gerilou

Thanks Studious... I am new to this site too but have quickly found myself glued to it. The folks who have responded to me have been very helpful...I am also new to the feild of geriatric nursing...what are 'safe hips' ?I have never heard of them... Gerilou

Hi again Snow Can you recommend any good reference books or journal articles for someone new to this field? Also, if you know of any conferences coming up or where I could find out more about them, I would be mighty glad to hear about them. I am eager to learn more.... Thanks again Gerilou

Hi Da Monk, Thanks...I agree with you wholeheartedly. :yelclap: So is there an answer to keeping the patients safe and free from bone-fracturing falls while also keeping them out of restraints and ensuring their rights are not being compromised? Gerilou

Hey Angie The world and the Steph's of the world need more nurses like you. You write beautifully...I bet you reached the heart of not only Steph but the rest of us oldtimers as well..... :balloons:

Hi Steph, I am sorry that you have had such disappointing experiences in nursing SO FAR. I am 42 and have been a nurse for 20 years. There are times since I graduated that I fantasized about being a florist, Walmart greeter or a professional giftwrapper at the mall. The hospitals you have worked at have done you an injustice by not properly training you to do what it is they are asking of you. You need to find a facility with a good PRECEPTOR program. Not only orientation, but someone who actually goes to the unit with you and assists you in learning the skills you need to know on the actual unit and not only in a classroom. Unfortunately with the shortage of nurses, less and less facilities are offering this...but I personally think experiences such as yours are common and contribute to the nursing shortage we are experiencing. The nurse who graduated top of my class works at Walmart. When you are asked to float to a unit that you have not been trained to work on, notify the nursing administration dept and jot down who you spoke with, the date and time. Try to have someone else witness the call and jot their name down too. Keep this log AT HOME and if anything negative should happen, you have documentation of your objection to the assignment and the name of who you spoke with. Also, if you belong to a nursing union, notify your union rep right away. Most importantly, do not give up. You need to get a little moxie Steph and advocate for yourself. that self confidence will come back when you find a job that fits. As much a I admire Hospice nurses, I think any new grad needs to get some good med-surg training under their belt no matter what aspect of nursing they chose to specialize in later. Think about it...i did it to work in Psych, and it was an invaluable three years. Hone up those skills, build up a solid base of self confidence and moxie, then find the right match, and 20 yrs from now, you will find yourself writing this same type of encouraging letter to some new grad, just out of school , in need of some encouragement and support. Feel free to e-mail me any time... gerilou

Thanks Snow. You have some great points and ideas and I will definitely give them a try. Thanks also for your e-mail address. Because I work in a state Psych facility, patients rights is a HUGE issue for us. Believe it or not, the patients have the right to have TV's and cell phones and CD players in their room...all get taken out if they are suicidal, but yet we don't have the right to put a frail medically compromised 68 year old woman in a geri chair after falling 9 times in 7 weeks. I see the geri chair as her right to be kept free from falls and fractures, but the state, as well as other states, sees it as a restraint. We do not have any geri chairs in our facility whatsoever. Unfortunately, Ativan seems to make the two patients I am most concerned about more psychotic and disinhibitted.....You have some great ideas though and it would be a pleasure to correspond with you. Thanksand have a great weekend.

Hi I am new to the forum so forgive me if this is not the appropriate place for my thread. I recently got promoted to the nurse manager of our state psych hospital's geripsych unit. Now that geri chairs are considered torture devices that are considered a form of restraint, several of our pts have been having some frequent falls. We now have these pts on 1:1 staffing, much to administrations dismay. Are there any geriatric nurses out there who can share some insight and wisdom with me? The meds alone cause hypotension and the unit is basically a dementia unit of 18 patients. Been an RN for 20 years (I'm 42) and still wet behind the ears. Thanks in advance for your help... Thanks, Gerilou