Bronte03

Psych nurses are one of a kind. It's a specialty most don't care to go into but we all have the psych patients on our floor, the community, wherever we go. I have worked on many floors and there is always at least one "crazy" definately not my word but often heard amongst other staff. I've worked there a few shifts and I have felt scared only because I've not had a chance to know what condition the patient has. Sure a handover but really a minute over a patient who can be violent.. My own psych needs to know what to expect so that I can take care of them to the best of my ability. Before nursing I worked closely with my hospitals mental health unit and to be honest I couldn't tell the difference between who was the client and who was staff. They all dressed in civvies and talked quite strangely as if they were on meds. I did look after a patient and by the end of the shift on the unit I literally felt crazy and totally exhausted. I'd travelled the world, met umpteen versions and age groups of this client. It takes a special person to work with so many personalities and stay sane in this field. Black humour is a total lifesaver. No matter which specialty we work in!

I hear you. I worked ortho for 10 months with morbidly obese patients. I learnt a long time ago never to judge a person because I wouldn't have walked in their shoes.. By the 5th month I had 4 patients all over 85 -140kg (sorry can't convert) who had their catheters removed on the same morning. I still had a 5th patient that I never actually saw due to having to get these patients into a showerchair to the toilet for my 8 hour shift. All they did was pee! An hour before my shift ended my arm also ended with a patient in a shower chair who I could not push. I had torn the ligaments and tendons in my arm. It was pretty much the beginning of the end of my nursing career. And judgemental. I just cannot control the way I feel about people who are obese because I can no longer perform the job I loved. I didn't report the incident to the NUM one of my patients did! NUM and I had no love between us so she spoke to me and told me off for not asking for help.. Yes there are definately fairy nurses available on morning shifts. I went on workers compensation for 3 months but she made sure I still worked my 40hr week for those 3 months. It became a permanent injury and eventually I had to leave. I cannot shake the way I feel no matter how hard I try, I am now having counselling to try and work on it but stirring a cup of coffee then not being able to pick it up to drink, it takes me right back to the very minute my arm basically snapped. Previous to that day I'd never had a problem with obese patients. They were great and I'd do anything for them. Most were my fav patients. I have just started studying again but I miss night shift. The challenges, team closeness, having to depend on each other, patients who appreciated having me look after them and I never walked off the ward without a smile. The worst part was that I was early into a career that I had been waiting 30 years to do.

It is a pet hate of mine as well. However after working in orthopaedics I finally got the hang of it and would literally rub the patients back and get the anti emetics into them asap. It is far scarier for them than for me - that is what I tell myself.. Initially I was petrified but when it is so constant, doesn't smell post op it gets easier. I hate the noise but when you have 4 in the same room heaving it kind of becomes more normal. I think urine when the patient has an infection is far worse and it does have me gagging.. May I ask though what is a basin? Australia has vomit bags only so everything goes into them. Basins we use to wash patients, ours are deep and plastic.

How many of us have nursed the older generation with tatt's. I have often asked what it was supposed to be. Yhe sag no longer looks wonderful.. and most wish they'd never had it done. To answer the question is has become very fashionable and most hospitals/LTC places no longer say anything, due to the discrimination issue.

I had a manager who literally screamed at me in front of the ortho specialist's doing their morning rounds, patients and their families infact she just didn't care. the junior doctors on the floor would pull me aside when she left to make sure I was okay after the latest rant. families and patients wanted to know where they could put in a complaint about her (for the 10 mths I was there) Other staff just told me to stay away she was nothing but trouble. She even went off with the Director Nursing how poorly I worked and with no empathy or skills. I spent a lot of time in the toilet with other staff members trying to console me through her constant tirades. I was doing my first year and had to go interstate in order to get my hours so I stuck it out. The funny thing eventually was I'd done my first bed handover and who was standing their but the director. I went out to her and asked how I did. She replied with completely professional and great skills. My empathy was given at 100% I cared. the families would come in and ask to speak to the manager about my performance. I pointed her out and asked them to put it in writing.. In those 10 months I was asked to nurse a particular patient every day. The letters kept piling up, she ignored them. Just yelled even harder. In the end I collapsed, she was really happy not to have me on the floor. I resigned (had my hours) and have not been on a ward since. And have no desire whatsoever. I loved my career I was happy no violent patient was even a problem. Where to next? Vet nursing (that is what they call us in my country) if they misbehave there is always a cage to put them in until they settle. Perhaps I will feel needed and regain confidence.

