jmll1765

Yeah, what TheCommuter said! So many of my fellow nurses are leaving bedside because it is increasingly becoming about customer service and patient satisfaction scores, not about saving lives. Administration is so focused on making sure the customer is happy that they forget to make sure their employees are happy. A coworker had a full cup of soda thrown at her because she didn't bring a cup of ice (soda was already cold..patient didn't ask for ice). If that happened at Wal-mart, they would've been escorted out the door and possibly face charges.

I believe experience is the great equalizer...I've worked along side LPNs who are more knowledgeable and competent than any RN simply because they have years of experience. Critical thinking skills are sharpened and honed over time and with experience, no matter what level degree you have. I've debated over the past few years about going back to school to get my BSN. But then I decide, why would I spend $15,000+ to write tons of papers and do group projects for the next 18 months and get nothing in return? I think I'll wait until my employer tells me I have to before going back and I might not then..I might go work in a Dr's office...weekends off, no holidays, less stress...wait, that sounds pretty good right now!

That stinks! Sorry you have to go through that OP. We get called off on a rotating basis with anyone having overtime getting called off first followed by PRN staff and then the regular full time staff. Someone usually requests call so we usually don't have to worry about it. Hope it gets better for you..personally I would move on, any place that repeatedly puts the same person on call sounds like they have some faulty managerial practices!

What part of NURSE'S station do these people not get?! The NURSE'S station is for the NURSES to use for the 5 minutes they might be able to sit down and chart or use the phone. Don't these people have their own offices or something? Our doctors avoid the nurse's station like the plague because someone might ask them a question or a family member might want to speak with them. They have their own office and a sleep room. I don't understand how taking chairs away from hardworking staff is going to encourage them to chart. Good grief! Better not take too long next time you actually get to take a bathroom break..they might take the toilets away so you don't waste precious time sitting!

Wow, this has kinda turned into an ER vs Med-Surg thread! I'd like to add my two cents. Anytime there is a change in procedure there is usually a period of dissent among the staff before it's finally accepted. A verbal report from the ER doesn't have to take more than a couple of minutes. Even if I don't have time to do the admission, I can at least take report, get the pt to the floor, and give them the once over, as long as they are stable I can finish what I was doing and then go back to my new admission. I have 12 hours to get the admission questions done and if I don't have time, well there's another shift at 7am. While I'm receiving report, I'm also looking through the chart, checking labs, ect...if I have a question I'll ask the ER nurse. Having a verbal report forces the floor nurse to stop and take report..to actually look at the chart before the pt comes to the floor. Our handoff process has had some issues but for the most part goes pretty smoothly. We try to take report in a timely manner but sometimes a delay can't be avoided. If that's the case and the ER desperately needs to clear the room, we'll have the supervisor take report for us. I like the idea of cross training..the whole "walk a mile in each others shoes"..None of the ER nurses where I work have ever worked the floor and none of our floor nurses have ever worked the ER except when we get floated. I have a healthy appreciation for what ER nurses do and I would hope that ER nurses have the same for floor nurses.

I work 3 on 2 off 2 on 3 off 1 on 3 off. I would love to work the same 3 days every week and then have more days off in a row. I have never worked 8 hr shifts but I don't think I would like them, I don't relish the thought of being at work 5 days a week! Three is quite enough! I agree with the poster that said a 12 hour shift inevitably ends up being 13 or 14.

I have never worked 8's but the thought of being at work 5 days a week makes me slightly ill. I work three 12's a week and even that makes me ponder the need to be medicated! I've often thought that if the hospital would mist Valium through the air vents every night, nurses and patients alike would be much happier.

I agree. I work nights and after I work a 3 day weekend, 2 days off just aren't enough! One day is spent sleeping and recovering and the other is spent in a blur trying to clean, run errands, do laundry, have some semblance of a social life, and preparing to go back to work. My life seems to revolve around work and that's just wrong.

Sounds like you interviewed at my facility. We even had to wear these huge pins that said WOW on them. I don't know about wowing my patients but my computer is pretty darn impressed with me...spend all my time with it anyway:no:

Op, I feel your pain. I've been working med-surg for 4 years now and have been a charge nurse for a year. I am well and truly burned out! I am looking in to going back to school to obtain my BSN and I feel like I should stay where I am for now since the job market isn't great. Med-surg can be tough and the best of nurses can get burned out. Keep your eyes open for opportunities in different departments...a little change might do you good:) Good luck!

