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Purple_roses

Purple_roses

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New RN who just passed NCLEX and feels thrilled and terrified at the same time. But mostly thrilled.

Purple_roses's Latest Activity

  1. Purple_roses

    working holidays

    Purple_roses replied to peachypurple's topic in General Nursing

    Did you specifically ask off for any of the holidays? Some people like working the holidays, so if you didn't request to have any of them off, they may have just assumed you wanted to work it. I actually had this schedule as well for this holiday season even though I did request one of them off, and in a nut shell, I told them I would not be doing that and had it switched.
  2. Purple_roses

    Does it ever stop?

    Purple_roses replied to YoungRN93's topic in General Nursing

    I can understand why you wouldn't have thought immediately to ask about what drips to DC. Sometimes our jobs get so insanely busy that we barely have time to think, and it certainly doesn't help when it's somethhing you're unfamiliar with. Bottom line: you're not a bad nurse for this mistake. The patient survived. And you learned. I think the best way to prevent this is to actually kind of sort of report yourself (at my work we can do "safety call outs" and we don't get penalized for them-their purpose is to recognize breakdown within the system) And your situation absolutely sounds like a system breakdown. Your particular unit either needs more continuing education on certain drips or the parameters need to be changed so that you don't get patients with drips that you're not going to be familiar with. The only other thing I would say is to ask yourself "why" next time you're working with any med you aren't very familiar with. Why was it originally prescribed? Why are we getting vitals more often now? Why is this med affecting this sort of change and what side effects will it lead to? Why is it being DC'd? We have ALL been there. I actually kept a cardizem drip running for longer than necessary once too. I knew the patient had converted to NSR and for some reason it just did not click. It happens. Just ignore that other nurse. Edit: as far as reporting yourself or bringing the situation to management—don't do this if management doesn't generally have your back. My manager is insanely approachable and isn't quick to play the blame game, so we all feel pretty comfortable admitting to mistakes openly. There are certain environments where this may not be ideal. Just thought I should add that.
  3. Purple_roses

    Do you invest?

    Purple_roses replied to William2's topic in General Nursing

    Awesome thread topic! I was literally just starting to think seriously about this! Right now I have 4% going into my 401k, but I need to start researching other investment avenues. Following.
  4. Purple_roses

    This person outranks me?!

    Purple_roses replied to Aunt Slappy's topic in General Nursing

    I was going to say....true critical thinking should lead a nurse to this conclusion. I could see needing to get a new sputum sample from a policy and procedure standpoint, but critical thinking is what has made multiple nurses here ask OP if gastric contents would honestly disturb testing for AFB. OP, if you're bringing this much snark into work, I'm impressed that the nurse from your OP is still asking for your input at work at all.
  5. Purple_roses

    This person outranks me?!

    Purple_roses replied to Aunt Slappy's topic in General Nursing

    To be honest, I could say the same thing about myself! Haha! The other day I was just staring at an acronym in a doctor's note...a really simple acronym that I see every day at work and I could NOT for the life of me remember what it stood for and had to ask a coworker. We both had a good laugh over it. Sometimes I just need an extra shot of espresso in my coffee.
  6. Purple_roses
    I honestly think you may have been let go because you're on a witch hunt. Every single facility on the planet is doing at least something wrong, and I'm not saying you shouldn't advocate for what's right, but it's how you do it that matters. I have actually reported a coworker before for negligence and it went well for me. It's important to remain calm and state only the facts-how you feel about the situation emotionally isn't relevant. Be professional, be polite, don't place blame-just state facts. It always helps to get other professionals' opinions on the matter before you go reporting as well. As far as CNAs passing meds, are you sure they weren't QMAs (I think that's the acronym)? I have no idea if your facility's practices are legal or ethical; at your next job, ask to shadow for a few hours so you know what you're getting yourself into.
  7. Purple_roses
    The risk is skin breakdown, which you can very politely educate a patient on, but if the patient is alert and oriented and requests two *briefs* then at the end of the day, two briefs it is. When im old and gray I'll be demanding my whiskey and heaven help the person who says no to me on that, let alone how I request my briefs.
  8. Purple_roses

    I like my job

    Purple_roses replied to hherrn's topic in General Nursing

    I like this. Gotta focus on the positives sometimes and get perspective. And if you've tried focusing on the positives and still feel super negative and depressed about your job for a prolonged period of time, maybe it's time to freshen up your resume and start applying elsewhere, because that's another pro to nursing too: changing and securing jobs is a lot less difficult in nursing than it is in other fields. The biggest pro about my job is my coworkers. I love love love them.
  9. Purple_roses

    Are new grads prepared for the bedside?

    Purple_roses replied to Robert.CFRN's topic in General Nursing

    This is it! Schools maintain accreditation based on NCLEX pass rates and not job performance. You nailed it.
  10. Purple_roses

    Are new grads prepared for the bedside?

    Purple_roses replied to Robert.CFRN's topic in General Nursing

    I would imagine the length and thoroughness of actual job orientation makes a big difference in preparedness. At hospital A, a new grad on med surg may be promised a 10 week orientation and wind up taking 6 to 8 patients by week 2 because the hospital sucks, while hospital B may extend the promised 10 week orientation if it's needed and add patients onto the new nurse's load based on the nurse's individual readiness. In order for nursing school to shoot us out with guns blazing, ready to go right off the bat, nursing school would need to take at least an extra year or two in my opinion.
  11. Purple_roses

    How late after your shift do you stay at work?

    Purple_roses replied to FLnurse1127's topic in General Nursing

    I usually clock out on time. The latest I've ever clocked out is 30 minutes past my shift. Our ER isn't allowed to give us new admits close to shift change. I also work night shift, so I usually am not the one discharging patients. My unit's patient ratios are also pretty decent. When we're short staffed and the patient load is heavier, people tend to get out later but luckily this doesn't happen often. 7 mos experience.
  12. Purple_roses

    No Respect.

    Purple_roses replied to CardiacDork's topic in General Nursing

    I have actually never had a patient or family member get upset with me for holding off on things like water when coming from CVL. It's not like an assessment takes an hour. It can be fast, but it is the priority. I explain everything as I'm doing and explain why I'm assessing, I explain what can go wrong, and I apologize at first for how much I'll have to "bug" them in that first hour especially and explain that I just really want their loved one to be ok. I always bring the family and patient their comfort things once I've talked with them all and we've all assessed how the patient is doing together and once everyone knows what symptoms to watch out for. I've never had a bad experience doing this. Now if I have a patient that I know is coming to me from ER and is relatively stable and has orders placed already, I'll grab the water first. That's different to me.
  13. Purple_roses

    No Respect.

    Purple_roses replied to CardiacDork's topic in General Nursing

    Respectfully, no. Cath patient coming to ICU? I work cardiac and when I get a cath patient back, I'm assessing and getting those q15 vitals first thing. I have told family that the water has to wait before and I would never change that.
  14. Purple_roses
    If a patient is on a bariatric bed and isn't ambulatory, there will be a wound beneath that panis. And it will be fungal.
  15. Purple_roses

    No Respect.

    Purple_roses replied to CardiacDork's topic in General Nursing

    This is the product of viewing patients as customers in a society where the customer is always right.
  16. Purple_roses

    What do you like most about your specialty?

    Purple_roses replied to alexaway's topic in Specialties

    I work cardiac. The best part is feeling like a valuable asset to the team and feeling proud of myself after handling an emergency well. The worst part is that my manager sucks; he rarely acknowledges a job well done and almost always has a negative thing to say. It's a downer and our entire team's morale is actually pretty low because of this. Lots of great nurses are leaving
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