chrispicritah

if you drive drunk, you need to be shamed. after 22 years of nursing, i remember the worst thing i saw when i floated to the trauma unit was a multiple freeway accident caused by a drunk driver...he was drunk as cooter brown and ran into a woman who was 8 months pregnant. her baby could not be saved, apparently the placenta became separated from her and he died. she was injured but had not yet found out that her baby died. he was so drunk he didn't know what was up. i remember we were all crying, it was so sad. the police wanted to beat him down and he had the nerve to be demanding! so many people drive drunk and kill others, unfortuately they walk away without a scratch. and you want to take care of me? what part of spend the night don't you understand? what happened to "can you give me a ride home" don't you understand? my father was an alcoholic, and one of the saddest things about an alcoholic is that they are so selfish. all they can think about is "i". they don't see the consequences of what they do. it is always about what they want, what they didn't get, or how can they fix it without paying the price for what they have done. and if you ever work with a nurse who has come to work drinking it ain't nothin' nice. now before anyone calls me judgemental come and work at the job i am leaving for a week, then go back. too many excuses, so little time. cc soon to retire from nursing after 22 years:roll

chile doan worry, dem just jealous! travel and do yuh 'ting... "why should i worry, why should i care, (s'ting, s'ting) cause i've got "street savoir faire"! go for it! cc soon to be retired june 30, 2006:balloons:

50 is the new 35!!!! cc soon to retire on june 30, 2006:balloons: young!

it's OK...don't get bitter, it's not healthy. it makes ulcers and who knows what else? don't wait until that happens because when it does, they will just find somebody else to hire in your place, drink coffee in your name if you die, and forget about you. take care of yourself. cc you know the story:balloons:

yes! and we don't thank ourselves and appreciate others enough. i don't believe that you have to become bitter to leave any profession, that is not healthy. but, management likes to sit and look busy, in their ivory towers. i mentioned this fact about managers working in the floor and this one manager acted like she was going to have a baby right there! they can't function anymore. if they had to do what we had to do, they would walk off the job today. i agree, they should make them all work on their floors one day every 3 months. one 12 hour shift. and they don't get to be in charge. they will take an assignment like everyone else and do it all! that is all it would take to change things. i guarantee that they would call off sick... cc

i would always make rounds and go to each person, and say "hello mr/mrs. so-and-so, i'm miss crispi and i am your nurse this evening. do you have any pain?" unless i was on the jail ward in which case i would not tell those inmates my name. i would show my badge and turn it back wards once they saw i was wearing one. i would just tell them my name was "nurse"...it was what we did for safety. and i always had on my badge. i would cover my last name up on the jail ward and just leave my picture and "RN" visible....some of them stalk nurses.

do you want to be a nurse because it is in your heart, or because of some other reason (i.e. not wanting another meaningless low paying job) that is not a good enough reason for going to school to be a nurse. it is hard work, and it gets harder everyday. there are plenty of things you can do, make money and be happy. if you want to be a nurse because you really want it, then go for it! it will be worth it. but, before you make any choice, why not go to a career counselor and do an assessment to find out what you really are cut out to do? i believe that we live longer and happier lives when we are doing what we are put here to do. for some that means nursing, for most, it is something else. just make sure you are doing the right thing for the right reasons. be well cc soon to retire june 30 2006:balloons:

well, your response is actually more of what i expected to find. and no, i am not venting. i am speaking the truth. speaking what i believe does not make me bitter, it makes me honest. if nursing students are discouraged from nursing because of what i posted, then it is a good thing. that is like saying that quoting the fact that 50% of all marriages end in divorce will discourage people from getting married. well, if that is all it takes to discourage them, then they should not marry in the first place! marriage is more than putting on a white dress, walking down the aisle and marrying a man in a nice black tux, eating cake and going to the bahamas for a week. nursing is more than putting on a cute uniform and crusing the hallway with a tray of medicines and fluffing pillows. the problem is, no one wants to hear the truth. nursing schools do not present the harsh realities of what nursing is to potential students. oh, and to the other poster, you know i want to get out so i won't have to be relegated to a rocking chair. i want to still have life in my bones. and, you don't know what jobs i have done in the last 22 years...so i won't even comment on that. but i will say, i was good at all of them. when it's time to go, it's just time to go.:blushkiss that being said, carry on-- cc soon to be retired june 30 2006:balloons:

