Grayeagle

Thank you for posting that.. ..laughter works :)

Turned in an Aid for Patient Abuse up the chain of command. (my supv, then to DoN) Aid got friends together, about a month goes by, Aid still came over to 'help' on my floor (I couldnt beleive she still worked there) ..then she out right lied/used half-truths (yes, I gave meds to one patient without water, they were in applesauce and she prefers her bottled water there, on her table, in arms reach mk thx, etc) to the DoN(Management lady, never worked as a floor nurse as far as I know, just by her action-reaction with patients) .. I was called in and asked to resign. No 'he said-she said' no facts or reasonable discussion.. just resign or be fired mk thx. -sigh- Some people's kids. SO.. I signed up with a registry for substantially more than I made there, problem is they only call me once a week and the places I go are -shakes head- ..just amazing that they are billed as 'patient care' ..honestly I go in and do not have time to turn around for 8 hours, and 'then' they always tell me I need to stay to 'finish' one thing or another, when I am so toasted I cannot 'do' much more than get out to the car and drive home, much less stand at the Nurse Station and do another hour of paper or what ever. There are places I refuse to go to now. I never thought I would see the day. It's breaking my heart. I am tired, cant sleep, searching for something I can do. I am a great LPN, references from those I worked *with* who actually *know* how well I care for my patients .. just a bit lost at the moment. LPN positions in Phoenix seem to have evaporated. Always surprises me how best laid plans can unravel even after all these years. -Frank, Licensed Public Nuisance and Slave Dog.

I dunno .. if something really bad happens .. ..first you say it .. ..then you do it. Clean underwear would be moot .. at that point :) -Frank

Lots of good tips here.. The more you can do or observe the better you will be as a Nurse. -Frank

It's only petty until someone gets their eye poked out! -grin- -Frank

Thanks .. I am going to go in tomorrow and give notice, and ask for referral from that same Nurse Supervisor :) I just can't do scrub pants. Not happenin. -Frank

ima ESTJ .. interesting :) -Frank

-shrug-.. may as well talk to all that you want to :) I find it helps to write down Pro's and Con's for each place that interests me ..helps me think and make a decision. Even with no 'shortage' .. you will get swamped :) Nature of the beast .. I love the job market for Nursing :) -Frank

Company I work for here in Phoenix has decided we will wear Scrub tops/bottoms in colors they have chosen. No uniform allowance, not paid for by them. I showed up today with their color tops, but wore my black pants ..they stretch when I bend or have to kneel down, unlike scrubs, which I have torn doing the same ..yes .. right across the back of my butt no less .. I swore then I'd never wear that cheap fabric for pants again.. LOL. Anyway, Nurse Supervisor met me in hallway, told me to go home. Had just gotten report and counted for shift change .. I was in the process of taking my badge off and handing it to her when I stopped myself. Wow. Just wouldn't do to quit right on the spot. Went home, sent a resume out, .. LOL My wife found a pair of scrub pants I had that were the correct color that I havent worn since way back then. I am still debating whether I should go back in tomorrow or just call 'em and tell them where to send my check. Comes down to the last straw .. no raise, not even a cost of living bump for the year and a half I have been there.. high patient load with more and more patients that need a lockdown Alzheimer's unit, not just me and one aid.. and now they want me to lay out a few hundred dollars for an arbitrary decision on their part that just doesn't make sense for me at all. -shrug- Sorry .. had to vent. Not like I have to do a single thing they want, I will go work somewhere else for more pay that is closer. Throw me into that briar patch! -Frank

Got an elderly gentleman very far into end stage Alzheimers. Rare to hear him say any coherent sentence, he's been declining steadily since I began working here. Kneeling at his wheelchair, I had his crushed meds in applesauce for him, and he looked at my name tag ... read my name out loud, then asked what does 'LPN' stand for, Licensed Public Nuisance?' Then he smiled. I replied 'You're exactly right!' and just broke up laughing ..it was priceless. -Frank

Ok .. the correct response to someone who says you gotta stay to repay a sign on is 'Bill Me' ..if it sucks to work there it sucks to work there. Don't do it. Life is too short to put up with abuse. -Frank (heck tell em you'll pay off the sign on bonus at 5 bucks a week or they can see you in court if you really want to screw with em :)

Phoenix, AZ seems ok I am an LPN atm, been one for a year and a half, this is my 3rd nursing job since graduation. The VA was wonderful ..didnt pay much tho. The next place had a patient-acute ratio that was crazy, I left after a month and a half there, I just could not do 14 hours of work in 8 hours .. ..then I found the place I am at now ..it's *wonderful* ..I get everything done by the end of shift, I have 15 max (usually 13 or so) long term and respite mostly hospice ..I am just over 20/hr with time and a half for overtime (which I admit I dont do much of, my choice as they are always asking) ..we rock as a team. Cost of living here is a bit high ..but ..it definitely does not get cold! I have to drive to Flagstaff to have a snowball fight ..and I am all over that :) It's a great place to own a Corvette :) -Frank (takes the top off regularly)

'Patient Advocate' we are. All kinds of hindsight, all I can say is what I would have done. Pudding, thickened fluids and blood sugar checks to make sure parameters were good. 'Patient Requested' on the MAR and no way am I going to let a patient of mine jeapordize their health because the Doc didn't think something through. Some of these 80lb geriatric bed-ridden types cannot go 24 hours without fluids and some form of nutrition. grrr.. I can feel myself getting angry thinkin of just how bad it has to be for a Doc to earn a nickname of 'Dr. Death' .. I hope I never meet someone like that. Chain of command, documentation, legal recourse, ..next thing yanno 'Dr. Death' is lucky to get a job workin at Mcdonalds ..if not in jail. I can only hope he doesn't kill someone's mom 'accidently' and that he ends up in the care of a 'Dr. Death' of his very own. -Frank

Lorabel: 'Nursing eat their young' applies where you are. There are better places to work. I would start looking .. the added stress they are laying on you is just not required. If you really enjoy where you are and the treatment you are getting is the only real issue, have a heart to heart with the DoN. Tell her what is bugging you, point by point. Write an outline, make an appointment and come in on a off day so you dont have shift work hanging over you and plan on hammering it out. A good manager doesnt want to lose an employee.. they will work with you. A bad manager isnt worth the time of day. Writeups in general .. I got hammered for a procedural error in paperwork -shrug- ..new to the process so I wrote an outline for that particular process in my notebook and went from 'paperwork screw-up guy' to 'you did a great job on that' ..a wise man told me long ago 'a good pilot always evaluates the situation then applies corrective action' ..in Nursing it's been paraphrased but it remains true. Evaluate the situation, apply corrective action and move on :) -Frank (just started pre-req's after bein an LPN for a year and a half)

HESI will show you where your weaknesses are .. its just a guide. Several in my class went into overdrive and stressed out doin that cram study thing .. that trick never works. You probably have a good study routine setup already .. couple hours a day, hit the areas you're weak in, don't worry yerself crazy. You wont know them all.. use best judgement on the ones that pop up that you dont know. -Frank P. Williamson, LPN 876 on the Hesi and took the week before off from studying entirely :) ( I wanted to see where I was weakest at :) ( Passed NCLEX-PN, system shut-down at 85 questions ..I didn't know if it was in disgust or if I had actually passed it for 2 days - LOL - )