TeeKay12

TeeKay12's Latest Activity

1. 

   HIPPA violation if the patient isn't in your facility?

   TeeKay12 replied to MoonlightRose's topic in HIPAA

   By your own admission, your husband is the one who outed you. To his best friend. Is it possible your hubby told the friend, who then told his wife and forgot to say "And they really want it to remain private for a little longer"? Why are you so obsessed with nailing this woman to the wall? Because she outed you? Or is there a more 'embarrassing' reason? Few people care if a couple engage in sex before marriage anymore. It's not that big a deal. Let this all go. She did nothing wrong. She wasn't really a friend to begin with, again by your own admission. She's your husband's best friend's wife. If you feel you need to do something about it, just let her know how much it hurt you. Professionally, she has done nothing wrong and cannot be 'punished' because she hurt your feelings and made your husband's family think less of you. Shake it off, pull up your big girl panties, and concentrate on your new marriage and your new pregnancy.
2. 

   Refusing to change/toilet pts

   TeeKay12 replied to ShockMe's topic in Nursing

   It's my license on the line. It's my job to make sure my patients are cared for to the best of my and my staff's ability - and that includes toileting, cleaning up feces or urine, and bathing if that's what needs done. Yes, it's hectic on the floor, but by making sure I help out when I can, I've garnered the respect and the helpfulness of my support staff.
3. 

   Pain is a pain

   TeeKay12 replied to ladedah1's topic in Nursing

   I ask the patient what the worst pain they ever had, and how this pain compares. I started doing this after my nephew was in ED for RUQ pain, and stated his pain was a 4/10 to the question of "1 being none, and 10 being the worst you've ever felt". They almost sent him home, but his mom was talking to me and i quickly said "Tell them what his WORST pain WAS" Yeah - the barn suddenly collapsing while he was in the loft, and breaking both of his ankles. An US was completed, and he had an emergency lap appy. I hate the pain scale. I'd actually much prefer scheduled pain meds at a reasonable dosage than trying to chase the "pain" each and every one of my patients has as soon as their alarms go off (night shift, they're setting their phones for q1, q2, etc.). Or the elderly woman who tells me all night she's fine, no pain, but then her son or daughter who is a nurse comes in and suddenly she's writhing in agony!
4. 

   Is this reasonable or just over the top?

   TeeKay12 replied to Lakeshore18's topic in Nursing

   One of the things I hated most about bedside nursing. Scripted performance. I'm very much for keeping the patients informed. I'm opposed to the idea of 'selling' the services of my colleagues - especially if I am required to either lie or state a fact I do not know. I refused to do this. I would just say "Good morning, Mr. Smith. This is Jean. She'll be your nurse for today." We also had the patient white boards, and I found they took more time and energy to answer patient questions about them than they saved.
5. 

   Fill In The Blank...

   TeeKay12 replied to allnurses's topic in Nursing

   "I was on WebMD and......"
6. 

   Favorite Motivational Quote

   TeeKay12 replied to allnurses's topic in Nursing

   "It all started with a mouse." (meaning, the smallest things can become huge)
7. 

   Graduating soon, feeling unprepared

   TeeKay12 replied to GL191211's topic in Nursing

   I attended a 4 year university, considered to be one of the best private schools in the state for nursing. I was an "alternate" student - I was 40 when I started! I have a disabled daughter, and I've dealt with WCs (power and manual), vents, suction, trachs, meds, PICCs, you name it. Guess what? My first job as a nurse - I felt like I had no clue. I learned. I asked lots of questions, talked to everyone I could, and watched and learned. Your degree states you fulfilled the requirements for it. Passing the NCLEX means you've met the bare minimum requirements to be reasonably competent for patient care. Neither guarantees you know what to do. You're one up on the majority of new grads I've precepted - you admit you don't know it all. It will come.
8. 

   caseload for telephonic case management

   TeeKay12 replied to newnicurn's topic in Case Management

   It will depend on frequency of contact. I currently work in telephonic case management and handle low to medium acuity clients - from infants to elderly. My case load is 350. The majority of my clients, I contact and work with no more than every 6 weeks, sometimes every 12. The medium level acuity cases I spend more time on, speaking to them, helping set up physician appointments, explaining procedures, encouraging healthy behaviors, etc - about once every 2 weeks. The higher acuity clients are handled by other RNs and those clients have at least weekly contact - the case loads for high acuity RNs is 50.
9. 

