Cassinia

I worked in a hospital and we frequently had 1 - 2 aide for the whole unit on pms, sometimes we'd be lucky enough for a 3rd aide. Many of the other nurses had problems with the aides doing things for them, but I never did. The reason? Very simply, I helped the aides if they needed it. The other Rns would call the aides to take pts off of bedpans knowing the aide was tied up. I would just do it. When I asked for assistance, I never had problems w/aides helping me, they were glad to. Again, it was because they knew I would help them or get the light or whatever myself if they were tied up. I always told them I would never expect them to do something I myself would not do.

Sounds like you worked at the place I did. I was wrongfully terminated because they needed to cut the budget and I was the only full-time day nurse left; I also was there for 13 years. Which, according to them, I suddenly developed an "attitude problem" when they asked me my opinion on something during a meeting. An opinion, by the way, which never changed since the start of the program many years prior. The hosp. tried to block my unemployment, we went through arbitration, and the mediator wrote in his judgment it was clear I was fired for reasons other than what they accused me of. I got the unemployment payments finally. Actually, if I was nasty enough, I could have sued them for not following the Disabilities Act because as a hearing impaired nurse (bilateral aids) they didn't do anything to accomodate this when it came to the phones; at least not until 2 years prior to my termination when I made a comment during a training session and they were talking about the disabled patient; I made a comment about being the disabled nurse! I did speak w/IL Dept of Labor after the termination and I did have a case, but all it would do would get my job back. I didn't want it! All this did for me was to make me decide I would never work in a hospital again. And, yes, I'm over 40. I thought about returning to teaching because I've got my certs for Special Education and Jr High as well, but I wanted something a bit more stable. I finally found a job in a private company which does case management for health plans. I miss the patients and the technical nursing, but I don't miss the politics! I'm not really happy here, but I'm still in the nursing field and use my knowledge as well as learn a lot of new things. My ideal job would be a jammie job at home writing novels; I'll just have to see how my third one does before I quit my daytime job. :chuckle And, yes, it's stupid for hospitals to get rid of the older, well-seasoned nurses, especially during a nursing shortage. But, apparently, the business people know what's best for the medical profession.

:chuckle You'll definitely be around a lot of starts in nephrology and transplant. I use to get a little yucky feeling during certain procedures as a student. However, the only way I found out to overcome this was to expose myself to it as much as possible. The more I participated in what I didn't know or what got to me, the better I understood it and became good at it. If you can't overcome this, though, I would suggest looking into a different area. All I can say is just keep hanging in there and you'll eventually find you'll overcome it or realize it's not for you.

I've been an oncology nurse for many years, am currently a case manager who works with oncology patients, and have been through this on a personal level as well. First, the sites given to you by NRSKAren are good sites, I use them at work. If you are looking for trial studies you may also want to try http://www.clinicaltrials.gov or http://www.cancernetwork.com (which also has generalized information about the dx, tx, etc.). The emedicine site has some good information as well. If you have a chapter of the American Cancer Societly around you, visit them. I use to go in the one by me frequently to get information for me and for my patients. My feelings would be if it's operable, get whatever they can out of there and get a good picture of what's going on inside the body. Look into the different types of tx...chemo, radiation, ablation, trials. But remember, not all treatments are for all types and locations of cancer. Discuss this with the doctor. Wait for the staging from pathology, it'll be more informative and the doctors will be able to develop a plan of treatment. If she's going to have chemotherapy, get a port in her immediately! I've dealt with too many patient's whose doctors don't use ports and their veins get fried. A port will be more comfortable for her in the long run. Where I worked, if a pt was dx'd with ca, a port was immediately placed. As for her not having insurance. When she's adm to the hosp, get ahold of the social worker and question her about what's out there for assistance. Get your sister sx'd up for Medicaid, Public Aid, or whatever your state provides. If your sister goes into chemo therapy and needs medications, check out http://www.healthwellfoundation.com. or http://www.uneedpsi.org They are independent groups which helps cover medication costs for people being treated for cancer. Or, contact the company who is providing the drugs, Lilly who makes Gemzar (a chemo drug) has a program. Many companies like Pzier and Parke-Davis have programs, just to name a couple. Like I said, I've been there myself as a family member and everything is going to be happening quickly at first. Get a notebook to keep with you to write things down! Write down questions you have for the doctor, write down things the doctor tells you, write, write, write, it'll help you keep organized and focused. Remember, I know it's scary and it sounds like you've had a bad experience in the past, but there are positive outcomes. I've had patients beat the odds in many different ways. One young man we had, early 20's and newly married, dx'd w/testicular cancer and treated. Was told he couldn't have children. Two years later he comes to the until bringing his infant daughter. A lot of time as nurses, we only see the negative outcomes, I can't tell you the number of times I've held a dying person, and forget there are the positive ones out there. Hang in there, fairestar, you at least have one nurse here rooting for you and your family.