go to the doctor and make sure nothing is wrong with your feet like fallen arches or heel spurs :uhoh21: then try the other's suggestions. nursing shoes always bothered me. dansko clogs and some other kind i bought earlier this year were nice. but i wish i hadn't bought them since i am leaving the hospital. be well cc soon to be retired june 30 2006:balloons:

that sounds very antiquated, apparently that hospital is not up to standard on pain control. when i had several fibroids removed, the anesthesiologist asked me in the pre-op area, what i wanted, demerol, morphine, or dilaudid. i was not in a "elite" hospital, it was just a regular hospital where people go. the doctor told me before hand that i would have a pca. when i woke up, i had a pca with dilaudid going, although i was too asleep to use it and was trying to get out of the bed (to go where?) but i had no pain. so they sound kind of mean. i'm sorry they treated you that way. be well cc soon to retire june 30 2006:balloons:

i don't know about that, the only real way to learn about starting IV's is by doing them. when i first started out working, we used to have IV nurses, who only started IV's. i learned from them. they told me if you can't see a vein then feel for where it is "warm" the vein is underneath. i became very good at it and could get blood from a turnip. i learned how to feel for where it was warm. it takes practice. starting IV's for me was harder than getting blood because you can use shorter veins for phlebotomy. but if you have already taken the class then the only real way to get good at it is to watch others do it, and practice yourself. be well cc retiring as of june 30 2006:lol2: 22 year veteran:balloons:

i have not read all of the posts but i would say the most important thing is, remember that you can only do one thing at a time. if you have d/c orders at 0830 and meds to pass and paperwork, then only one of them can be done first. i would do the medicines first, that would be my priority. the paperwork can be looked at and given to the charge nurse. let them know what you have to do and ask for help. you can only do one thing at a time properly. otherwise it is not safe. i used to pass meds on a medicine ward with 25 pts, avg 9 diabetics, who would all need F/S before breakfast so i would do that first. i didn't have to do any discharges, but i had to check all of the f/s, give all the insulin, and then check all meds before starting out. the rest of the morning i was doing meds and checking orders. it was a mess. but being organized was the main thing. it is hard when people make negative comments and are not supportive. but that is how it is most of the time. don't allow others to dictate how you feel, you are giving them waaay too much power. i know what i am talking about. after 22 years i will be leaving nursing at the end of the month. good luck and be well cc

thank you for you post, yes, i love to write. maybe i will write a book one day. who knows? as i said, i have seen a lot, maybe too much at a very young age. it is not for everyone, just like marriage, children, or any of the other life choices we make along the way. for those who say i should try some other aspect of nursing, i appreciate what you have to say but that is not my truth. if it's yours then you should follow it with full intention. i have taken care of everyone else for half of my life, and now it is time to take care of me. if you read my post you will see that it has started to take a toll on my health, and i don't think that any job is worth that. and, no...i'm not bitter. just honest. after 22 years on the battlefield it would be hard to leave without some scars. they don't give us purple hearts but they should. i worked in the biggest hospital in the US for 18 of 22 years, other 4 years i worked in private facilities and a plasma center. i have been almost everywhere and seen most things in my young life that are unbelievable, like the man whose wife tried to chop his head off with an axe, but he lived...anyway i won't say anymore. it's time to leave. and, for new nurses or those who want to be nurses, i would say, just make sure it is really what you want, not for money, not to give what you didn't get (like me) but because it is truly your life path. listen to the stories people tell you. they don't tell you that before you go to school because they don't want to scare you. just like having a baby, if you listen to the horror stories you might freak out. most of the time it is not as bad as they say, although it is rough. but like anything else go in with both eyes open. to the poster who said that the classroom has its own challenges, yes, that's right. everything real presents a challenge. but it's all about what types of challenges we are fit and willing to deal with, not the ones we run from. i have already had kids who touch others inappropriately, or are hypersexual, or talk about bringing guns to school because they are angry. i deal with all of that. but you know what? i love it. i can't say that i ever loved nursing. it was just what i did because i did it. have any of you women ever had sex with a man because he was there but it felt like nothing? well... anway, enough before somebody says i am beating the horse to death.:deadhorse be well and thrive-- cc anyway i like this site, i will keep posting when i have a chance. i

