ap05

I left acute care and took control of my choice in employment. Once you hit 2 years of experience, in my opinion doors open, so use it to your advantage. I work one part time job that gives benefits and always hold an enjoyable PRN. I also got a masters degree to teach. I know that's not doable in every situation. There are so many options out there. Don't be scared to be creative. The benefits of nursing are the options we have. Don't fear job hopping. Historically it was frowned upon, but I've held many jobs, all of which I performed well at because I left before I was miserable. Employers often value my experience due to my willingness to try new things. Save money if you can so that taking risks can be more manageable. You have options to make nursing a great career. I totally understand your feelings, though. My first year was miserable because I felt stuck. Five years later I feel very different.

I won't be case managing so I wonder if that makes a difference. For my new company it will be SOCs and revisits to help the full timers as its a PT position. My old job I'd stay on for SOC only. To me the issue is these companies technically do compete in the sense it's the same territory, however there would be no leaving for me as I won't really be following pts. There has been no talk of a non-compete agreement so maybe that won't even come up. But I agree, it's really not their business and nurses hold multiple jobs all the time.

Is that seen as a conflict of interest? I currently work for a private company but am thinking of taking a pt job at a hospital based hh company. I don't know if I'd feel comfortable bringing it up to either but staying PRN at my current company, would that be acceptable? They are in the same territory. I think I've read about nurses working for multiple agencies.

Our wipes are disinfectant wipes, not cavicide or anything. Not sure the active ingredient.

Surgical masks are the only PPE required. For covid pts full PPE, however there are so many questions with that. I wear an n95 by choice if I feel at risk or if I've been around people in order to protect pts.

We have been asked if we want it but not officially offered. I guess at some point we will get it but who knows when. I actually have really struggled with hh and covid. We just haven't had any guidance. I'm frequently very nervous going into homes, not even for myself but more the fear of infecting my patients. I agree that we are forgotten, and yet we have a very intimate relationship with our pts.

I bet we work for the same company. I personally have multiple jobs so I'm not hurting but this is totally ridiculous to me. I'm silently looking for a different part time/prn job. I like what I do and its really a perfect fit for me but this financial situation is very concerning to me and I think it will possibly get worse. I think there are things we are not being told. The input from others has really put it in perspective.

Not true. I left the hospital for a pay increase.

I dont know that I fully understand everything about it, but what I do understand kind of scares me. Our manager keeps using phrasing like "getting creative with visits" and "more with less" so that worries me. I plan on doing more research. Interesting info about therapies. From what I've seen it doesn't look great for them.

Something that confuses me a bit....when we get an md referral for nursing care and therapy why do we have the responsibility of saying there is no nursing need? I have run into a couple circumstances where the pt was referred for nursing, I scheduled a few visits for education/monitoring and QA has informed me there is no need for nursing. Apparently the md who referred this pt disagrees. How do I have the authority to go against md orders and decide there is no need? Even if it's a small need? This is really starting to bother me as I feel I'm given responsibility yet no autonomy. If I feel a patient would benefit from a few visits, and they have been referred for the same reasons, isnt this reasonable? My manager told me goals need to be measurable, which I get, but how is education ever really measurable without a test? I would appreciate some insight.

It is automated but I found it pretty offensive. I understand it is just for information, just kind of unnecessary in my opinion.

Hi I'm new to home health. I've done a couple other types of nursing and so far I really like home health. I'm only part time...I honestly don't know how anyone does this full time. The amount of phone calls I make for even 5 or 6 patients is insane. I feel like every week I'm calling 10 doctors...at least. I think I struggle with knowing what is important enough to alert the md, which I know takes time. However is it really necessary to inform the doctor with every bout of loose stools or nausea? I understand if this doesn't improve or if it's part of their diagnosis we are caring for. But I'm finding if I report every change to the md I will be making calls all day, right? We all have minor changes in our appetite, pain, etc. Where do I draw the line? Something else that frustrates me is there is pretty much no guidance. I'm following orders that aren't really ever ordered. I have to hunt down orders from 3 different docs. Why cant they just send appropriate orders instead of us having to ask about everything? It seems so backwards.

So this. I really love being a nurse but there are many nurses roles I really dislike. I've had a few jobs so I'm getting to the point of knowing where I fit. You really need to know your strengths to find a good place in nursing. Plus there is so much flexibility. Another thing is I feel that many nurses just happen to be the type of people that desire a great deal of fulfillment from their jobs. There are millions of people that just go to work for a paycheck but many of us nurses are a different bunch. I've started looking as my job as less of an identity and I'm a bit happier.

