Atelophobia

Was acute care in labor/delivery where you started out? What kind of experiance is needed to work in that unit? I would love to be a new grad in a labor/delivery unit, but I always had the impression positions like that usually go to more seasoned nurses.

This is one of the major reasons I have chosen nursing as a career. There are many jobs with opportunities to help someone, but no other field has as much diversity in the demographic you help or assistance you provide. I could have 10 completely different jobs by the time I am 30 and still not exhaust my options. Obviously I don't plan on being a job hopper, I would like to find something I like and stick to it. The freedom a career in nursing gives someone is the ability to find their path, not be placed on one. I never heard of pool nursing before you mentioned it and I did research. Why did you end up not sticking with it?

Two nurses in my organic chemistry class work at a county jail. It definitely shocked me with some of the stories they had. Ex: Chicken bones being stuck in places they do not belong and I would have never guessed would fit

Currently working in a senior living facility, I already have a feeling geriatrics is not for me. I have a soft voice and my vocal cords are strained by the end of the day from practically shouting to the residents who are hard of hearing. I also learned the hard way that dementia changes more about a person than just their memory. However, the most rewarding part about it all is probably how thankful most of the seniors are for the care that is provided to them. Some of them will say thank you a handful of times because they don't remember saying thank you five minutes ago! It's so sweet. I think geriatrics takes a certain kind of person to do it for a long time and enjoy it. I know that the residents you care for and their families appretiate what you do.

I see a common pattern. I guess it goes without saying that any job can be wonderful, or awful, depending on the people you are surrounded by. Thank you all for your insights and experiences that you have shared. I really didn't expect to read any stories and decide, "Oh! This is definitely for me!", and I was right. Just like some of you have said: I will find my niche, or it will find me.

I'm sorry, maybe I should have specified my interest in dermatology would be in an outpatient clinic/Dr office. Also, my interest in surgery would be in the OR. I don't expect to be so lucky as a new grad getting either position, as I know both require relevant experiance.

An elderly resident slowly takes a seat that is directly in the sunlight. Resident: "Who turned on the lights?"

How are you using your nursing education? What do you do for a living (If you are simply a nurse, tell me about the unit), and do you enjoy it? I plan to start a BSN program in the fall and am just curious to hear what those with experiance in the field have chosen for themselves. Personally, with no experiance to base this off, I believe I would enjoy surgical, dermatology, and pediatric units. Bonus round: Tell me why I might not enjoy the units I listed.

If I am understand correctly, you are referring to this as something that will most likely happen. What if a meteor comes barreling toward my house at this very moment and strikes me dead? Well, there would be nothing I can do about it. I would simply be dead. Just as if a patient with TB was not put on precautions and I was exposed, nothing more could be done on my part. After the exposure had already happened, I would expect the hospital to then use precautions. Which as I have explained before, was not the case at my workplace. No precautions were taken and we were not adequately informed when there was knowledge of her MRSA. Yeah, I went home and cried when I was exposed to MRSA. Four months into my first healthcare position, which I am taking concurrently with a microbiology course, and just so happened to be studying antibiotic resistance and why it is such a problem in healthcare. Everything is situational.

In most cases, I understand why that would be. I judged the situation, and thought it was very appropriate to explain thoroughly why, after only 4 months of employment, I was resigning. Especially since most of the time I will just smile and say everything is fine when I do not feel it is. That's just how I am. Anyway, my manager called me into her office when she got the email to discuss it. She thanked me for being open and honest, and that everything I said had valid reasoning. I was also offered to reconsider my resignation if I choose, as well as a manager from a different department offering me a transfer. It went better than I thought it would.

She had a UTI, which I was aware of for a couple weeks now. The antibiotics she was on did not solve the issue, so they sent a sample of her urine to be tested for MRSA (RCA's never informed of this). After __ days, her results came back positive, and then the precautions were taken. All I know about the series of events is what I have been told. And perhaps contact precautions would not need to be implemented in most cases with a UTI, but the resident is at least 85 years old and incontinent with bathroom and dressing assistance typically required. Me resigning was not so much about being exposed to MRSA as it was not having any idea about her being suspected and currently tested for it, and me providing the care without additional precautions to protect myself because of it. It's not like I said "Oh no, there's a resident with MRSA, I quit". Believe me, I wrote a page and a half resignation letter adressing a number of concerns.

Thank you for your explanation and advice. Transitioning into healthcare is difficult for me because I have always been so careful with my own health. I have come to my senses after the brief:rolleyes: panic attack.

