Decade1

We had a flag tab and a special place in the chart rack for charts with active orders. We had a Unit clerk, somebody trained in medical transcription or the like, who would transcribe the orders onto the paper MAR. The nurses were responsible for double checking the transcription and signing the order off. We also did a daily check to see if any orders got missed on Night Shift. The paper MAR was for three days and night shift. Nurses would also double check these for proper transcription after the unit clerk transcribed them before they went active for the day. For ancillary departments, there was usually some sort of clipboard system, and also general communication between actual human beings. There was no click click and everything gets done magically. You had to talk to humans. It was significantly better. I hate technology.

As a bedside nurse with 15 years of experience I am at the top of the pay scale. There is no more room for career growth for me financially. I got an accounting degree and am starting at the bottom in a career where I have the potential to make more income in the future. I continue working in nursing part time to supplement a beginner's salary, but as my accounting income grows I will leave the field altogether. This financial motivation is separate from my other concerns regarding lack of support, unsafe and poorly staffed shifts, and general dissatisfaction that prompted me to look into other fields. I do not think I am alone in taking this path.

I was a fulltime nurse for 14 years and in healthcare for 6 before that. I got an accounting degree and am learning a new job. It's challenging and interesting. I am really glad I left. Sionara!

Not legally binding. You could also argue the nurse was forced to sign the contract under duress in order to keep their job. Plus all they are stating is that they will "do everything they can". This does not mean they will prevent every fall. Bunch of ********.

The real problem is your employer shouldn't be asking people to keep their pay a secret. It's discriminatory and a violation of rights. 'Pay Secrecy' Policies At Work: Often Illegal, And Misunderstood : NPR

I just use isolation stethoscopes for everyone, if the hospital wanted a higher quality assessment they'd provide me with a higher quality stethoscope. I can get enough information with the crappy stethoscope. I'm not spending my own money for my now corporate employer anymore.

Also, it's pretty lame to take a union job if you're so anti-union. Move. Find another job. Isn't that what personal responsibility is about? Quit whining and change your own situation. You get zero sympathy on this one newbie. Gotta pay your dues. You don't seem to care about anyones else's situation, or how many years they've given to have that seniority. Why would you then ask for people's sympathy about you situation? You get none.

Quite frankly, inflammatory language, like "wipe the union filth" off is totally nonproductive. I WISH we had a union. Trust me, we get trampled on without it. Welcome to healthcare. If you think having/not having a union has much of a basis in you getting what you want it merely demonstrates your lack of experience, ignorance of history, and sense of entitlement. Good luck with that. I'm sure you enjoy working less than 40 hours a week and not being mandated to stay. Here's a phrase you might take heed of "Thank you, unions", because without them you'd have neither of those rights. And remember this: "Virtually ALL the benefits you have at work, whether you work in the public or private sector, all of the benefits and rights you enjoy everyday are there because unions fought hard and long for them against big business who did everything they could to prevent giving you your rights. Many union leaders and members even lost their lives for things we take for granted today. The right-wing attack on unions is nothing more than ignorance, lack of education, and propaganda."

SO TRUE!!! I'm sick of the healthcare system cutting costs on my back, literally. The job expectations are outrageous. Welcome to nursing. It's no better in acute care.

Get business like about it- ask for the time off, if they don't approve it deal with the repercussion and move on. I wouldn't think this is a fireable issue, but even so worst case scenario you get fired and get another job. Life goes on. Your employer does not own you. You are free to plan your life as you wish. The less emotional you get about it the better. Things will probably work out anyways. They often do, but not until we get all stressed about it.

This type of pricing, along with exorbitant mark-ups in hospitals, and many other medical billing practices are part of what contribute to bloated medical costs in this country. Other countries successfully research drugs and provide healthcare to all their citizens for less money than we do in the US. An overhaul of healthcare has to start with fixing the payment and billing structure that is outdated, not evidence based, gives providers, insurers and consumers no concept of the real value of a treatment and could bankrupt us if left unchecked. I've seen it in practice. Dr. So-and-so always wants a pre-auth for XYZ fancy new medication instead of the cheaper more commonly used version. Tell me he doesn't have some other "in-vested" interest in promoting this drug rep or that medical device's product. I'm not talking about being paid a fair amount for your work and training, but over bloated costs for every little thing create distortions in choosing good values.

I would LOVE to hear you, personally, tell some with AIDS or cancer who happened to contract toxoplasmosis this exact thing right to their face. You either a) don't fully understand the repercussions of your position or b) don't care about the repercussions of your position and, boy, is that heartless coming from a medical professional.

At this point in my career I'd rather not even get report. I can figure it out from the chart. If I can't you didn't chart well enough. We can A) go into the room and do an introduction or B) go over information in detail outside of the room. I don't need to look at things while you are there unless something is going on that you better show me. That's why I do an assessment. We cannot go over every detail in the room, with the patient, while they try to tell the history of every single thing we mention or require an in depth explanation of medical jargon that will never be relevant to their understanding of their condition and/or plan of care. And realistically I cannot do bedside report in 25 minutes for 4-5 patients with 3 or more nurses. It is logistically impossible. In a perfect world, bedside report is great. In the real world, there is not time for that. Nor is it warranted on 90% of situations. Some of our patients are on our unit for months. They do not want to hear all that at 7:15am every single day. It should be tailored to the situation, at the discretion of the nurse, who is professional, with a license and therefore should be capable of deciding how to provide care and inform their patients. Management in the halls to "check up" on us giving bedside report is insulting and demoralizing. Why aren't you working on filling the empty positions so we can adequately staff the hospital? Priorities are topsy turvy these days.

8 patients blows. Completely unrealistic that you could safely care for that many people. The only point it serves is to line the pocket of someone further up the food chain than you are. Find another job, quit, and tell them how crappy their job is and that they don't have any right to treat people ( you or their patients) like that.

Think of it this way- the more you put into your retirement at a younger age the more you'll have in your nest egg when you retire. Not to mention the tax savings you'll receive from lowering your income bracket. Also, you can withdraw without penalty in limited circumstances, particularly homeownership, or borrow from yourself if you end up having financial needs in the future. The maximum amount you can put into a 401k/403b is around 17,000 or about $1500 a month. You could do that and still have over a grand a month to have fun on. Wish someone had explained this to me right out of school.