lifesaverwv

I definitely don't condone what Andrea did. I can't imagine how she could drowned her children one by one. Also I don't think her husband is entirely innocent of the crime either. After Andrea had her 4th baby she tried to commit suicide twice. Her pyschiatrist advised Mr. Yates that his wife should never get pregnant again because the next time the postpartum depression would probably be worse. Her husband new this info, yet, instead of him getting a vasectomy he gets her pregnant again. I don't think that he was thinking about the welfare of his wife, he just wanted more children. I think he is as much too blame as his wife. I pray that the children are in Heaven playing happily with God & the other little angels that are there. :balloons:

Jessko, You have nothing to feel bad about as far as you're concerned. It sounds like your step mom is the wicked witch of the west! When your year is up I'd move back to WA where your sister & Mom are to give you support. I admire you for being a single Mom of 2 young children & making a major move with them & then coping with a new job. Keep your chin up! You sound like a terrific Mom!

Hi, I didn't go to nursing school in WV but I've worked in WV for 30 years. I enjoy chatting with other nurses from WV.

I"ve taken 2 FML's this year due to problems with my health. I currently have only 12 days left of FML before I'm expected to return to work. My problem is that I just had a total knee replacement 2 weeks ago! When I called to speak with my DON about just working a few hours a day, 3 days a week. She said she needed to check into it with employee health. She also said that when I come back to work that I'm not allowed to have any restrictions, such as light duty. Can she legally do that??? My ortho doc doesn't want me to go back to work at least for another month & then to be on light duty. Since I told him I will lose my job if I'm not back at work on Oct 24th, he signed a release paper so I can go back part time & not lose my job. He said as a regular floor nurse he doesn't advise going back to work after only 1 month post op. I'd appreciate any info anyone could give me. Thank you :balloons:

In response to the post to Estrogen about not playing the "Mom Card". You said you were upset with nursing Mom's who needed to take "pump breaks" I'd much rather relieve someone who is trying to keep her baby healthy than to be working my butt off while people who smoke take excessive breaks. For some reason they can't go smoke without taking a buddy. Several of us non smokers have complained to administration that this goes on, but the biggest offender is the Co-ordinator of the unit so nothing is done! I feel better now that I've vented :)

I also agree about making an appt with a counselor.Everyone feels depressed at one time or another. Maybe along with counseling your doc might think that a course of antidepressants would also be helpful. Please don't start having kids while you are in this frame of mind. Get yourself to a better place before you should start thinking of having children. I wish you all the best.

In the hospital where I work we have a choice between 3 methods. The 1st is the typical angiocath that we are all familiar with. The next choice is a butterfly needle that is usually a small calaber needle to use on babies & older pts with spider veins. Now we come to the 3rd choice which is my favorite. This device is called an Intima. These are wonderful. They come in various sizes that can be small, like a 22 g. intima, or they also come in sizes up to 18g & beyond. They thread in similarly as a butterfly, after you advance the needle in, you can then pull out the metal introducer which then just leaves a flexible piece of plastic in the pts vein. another great thing about them is that they have 2 lumens. Both can be hep-locked to use occ. or you could run fluids through 1 port & give push drugs for the other port. The more that I use the intimas the better I like them. I'm not sure what company makes them but if anyone is interested I can get the info about what company makes them.

I enjoy starting IV's. I also enjoy teaching pts before their surgical procedures, so that I can answer their questions & hopefully alleviate their fears. (that probably doesn't count as a procedure)

Hi, I am 54 years old & have been a nurse for 33 years. In August I'm having a left total knee done. Since I haven't worked orthopedics for years I'd appreciate any info that anyone can give me about the surgery, post op recovery etc. The doc said I'll probably be off work for 3 months. Also he'd like me to have a Femerol Nerve Block for pain control during & after surgery. I am chicken when it comes to someone putting a Large needle in my groin to do the nerve block. Has anyone seen this done? Thanks so much for your help.

Reply, As a nurse to a pt..... if you were sleeping soundly & the nurse vigoursly shakes you awake at 1400 hours, she would not ask you if you need a sleeping pill because 1400 hours is 2 PM in the afternoon

On a busy day on our unit one of my fellow nurses answered a phone call. I saw her on the verge of laughing hysterectly & she motioned for me to take the call. When I answered the phone I said "can I help you?" In a totally serious voice, this young man asked if it was OK for a pregnant woman to sleep on a water bed.( I'm not kidding) He said they were thinking of getting a water bed & his wife was pregnant, he wanted to make sure the bed wouldn't hurt the baby. After I told him water beds were safe for pregnant women, I hung up the phone & laughed til I cried! Where do people come up with these questions?