   Funniest thing you've heard in an interview

   TeeKay12 replied to adventure_rn's topic in Humor

   I was on the interview committee for a new manager. We didn't ask any silly questions, but our interim manager, who was interviewing for the position did. She wanted to know if any of us wanted to see photos of her new baby, told us about her breastfeeding of the new one and potty training the older one, and then at the end, wanted to know if we thought we'd give her the job, since she'd done such a great job thus far (she had been a charge for a year, had been a tech, then an RN on the floor, and had been our interim for all of 3 weeks before her maternity leave - she didn't get the job).
10. 

    What is your Nursing Kryptonite?

    TeeKay12 replied to PewpSmith's topic in Nursing

    Mine is feet. They don't have to be nasty, they just have to be feet. Trachs, ostomies, pressure ulcers, ocular emissions, feces, vomit, all of that doesn't bother me. Make me deal with feet and I'm gagging.
11. 

    African American patients - a cultural question

    TeeKay12 replied to 0.adamantite's topic in Relations

    First, I agree - I've seen it in every culture I've worked with (first job was a predominately AA area, most co-workers were African or AA, next job was in a lower-income predominately white area, with a large population of Burmese and quite a few Hispanics). It happened about evenly across the board. Now, for the answering for your kid - I had a patient once who's mom stayed with her all 3 days AND nights she was with us. SHE was 68. Mom was in her early nineties. Mom used a walker and was frail as all get out. I was always afraid mom was going to die on my shift! (patient was in for a scheduled hysterectomy). Mom answered all the assessment and further questions. Patient was NOT delayed.
12. 

    Nurses: How far is your commute?

    TeeKay12 replied to Cola89's topic in Nursing

    It used to be 60 minutes each way, 3 nights a week, 1900 to 0730. It is now about 25 minutes each way, 5 days a week, M-F 0800-1700. Much better!
13. 

    Why???? Are?? They?? Failing???

    TeeKay12 replied to Nurseades2b's topic in General Students

    I "failed" one class in my last semester. It was a tough semester for me, personally - I had a parent in ICU for most of the semester, another parent had 2 MIs, a child in ICU for a month (in a different hospital, in a different county), and another child who was severely injured and required 2 surgeries. Remember, too, that in nursing school, a "failure" is just really not quite making the mark, it is not an actual fail. My school, at the time had a pass rate of 77.0%. I had a grade of 76.8% in that class. My professor was willing to let me pass, my assistant dean was not. I retook the class, passed with a 98%, and learned much more the second time around.
14. 

    LPN or BSN

    TeeKay12 replied to ahhlexxx3's topic in General Students

    In my area, no-one hires LPNs. No-one. It's hard to find a position if you have an ASN. Experienced LPNs in the hospital network I used to work for were phased out of bed-side care and became Techs (CNAs basically), IF they were given a position at all. Most were given a couple of years to get their RN, but if they didn't have it, were let go. And the LPNs who had in many, many years more experience than I did made $10-$15/hour LESS. Other hospital networks just phased them out completely. Even the nursing homes have stopped hiring LPNs. They all want RNs. This may not be true of all places, but in the larger metropolitan areas, it is.
15. 

    Is nursing school REALLY that hard?

    TeeKay12 replied to courtneymann's topic in General Students

    Yes, and no. I was an older student, returning to university at age 40! I also had a family, a part time job, a critically ill parent, and a disabled child. The ill parent and disabled child helped get me through a lot of classes (oh, you want me to study SCIs, well, I have one of those at home, no sweat, I know more than enough no need to study that one). I will say, going to every single class no matter what was what paid off. Attend your lectures, have a good relationship with your professors, and study. Form or get in on a study group. It's better if it's not 'friends', but rather 'colleagues' so you won't get off track. It was tough, but it was doable. I attended a traditional 4 year BSN program at a private university. I was one of the few commuters and the oldest in my class. IF I could do it, I think most anyone can!
16. 

    I don't want to be a nurse!!

    TeeKay12 replied to sharebear003's topic in General Students

    My nephew's girlfriend has a similar problem. Her parents wanted her to be a teacher, they said because it would always be a good job, she would always be able to find work, and it was respectable. She went to college to become a teacher. She took teaching classes, she student taught at different schools in the area. She hated it all. Her heart wasn't in it. She wanted to be a horticulturalist. She stopped taking teaching classes and started taking horticultural classes. Her father disowned her. He stopped paying for her college (well, he stopped helping), she wasn't allowed to see her siblings, she couldn't go home for holidays, he even took her off his insurance, even though it didn't cost him any more to have her on it than it cost for her siblings. She persevered, got her horticulturalist degree, and now has a very good job doing something she loves. While my nephew, who graduated with a teaching degree, is having a difficult time finding a position. BTW - her parents are okay with it all now, and the relationship is much better. Do what YOU want to, and do what you think you will be able to do for the next 20 years or so. Having a job or career in a field that interests you doesn't guarantee happiness, but it sure helps.