exodusgo

My advice is to figure out a study time that will work for you and tell your husband that you have been'assigned' an extra class for nursing school. Then go pick a place to study- whether it be a study group with fellow students, the library, coffee shop or whatever as long as you get away from the house-- and make sure you stick to the schedule the same way you would with a regular nursing class. That way you are out of the house- out of site and out of mind. If they think it is a scheduled thing they likely won't think twice about fending for themselves for the time you need and you won't have the distractions that being in the household allows. You may have to actually assign chores or babysitting to the teen since at the age sometimes they need a little extra help with clear directions You might find that they even take care of a few more chores when they figure out that you aren't there to do it for tehm. I find that even laundry gets done when someone finds they have no clothes to wear, or dishes get washed when they can't find anything clean to eat off of. (or stock up on paper plates) At the end of the day, nursing school is something that you are investing in for both you and your family. So even if you have to drag them kicking and screaming to the finish line, believe in yourself and allow your self to succeed. Much luck

Definitley sucks to have docs yell at you..but you do have the patient's best interests at heart and whenever i run into a doc like that i try to calmly remind him of it as i am asking for whatever order i need. Most hospitals have some time of policy in place regarding MD's who bully the staff- usually the chief of medicine can get involved if it's a pattern with a physician. As intimidating as in can be, nurses have to remain the pt advocate and sometimes that means the doc gets woken up. However, we also try to group our calls to docs if it isn't stat or possibly wait till early am (5-ish) if we need clarification on something from an overnight shift. I also use the pt's pharmacy frequently since i find that a lot don't quite remember the dose or med name and the pharmacy's are able to give you dose/name as well as last time a script was filled which helps to make sure that the pt isnt doubling up RX's from multiple pharmacies. I am finding a lot are price shopping and get meds filled at more than one retailer and sometimes they end up getting pill from both and doubling up. But at the end of the day, i think the best nurses are the ones who aren't afraid to call the doc...just remember to be patient and prepared so that the MD doesnt have to fish for information

I think the irony of my situation is that usually the CNA's I come across tend to think of me as their favorite nurse since I am always willing to pitch in with the duties and don't mind putting a patient on the bedpan or cleaning one up or answering a call light etc. I always do my own vitals and I&O's so their usually isn't a reason for them to get an attitude. They are really only responsible for turning and checking for incontinence on my patients at 2am and 4 am since I turn and check mine at the start of my shift during my assessment and turn and check them at the end of my shift. The sad part is that the floor I work on is mainly housed with patients with stage 3-4 breakdown so turns are more than just a job duty- these patients really need to be rotated. But usually what happens is that I have to stop charting and sorting out meds/MAR's and go and make my turns after it becomes obvious that they aren't planning on doing them. They try to skip rounds all together by starting one set late after taking a 1 1/2 hour lunch break then telling me that they just finished rounds so it can't be time to start them again. I asked the other nurses and they all agree that they dont have good aides, "but that's just the way they are". (Well, I am sure that inspirational message just sinks right in with the aides- talk about enabling poor behavior.) Needless to say, I am looking forward to this contract being done...

Have you ever had ancillary staff who doesnt like to do the basics of their job? That is the boat I am in. I am a traveler and don't usually get involved in staffing issues but the MA's at the hospital I am contracted at really take the cake. I work nights and I am lucky if they round on patients twice during an 8 hour shift! I think I have just about tried everything, from asking nicely to offering to help them to giving them a list of tasks to do on their shift. I have also discussed the issues with the manager of the floor but that was a waste of breath. I wrote them up a few times but that didnt really do the trick either. Now I am just riding their buts every two hours- reminding them of the time/duties etc. (I feel like an oversized cukoo clock when i have to stop taking care of my 9 patients and charge nurse duties to tell them it is 2 am and time to do 2 o'clock rounds and then have to stop every 5 minutes over the next 1/2 hour or so to keep on them till they finally get up) I know there are awesome MA's/CNA's out there, and I was once one myself so I feel like I can understand how hard their job can be but this hospital's aides are the worst I have seen across in the Mid-West, South and East coast. Hopefully everyone else out there is having better luck than I am...