anothergrumpyoldRN

It is very much not easy to unionize in the midwest where the republican governors and legislators are breaking unions as fast as they can...

consumption?

I give them my name. I tell them that they can get messages to me through my boss or the hospital and make certain they have that name and contact information. I reassure them that if they are unhappy with my care they can report me both to my supervisor AND/OR to the hot line for those complaints and provide them with that number. I document that they requested that information and that I provided it. I am not afraid of my patients or their families. I am just doing my job to the best of my ability.

It really is the call of the provider. I have done that for PAs, NPs, DOs and MDs. Many wouldn't think of having a nurse or anyone else write their Rx's. Others, could care not so much. If it gets me what my patient needs I am happy to do it!

It is not within scope of HHA employed by CMS Home Health in my state. We can, however, train whomever the patient would like to designate to be that provider as long as it is not our staff for whom we are responsible.

In other words, a lot of people are keeping their heads in the sand and refuse to believe those unpleasant truths?

It seems sometimes that we must say something shocking and outrageous to get people to pay attention. Please accept that my comments about the girlie thing, it was tongue in cheek. I am married to a girlie and I like them in general. good thing since most of my peers are girlies too. on the other hand...we do tend to respond to things differently based upon our gender. Is that a learned response? Different thread I suppose.

If I need the $ I tell management ahead of time that I am available. On my days off I am under no obligation to speak to my work. I do not fear answering the phone. If I don't want to work I say so. If they try to brow beat me I tell them I am hanging up as I have things to do. Short staffing is NOT my problem or your problem. It is management's problem. The fact that it also affects patient care, patient outcomes, and nursing satisfaction is also NOT my problem or your problem. They may try to guilt me into working, but, as a man I don't guilt that easily. I work for a purpose. WE DON'T RUN THE SHOW, WE DON'T MAKE THE MOST MONEY, AND WE ARE NOT THE SUPERIOR RESPONDENTS.

Keep a log for yourself of interruptions and near misses. Report your findings in the next staff meeting. Prepare some suggestions as to how you might improve your ability to safely administer medications to the patients. Good luck!

Lots of people and groups have hijacked hate words to remove the power... usually the haters don't get it and then complain..."well they use the (N,Q,C,whatever) word!!" or similar trying to justify their continued bigotry or racism, etc. That part is always a bit amusing to me. Those haters end up being the butt of a joke that they don't get. LOL

this... is sputtering over the inconsequential a girl thing? the important thing is that there is an incompetent idiot coordinating clinical function of a nursing department and giving professional nurses stupid directions wasting their time and therefore the resources of the facility!!

Request a meeting with management. Ask your questions. Get answers and decide what you should do.

So, I'll bite. How is the age of the mother important to the discussion. Does the mother's age change the responsibility of the mother? Does the age of the mother change the duties of the nurse relative to the mother's child? What does it matter if there is a stable home environment? That the child may be living in a single parent home or in poverty has NOTHING to do with whether or not this RN should get the kid a ride home as directed by the "boss", that I can see. I appreciate that you believe that I didn't "think" before I posted. You are entitled to your opinions, no matter how misled. Saying so in print on the thread is rude as it is personal and unrelated to the thread.

yup... sounds like you need to lift some weights, no need to be a weakling just cuz you are a girl! My granddaughter (9) can lift 20 lbs for pete sake. LOL

I agree, except for that BSN to practice part...there is no evidence to support the notion that to begin practicing as an RN you must have a BSN to be safe, proficient, or even to become expert in the care. To advance the notion that we must have additional education for entry in nursing, at additional cost, for no good reason smacks of legislating based upon "professional pride" more than "professional practice". For a profession that is supposed to be very evidence based, I wonder how we can justify that? IMHO.

meh... there have always been "dirty old men" who are sometimes neither old nor men... The problem is that sexual harassment and discrimination has been institutionalized against women forever, so we are numb to it. But look what happens when women do that to men in a primarily female work environment...the men finally get to appreciate what GENERATIONS of women have endured in the workplace for decades. This is not to say it is okay...NOT OKAY...it is simply to point out how we in America accept our institutional bigotry, racism, sexism, and discrimination UNTIL it touches us personally, then some of us "evolve" while some cling to the security of the "good ol days".

If my patients or families behave improperly I tell them and outline EXACTLY what I expect. I probably get a different response than some of my petite female peers. I treat my patients and families with respect REGARDLESS of the way they treat me...I am the professional. If the patient of family continues to mistreat me I ask for reassignment. Because this is the only game in town and nurses are limited, that often means that management gets involved with the family, and maybe the doc if they want the patient to continue care. Seriously, some of these old miners here in AK are cranky and it is no wonder they have no family and few friends, they are tough old guys though.

I would suspect that many of us do not find that part of the story very "right". The age of the mother, however, is irrelevant to the discussion as long as she is legally responsible for the child. And so the thread has moved along quite nicely discussing the relevant details and issues.

As an OLD nurse, I would get myself into trouble because I would have pushed the CCs demonstration of idiocy IMMEDIATELY up the chain. What the CC did is WRONG on so many levels, as has been pointed out very nicely, that to NOT notify senior management of this obvious lack of critical thinking skills is negligent on our part as professionals. It wouldn't be personal, just factual and concerned and immediate. And I would get into trouble...again.

It sounds like you are working for a home agency that provides "unskilled" nursing care and are directed to identify the need and then assign an aide while creating a nursing POC for the patient? Nursing aides work under the direct supervision of an RN here, their educational requirements will vary dependent upon the state you live in and the company you work for. You will be directly responsible for the care they provide, sounds like. I will be interested in hearing more about this position as you move forward, good luck.

When I was ppv I was "required" to attend case conference, I was paid for my time. We had EMR so no turning in paperwork, although there were some hard copy papers that I brought to the CCs weekly. I prefer to be hourly.

Most of us don't really care how you educate yourself about issues unless you come spouting the poorly though out rhetoric of the parties and the party mouthpiece Fox News. It is interesting that a well informed citizen actually "hates" our political leaders personally. "Hate" is typically an emotional response that implies fear or a sense of injury. I wonder, have you hated other presidents? I just spent a week with my brother from Michigan who is also, oddly, a voting republican that leans more libertarian. He is a fan of Ron but not Rand Paul. He certainly does not like this president, didn't like the last one either. He does not hate the man or the woman associated with this office... Hate is sort of a personal touch to put on a political discussion.

blah, blah, blah... Blue Mountain Health System pays it executive lots of $$ and bonus $$ to keep the purse strings tight. It is easy for they to demonize ACA because so many will believe it without any second thought.

So you blame this POTUS for the rank crap that people with money do to you in order to preserve their piece of the pie. Good for you, the next step in this process is to step up to the camera, open your mouth and say; BAAAAH.

For those posters who need to blame their job dissatisfaction on your patients; That suggests to me that you are experiencing compassion fatigue. The patients may make your life difficult for a shift or two, they do not write your paycheck, they do not tell you when you may and may not pee, they do not tell you how many patients you MUST care for, they don't make you pee in a cup to prove you are okay to work, they don't squeeze your benefits to save a few $$ for administrative bonuses, they don't kick you to the curb or throw you under the bus when their bad ideas turn into a practice nightmare for you. We could go on and on and on about what patients can't do but employers can that creates horrible work environments for nurses. Your patients may be an annoyance, but seriously, if we are not there for the patients, who are we nursing?