well everyone after 22 years i am leaving the nursing profession. i have spent almost half of my life taking care of other people, and it is now time to step aside and let someone else step in. i was very young when i started out, and i often say that i chose nursing the same way many women choose a man, for all of the wrong reasons although i was good at it, i never harmed anyone, i worked hard, cleaned pts real good, cleaned nails, ears, etc. made beds, toe pleats and all, passed meds, did IV's, blood and all of those other tasks they added to the list over the years. everyone was well taken care of, except for me. i silenced my own voice. so, it is time for me to leave. after numerous injuries, (back, wrist, neck), backstabbing managers, obnoxious families and insulting doctors i just can't do it anymore. i'm tired and just have done all i can do. i have worked everywhere and seen it all from the ER to the OR. i didn't do it for the money, it's really not that much for all of the b* i have to deal with. i feel sorry for the shallow person who wants to do nursing for the money. i would not want them standing over me.:chair: if i had it to do over, i would not. but i can't undo what is already done. i love kids, i love art. i have a degree in art and opportunities to teach it are coming my way. not the same money but much less stress on me, no injuries and no more palpitations and bradycardia. i don't like telemetry either-- working in it, or laying down in it. the beeping really creeps me out, and when i look up and see "50" on the screen that does not help. :redbeathe i did not wake up and decide to quit, it has taken me a long time to get to this place and i realize that it is either remain in this relationship (profession) at my own expense, or get out now while i still have my physical and mental health and strength. i have seen too many of my commrades die prematurely. i don't want to be next, before my time. good luck to you all, be safe, CYA, and most of all when the going gets tough, get out! crispicrittah:saint:

as someone else already asked, why would you want to do that? when you go someplace and need some type of service they will charge you more money because they think you have it. and, nurses are easy prey for criminals. people like to get nurses. i would not do this. but if you must, go ahead. just remember that you were warned. cc soon to retire after 22 years:saint:

i went to work, 3-11, it was my day off and i didn't check. they sent me to the oncology ward and at 4 they floated me to medicine. i asked them if they realized it was my day off, they said "we are glad you came"...i worked the whole shift, don't remember any of the pts but i had five of them. by 10:30 i was throwing up in the bathroom, i left at 11:45 and did not feel well anymore. monday i was sick again and tuesday i put in for a 30 day LOA. my doctor gave me a Rx for sleeping pills and a referral to mental health. he feels that i am stressed out. it is time to retire. crispicritah this is a :deadhorse for me.

:trout: well, after a year you would probably know what you want, or don't. the saying that angry nurses eat their young is true sometimes, the other part of that is: angry nurses get sick and burnt-out after 22 years and have to leave the profession. confidence levels increase over time and routine, just as in any job. good luck! one leaves, another comes in. my advice to you is this: don't let yourself become burnt-out, keep yourself alive, take care of you. you cannot care for another if you yourself are not well. if you are tired don't work a double. spend less, save more and don't let them use you up. when they do they will find someone else to replace you quickly. drink water, take breaks. eat properly. pamper yourself at home, at the spa, whereever and whenever you can. don't let them drain you. i am on a 30 day leave of absence that i have taken, due to nursing's contribution to stress and a possible early demise. i refuse to be on another telemetry unit as a patient. my personal physician has written for xanax...it has come to that. at the end of the thirty days i will retire from nursing after 22 years. fortunately i have an art degree that i am using, so i can move on. good luck! crispi:angryfire

