NurseSpeedy

Oh, he chucked the containers (2 Med cups) in his mouth and swallowed them with only a sip of water! I was like-what the what????

Unless your pharmacy only has dose of methadone available and your patient has a confirmed super high dose that he gets at the methadone clinic when he isn’t in admitted for complications from his alternate drug of choice….questioned the dose THREE TIMES because he got the whole pixis card for his dose! It was correct. No idea how someone could have that high of a tolerance and be lucid.

That’s a lot of sick time but right now everyone is getting sick. Is it by occurrence or by shifts missed. If by occurrence-which is what I normal remember-make sure you are ready to return to avoid a second occurrence if you go back to early and get sicker. I used to get ticked when staff would come in with fevers, flu like symptoms-because then we all got it and got sick- causing more of a staffing problem than if they just stayed home a couple of days.

Interesting stories is a nice way of putting it. So FMLA could be up to 12 weeks in some cases. You were kind enough to bust your butt and then some and got sick….What did she think you had when you signed up to cover her shifts-a magic crystal ball that would know if you would get sick for one occurrence during that time period? Good grief, you had a doctors note. She sounds like a gem. Gotta love the passive-aggressive attitude too-contacts you on your person devices for some things while you are out sick and then magically uses the work email instead for that one?

Oh, that would likely push some of the docs I’ve worked with over the edge! Worked for a hospital that had a large population that was admitted due to complications from injecting their drugs of choice. Call the doc too many times asking for more or different meds, the patient PRN list of meds got shorter and started dwindling down to a few choices that they were really PO’d with the doc over. Some after so many calls I would try to warn them what was coming….and it did….IV morphine got switched to Tordol or oral Norco got switched to tramadol…the doc actually started taking things away. When I first started working there I found it a bit harsh, but then I realized-this doc has had a LONG time getting to know this patient over the years and was quite over being on call when they showed up in the ER and got admitted to them.

The request for Dilaudid was denied by the MD. You gave her what the MD would give her. They asked you to go over the MDs head and find someone who would order it. That definitely would not have gone well later.... This one is sounding drug seeking. Let her complain. Once they drop that they didn't get their request for dilaudid and an MD had been called and denied it admin will likely catch on.

Acute care was the only job I ever worked that “punished” people for calling out sick. I agree, people should not be calling out just because they want to be off for the holiday, but if someone is legitimately sick, they shouldn’t be punished for it. I went in to work sick on Christmas because I didn’t think they would believe me when I was 20. Went to urgent care the next day with a sinus infection, b/l ear infection, and b/l pink eye. Fun. Another Christmas I was gifted the flu. Tested positive. I wasn’t working then, I just had a 4 month old infant at home so I was taking a break from working until she was 2. Then there was the Friday before Easter weekend working in an ALF that I had gone to NY to see my in-laws. Looks like the cough they had at dinner was influenza A the next day. Went home Friday and and was symptomatic-tested positive myself and my child. We always got our vaccines too but they haven’t always helped. I wasn’t about to infect half the ALF population with my flu, nor was a physically able to work with 104 fever. I got a call that Saturday asking me how I was feeling…um, like I had a fever and the flu??? Granted I had a note from my provider with a diagnosis and mandatory tIme out to prevent infecting everyone but still, more proof that viruses don’t look at a calendar and decide what day is convenient to get sick. I can honestly say that I’ve been a nurse for about 20 years. I have never once taken a mental health day or called out when I wasn’t actually sick. These things should be handled on a cases by case basis. Plus if someone came into work to avoid “punishment” I would be livid if I got sick a few days later with the same thing. I’d prefer to work short.

I didn’t get paid for it but my husband has these stupid credentials that each hospital system makes him complete each year to come into the hospital and fix their broken equipment. It’s like completing the orientation for new employees each year but he doesn’t work for them. Since it’s common sense and I used to have to do it all the time when I used to work in these places, I have logged on for him and completed the courses by going straight to the test and taking it and passing. It’s some stupid regulatory bull crap that the hospitals want even their vendors to complete…which is pretty ridiculous when the answers are completely employee based. I don’t think the contractor is going to help evacuate in case of a fire or find the hazardous materials manual, or have any reason to know how to dispose of chemo patient wastes when he works on OR equipment….not only do I not get paid, his employer has to pay the hospitals credentialing provider a hefty fee each year to update the testing they require.

In the end I don’t think it matters. Having the experience prior definitely can bring more appreciation for what your CNAs do because they bust their butts just as hard as nurses do and I do see that nurses who started as CNAs are more likely to jump in and do whatever they can at times. I think it helps with learning how to juggle a patient load a bit and gives more exposure to what nurses do while you work as an aide. Now you are a nurse. Always be appreciative of you co-workers and learn as you go. With experience knowledge is gained and you’ll do fine. It’s normal to be nervous and you never stop learning. Going on 20 years as a nurse and I still learn new things everyday because things are always evolving.