Normally, I'm not a cynical person but I've learned when it comes to nurses/nursing portrayed on tv we get blasted. Yes, I made the 5'7" comment; you're right, if any other type of nurse is portrayed then it makes it look like the nurse doesn't know how to care for herself or is a bad example of what a nurse is. I'm wondering if any of these nurses are over the age of 30. :chuckle

Hula, maybe I am putting in my personal opinions about this without giving it a chance but 2 things...1) it's a "reality show" which means there is no reality to it. The show is made for entertainment and, probably in this case, marketing for this company. It also means there is going to be a lot of scripted stuff in there for what they feel the audience wants to see...cat fights between the women, love interests, etc. 2) as of yet, in the many years I've watched tv shows where nurses are portrayed, have I seen a single show which shows the reality of nursing. We're either portrayed as hand maidens, sub-human, sex toys for doctors, or psychos. I've given up on medical shows, unless it's a documentary. I'm sorry, but this show may actually put nursing backward. All the glamour of being a nurse in South CA, the mansion, etc. How many younger people are going to see this and say "Hey, that's the life for me!" then get into the nursing programs and get hit by the reality of it. If they want reality, let them show the nurses cleaning incontinent patients, getting screamed at by pompous doctors, having to do dressing changes on oozing wounds which you could put a fist in it, cleaning up after someone's emesis, etc. Starting out with a clean uniform and ending the day with hair disarrayed, stains of who knows what on the uniform, and being out of work long after the shift is over because there's a nursing shortage. That's reality.

Travel nurses in a mansion in Southern California? I'll bet they're all minimum 5'7" weigh in at about 120 pounds and have the "perfect" figure. This sounds like another piece of garbage which I'll definitely avoid. I'm tired of the unrealistic world they put nurses in. Want to bet at least one of them will be bedding a doctor or resident by the middle of the show? Think I'll go and work on my novel instead of watching this type of drivel.

You have the right not to be videotaped. If dad wants to tape you, he has to have your consent, usually in writing. My son in high school had to sign a release to have his pictures used in a Senior Class video and when some kids were doing projects with videos. If the family is still there, inform dad he needs your written consent and he has invaded your privacy as well. Definitely take this up with your supervisor; your hosp. may need to include this in their P&P. Of coorifice for deposition, you may need to be videotaped, but that's a whole different ballgame.

I tried artifical nails once (when they were still allowed) but found I couldn't open the oral med bottles we used. I went to an OTC nail strenghtener which worked very well and I still use it even under my regular polish. As for the hands, try the products the farmers in our region use for their hands...Bag Balm or Corn Huskers Lotion (both can now be found in stores, esp. large chain grocery stores).

I've been nailed by an md twice, two different ones. One, a female oncologist got me when she threw the chart at me. It was kind of common place at one place I worked for mds to throw charts. When I started at my last job the first time a doctor, really nice guy, turned in his chair and handed me his chart, I flinched. The second doctor, male urologist, had a snit because the right kind of bandage scissors weren't in the room when he did the dressing. He got himself with the scissors first then dropped them down and stuck me as they continued to fall just missing the patient. I had a student nurse with me at the time and after the doctor left the room and I went to clean the wound, she asked me about what happened. By this time, I'm welled seasoned, I just shrugged and said he was having an off day. Edit: Of coorifice, this doesn't include all the times the mds pulled my hair. My hair comes to my butt and I wear it braided down my back.

