Munimula

OH DEAR LORD. This has absolutely nothing personally to do with the surgeon! We work with probably 30 or more surgeons throughout the week. I on my honor do solemnly swear that I have nothing against this surgeon. In fact, they are one of the "easier" ones to work with. Please stop with the accusations. I am not grinding an ax. What floored me was the fact that this one came in clearly ill to perform an elective surgery. Surgeries like umbilical hernias (not urgent or critical and the patients were in low pain ex. 2/10) that was not urgent. I repeat, the surgeon came in with vomiting and diarrhea. The surgeon was so sick they asked an anesthesiologist to start fluids with an IV and give and anti emetic. This to me does not seem "normal" or very ethical. So I was asking, "IS IT?" Is it really hunky dory for a really sick surgeon to perform surgery? In my better judgement, the answer was no. I was asking then to whom would one official report a breach of protocol or safety. Honestly, to hear a casual, "Oh come on, this is no big deal." is alarming to ME. It raised everyone's eyebrows and we were all very uncomfortable as this surgeon had two patients waiting and prepped in the preanesthesia area as the surgeon was being treated for some sort of virus. Not cool. Would you really want your 70 year old mother getting this surgery done by a clearly ill surgeon? At least give the patient the truth and then they can decide if they want to proceed. For someone to say "how do you know he had a fever?" Come on! What, am I the one on trial here? HE WAS SICK. Are we not supposed to be ethical and question when we think something may harm our patients? So I asked. Unfortunately. Thank you to those who tried to help and well, to those of you who made assumptions that I was just here to crab about a surgeon I don't like and but smokescreen it behind a story about them being sick, you know were you can go. For crying out freaking loud.

I loathe that expression, "put on your big girl panties". I came here asking for help, not looking to be derided. That is not helpful, only rude. I am a grown women with a husband, two grown children, and elderly parents, and you are telling me to 'put on my big girl panties". I was asking for advice; where to report and how Clearly I can't discuss this at work because we are not supposed to discuss it. Yes thqt's the way it is. No, you really can't trust anyone. We don't speak against surgeons because they're the one's bringing in the business and that's the bottom line. What they want, they get.

Well, this doctor was knowingly in the OR with some sort of virus/bacterial infection and performing surgery. If we, as nurses, came to work that way (fever, diarrhea, vomiting), we would be sent home, not "treated" then sent into the OR. So, to me, the doctor put their patients at risk by knowingly exposing them to whatever virus/bacteria they had. It seems unethical. As much as I know this is wrong, I fear repricussions should I report this. And that bothered me too; the elective surgery business is not a treatment center. They were not life or death surgeries that needed to be done immediately. They could have been cancelled and rescheduled. We would be sent home and told to go to our primary doctor. The doctor's patients were not aware of the doctor's illness either. They were simply left waiting in the preoperative area, ready for surgery, until the doctor's "treatment" (fluids, medicine) was done. I feel as if they were entitled to "full disclosure" of the state of their doctor.

Do I report this? Recently a doctor at an elective surgery facility came to work ill. This doctor had a fever, diarrhea, diaphoretic, asked an anesthesiologist to start an iv, fluids and medicines too stop nausea and vomiting. This doctor had patients prepped and waiting to have surgery during this time, then performed these elective surgeries. I feel obligated to report this. Who do I report it to? Can I remain anonymous? I don't want this to come back to me.

Nursing became a second career for me. As an over 40 adult who had worked in other professional environments, I was appalled at the juvenile behavior and backbiting once I graduated and worked on the floor. The work itself is backbreaking; the level of skill and knowledge to be competent is staggering. The split shifts are killer, leave you exhausted for days. I'm not sure if it's just being older so you have less energy and stamina; although I am not saying any of it is easy no matter what your age. It is definitely a job more physically suited to younger people I do not mean this as an insult and it's hard no matter what your age. It's just very physically hard to work a floor and night shifts as a 50 year old. The "many-morbidities" of the patients is also mind boggling. The numerous other problems like sores that never heal, no family support, endless downward spiral of poor health, poor choices, etc. is depressing. I want to love nursing but I feel like it's a horrible, unsolvable mess. I was very disappointed by the reality of what nursing and hospital care really is.

What about "what is your pain level right now in the affected area on the 0-10 scale?" Then you get an extended version of not only the pain in the affected area since it's inception, but what is is in any different scenario.

Personally, I have never liked "The View" and their political leanings, but, again, that's my own business. As far as the few comments they made regarding the Miss America nurse; who cares? Was it unkind and ignorant? Yes. I feel that these days everyone on television wants to be snarky and sarcastic a la Howard Stern. Who can be the most sarcastically funny? For these people, it fell VERY flat. Also, as a 50 year old perspective (UGH, it hurts to own up to that), everyone needs to slow their roll a little because it's getting very "Lord of the Flies" in here. I mean, everyone is way to sensitive. I have yet to encounter a single person in my personal life who does not respect and hold in high regard nurses. Most people I meet say, "I don't know how you nurses do what you do." So, people may not entirely "get it", but, they get it.

I was hired par-time on my unit. Frequently I am asked to work more days than my required part-time hours. Am I obligated to pick up more hours? My hiring contract states 40 hours in a two week period. I get a lot of pressure from my supervisor, but I do not wish to add additional hours. I feel like I have my own reasons for working part-time, those who hired me agreed upon the hours and I should not be pressured to pick up more time.

I am a new PACU nurse in an ambulatory center (I have been a floor nurse for three years). Even though up to 2 mgs dilaudid (0.5 mg every ten minutes) may be ordered for pain control, patients seem to a) sometimes not respond well, i.e., still have pain after administering the dilaudid, and b) get nauseated and vomit if I go above 1 mg. Some nurses I work with advise not to give over 1 mg due to the eventual nausea, and others medicate up to 2 mg. Sometimes Toradol is ordered if not given during the surgery and patients seem to do well with it. My question is, what do you, other PACU nurses do? I have also read other postings regarding post-surgical pain. I realize that every patient is different and will respond differently to surgery, anesthesia and pain. Also, that the idea of complete pain elimination post-surgically is not realistic. (We also use ice and elevation depending on the surgery.) I am interested in your opinions. Thanks!