Rocktheman

My dad has stage 4 terminal brain cancer. He lately has been having symptoms that I have associated as having a possible TIA, but my family seems to not listen to me when I tell them to report it to the hospital or his physician when he has symptoms. Essentially on about four different occasions, my dad has had to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. My mom notes on several occasions that when this does happens, he sometimes has pronounced weakness on one side of his body, and my mom says that sometimes he walks on the lateral aspect of his foot to the bathroom. When she asks him to correct his foot, he said he cant move it at all. Interestingly all of these symptoms resolve by the morning. Our neurologist informed us that this is due to permanent brain damage, since the chemo he is receiving is very powerful. (called evastin I believe). But as a nurse that is going to be graduating with my BSN in less than a month, I honestly don't think that to be the case. First, off he was prescribed aspirin for the first time by his physician after this started happening. Which is ironic, since he has high BP, cholesterol, Triglycerides, overweight, Type 2 Diabetic, over the age of 60 before he had any cancer and was not prescribed aspirin therapy (like he hits all the criteria). I just think that these symptoms overall are from a TIA and not muscle weakness or brain damage from chemo. I informed my family that its impossible to tell the difference between a TIA and a stroke until the symptoms start to get to severe, possibly worsening the outcomes. Therefore, I said that if he ever shows symptoms like this again, to call either his physician, the hospital or 911 immediately. Is my logic sound? Physicians make two reasoning calls all the time like any human, and they feel that since I am "just a nurse", I don't know what I'm talking about and shouldn't question what the physician says. Id appreciate your insight.

I currently work as a CNA at a nursing home and I am graduating with my BSN from IUP this May. I honestly have fallen in love with Geriatrics. I love my patients to death (from a professional viewpoint of course) and love how close I can get with some of them. I even have inside jokes with some of them, and sometimes come behind them and scare them on purpose, and they do it back (note, I only do this to the ones i know very well). Long story short I love this population. The only thing is I don't know if I wanna work in a nursing home as an RN. The RN supervisor at my facility has little patient contact, and is often doing other things like charting, getting doctors orders etc. My question is what field can i go into as an RN and get plenty of patient contact with geriatrics. Also is there a specific field for geriatrics in the nurse practitioner role? thanks!

She also screamed this at me while three other aides were also present. I am not sure as to report her to the DON or not. This has happened in a much lesser manner on three different occasions (for the tiniest things, like not realizing I left someone's dentures in. Whoop de doo.) At the same time I really don't want to create drama and make it awkward or heated between the two of us if we happen to work again

Hey guys. I'm a male RN student that works occasionally at a LTC faculty as an aide. I agree with the nurse BTW, but I'll tell you the story. It was my last day yesterday before the fall semester began. I felt really energetic and felt I did a really good job. The one woman had a very low food intake over three weeks, and I went in every ten minutes or so to give her a sip of soda to increase her caloric intake. I put everyone in a low bed position. If they have edema in their lower extremities I elevate their feet. I walked all of my patients who were able to walk, and walked one who told me she had not walked in weeks. I got my baths done, fed people, the whole nine yards. I feel I do wayyy more for my patients than most of the people I work with (most don't walk their assigned patients, period)._ Anyways, this was near the end of second shift yesterday. A woman had oxygen in via nasal cannula. Her cannula is a bit big for her, and her nares are always very sore. I told her I would get some Vaseline for her, to help with the soreness. I asked the LpN if I could use some and she said yes. Okay so here's the slightly gross part. I went into another womans room and used her jar and gave it to the one with oxygen. I didn't think about cross contamination or anything, since I always applied it to her with either gloves or a q tip. Anyways, the woman whose Vaseline I borrowed (she had told me it was okay if I took a tiny amount, which I did) told her aide, then the aide told my LPN. Apparently the woman with oxygen had Vaseline ordered, but it was not in her room or bathroom, nor was I even aware she had an order for one. The LPN told me that what I did was gross (looking back, yea it kinda was, brain fart) and told me she hoped I would never become an RN, I was a moron to be in RN school and do that, and swore that if she was a patient she would pray to god I would never be her nurse. Usually I can brush this off, but after my shift was over I just went back to my car and started crying. Am I a bad aide/bad RN? Yes I had a lapse in judgement, but I really do care for my patients and spend time with them and help them anyway I can. I feel horrible now and am wondering if I am cut out to be a nurse. I just feel hopeless. Help? It really hit me where it hurts. Thanks guys.

My orientation was 2 weeks. Overall though, like others have said, the real learning starts when you are on your own. The first couple days by yourself can seem incredibly scary, but you'll adjust. Just do your best. Good luck my friend.

Apparently she does this with several other people too. Like keep up, I'm going to be your boss in a year and a half buddy.

Overall, I did not find it very hard. I found a job within one month of getting my state certification. Although it depends where you live I suppose.