i hurt my back for the first time in 19 years on saturday. here's my question: i am per diem. i called out for 1 shift already and wonder if this goes on for a week or 2, is there anyway i can get paid at all? i don't have sick time, but bc this happened at work am i entitled to any pay? i want to go back, but i'm afraid if i don't give it a chance to heal right, i will have future problems. any advice from any per diem folks? you are covered by Worker's Compensation and it does not matter if you are per diem or regular, if you work for the hospital. did you fill out Industrial Accident Papers? They are supposed to send you to the doctor and all of that, if you are injured on the job. too many times we suffer in silence, and don't say anything, then when we really have pain it is too late to do anything about it, or they start giving us trouble. be careful... c.c.

i am in your same situation. after numerous back injuries, light duty, private investigators trying to say i was lying... i did return to school, for a B.A. in theatre, which is my passion. i worked as a teaching artist last summer and it was so nice...however those jobs are hard to find so i had to keep looking in the meantime. i went to a job fair and have been offered a job in a nice clinic, part-time. so it can be done, i was honest with them and told them not about my injuries, but that after so many years, bedside nursing was beginning to take its toll on my body, and i wanted to work with ambulatory patients. i am a good listener, i am organized, i love to talk (i am a performer) and i was right for the job. it is less money but what is good money that is going to the doctor bills? part of me is happy, the other part is numb. but i am getting there. i know that i have to get away from the damn hospital...it is making me sick. i am wearing a capsicum patch now, and it is starting to wear off. good luck in whatever you decide to do.:balloons: C.

well i am back again, five months after being in the hospital with bradycardia i still don't feel well. everytime i come home i feel like i am dying inside. i have already told my story...so i will fast forward, i went to a job fair and left my resume in several places, one with a medical weight-loss clinic. i went on two interviews and have been offered a job. i got the message when i woke up this evening. it is a drastic salary cut, but the piece of mind is worth it. i am so tired...i want to feel like myself again. i don't believe in antidepressants for myself, when i know that i am depressed because of my situation. the bad thing is that i have been in it so long i don't know if i can be happy again on a nursing job. there is no pt. care, no iv's, none of that, just counseling and referrals. i am good at that. the shifts are short, i can still work on my art. my passion is still drama, the job is located near the entertainment hub in a major metropolitan area. so maybe this is an answer to prayer, maybe God has looked on me and made a way. i will sleep on it, and tomorrow morning i will know. the doctor was right, she said that i have been in a cage so long i forgot how to fly... and if i ever got out it would be hard to stay in. that is why i got sick. but maybe things will get better for me. after 22 years i still look much younger, i can still pass for ten years younger than my real age. i have gained ten pounds but i can lose it since i can go walking after work. i can't keep having heart burn and feeling sick, next time i might not make it. bleeding ulcers run in my family.:angryfire crispi

yes, it does help. i burned some sage this afternoon, it is a very earthy scent but it makes me feel that i am in a very earthy environment. i burn lavender oil for the same reason. on 9/11 (what a day) a patient grabbed me by my right wrist and twisted it. i filed ia papers and have been seen by the ia physician, who has put me on light duty and p/t for two weeks. my boss has yet to get back with me on it. she did however yell at me the next morning for not going to the doctor the night before (7 miles away). the night supv. were not in their office, and the clerk told me to leave the papers for her in the morning. so, i went home after doing my part. she was mad because she had to make the call to report the accident. this is why i am tired of the whole thing. we work like dogs and when we get hurt, they treat us like dogs. mind you, i knew that the patient was weird, but i did not know he would grab me. they did say that he hollers out but did not say that he was violent. i found out afterwards that he kicked a doctor, and threw food at another nurse. when i read the chart, he has a history of violent and abusive behaviour. :angryfire there is no such thing as 'light duty' for us...and i am supposed to wear a splint to prevent further injury so how can i wash my hands anyway? they are very nice to me at the doctor's office, at least. the doctor gave me naprosyn, which may have caused me to be in the hospital over the weekend with a very strange illness that put me on a non-rebreather mask in the er, and i was on telemetry for two days with bradycardia (51) 83/50. that was scary. i have a low bp and a pretty slow pulse but that was different. i was discharged on monday. i will not let them kill me. i have to get away from that dam* job. cc

