mushyrn

I would do my best to get it expunged. That would essentially legally mean it never happened, from what I understand about expunged records.

Refuse, refuse, refuse. The government will listen. The federal government is a complete failure in this.

That's interesting - the teaching hospital I came from gave much more autonomy than the small town hospital I worked at previously.

That's ridiculous. You earned the time off. People are so willing to bend over backwards for employers who would have their job posting on indeed.com within 5 minutes of them dying on the hospital floor.

You sound toxic. Also, I'm glad your life is where it can allow you to get completely rested on every single one of your days off. Good for you. You're blessed, really. Some people don't have that luxury and just because they are a nurse or a physician doesn't make them a god. That being said, some people do abuse the system, but others legitimately need a day off sometimes (even if they're not "sick").

I'm honestly not sure why you'd want to continue working as a staff RN once you are a NP. They are completely different jobs/roles and functions. Do you want to be a nurse, or a nurse practitioner? If you want to "keep" your basic RN skills, it seems like you may not be so sure about your decision to pursue the NP role.

Jeez. Maybe someone needs to reach out to the public or the parents. I wouldn't spend personal money on my job, but I do hope you take advantage of the tax write offs, at least.

It's probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but your workplace should supply the tools that you need to do your job. Even if it requires the principal and other 6 figure workers taking a little pay cut at the end of the year. I wouldn't spend a personal dime for my essential job functions. If you unfortunately continue to do so, I would definitely look into tax write offs if you don't already. But again, you shouldn't have to spend a dime. If it is something nonessential, that is another issue. A vital sign machine is essential - there has to be somebody who can force the school to cough up $300 to replace it, or the kids don't get vital sign checks. That would fix it very quickly.

I would say to look elsewhere (preferably brick & mortar) for your graduate education. Also, I think it's best guidance from this site to not include personally identifying information in your posts.

As long as the provider for your patients isn't new, too, it should all be okay. Haha.

I often see nurses complaining that new nurses "just want to be a NP or CRNA and not a nurse". We don't have this same complaint about biology majors who want to become a PA. Biologists aren't decrying undergrad biology degree holders for getting that degree to pursue their end goal, which is to become a PA. Some people, surprise, have an end goal as an APRN. To become a CRNA or NP, you have to have the required experience for that level of practice. You can't fault nurses for having an end goal of becoming a CRNA, NP, CNS, manager, educator, etc. They are following the rules. Be concerned about poor staffing, sad management, the money grabbing business healthcare has become in the face of capitalism, the egregious amount of money CEOs make, etc. I agree with your last few sentences, and these are very valid concerns for the future of nursing and healthcare in general. We keep hearing "there is no money", yet the CEO and board members are making bank, hospital logo's are stamped onto everything, bonuses are given out like candy to management, etc. It's a mess.

You should never accept less than your worth, point blank. Always make sure upfront they will pay you what you are worth, and if they will not, correct them. Nurses need to stand up for themselves at every instance like this.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with sleeping on an actual break where someone is covering your patients, if you need the sleep that bad. Your employer will deduct the pay from you anyway, and I don't work for free. While you're on break, that is your time. Heck, you could take a shot of liquor in the parking lot on your break if you want (but I would definitely suggest calling in for the rest of the day [and I would never do that, of course]). That being said, your attitude is a bit defensive and the way that you are coming across on the forum is rude and harsh. It sounds like somebody said something to you about you doing it?

I see why this is frustrating, but as an RN (6 years) and ACNP student, the NP education is definitely more in depth and beneficial than the RN education. Also, RNs are nobody's "assistant". Please get that thought out of your head. Are you just trying to start something here? Haha.

If the patient is still mentally with it, I don't care the diagnosis - they are not talking to me like that. I will not allow it and will leave the situation if they won't shut up with that crap. My coworkers know that about me very well. I would suggest you do NOT allow this behavior to continue if he is "all there".

I have ran into a few nurses who overdo the oils. I don't mind it, because I'm not sensitive to it, and I love the smell of them. That being said, I WILL apply a drop or two of peppermint oil to my nose before cleaning some incontinent c-diff mess that just happened all over the bed. I will not subject myself to that without peppermint. Nope. The deodorizers my hospital provides are a joke, if they are ever stocked.

But the paychecks are getting smaller and the benefits crappier. Haha. I do wish we could just be nurses and be respected for what we are year-round, however.

... And people wonder why the new nurses are treating it as a paycheck, rather than a respected career choice. This is because the people running the show treat it that way, and we follow accordingly. I've been doing this for nearly 6 years and just in that time, it's amazing how much nursing has changed for the worse. Administration wants to treat me like someone they just pass a check out to, that's okay - I'll do the same in respect. I really think nurses need to respect themselves more like physicians do. Nurses are so busy fighting among themselves and criticizing each other, that the higher ups fly under the radar collecting our actual raises and benefits into their pockets. It's a very messy system and I have to imagine it has to do with the fact that nursing is a female-dominated field. Society has an amazing way to make women give up so much of themselves for nothing in return.

Why do you allow this treatment? I would leave and go somewhere private to eat. Sorry, not sorry.

I respectfully agree and disagree with this. I completely understand a nurse "under the influence" (... but of what, alcohol? Caffeine? Weed? Sleep loss? Stress?) being reviewed and possibly terminated or, preferably, offered professional assistance through recovery programs. However, these days things like marijuana are being seen for how little danger they pose, while smoking and alcohol are killing people left and right. We still let nurses and physicians drink, but not smoke, and DEFINITELY no marijuana (but it is the safest choice of all of those). I think healthcare employers (all employers in general) need to get out of employees home and personal lives, as long as their choices do not bring issue to the workplace. If a nurse drinks or smokes marijuana (or even cigarettes) at home, I think employers should have zero say in this behavior. I am not theirs while I am off the clock, and am not being paid for my off the clock time. This is actually a slippery slope. This is a very blurry area but employers definitely need to stay out of the personal lives of their employees. If the person comes to work and functions at 100 percent, leave them the heck alone. Edit: I DO think people who partake in known deadly behaviors like drinking or smoking, or eating unhealthy, should pay more for their health insurance, but that's another topic.

I have been a nurse for nearly 6 years now, and am 1 1/2 years into an AG-ACNP program (on campus!). I would recommend working as an RN at least 1-2 years after graduation, at least to appreciate the foundation of your education and the role that level of caregiver has. If I ever make it to the actual NP career, I dread the day I encounter another NP who has never worked on the floors, treating nurses like they are a waste of time. I may get fired.

I would not do this. If I did, they'd reimburse me for gas and travel. Nope.

No, your job should give you the ability to sit down at some points in your shift. You can't chart sitting down? You need to learn how to fix that. Bring that up to your employer. If that were the case, I feel their rate of injury on the job cases would be skyrocketing.

I sucked at IVs until I got my first one, then my second, and pretty quickly I was starting IVs on patients the "IV expert" couldn't get. My coworkers at my current job think I'm great at them and often call me for help, but I still miss, too. I'm not sure exactly what would help in your situation. If they have really good veins, sometimes going in sideways is easier than from the top, because you might slice right through it doing it that way. Also, manual BP cuffs are lovely assistants when starting IVs versus tourniquets.

I don't wear gloves for fear of contracting HIV in situations like this, however, I usually wear gloves when touching anything in the patient room. Just because I have seen patients do some nasty things/have nasty things done in their rooms and I don't want to be touching that. I also bleach everything, haha. But no, not because of an incorrect HIV stigma.