RN-Doula

Love the share, appreciate it. The book "The Afterlife of Billy Fingers" gave me so much more insight about how a soul feels during their passing.

Our presence assures you the doctors won't be making any mistakes.

We keep the doctors on their toes.

We are just a precaution.

Short staffed today, my boss said get in any way possible.

As an OB nurse, helping a mom to breastfeed who had an inverted nipple, after reversing the nipple so it was erect, got lint out of it.

Aide gave a bed bath and folds full of cheesy-fungus. Yak. Yes had my student nurses c/o to me during their rotations some patients had Belly Lint in various body parts.

As a cna I was slow answering a call light on older dementia woman, entering her room, I ducked quickly as she threw her BM at me and was cursing. In the Peace Corps, Honduras, an 8 yo boy was nauseous, while waiting at an OPD clinic for the doctor to see him. He vomited a few 8 to 10 inch round worms. The local nurse promptly went into a speech why everyone had to boil their water, cook food thoroughly and keep flies off it.

But no one mentioned the burn out factor? How tired one is after the 12 hours of running around.

Lots of women don't know. As an occupational nurse I answered all types of questions, made myself receptive to the folks who worked at the factory. A group of married ladies with children asked me one time, how did women go from 2 holes to 3 after they got married? Nothing surprises me anymore.

Back in my day new grads got top pay of $5 hr, added bonus $5 a week for BSN, but this was 1977, my first RN job in Boston. I was just coming off min wage of $1.60/hour as a cna, so I was thrilled. Currently in LA area $40 + for my years experience, but union places are up to $50+ an hour for those with senior experience. As other comments said it depends on your area.

I have heard talk about some hospitals going back to 8 hour shifts because the 12 hours is too long and leaves nurse physically exhausted and emotionally drained at times. As a new grad in the 70's 8 hour shifts were the norm with constant rotation. Two weeks of days were followed by two weeks of 3 to 11 pm or 11 to 7 am. But there were a few hospitals which mixed the shifts up within the same week. Sometimes a nurse chose to work permanently eves or nights. Is anyone seeing this trend and how is it working? Does anyone work 8 hour shifts in an acute hospital?

I'm 60+, former L & D, now teach nursing school OB, but still call myself a L & D nurse. Many of my co-workers, 50 to 60 are still there but in charge positions so not the physical stuff. Lots of younger nurses filling in the ranks. I have the knowledge but many of the new staff want to learn it on their own and not question me. I delivered a breech lady partslly once. Woman came in active labor, 2 legs out her lady parts. In the 70's all breeches were lady partsl, I watched and learned along with the OB interns. Had a healthy baby in a few minutes, none of the nurses thought it was possible. The stress on the joints, running down the hall pushing a bed to the OR for crash C-birth, yes so much easier just teaching the students how to swaddle a baby so they can teach new parents.

I say at times "I work in a hospital" and leave it at that to strangers I encounter, chatting in a store, at church etc. I find when I tell some people I'm a nurse, they jack up prices for me. A few hairdressers I went to, I found out charged me more, the bike repair shop, a local jeweler to fix a necklace, etc.

PEDIATRICIANS who examine the newborns before 24 hours of age, as is required, but leave the baby unwrapped in the crib, no clothes and no blanket on them, just after we told the new parents babies get cold quickly, they don't have thermoregulation usually functioning fully in the first 24 hours, but the peds don't seem to care.

Since most young patients have them, they will appreciate a nurse who also has them.

As an instructor I tell my students always get help, from your classmates, the staff anyone now-a-days. Do not try to lift a heavy person by yourself. Workers comp has way too many claims, and most hospitals try very hard to avoid them. Use the machines, slides, pull sheets, use ergonomics, etc.

As an instructor I tell my students "We are a guest at this facility, we follow their policies. If you don't like their policies, after you graduate, get employed here and change the policies." Of course there have been a few places as an instructor, I have stepped in and shown new updated policies to the staff and had changes made. Other times I tell the students we will discuss behind closed doors, away from the staff's ears, what is taught as updated policy and what they actually see being done.

We had a new doctor who would forever walk onto the floor and say to the nearest nurse "Give me your pen so I can work on my charts", all the other nurses just handed over their pen and bad mouthed him in the break room. One day I was the nurse, I looked him in the eye and said "When you have my pen and Dr (blank) calls to give me a verbal order, shall I tell him I can't help him because you, Dr Smith took my pen?" I think I also made a comment about his mother approving his behavior and bad manners. To this day, he always has a pen in his pocket. Even when I run into other nurses who work with him at a sister hospital, they made a comment on this particular behavior change. Of course I am old enough to be his mother, if not grandmother, maybe that helped me. But I find addressing the doctor to their face, calling them on their behavior, making them aware of their bad manners, usually helps to stop the behavior. It is more common with established conservative (older) doctors. The newer ones are given classes at times on appropriate behavior, so I have been told.

I was at my first job for four years, you don't have a vote for that. You have 3 or less, five or more. Need to alter the poll.

Yes have had difficult cases. Most recently I was passing meds with a student, my sixth student that day and we were late on 0900 meds. One lady just started yelling her meds were late, didn't we know how critical her meds were etc etc. Colace, lasix, most were just daily, but we broke her routine. I apologized to her, said of course she was correct, and we were working on speed, and we had her meds here, was she ready to take them. She proceeded to ask the student what each med was and why was it needed. She said she realized students needed to learn, and later the student returned to her room to spend time with her. She was mostly lonely I think and needed to feel like she still had control. I gave her the control. The student had a good learning experience.

When I worked 3 - 11 pm shift, every patient got a back rub at bedtime. We had a less demanding role as patients were in the hospital longer and not as acutely ill before discharge. They had longer recuperation times in the hospital. A C-birth mom stayed for 5 or 7 days as was the norm, but they were not allowed to walk until 48 hours post-op. All babies were bottle fed on schedule 9 - 1 - 5 am and pm. More teaching was done, moms had to demo back a newborn baby bath, swaddling, diaper change, bulb suction use etc. before discharge. lady partsl deliveries were kept 3 or 4 entire days. Shifts were 7-3, 3-11, 11-7, not uncommon to work a double shift, meaning 16 hours in a row when there was a sick call. And be back at 7 am again. We recorded our hours worked on a written time card and gave to our boss. If you were 5 minutes late, no one much cared unless you did it daily. No computer charting at all. Your doctor carried a pager, cell phones didn't exist, if he was in traffic it took an hour or two to get a call back.

You were lied to, don't stay at that job. Take the dream job, I would.

Well I believe in the Sasquatch people, and Roswell did have an alien craft crash, cause I have read interviews by people who were there. Nurses are supposed to not accept statements at face value, so I don't. I look beneath the surface, I became a reiki master, I use essential oils. I began nursing school 1971 and am grateful to my teachers who taught us critical thinking for all aspects of living.

Keep your job. I have taught nursing school 10 years now. From my former students: Staying at the same place gave them seniority in vacations and time off accruing, the more years at a place, irregardless of your status counts. Age is not a problem. One 35 year old new grad got her dream job in the ICU the month she finished. They loved her 15 years experience in management, the skills are transferable.