I work 7p-7a. I am required to work every other weekend so I end up working 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off, 1 on, 3 off. Three in a row can be tough, especially if they are crazy shifts...which weekends tend to be.

Med-surg or wound care. I work in med-surg and we see some doozies! Dressing changes that take an hour and leave you soaked in sweat..all shapes and sizes. We had one gentleman that had a pressure ucler on his bottom that looked like a shark bite. We usually have at least one wound care patient on our floor at all times.

I agree with Esme on this...don't post anything about work. It's just safer that way. Our CNO wanted to make a rule that said we couldn't post anything about work on Facebook, it never passed. My boss monitors Facebook and if you've posted something about a rough shift or anything that could be considered negative, she will ask you to "please don't post negative comments".

The patient is prescribed methadone...nothing to report. And yes, I believe it would be a HIPAA violation to report it. I seem to recall giving methadone to an elderly patient that had chronic pain issues and other pain meds weren't helping.

We work either straight night or day shifts at my hospital. Both shifts will fill in for day or nights if needed. I am a night shifter...I love nights and don't plan on going to days anytime soon..but I will pick up a shift for days if they need me. I can't imagine having to rotate shifts! My husband used to do this and it absolutely wore him out. He finally is in a position where he can pretty much set his own hours. God bless all you nurses that work the rotating shifts!! I couldn't do it.

I've been in nursing for 4 years now and I still occasionally dream about work. Usually it involves getting to the end of my shift and not having done a single thing...no meds, assessments...nothing! Talk about panic! I woke up from a dead sleep one time because my phone was ringing and I looked at the clock, it said 10:00 and I just knew it was work calling to ask why I late for my shift. It was 10am, not 10pm! I work 7p-7a I finally quit hearing call bells in my sleep after about 6 months.

HospitalInspections.org | Report Detail This is disturbing to say the least. Look at the report with the tag # A0145.

Aww..OP don't be so hard on yourself! You had a lot going on at the time and I just impressed that you went to the recert at all. I would have rescheduled. Good luck in the ED!

I am a charge nurse on a med-surg floor and more often than not I have to take a full group of patients in addition to performing the duties of charge nurse. The powers that be keep coming up with more "tasks" for the charge nurse to perform so having a group of patients and doing charge can spread me pretty thin. I do make a little more on the hour than staff nurses but I'm wondering if it's even worth it.

I have heard several people say that their credits from previous schooling didn't transfer. I really don't relish the thought of having to repeat classes I've already taken. I'm really interesting in WGU, I've heard many people say they've finished in 6 months or less (for BSN) and that is very appealing to me. Thanks for the info!

Patients need their "dilauda and fennigan"...Dilaudid and Phenergan :) Especially when they're vomicking!

We don't have a cell phone policy but there is an unspoken rule that we aren't supposed use them at the desk or in front of patients. The nurses and CNAs all have hospital assigned phones that we carry during our shift so that we can find each other or the MD can reach us if need be. I'm pretty sure the phones are circa 1993, they are huge! You really can't carry them in your pocket so they are usually in view of the patient. We educate our patients on admission about the cell phones and reassure them that they aren't our personal phones. Our manager actually told us that we would eventually have iPhones and could chart on them...believe when I see it!

Exactly! I would love to be able to sit with my confused or lonely patients all night and take extra time getting to know each of my 6 or more patients but it just isn't gonna happen! Nope, I have redundant charting to take care of..and cleaning the crash carts, fridge, COWS, etc...making sure pumps are programmed correctly, making sure the numbers on the tele boxes match the ones in the computer...being a liason between pharmacy and the MD...putting orders in the computer for the MDs because "they don't have computer access".....the list could go on and on. Every time I go to work there seems to be another chore added to my list. Chores that take away from face to face time with my patients. I swear I spend more time "treating" the computer than I do treating my patients!

Me too. Most of our patients are on potassium replacement protocols that specify either oral or IV. I can order liquid or tablet under the protocol.

I have a co-worker that calls sequential compression devices (SCDs) "STDs". Big difference!