Although I don't live in the US, nursing basics never change in our world. I have in my short career 2 yrs all up worked in 17 hospitals.. I could have written your post word for word. I basically go anywhere I am asked nuero, surg, med, cardiac, mental health (seem to fit right in there) but hate going there. It can be frightening not understanding what is next, however you can turn an assignment down. I specialized in ortho and downright hated it. I ended up with a permanent injury to my arm for life. So now I am in some sort of head space to contemplate putting my resume into an agency and take it from there. The brilliant part is you can choose your shifts. I started on PM then went to nights. I had far more time to spend with the many patients who do stay awake. Yes there aren't as many staff for back up but the teams are very tight. I hate days that's when agency is busy. If you have about 5+ yrs of experience go for it. PM shifts are busy but comfortable. As long as you have routine you CAN cope. And they don't tend to depend on you to actually know anything!! The lack of responsibility as such reduces the anxiety and not knowing where things are. You turn up big smile and look positive (false way of approaching it) and hang on for the ride. I found the greatest part of agency nursing was being THANKED for coming in by all the night staff and the manager. It was worth it, I was part of the team, depended on and appreciated. You can get away with doing 1 shift a week to get that confidence that has been kicked inside out. My scrubs are ready, I have newish shoes that smell clean. I just need to take that first step then start straight away. I know somewhere in me I definitely have the skills for a nightshift. You can do it, they run you through the ward on arrival show you everything, give you your schedule. Unlike floor nursing, there is no involvement in the day to day **********. Good luck.

I am a EEN and we get a LOT of unfortunate remarks from our Uni students because we don't have the "knowledge" acquired by the new grads. We have the basics and in nursing basics is what makes a ward work. It is cleaning up from every orifice in the body, it is being the RN without the degree. Every nurse does the dirty work, we write reports, we identify co morbidities and why patient X is about to shut down. We hold hands of patients, their families and other staff members especially our new grads as they dissolve due to lack of "hands on knowledge". Uni grads do NOT have enough clinical skills - how do I know this? Nobody in their right mind would continue with a degree that is basically cleaning patients with endless runny yellow poo or poo that has to be identified, vomiting all over you at the beginning of a shift, changing pads that have been left too long and really there is no way to get that stuck poo off disintegrating skin. The urine that makes you want to vomit when they don't have a real bath for days. Dealing with a violent patient who punches you endlessly because they have dementia/mental health issues and all the wonderful drugs to calm them don't work anymore. I have been bitten, black eyes, been in a headlock it goes on.. Nursing is hard work for poor pay. Patient ratio's for a new grad and time management goes out the window as you have to shower, give meds within a small timeframe and then be unfortunate to have a patient collapse. Patient A (unsteady on her feet) is in the shower, B is trying to have a heart attack, D is vomiting and you are lucky C is sitting up and not demanding why he hasn't received his wheatmeal toast. What do you do??? This is nursing and most importantly it is you by yourself dealing with 3 patients. This is learning, this is what we do and Uni does not prepare you for these incidents. It would be more beneficial to halve your time at uni and have 6 weeks of clinical block learning. Nurses don't have time to hold your hand and they whinge. Why wouldn't they when you cannot make a bed or know what a bedpan looks like. If you want a friend on your ward treat an EEN very well, they will teach you about real nursing so that you can apply your skills confidently. I have spent a lot of time with students teaching them the basics. The rewards are great when we are thanked by the manager and educator. We aren't just EEN's and nobodies, we are your support with the knowledge that you don't initially have. Common sense and the ability to deal with anything immediately will help you. Sorry I have raved but reality is on the ward, not in the world of universities. They teach you subjects you will never need or use in the health field. More clinical skills is what you need to literally survive.

So as the title says it happened about 8 months ago. I worked in orthopediacs where I was bullied so badly by the manager the doctors on the ward would pull me aside and tell me that I was fantastic and had the skills and that my boss was completely out of line the way she treated me. No other nurse (60 on our ward) was treated and embarrassed in front of patient families, patients and all other medical staff including the surgeons. I ended up resigning after 10 months as I collapsed on a day off and ended up in the ward directly beside ours. At no time did she visit or ask how I was. Strangely the doctors came in and asked if they could do anything for me. Patients and their families were telling me how good I was and that my care was exceptional - this was sent to upper management. Although it was stressful on the ward patients did praise me for keeping them alive etc. It was enough to keep me there although I did a lot of crying not professional at all. I had a family who needed to eat and therefore I just had to hang in there. After 8 months on the ward I started to snap mentally - my response to the patients who I'd cared for was "you are all lying and I don't want you to tell me how good I am" because you are all completely wrong. I'd stopped crying by the 6 month mark. I was shutting down to the ongoing poor performance every morning when I walked into the ward - I'd shrug my shoulders and keep walking. By the end I just completely walked past as the manager continued to loudly tell me what I'd failed at yesterday.. I guess the thing that kept me there (I was interstate with my young family at home) was the mortgage, endless bills etc. I'd fly to see them but leaving was so destructive - my older girl used to cry so hard she'd be vomiting by the time they got home. Anyway, I came home in January after 11 months of being away and am so traumatised I cannot function. it has taken me 4 months to go to the doctor to get a mental health assessment but I fell apart before seeing the psych and left her office. Valium and anti depressants keep me well enough but I cannot go to a hospital or anywhere related to the medical field. I have had PTSD and I guess it feels a lot like that. This is the 1st time I have opened up to the destructive life I lived. On good days I think yep I can go back to work on night shift - I did it for 18months and loved it! I was so happy and loved my job. Some days I can't even remember how to do a BP.. I am sorry this is so long and probably jumbled. I live overseas but nursing doesn't change and I know that we all relate in this field. Finally where is my empathy and will I ever get it back???