"Generally, when patients are placed on isolation precautions, there will be a sign at the door of their hospital rooms to remind visitors and healthcare workers which isolation precautions are needed. All healthcare workers and visitors need to follow these guidelines. Healthcare workers should not eat or drink in isolation rooms and should always clean their hands before entering the room and upon exiting the room." Source: Follow all Posted Precaution Signs | Infection Prevention and You "Transmission Based Precautions: Use personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately, including gloves and gown. Wear a gown and gloves for all interactions that may involve contact with the patient or the patient's environment. Donning PPE upon room entry and properly discarding before exiting the patient room is done to contain pathogens." Source: Transmission-Based Precautions | Basics | Infection Control | CDC” The situation you are defining I do not have a problem with. What happened at my workplace was a resident was tested for MRSA (no precautions taken during this time), the results were positive, and the only thing her caregivers were universally informed was to make sure the resident is washing her hands, using the toilet frequently, and not using the public restroom anymore. My manager tried to tell me that universally enforced isolation PPE was not needed as the MRSA was in her bladder, and that MRSA should not be such a big concern of mine if I plan to work in the healthcare field. My whole issue with this situation is they were having her tested, no precautions were taken or caregivers informed. She is positive for MRSA, and still I feel measures were not taken to make sure ALL of the caregivers were informed of her condition so they may protect themselves. There are other situations where I feel they had not made it adequately known to caregivers that a resident was contagious. Please let me know if there is something I am misunderstanding about this whole situation. I truly would like this to be a learning experiance, if anything. I've already been accepted into the nursing program at my desired university. I definitely need some sort of wake up call about nursing if it is typical for a serious concern about contagious bacteria to be seen as irrational, as my manager made me feel.

According to CNN, "Twenty-five to thirty percent of the population is colonized with staph, and less than 2% is colonized with MRSA". My concern is being colonized with it and spreading it to my loved ones. After I told my family what happened, they were the motivating factor into me giving a two week notice to my manager today. The money I was making at my job ($11/hour, 70 cents less than my retail job) was not worth being exposed to a resident that had MRSA, whose room was not frequently sanitized and would not wash her hands after using the bathroom unless instructed. To me that signals that everything she then touches, and providing her dressing assist, I was more than likely exposing myself to MRSA on a higher scale than I would be comfortable with. She frequently used the public toilet (2 seperate public toilets on our floor) other staff and residents use, over which time I had no idea she has had issues with MRSA UTI's in the past. When I gave my two week notice, I needed to discuss my concerns with my manager. He, just like a couple of you, had not understood where my concerns are coming from. No, I don't have a compromised immune system, neither does anyone in my family. But should I really give up on my stance and say it's okay, that I don't mind being part of that 2%? I absolutely mind, and if I can help it, I will do what I can to prevent that. Yes, if I become a nurse I can potentially be exposed to bacteria and/or viruses that are just as bad - or worse. Maybe I am wrong, but from my perspective being a RN in a hospital or nurses office, you are exposed to that patient with adequate tools to protect yourself from them, as well as being in a controlled environment, rather than their home. I believe the fact the information about her having a MRSA UTI not actively being notified to staff assigned to her was what made me most upset about the situation. My manager responded to this saying probably over 50%+ were colonized with MRSA. I feel this is something that should be adressed and notified to staff about the prevalance of highly contagious, antibiotic resistant bacteria being prevalent in our workplace. The use of multiple antibiotics to rid yourself of an infection involving MRSA impacts your microbiome, which then impacts other parts of your body and perhaps quality of life. The use of chemicals on your skin to rid yourself of colonization are more than likely harmful one way or another. I really do care about others, and am happy to take care of them. That is obviously why I had chose to pursue nursing. But I guess the only thing I missed in the job description was surrendering your peace of mind that you and your loved ones are safe from the infections of others if proper hygeine practices and PPE regulations are followed. It's like playing the lottery when you are caring for a resident, and you don't have the slightest clue about their medical history or current condition because it is not provided to you. Source: MRSA Fast Facts - CNN

That is a very good point..it reminds me to always take precautions no matter what the setting. The facility I work at does not seem to be taking the measures needed to prevent the spread. We are not even provided protective gowns, and the update sheet does not specifically state the resident has MRSA, it instructs us to assist her in the bathroom more often (She has UTI MRSA). Nothing else mentioned.