oldcurlyrn49

I think it is wrong to catagorize people. My current manager who is in her thirties is always talking about "Generation X". According to her, gen-xers do not feel they need to "pay their dues" ie; work holidays, night shifts.They are all about instant gratification, because they have grown up with the latest technology, cell phones, computers/internet etc. How ridiculous is that?! I have raised 3 children from so called generation- X.They are not perfect, however they are kind, caring hard working people.I have worked with some awesome 20 year. olds. I have also worked with a 23 year old that refuses to remove her tongue ring , even though it is against the hospital dress code, because"it is who she is". She is also the person that comes in late without calling, because she was "tired". Our manager has never done a darn thing as far as holding her accountable for her behavior even though she is aware of it. This girl has the potential to be a great nurse, she is very smart and energetic. However I feel management is creating a monster that feels she is so darn special she doesn't have to follow the rules like the rest of us! Our manager, because of her gen-x theory doesn't see this as a problem. I, on the other hand am sick of the "hot flash, menopause" comments made at my expense by my manager. I feel discriminated against and have just about had it, even though I love my job.

I appreciate your response. My co-workers and I agree with everything you wrote! There was a situation years ago, where a child died in Peds, one nurse working on nights no one else. It took more than a few min. to get a response from the code team. The nurse did everything within her power to save the child, but valuable time was lost gathering staff to help her. As it turned out the child had an undetected congenital heart condition and would have most likely died anyway. However the nurse that was working that night was and is an excellent peds nurse, the point being it doesn't matter how great your nursing skills, are you need backup! After that incident, the staffing module was changed to 2 RNs for every pt. no matter what shift. However the manager we currently have states "this is too costly", how can you put a cost on a child's life? This same manager has not done bedside nursing in "years" and admits she "doesn't know much about pediatrics". Our kids are coming in sicker and sicker, at times they need 1:1 nursing care. We have the NICU for backup, but they admit "aren't comfortable", just as I would not "be comfortable" taking care of one of the vent baby's. NICU and PEDS are specialized areas,my co-workers and I don't want to be teamed up with a CNA who "really, doesn't like kid's"!" "Can't do vitals on babies" We are told we need to "delegate better". As for punching "no lunch" we have to ask permission from the manager!

We are currently at odds with management as to how best"staff" our 14 bed pediatric unit.Our patient's ages range anywhere from neonate to 18yrs.Our acuity varies from day to day. On any given day we may be caring for a sickle cell pt. with an "acute chest" who needs a blood transfusion, a severe asthmatic on cont. nebs, surgicals,and a DKA on an insulin drip.Our policy in the past has been to staff with a minimum of 2 RNs at all times.We should also mention we do not have a PCA that regularly works on our unit. That means the 2 RN's are responsible for baths, linen changes, answering all the call lights,passing meds, etc.We also transport our pts to the door at discharge. Some days we are also entering our own orders on the computer, answering the phone, and letting in visitors, because we do not have a secretary all the time.We rarely get breaks, or a lunch,our manager has told us the hospital does not "have " to provide us with these luxuries!(?) Most days it is do-able, however there have been times both RNs have been busy in the treatment room starting an IV, call lights are going off with no one to answer them immediately. We have been fortunate so far that nothing terrible has happened.Management has recently been trying to staff with 1 RN and a PCA, while the other RN stays at home "on call". Not only has staff been losing hours,morale is at an all time low, with many of us looking for other jobs.There are many days one RN has to leave after 8hrs.(we work 12's) on call, replaced by a PCA who may or may not be familiar with our unit, with the expectation we could be "called back" at any time before the shift ends. Some of us are crossed trained to the NICU(our sister unit) but their staff have been losing hours also. All of us work peds because we love it! However we also have car pymts., mortages to pay. The ironey is our unit is part of a brand new beautiful buliding that adjoins the main hospital, it was built specfically for Women& Children", in the community. We continually meet with management to discuss our different views on staffing. It would be interesting to know if other small pediatric units experience some of the same problems.

hilarious!!! thanks for making me laugh!it's been a hard week,lots of rsv and rototvirus! you helped to remind me why i love peds so much---thankyou!

At almost 49, not only do I wear makeup(minimal) I pluck and spackle! The most important thing to remember is to appear well groomed, makeup or not! I shows you take pride in what you do.Unfortunately you are judged by your appearance. If you look messy, sloppy, others may percieve that is how you nurse. If appearing well groomed makes you feel good, it probably also helps you feel confident!Just save the sparkley stuff for when you have a life again-after you graduate!

The funniest thing I heard was just yesterday. A mom of a 2week old baby that was admitted for RSV, stated the baby had RSVP!

Hello, First allow me to introduce myself, I am new to the forum. I am an RN currently working on a 12 bed peds unit. We have a 16 year old high school student working on our unit as a CNA. Apparently there is some new program in place to recruit students interested in pursuing an RN degree. She makes $10.35/hour, does not know how to make a bed or how to screw a nipple on a baby bottle. To make matters worse she was told she would be assisting RNs during procedures IVs, caths etc... She does not feel it is her responsibilty to pass pt. trays or get them up to the bathroom, which is something we all do on the unit, no matter what your title. Oh, and she no longer wants to be a nurse, its too gross, and there is too much paper work.Her only motivation to work is to buy a $300.00 designer purse. I would think we could "find" a nursing student who genuinely wants to work peds, don't you?