I work 2nd shift at a nursing home. This one aide I report to on third shift, can go kiss my ass. Seriously. I go through walkthrough tonight with her and she doesn't even listen to my report. I get to a room and I'll say "Patient A is weak on transfers..." And then she will disappear into the room, looking for things I do wrong or she doesn't like, and blasts me for it. For instance, I noticed she was placing patients in all room in the low bed position, regardless of what was said to do in their charting. I politely asked why she was doing that. She snapped at me and told me that "oh you care if they fall today, but I am sure you dont care if they fall tomorrow morning". I had two residents on another hall that I told her I was assigned, and before I could tell her anything she sassily told me "yes I saw you didnt even bother to put heel protectors on so and sos feet, way to go". Then she just walked off. Now if I make an error, politely tell me, and I will try to fix my error. But don't be so damn rude. I feel like all I am trying to do when I work is impress third shift. And it is really getting on my nerves. Thoughts?

Actually, I am occasional. So I don't get paid sick days. But at the same time that means I have no reason to play hookie.

I'm still in nursing school, but are you essentially like a float nurse kinda?

I got turned down. She said to call in tomorrow morning. Said it was too early for a "priority" call off or something. She sounded like she didn't believe me though. Maybe its just me. Idk.

As long as you are a good person and treat me with respect, I don't care. At all.

Should I call in tonight? I feel like that's too early.

The flu is bad this year. Like really bad. The one hall I was working on has 12 patients, 8 had an URI of some sort, either flu or progressed to pneumonia.

I am a BSN student working at a nursing home since June as a CNA. I have never called off from work for being sick until now, and am only consciously thinking so because this is my first healthcare related job. Anyways I am working 2nd shift tomorrow. I am achy, coughing, sneezing, have a headache and a fever of 99.8 (or close to a fever). There are a lot of sick people at the facility currently, both patients and staff. I am unsure of my ability to work effectively, and really don't want to spread it around. Is calling off okay? I don't want to be a sissy or anything, but I am sure if I go to work in my current state, I will infect someone. I'm gonna wait till tomorrow morning to be sure, but I'm not sure where to go on this. Thanks for any help you can give.

But honestly if I am ever faced with this situation again and the RN does not agree, should I just take it up the chain of command until I get an answer? And if after that should I consider reporting it to my state department of health?

I thought the same thing as many of you guys. I'm sorry but just carrying someone in is physical abuse. Or at least bordering it. I remember another aide was fired because she accidently put a patients socks in the laundry at the facility that was a favorite of the patients. It was supposed to be in the patients own laundry and was misplaced for several days but was found. Didn't matter. Aide was called up to administrators office, screamed at by the Nun (its a Roman Catholic facility) for 20 minutes then fired. I have not worked at this place since last August since starting school up again for fall semester, and plan to call in with my resignation soon. I mean we are all adults, if I make an error, talk calmly and find a solution, not sound like an inmature lunatic.

I worked second shift. I suggested that to management but it never worked out.

Yea we have to keep them clean and tale care of them, but not in the way we are doing it Also our facility does not believe in using anti anxiety medications to calm a pt. Before giving any sort of care. We are not permitted because they have the right to "freak out" as I was told.

I have been wanting to ask this for a very long time, and it has been the first ethical issue I have faced in nursing. I am employed at a nursing facility that is one of the largest in the area, and won awards from the state two years in a row for not having any errors during inspections from the health department. I'm a junior nursing student working on getting my BSN. Anyways to the situation... I was employed to this facility and was placed on the dementia unit. Many on this unit were very bad off, some threatening to kill you if you asked to give them a bath. I understand dementia. I understand that many of these people are confused about their surroundings and have lost the ability to care for themselves. I get it. However, many times while I was at this facility, I was forced to give patient care. For instance, say "Chuck Norris" was to get a bath today. I'd approach him and say in statement form "Hey Chuck, I'm giving you a bath after dinner real quick okay?" Often they would say no. I would reapproach them multiple times, sometimes using the word "water therapy" or something instead. However at this facility if a patient did not get a bath, we often would steer, physically push or pick them up physically and put them in the bath tub. I do not care what mental state you are in, that is wrong. These patients sometimes cried and became terrified of us. I cannot morally give care to someone like that. You reapproach the issue. Sometimes I have sat down and talked with a patient, and calmly and directly tell them what is going to happen or what I am going to do. Sometimes looking them in the eye helps to fmake them focus. And they do as I ask (usually haha). Anyways I was told if I did not give a patient a bath on their assigned day I would automatically be fired. Separate issue but several LPNs asked me to apply skin lotion that was ordered for the patients, but I'm not sure if I am permitted to do that? What's your take on this? I felt wrong how care was performed and felt I was working in a prison, not a nursing facility. Just felt so morally wrong at the time.

Don't cram. Its much easier to learn and retain info if you learn it little by little over several weeks

Sounds like something from a horror movie

Yes haha! Granted nurse's will have an easier time then most other when looking for a job, but some people think they are literally hiring on the spot. It is so annoying. Something you heard 7 years ago is not applicable now.

Ha I was reading the Post Partum section in my OB book the other day and it said that while caring for the patient, the nurse should "mother the mother", and it was just like, oh, I see how it is haha The struggle for us men is real

I feel that all of them are good points except for suggestion one. I feel like that is way too much of an advantage. Nursing is supposed to be dynamic and very fluid. You need to be able to react appropriately in my view to any situation. When you graduate you will not be given a "extra hour" to my knowledge.