests known nothing could be found and it has never happened again. I DO however have a diffusion problem with one lung now and my NEW DOCTOR referred me to a pulmonary specialist. WEIRD HUH... I just buy my t-shirts now

It just occurred to me that although He may have been there to help comfort mom, as we often allow on my unit...AND the REAL ISSUE is the care he received AFTER the fall... The attorney will surely look at staffing levels in the unit at the time. This is the most troubling issue for me. We all have been there when we are "walking on water" just barely keeping up, juggling the needed care with too few staff. Our unit managers frequently tell us we have adequate staff...yeah, when the nurses keep at a dead run for 12 hours and forget breaks or meals. A sharp lawyer will also take this fact into consideration and make THAT the issue. There was not anyone available to care for the dad. Once he was injured...he was the responsibility of the health care facility.

Just a question...OB L&D nurses working on LDRP units...how many of you are regularly circulating in the operating room during C-Sections. How do you manage staffing, especially when you have to have at least one other nurse for the baby, if the Pediatrician is there also. We also manage any "sick babies" in our Intensive Care Nursery on the unit, and we are doing our recoveries on our unit also. We recently combined our L&D and post partum units to LDRPs and we lost several nurse positions at that time.

Oh, Found this thread. I was wondering how you did. My daughter just took boards this last week, 265 questions also...she passed. Thank goodness, now I can buy that new carpet instead of helping with her expenses...HA!

Just wondering...did you get your results yet?

We are using it to chart the "outpatients" in our Maternal Child Unit. These ladies are here for non-stress tests or labor checks, or even just medical checks, sore throats, falls, etc while they are pregnant. It is great to have them already linked to what the OB clinic has entered, but the computer network seems to lock up or go down at the worse times. Also there are only two stations at the present time (they plan to get two more) and with four-five nurses on duty and one or two docs it gets congested. :smiley_ab We also use these stations to order labs, set the acuitity levels and check official e-mail from the hospital and management. They talked about having bedside terminals, but they were installed on the old L&D unit before we moved to the new LDRPs on the other side of the hall. Maybe when everything catches up and gets linked to the printers on our side of the unit it will be nice. Right now it is a real pain to have to go across the hall to get printouts on labs and patient sheets. I am sure that the numerous personnel who "support" the hospital (non-clinical) would never have to put up with this type of nonsense. It seems to take forever for workorders to be processed to change things.

Yes, we was very glad we didn't have to wait through the weekend, the long distance pep talks were getting expensive. She took the test Wednesday and it was posted as a valid license with the LA state board on Friday Afternoon.

It is hard to wait. My daughter graduated in December also. She took her Boards this week and was totally freaking out because she also took 265 questions. We kept checking on the Louisiana State Board of Nursing site for "License Verification" and finally it posted. ACTIVE LICENSE Exp 2006!! YEAH!! You might be able to go the your state site and check for early notification that way. Good Luck!

I have read about some studiy where it is being prescribed for pain with fibromyalgia. I asked my local doc and he had never heard about it.

Congrats!!!