Nittlebug

Just smile. It's part of the job

I love ER. The things I love most: Constantly learning new things, bonding with coworkers, helping people - especially the elderly who are generally so greatful to have a helping hand and kind words. I love challenging myself, believing in myself and my coworkers that there is no situation we cannot handle. I love the human connection we all share. I love it when I can find compassion for even the most vile person. Sometimes that is the hardest challenge, but it can be the most rewarding.

I can relate ! I'm 26, I spent alot of time alone too. I'm married now, but I still feel alone much of the time. I'm a nurse and I seem to have a hard time making friends. Sure we all get along at work, and I consider them all friends, but there's either a big age difference or everyone is too busy with there families to get together. Basically I have zero friends outside of work. ( No one stayed in touch after college, that was a real disappointment because I thought I had some really good friends.) There was a time when I was so overwhelmed with my job that I was consumed by anxiety and depression. I cried after work almost every day. I hated my job on that busy medical floor, and I never felt like I did a good job. I came to a breaking point and decided to take a position in the ER and now I love my job. I still have a hard time reaching out to make friends. I find it's hard to relate to anyone who's not a nurse, in fact now I find it hard to relate to anyone who's not an ER nurse. It's such a different world at times. My problem is that I give up so easily. I take everything personally and feel easily rejected. I still have Zero friends outside of work and its not healthy. I tend to be too clingy to my husband and all guys need space once in awhile. Bottom line, humans are not meant to be alone. The more friends you have the better off you'll be. And hobbies are a must !! Taking step aerobics and yoga have helped me get out , and even though I haven't made any friends there yet, I am hopeful. It would be nice to have a friend who doesn't want to talk shop all the time. It's important to do things that interest you too. I taught myself how to crochet hats and scarves and I love to read and garden. These things helped me cope with spending time by myself ! The truth is, being alone sucks ! It's important to know you can survive on your own, but it's just no fun unless you have friends to hang out with. Whatever you do, don't settle for a loser boyfriend because you're lonely and 25. But don't be too picky either. Find a nice guy you can fall in love with and just let it happen. Don't force it, and don't rush anything. And don't rule him out just because he has kids. Things will work out for you. Have faith in yourself. Natalie

Wow, my situation doesn't even compare to yours. I'm in a small 13 bed ER in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. We too have trouble placing patients sometimes, but not every shift or every day. Sometimes we agree to hold patients when we can for just a few hours. We tell the floors if we fill up , we need to move 'em out quick. Last night I had a patient on a dopamine gtt and there's only three nurses on the night shift. The ambulance called in with a Code Blue ETA 5min. I called ICU and they took my admission stat so I could help run the unit while the other 2 nurses were in with the code blue.

People can make jokes about nurses, or say or think whatever they want. It doesn't phase me at all because I know sooner or later they'll come into my ER with a fracture or something worse and then they'll be begging ME for pain meds :-) Sooner or later we'll all need a nurse.

hey boss, nice to here there's another great place to work out there. I love my job too and I work in an ER where the back biting is kept at a minimum. We are like a slightly dysfunctional family, but we still work really good together. We all vent once in awhile but we generally support eachother, and the management is pretty good too. Way to keep a positive attitude!!!

The hospital I used to work at used a model called P.I.P. Pre-intervention, Intervention, and Post-intervention. Sorry, I don't know how the program was developed or anything about training costs. Maybe someone else knows more about it.???

Wow, sounds like your hospital has alot of problems. Sorry to say I don't have all the answers but I believe your nurses should stand together collectively and make your voices heard. Maybe you need a union to intervene. Maybe you already have one and it's not working for you. All I do know is I love my job and the hospital I work at is really nice. Each Director of Nursing or Manager of the department has had many years staff nursing experience as far as I know. They may think more like managers than nurses these days but I'm just glad somebody wants to do their crappy jobs because I would NEVER !!!

Hi ! I'm also a SANE nurse. I took my training in Madison Wisconsin and we have 6 SANEs in our ER. We just started the SANE program this past fall and it works great !! I only had to do one SA case before we started the program, and I sweated through the whole thing, and fumbled around with that rape kit. Now I breeze right through. I'm glad there are nurses like us who want to do these rape exams.. If I were raped the last thing I'd want to worry about is "Does my nurse believe me or even care enough to collect good evidence?" Now not only are we trained to collect and document solid evidence, we can do the entire pelvic exam and the docs just interview the patient in the end and order the meds.