Many employers use key word searches to even look at your resume. It is possible to be ‘over qualified’ or thought to be too expensive so they will not even look at an RN application if they can fill the job with an LPN for less money. It is rather cheap to maintain both licenses. Sometimes money isn’t everything and a different job may be a better fit. It just depends on the circumstances at the time. I had an employer that said they really weren’t looking at RN applicants because they didn’t think they could afford them. At the time, they were paying about $3 more per hour for The position than hospitals were paying for new RNs. There were some that would happily take that M-F desk job. It just depends on where someone is at in their career and where the want to go over time.

Yes, in most cases I think there is. however you are still in school for your RN and not too far from graduating by the time you qualify. So you have to get your school records to apply, pay for the application, wearing fir approval, pay for the exam, and then wait for your test date, prep for your test and then have your license and get a job. Most states you know if you passed within days. However by then you are usually very close to graduating your RN program so is the added stress and money worth it while you still need to do well and pass your RN boards? IDK. To each is own. I bridged so many years later and the original intent was to get the LPN and immediately begin the bridge to ADN program. At that time there were wait lists for programs based on time on the list, not GPA. The wait list was 3 years after pre-reps for the general program or immediately after pre-reqs for the bridge. I thought I was getting done faster. I was also 18 and not well experienced in LIFE. LIFE happened. Found out starting a new job as a new nurse was hard for 40 hours a week plus going to school for the pre-requisites. I didn’t have time to take on a full course load and ended up dropping some classes because it was too much with the new job. Then I met my husband, was told there may not be be an online option for theory if there were t enough students signed up (online was very ‘new’ back then), and didn’t want to have to cut my income to go to class instead of work on some days (I couldn’t do nights-bless those who can). So I declined signing up after accepted. Fast forward about 15 years-I was finally finishing the program. If you want the RN, I would recommend just getting it. If you are okay with possibly slowly (and more cost) then consider a bridge later. The type of license will offer dictate the type of work you can do, and some are now wanting higher level degrees on top of the ADN to hire as an RN.

I’d be more focused on what your employment opportunities are after graduation. LPNs that their own exam. RNs take theirs. The RN program will be a higher level of education. I got my LPN then bridged over to my RN almost 15 years later….so I thought my full time LPN program with a test almost every other day was more intense, but I had a lot of experience under my belt before I bridged over. Then I took a full time RN bridge program but I did my prerequisites all ahead of time so all I had was nursing courses. I was in a fast paced program (12 months) but I found the transition easier because I had the initial foundation. Even with a family and nursing job at the same time. I did what I had to do to get the job I wanted at the time. I still hold both licenses. Talk to a college advisor. Also, make sure the program is accredited so if you want to advance later on-you can do so and not have to start over.

I'm pretty sure there never was an actual religious reason. She probably didn't want to pay for the test....or knew how uncomfortable it can be....and was trying to find some exemption from getting either. Lately I have had a lot of NEW patients looking for our doctors to exempt them from their employer's mandatory vaccinations. Many had not had their first appt yet. Our recommendations are pretty clear- get vaccinated. We won't force you, but there's no reason in our specialty not to get it, so we will not sign off on an exemption....people will argue with the messenger for 30+ minutes. Um, take it up with your employer-we cannot exempt you when the facts state the opposite. Ugh.

I think it really depends on what area you work-since COVID, when I was in the office with patients before going remote, I had done the same thing I did when in the hospital with a bunch of sick people. Shoes off outside, entered my house stating to family “don’t touch me, I’m gross” went straight to bathroom and stopped of scrubs, washed my hands, got towel around me and threw the scrubs into the washer and turned it on immediately. I then jumped in showered, scrubbed and cleaned, used different towel to dry (the other one I used on the floor” and got into clothes. I always meal prepped the days before my shifts and everything was plated out. Someone got hungry, pick a plate and heat it up. Yes, I’m a germaphobe. However, my own whacked out immune system is too busy attacking itself to help me so I’m prone to catching whatever is possible. I don’t want whatever I was playing with that day and I really don’t want to share it with anyone I care about. So I may be a bit over the top, but I’m in, it’s cleaned and I’m showered in under 15 minutes-the washer may take closer to thirty, not sure. It gets high heat dried to top it off.

I think the only time I saw jello anymore before I left in 2018 was with clear liquid trays….these homeless crack heads thought they were staying at the Hyatt ordering room service….little did they know it was a fluffed up version of frozen nutrisystem gone hospital gourmet style. There’s no chef downstairs hon, just your average lunch lady. I missed mystery meat #1 or #2. It was easy. Choice A or B…no damn flan, polenta (I at least knew that one-but it was from the day before frozen meal pack and the other homeless chick was hellbent on getting it a day late because the night before she got jipped)…..I wish I could of said, the last time I ate anything was 12+ hours ago-eat what you got and be happy-I’m hungry!….nope, had to chase after the kitchen for their requests to help our “satisfaction surveys”…..eye roll.