i have been burnt-out for a long time, so long i can't remember. i have already been doing this for too long, despite this i still try to do my best, as i want to treat others as i want to be treated. i may become sick one day and do not want to sow what i don't want to reap. i already told all of my story a long time ago, i won't retell it. but i know it's over for me for real now. sunday night a patient grabbed and twisted my right wrist, spraining it. i am online doing a serious job search, although it is not comfortable. he grabbed it while i was flushing his saline lock. he was known to be labile but not violent, however after he did this, the others said 'oh he kicked the doctor the other night' and 'he threw food at me on purpose' but there was nothing on the kardex stating this and it was not mentioned in report, all they said was that he was non-compliant with his medicines, none of them being pych meds. i believe that he is a psych pt that slipped through the cracks. he is homeless. i am right-handed. what can i do in nursing without writing? it hurts to write. after being molested, cursed and otherwise abused by patients, family members and staff who don't help, including managers who only care about their six-figure check, it is time to get out. i thank god that i was not getting blood from him, and got stuck with a live needle. who knows what he might have...aids, hepc, i don't want them. i am not a pill taker but i am taking naprosyn for the pain. and since i have to wrap my wrist after 22 years, how can i wash my hands properly? it is time to move on. i have just sent two resumes out this evening. i hope someone likes me. i have a ba in theatre arts, and taught summer school this year. i absolutely loved it! there is no perfect job and i don't expect to find it. but i know that i can be happy doing something else and keep my health at the same time. why should i continue to be abused? it's just not worth it anymore. what i do to relax: i burn lavender oil and white sage, and have made a committment to myself to include some type of beauty in my life on a weekly basis, last week i went to a film festival, this week i repotted some little plants that i found for $1.00 and arranged them on my front porch. these things are inexpensive or don't cost anything. and they keep my sanity.

7 months out of school, and 6 months of working. i hate my job, and not too crazy about being a nurse. im 22 years old, single, no previous degree, first full time job was a nurse. 1st RED FLAG!!! :angryfire i have been in that situation. you are going to have to ask yourself a serious question: why did you choose nursing in the first place? i made a bad decsion and stayed for 22 years. i am now burnt-out. fortunately i went back to school and now have a BA in Theatre Arts/Art History and have found my true passion. it is not a bad thing to hate what you do, but you owe it to yourself to find out who you are, what it is that you are supposed to do and then do it! it is not fair to you or to the public that you are supposed to serve. i dont like working nights and weekends and 12 hour shifts. i don't either, i work 3-11 when i do work at all. been thinking....what should i do? get a job at a clinic or go back to school for a masters in informatics? find out who you are and what you want, then go for it. there are different places on the internet where you can do free assessments on your strengths and propensities, do some soul-searching. there are too many people stuck in a place where they don't need to be or want to be, life is too damn short. :rotfl: i am a good actor so for 22 years i played a role that was not even truth to me, which is not even good acting but i found that it kept me sane for a while. i went back to work after teaching summer school for a month and became violently ill. this is not the first time it has happened and i know that eventually i will have to leave that job before they get rid of be for getting ill on the job. it's time to go! there is no shame in making a change, but a lot in not doing it soon enough. some people go into nursing for the money, but all money is not good money if your heart is not in it. i would do what i do for free. they don't pay me enough to clean s*** although i did it and did it well. that is all i have to say peace crispycrittah burnt-out for life