Butterfly41

Thank you PFMB-RN for the information I appreciate it. I have already suggested a full time RRT position. Also reading some of the roles you take on in this position has given me ideas to make it more appealing an option for my hospital. Hopefully I will be contacting you soon for the protocols and such. Thanks wish me luck.

We are free charge full staff that is on my wish list lol. Sometimes we charge 2 ICU units medical and cv/neuro units. I would love to be just RRT member I really enjoy the challenge of assessing and stabilizing patients, and helping and educating fellow nurses. But I also get a lot of satisfaction from being an ICU charge nurse.

Ruby and ESME are correct and I know I choose to focus on the positive and not the negative but it doesn't mean that I don't deal with the negative I just choose to have thick skin and let it go. As with everything else in life it's all about your perspective and what you choose to focus on and how you choose to look at things. You can be surrounded by negativity and experience horrible things and yet still manage to find something good to cling to from it whether it be a lesson learned or just that you were strong enough to survive. You just have to be open to it and look for it. I have chosen to keep a positive attitude and focus on the good because that is what makes me happy. I refuse to spend my life being miserable no matter what situation I'm in.

I have been a nurse 11 yrs and in the medical field 21 yrs and I know that it may sound Pollyanna but even on my worst nights ( for example 7 codes in one shift and short staffed) I still love my job. We all have our horror stories and bad days where we think *** was I thinking when I decided to become a nurse but there are also those occasions and patients that remind you of why you wanted to be a nurse and why we deal with the bad stuff. I try to hold on to the good memories and on the really bad days I look at my whole career and ask myself do I still love it? I've never answered no. I will write this disclaimer this is my dream job I've wanted to be a nurse since I was 5 yrs old and I have a true strong passion for what I do. I love helping others, teaching, and learning the why's and how's of people and our body's. I also enjoy the fact that their is so much variety and you are constantly challenged. I get bored easy lol. Oh and yes that example really happened to me recently. All I can say is that my unit and nurses showed the perfect example of what teamwork can accomplish and we lost no patients all lived. :-) Butterfly41 using allnurses.com

Whenever possible volunteer to assist or ask to just watch anything that you have no experience with yet on your unit when the opportunity arises. Nurses and doctors alike are more likely to share their knowledge if you show an initiative and eagerness to learn. Also never be afraid to say I'm not familiar with that and ask for help you will be trusted and respected if you do rather than trying to fake it through especially if you make a mistake. Which we all do at some point NO ONE is perfect. Butterfly41 using allnurses.com

WOW I wish ours was this advanced and organized. Our RRT is the ICU charge nurse that's it. Soon they are placing bulletins in every patient room with an explanation of what the RRT is for and how even the family or patient themselves can call the RRT with the ICU charge nurse phone ext listed. I'm imagining calls like my nurse still hasn't brought me my pain meds I requested 5 minutes ago and I'm getting worse. Also I have concerns about the volume of phone calls preventing me from doing my charge nurse duties like backing my nurses insuring we have what we need to care for our patients, dealing with unhappy family members, doctors, patients, and nurses, educating where needed. I don't mind going on RRT calls even if it's just a please come make sure we did this right but I fear that doing both something is going to be missed. I am only one nurse and although very skilled and experienced I do have my limits. I don't wish to fail my nurses or patients. Any suggestions and is this a common practice? Butterfly41 using allnurses.com

The advice I've read so far is great. Remember that you are a professional just as they are and therefor their equal. Know the required information or be where you can look it up quickly. One of our roles as nurses is patient advocate so don't let them dismiss you or bully you if you know your right stand your ground. Your license is not dependent on his and therefor your choices and actions are all that affect your career not the doc's. I had a surgeon that was yelling at me on the phone after I requested that he stop he yelled louder then I told him if he did not stop I would hang up and did. You can always stand your ground and remain professional remember to try and never take it personal. My manager and director backed my actions with the surgeon. We also have a policy in which if a doctor is in our unit and is yelling or being belligerent we call a code green (our hospitals code for potential violence). If for no other reason than in hopes the negative attention will embarrass them bad enough that they won't wish to do it again. Butterfly41 using allnurses.com