Hi, unfortunately we deal with these folks on occasion. One particlular family comes to mind. The mother is 80 & is a pleasant lady to take care of. The problem is her daughter who is a nurse, who happens to be married to a doc. As my grandma used to say, the daughter thinks her "s##t doesn't stink :) but anyway. there was a day when several of us were turning her mom, including the pts daughter. We found out later that her daughter, reported us to her hubby the doc, that we had "manhandled" her Mom, which wasn't true! She was one of the people helping us turn her Mom. Try to keep a stiff upper lip & do the best that you can in these situations.

Hi Gang, I am 54 years old & still currently working full time as an RN. In August I'm going to have a knee replacement done. Since I haven't worked in Orthopedics in many years I'd appreciate any info about total knee surgery & recovery that you could send me. You may e-mail me . Thanks in advance, also my doc said that since I'm on my feet alot that I would probably be off for 3 months.

Hi, we give our kids versed mixed in cherry syrup. How do you give it rectally & how long before it works? Thanks for the info

How do you have time to read 3 N.Magazines & still want another one? I'm apparently noy using my time wisely??

I know of several nursing magazines. RN, American Journal of Nursing, Nursing 2005. I know there are also magazines for special types of nursing, OR Nurse Journal, I,m sure that there are many more. Do a web search for "nursing magazines" & I'm sure you'll find alot to choose from. Good Luck

I read every word of your post. I've been there, done that many times during my nursing career of 33 years. Your hubby needs to speak to his step daughter & tell her if she is irresponsible again that you will need to get another sitter. When you don't get enough sleep it hurts you as far as dealing with stress. I know you have a tight budget but I think you should hire someone to watch the kids on the morning of your last night shift so you can sleep. Maybe she could do some laundry for a reasonable fee. You must make taking care of yourself your #1 priority. As far as the dramas at work go, hang in there. Some people are difficult to work with & nothing is going to change them. Keep being the wonderful nurse that I know you are & things will work out. I'll be thinking of you & wish you all the best. :balloons:

To Fran & her family, I will pray for all of you, esp. Fran. I don't know much about your history but from what I've read you have been a wonderful person who's had some health problems. If anyone would like to fill me in about Fran's medical problems I'd appreciate it.

This is a place that we all can come together to ask questions, relay info to others & to give each other emotional support when needed. Everyone needs to vent sometimes, it's healthy to do that. My hospital did nothing last week, today they gave us cookies. Whoppie

[ I hate to rain on anyone's parade but I agree with stidget99. Every year the nurses are recognized less for all the many good jobs that we do. I read other nurses postings about how their managers treat them like gold. I'm jealous :) I'd be happy if our boss went an entire day without having a bad attitude & speaking nasty to someone. Maybe they'll give us a pen so we could write our own incident sheets. Sorry for the negativity, people can only take that for so long :) before they burn out.

Hi Marla, I was on Paxil for many years. It did a wonderful job to help calm me & not get hysteri.cal over the things that my teenage son was doing. It also helped me with PMS & later with menopause syptoms. One day I decided that I would stop taking it to see what happened. I went into with drawal where I was very depressed. I was driving to my Dr. appt & I kept looking at big trucks that I was thinking of pulling in front of one so that I would die. I finally made it to the doc's office & told him how I felt. He put me back on Paxil & in a few days I was back to my calm way of life.

Some people should think before they talk :angryfire I work with 2 LPN'S that are excellent nurses! I would take them over many of the RN'S that work at our hospital. I think RN'S that try to belittle LPN'S are insecure about themselves. Don't let that instuctor dampen your spirits.

My gosh! Do the authorities just stand by until he finally physically hurts her, or even kill her. This poor soul is verbally abused everyday! Someone from Adult Protection Services needs to be contacted to watch this abusive man in action. Besides abusing his wife he is creating a hostile work environment for the workers. I bet that some have quit your facility because of this man. Please don't stop trying to help this lady, who cannot help her self. Please let this thread be made aware of what happens about this poor lady's situation. God Bless you for being the pts advocate :)

Good for you! If more nurses wouldn't tolerate the back stabbing weasel then maybe we can put the weasels out of business