Hi Sharon ! I haven't had to use a chest tube in awhile, but we just had a inservice on the new Pleurevac CT system. Stripping is generally contraindicated due to the excessive negative pressure that builds up, and I wouldn't do it without a doctors order. But no matter what the new standard is, you will always get an old school doc who has been doing things his way for years. My point is on the new Pleurevacs, ( and the Thoraklex System as well ) they have relief valves you push down on to releive the excessive negative pressure if the tubes need to be stripped. They also have separate air leak indicator chambers so you can tip the thing over and still have accurrate measurements. Nothing gets mixed together, and no damage is done. Your unit should have a video from the product rep somewhere. I recommend you take the time to review it. I had to watch ours 3 times before I really understood how it worked. They always tell you a bunch of crap you don't need to know and it gets confusing. [This message has been edited by Nittlebug (edited March 04, 2001).]

Hi Sharon ! I haven't had to use a chest tube in awhile, but we just had a inservice on the new Pleurevac CT system. Stripping is generally contraindicated due to the excessive negative pressure that builds up, and I wouldn't do it without a doctors order. But no matter what the new standard is, you will always get an old school doc who has been doing things his way for years. My point is on the new Pleurevacs, ( and the Thoraklex System as well ) they have relief valves you push down on to releive the excessive negative pressure if the tubes need to be stripped. They also have separate air leak indicator chambers so you can tip the thing over and still have accurrate measurements. Nothing gets mixed together, and no damage is done. Your unit should have a video from the product rep somewhere. I recommend you take the time to review it. I had to watch ours 3 times before I really understood how it worked. They always tell you a bunch of crap you don't need to know and it gets confusing. [This message has been edited by Nittlebug (edited March 04, 2001).]

Beth- I really don't know what to say to you. We nurses are generally underpaid and work long hard hours ( holidays and nightshifts ). Yes we get crabby. Yes we get burned out sometimes. Sorry to say I think most of us get at least a little bit envious of anyone who has enough resources to bypass the trenches and jump into a high paying dayshift job with great benefits and no holidays. I believe if you are going to get much respect as a nurse practitioner, you had better do at least a little staff nursing to get some real experience. I believe if you are going to get much respect as a PA, well, good luck.... By the way... tell your manipulative parents to get a life.

You sound like you want to become a labor and delivery registered nurse. You have several options. 1. The quickest way to do this and the cheapest would be to get a 2 year associate RN degree. There is a nursing shortage so you can probably get into Labor and Delivery as a new graduate RN. While you are in college you should get certified as a nursing assistant and apply for a job in a hospital on the L+D unit or another unit in the hospital. If you are a good worker, you will have an easier time getting an RN job there once you get your RN degree 2. The other option is a BSN or four year degree which I reccommend if you can afford it. If you have a 4yr degree you will make a little more money per hour and could someday apply for a management position or public health nursing. 3. A nurse Midwife is a nurse who can deliver babies in someones own home or in a hospital without direct supervision of a doctor. To be a Midwife you need Masters degree. I would reccommend you get a few years experience as a staff RN on a Labor and Delivery unit before you go back to school to be a Nurse Midwife. Either way you may have to start out on a basic medical/surgical floor before getting into a specialty such as Labor and Delivery. If you do find a position in Labor and Delivery as a new grad, make sure they have a good training or orientation program for you. We need more young people like you to get interested in Nursing !! Good luck to you in the future and if you have any more questions this is the place to ask.

Read good books, write in a journal, or do crafts, experiment with different hobbies; knitting or crochetting, painting. Plan and plant a garden. Exercise regularly, walking or jogging( I've been using a treadmill to run and also lifting weights) I do not believe in snacking between meals !!! Seeing people constantly shoving foods in their faces repulses me, especially if they are already obese. We won't starve if we eat 3 balanced meals a day. No fast food, and No junk food!! It's a lifestyle choice and you'll feel better about yourself trust me.

Cardiac, telemetry, ICU, peds, med/surg, those are the big ones. I found it extremely helpful to volunteer part time on the local ambulance service and they sent me to school for the EMT basic. I have about one year in each of those areas and I have noticed I had an easier time adjusting to ER than those without my experience.