Besides all the above reasons for not advertising drugs on tv (which I'm in agreement with), there's the fact most people listen to what it does and ignores the rest of the commericial about the side-effects. Of coorifice, the advertisers are going to scream "freedome of speech" to keep from getting the commercials taken from the air waves. Of coorifice, it will all come down to who has the most powerful lobbies in Washington.

To help cut back on the coughing, and not wanting to use cough medicine, I use an old fashioned home remedy of warm lemonade with honey in it. The warmth is soothing to the throat and the honey is a nice coating. I've used this on my son since he was little and even as a teenager he will try this before having to use medication.

I'll admit I'm a nurse who wore her pin, as well as a few others that were important to me. But, I graduated in the 1980's as well. When floating or having people float, it was nice to see the pin to see if the person was from your school so you had something to start a conversation, or identify them as someone from another school. Also a good way to start a conversation. Does the pin have to be a school pins like the ones before you? The school I went use to have large pins in the shape of an arrowhead; however, by the time I got to the school they were smaller and in the shape of a red cross. Can you select different pins? As for the date issue, my pin has my graduation date engraved on the back along with my initials. Our pins came that way, but I'm sure if someone wants to have it done, they can always take it to a jewelers. And Ex130Load you bring up a good point about problems and solutions. We have a saying in my home "If you're not part of the solution, then don't become part of the problem!"

This has always been a sore topic with me. I came into the nursing field after having a BS and double major in Special Education and Elementary Education. The BS was only worth the paper it was written on. When I sat in boards, why back when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth and they locked everyone in a large room, we all took the exact same test and by looking at us you couldn't tell who came from 2-yr, 3-yr, or 4-yr schools. I have worked with BSN nurses and MS nurses who were scary because, while being book smart, they had NO common sense or how to adapt things to situations. As a student, the nurses use to tell us they preferred the 2-yr students over the 4-yr students (I was a 2-yr). We were often with other students just starting on the floor who were in their 3rd year and just starting in the hospital. As a nurse, I preferred the 2-yr students over the 4-yr; the 2-yr (at least in our area) was trained in the hospital from the very first class. It would make me crazy because a lot of the BSN's were like 'that's not what the book said,' well, DUH! The book is a guideline. Many of the 4 yr nurses were too busy trying to analize while the 2-yr nurses were in there up to their elbows in the action. Alphabet soup behind someone's name never did impress me. What impresses me is what they can do with the knowledge and how to adapt it to different circumstances. And, as I said earlier, since we all take the EXACT SAME boards, who cares? It's why I also believe just because a person has a BSN after their name they shouldn't be paid more than any other RN from any other program. All you're being paid for is a piece of paper.

I've been in nursing for many years and everytime there's a nursing shortage, there are more nurses coming to this country from other countries. I have had to deal with many nurses who are not fluent with English. And, being hearing impaired, it made it that much more difficult for me. And, yes, there were problems w/doctors and patients understanding them. Some patients would request not to have the foreign nurses take care of them because of the communication barrier. I've seen doctors complain to head nurses and DONs because the nurses couldn't understand them to take the orders. And, late at night, the md doesn't want to be on the phone repeating himself a number of times (I speak from experience). Anyway, we're in a nursing shortage so expect to see all kinds of students, and nurses, from other countries. It's just the way it is. All I can say, having problems myself in school because of the hearing loss, is be patient with her, help her as much as you can, and try to include her in other activities not school related. A person can learn a lot of English in outside activites. And, by the way, there's English and American English, which is harder to learn since our language doesn't follow rules as strictly as English. Face it, we're a country of mixed breeds and our language shows this. :chuckle