Sissybee1

NURSES W TATTOOS I myself have two arm sleeves. It is the facility policy that they be covered. I wear long sleeve shirts under my scrubs or a sweater, or a jacket, etc. The neck on the sides is a bad area to get one for the medical field. I have one on the back of my neck as well and I do ok, at other facilities I had to wear a large bandage over it and it was a pain in the ass and pulled my hair out when I took it off. I wouldn't do knuckles or the tops of your hands, even though I want to desperately. The issue for me is that some of the older population of pts have a stigma attached and don't trust you for healthcare. I have also had times where it has helped create a good working relationship with pts because they feel I am relatable. Just be prepared to sweat ridiculously in the summer time from wearing long sleeves. You can always get your legs done, a chest piece, etc. and none would be the wiser. I also get sick of pts asking me (or the public in general) what they all mean, etc. As far as piercings I know that a lot of my co-workers have nose piercings and such and it is a non issue here. BUT at my gynos office the LPN there wears a ridiculous bandage on her nose to cover the piercing, which I think is more off putting but to each their own. I see no issue with moderate body modification but when you are getting gaged out I'm sure it would be an issue. The ears are supposed to only have one piercing or something like that but most places are lax on that, jewelry in general that's loose is a pt safety issue or rings that can cause skin tears/abrasions. Your mom seems like she's trying to spook you.

I work psych. I work adolescent, child, geriatric, and adult. If you call easy being spit on, spit blood on, punched, kicked, cursed at, and verbally abused easy then yes its a cake walk. It takes a strong mind and an unbelievable amount of self control to see the patients as ill when they are in extreme crisis. The ability to sit calmly while a child repeats grotesque accounts of horrendous sexual abuse by trusted members of their environment, to recognize withdrawal and still deal with medical issues like htn, dm, copd, etc., and to be excellent at wound care are just a few gems we carry arounds. You have to have honed assessment skills to recognize when someone has true syncope or is acting out, to treat each complaint with validity and be able to differentiate those which are symptomatic to a disorder. You have to deal with team nursing and be able to navigate staff issues and personalities and their interactions with patients as well, all while passing meds, assessing, doing admissions, and making sure no one attacks each other or self injures with much larger pt to nurse ratios. It is true nursing and not for the faint of heart. No nursing job is easy, not a single one and if you're in the market for easy this just might not work out.

I have been working psych for a little over 2 years. My supervisor has been allowing the house supervisor of this facility to pull from our psych teams to staff the medical side for which we are neither trained or oriented to. I have brought the concern up the chain of command to be told to do it, on SNU units and now critical care and that we are to act as "techs" and not RN's. I feel this is preposterous. It is my inclination should there be an emergent issue that I will be expected legally to act within my scope of practice. I live in IL and I am wondering if anyone can tell me about safe harbor, if it exists in IL and am I covered or is it up to facility policy. I do not want to injure someone or my career for that matter. Speedy response please.