Hello all I taught college anatomy and phys, and microbiology for many years prior to nursing, so teaching is something I am passionate about. I made a career change as I've always been interested in nursing and I've been an rn a couple years now. I recently picked up a job teaching a short clinical to lpn students at a local Ltc facility to move towards my goal of teaching again. So far I feel I advocate well for the students. I have them rotate through the facility and follow wound care, dialysis, speech, etc. Each student also spends time with me on the floor. I work aggressively to find the opportunities. My issue is I find it difficult sometimes to know what is appropriate for students to do, and feeling comfortable doing things in a facility I am not an employee of. For instance a patient needed his picc dressing changed. I feel comfortable doing this at my own hospital, but I dont know the policies and procedures here. Lpns actually cant even do this, so is it appropriate for me to do it with them as I am not employed by this facility? Should students be doing certain skills with a facility nurse, or all with me? Basic things like passing meds, giving basic injections, foleys, I don't hesitate. But i leave at times feeling nervous that i overstep my boundaries of what I should be doing. I dont know the facility procedures for so many of these things, so I guess I get a bit nervous. Any advice would be appreciated!

I am a nurse with 2 years experience. I was a career changer and before nursing I taught college level science for about 7 years. I truly love teaching, and I do feel I am good at it. My motivation to become a nurse was my love for education and I always really found community nursing interesting. During nursing school I thought I'd end up in psych, public health or hospice. My first job was acute rehab which was great experience but I didn't love the job. I ended in hospice, which I do enjoy, but due to a move, and the desire to expand my knowledge base, I went down to resource which is a good fit right now. After my move I took a part time med surg job, with the goal of expanding my experience. While in hospice I learned a ton but I always felt I missed that general med surg experience so here I am. My goal is to stick with med surg for about 2 years, while doing more of my passion of community nursing part time. I intend on teaching and I'd love to use my science background to teach pathophysiology and pharmacology. Clinically I enjoy assessment and community nursing. Do you think I should have just stuck with my interest in community nursing and focused at excelling at that, or is med surg for 2 years a good idea, then returning to a community setting? I am unsure if having a variety of experience is better or choosing one specialty and sticking to it.

I just moved to wi from il. It took about two months, however i made a mistake on my application, updated it immediately and it took like 6 weeks for them to recheck. It was kind of ridiculous but i think summer is pretty busy with all the new grads.

I work in hospice and some days are ok but most of my days are pretty crazy. I have a huge territory, generally have 2-3 patients always declining or dying, and frequently have emergencies. We are expected to see at least 5 patients a day but 6 is preferred. Im generally always done with visits by 5 but then i chart...We also take call. No, its not really sustainable.

If I could find a 3 12s or 4 10s on call gig, I would jump at it. Those are hard to find. I think I'll end up getting a hospital job and then find a casual position. I think case managing is just not for me, but casual would definitely be a good fit.

I posted a few weeks ago about feeling burnt out, and the feeling has continued. I'm considering leaving after one year. I feel sad about it, though. I feel that maybe I just couldn't hack it, or that maybe I'm not a good nurse. I just cant handle every day being a race to get so much done, driving hundreds of miles a week, on call every other weekend, and just no consistency. I feel like I have no life. I'm so emotionally drained. I realized yesterday I've just stopped caring. I miss working 3 12s. I miss the flexibility. I miss having energy. I know that burn out is fairly common. But I feel guilty, and I feel like a failure. I really love the idea of hospice but I think in practice it's just too much for me.

I guess I just have growing anxiety about being enough. Saying the right thing, doing the right thing, preparing the family appropriately. I know that this is mostly my perception and that I can't please everyone or fix everything but it's still creating a lot of stress. I think I probably need some time off, I have some days off in a few weeks which I think will help.

I like my job, however coping with the stress is really getting to me. Emotionally I'm so worn down. The go go go of seeing 5 or 6 emotionally needy patients a day, the obligation of answering all of their questions, and feeling the need to be what everyone needs is wearing on me. It never fails that I have 2 or 3 declining or dying at once and it overwhelms me. Admissions are so much work and I don't finish my charting for days because I just need a break at the end of the day. I think eventually an on call position would be good for me but until then I need to figure out how to detach or cope better. Any advice?

I see no point in checking 02. What's the outcome you're looking for? If my pt looks sob, I treat them. If they look comfortable I leave them alone. I have families that obsess over vitals. I find the fewer values there are to be upset over the happier patient and family are. If your patient drops down to 70% what's the plan? Is it anything different than reposition, apply oxygen, and give morphine?

I'm in the same position. I'm finding myself kind of bored with my position and I was hired in January. Hopefully we can get some more input!

I love this thread. I can not stand pill packets. Prednisone is driving me nuts lately....it's impossible not to crush it into pieces. And yes those foil packets for pradaxa...what a wate of time and foil.

I think it's really just that nurses don't stay. There seems to be a really high turnover rate. Most of the nurses I work with are young and have only been nurses for a year or so. Most already have plans to leave.