I work nights and I often get patients who dislike being disturbed and whinge when I come in. things like nurse I am trying to get some sleep do you have to keep waking me?? My reply is "you don't come to hospital for a rest that's for when you go home". Or taking those endless obs during the night "I need to see if your ticker is still pumping" tends to lighten the mood somewhat. Nurse you are so good looking "darling you are 97 years old, sight impaired to the point of not being able to move without help but I love the compliment anyway" I am so sorry to call you but I need to go to the toilet. " Mrs M this is the 3rd time in 15 mins, I really don't think so (no UTI just lonely) however why don't I get you a bedpan or commode? No nurse I will just go to sleep now.. The endless dementia pt's who run rampant through the ward ripping their clothes off on their way home to the farm to milk the cows, or those who are in bed and screaming I just want to go to bed.. "Mr S you are in bed let's just get you settled" really? "Yes really." Nurse stop making me laugh. "that's what I am paid for, it's far better then the garbage they fill you up with 6 times a day. Besides, it'll get you home faster.." Nurse I have no idea where I am or why. " depending on the age of the pt I often reply with "me too, looks like we are in the same place but at least we are together" Some nights that's just the way it is. Nurse is it time to get up now? (2300pm) can I make you a cup of tea? "No, I just need you to lie down, relax and get ready for your day nap." If only pts slept at night! Listen up if you are going to get sick or die you cannot do it until 0716. Why?? "because I go home at 0715" On the dot I have lost quite a few pt's and as we all know the paperwork is endless.. and everyone is in the middle of handover so I can't escape..

Initially we all feel incompetent and some staff will moan and groan about us. However, they too went through the same emotional trauma. You have worked really hard to get where you are' To quit now would achieve what after all those hours of countless worry of failing exams etc? Each step you take is positive no matter if you may think otherwise. The frustration of not knowing, not being fast enough, not giving that report on time causes both you and the new shift irritablility. However in weeks and months to come inch by inch you will achieve and learn and that will never change in any part of your life. It's early days, as PP have suggested night shift is an excellent way of learning skills and not feel so incompentent. You will also learn different skills and generally nurses will teach you simply because it's one less thing they will have to do and they have time. Most times it isn't that busy and you can update your knowledge with meds and just talking. Having said that some nights can be a nightmare but they too help your feelings of inadequecy. You don't have time to feel incompetent or slow everyone depends on each other, no matter what happens you are a team and unlike day shift there is time to discuss what happened at some stage. day shift do not have enough time to scratch themselves. However my best advice is when you have to go to the bathroom, GO otherwise you'll end up constipated like most nurses.. Then you will feel very irritable not to mention uncomfortable.. and drink heaps of legal fluid. In years to come how do you think you may feel if you give up now? Relax and breathe and good luck.

RESPECT staff - they are the people on the floor for the shift dealing with patients, NOT you. Always THANK them and mean it as they leave. If there is a complaint take the nurse aside preferably in your office and LISTEN to what they have to say without judement. COMMUNICATE the good, the bad and the endless ugly -staff want to know what is going on, rumours in nursing affect the nurses and the reason they are there - for patients not managers endless nonsense. Be AVAILABLE. 5 minutes of your time in the outcome of your shift can prevent a lot of misery for both you, your staff, patients and the dreaded management above you. Have an open door policy, never let a staff member be afraid of you. Your attitude can make or break your staff. They too, have a life and that life affects their behaviour both on and off the job. Like most jobs you will have a bully on staff at some stage, deal with it IMMEDIATELY. Don't lose staff because you cannot manage what is happening for your shift. Staff want to feel SECURE and SUPPORTED, not taking sickies because they can't cope. None of this really has anything to do with the management above you. It's you supporting your staff they come FIRST - without them you wouldn't have a job or patients. I work agency - different hospitals everyday. The best shifts are when I am thanked for turning up, providing help and endless support to both staff and managers even though I don't know them and knowing they trust me to look after their patients. The biggest thrill is having patients thank me and the nurse manager pulling me aside and asking me to put my name in to work permanently at the hospital. Sometimes I think wow, they really want me to do that. And others I think NO way in this world will I step into this hospital.. and it all comes down to - you guessed it the nurse manager and the respect/lack of her staff.

I am in Qld so can't help you for SA but whoever you do end up with ask other agency staff members what they think of the company you end up choosing. I have worked agency for 16 months and in that time I've seen quite a lot of nurses change agencies due to better pay conditions, getting paid on time, uniforms provided and how easy it is to have contact with the staff of the company. Also, not sure if you have done agency before but different hospitals etc pay different rates and expect more work - point being I can do a night shift and the pay can be as big as $30-60 difference and the workload 29-46 pts shared amongst 2 staff members. It's like anything but I do refuse to work for certain hospitals. Sorry couldn't be of much help but if you haven't done agency these sort of questions are important. Good luck with it.