Ado Annie

When I worked for a large teaching hospital, the CNAs were not allowed to chart O2 saturation. Nurses had to do it. I never understood why. (reason given: it's part of an "assessment")

Reading all these responses has been really interesting. One question that keeps coming to my mind is ... when a law enforcement officer uses deadly force. It is so rare for someone to be charged, even though the news accounts sometimes paint a picture that makes the officer's actions seem reckless or at very least, an overreaction. Are there parallels to nursing practice? How are they the same or different?

Thank you for the thoughtful response. Yes, I was tired. And it had been a stressful few months of family life due to my stepson's mental illness and the death of my father (who we were caring for). Yes, it makes a huge difference to be more fully rested, to find time for activities that I enjoy. At this time, my stepson is in a better situation, I am mourning my dad but in a healthy way, and have activities and projects that I'm excited about, even though the time to do and enjoy them *is* limited because of the nature of this job. I still think I'll try something different in the not-too-distant future but for now I am shying away from life-changing decisions. I do appreciate that you responded, and that your response was compassionate and well-thought-out. Thanks again!

I may or may not be guilty... well, I didn't disappear, but it's possible I didn't go back and thank those who responded either. I will make a point to do that. (blushes and ducks)

Legit question: My resume shows that I received a BS in another field in the mid-1980's. How would an interviewer NOT know that I'm at least 50-something?

I agree with this comment. It isn't acceptable to be discriminated against because of age. I graduated at 48 and hired in to a fast-paced unit and I'm so glad I did. I have a little bit easier job (most days) now and at 56 sometimes "feel my age". But I don't want to be told I can't do something or that someone (who doesn't know me) is worried that I can't do it. To the OP: could you have given the impression of being slow or "low energy" in your interview? not that it changes things, but my (perhaps unneeded) advice is to be sure to appear energetic and ready to tackle the job. NICU Guy, I'm glad you got the job you want. I've wondered if peds units discriminate. It seems that at my old job all the peds nurses were young. I think I'd love working with children.

Y'all. 7 years in and I have got to do something besides med/surg nursing. No judgment, please. I am compassionate and I take good care of my patients and often end up loving them but sometimes I think that if I have to help another little old lady to the potty I will go absolutely out of my mind. Partly this is because I moved from the big city/ teaching hospital to a small rural hospital last year. But mostly it is because I'm tired. Tired. It's not so bad when we have a tech. I happily work alongside someone to do all this lifting and pulling and cleaning. But on my own... sheesh. I always thought I'd like to work with kids and if I don't at least try it I will always wonder if I would have loved it. The closer hospital that has peds has never even interviewed me (except for an IT position that they did not offer me). I'm not sure I'm ready to sign up for the longer drive to another hospital. So, I don't know. I'd try peds med/surg. I'd try ICU (I can titrate drips and think it's fun). I'd try a clinic if I could make enough money. But I'm drop-dead tired and bored with my current job. Help! What's your niche? How long did it take to find it?

Hugs to you, Apple Core. I hope your daughter realizes that she needs help before something terrible happens. We are experiencing a similar situation with an adult child with mental illness. He's refusing treatment, and yesterday he left the house and has not returned. We had finally got him here a few weeks ago after he was on his own in another state (with no ID, money, phone, etc.) for a few weeks.

Right? I often use 2-3 pairs of gloves for one code brown! (and I don't feel a bit guilty about it)

This. Not that there's anything wrong with some of the ideas (recognition, fun times, celebrating milestones, maybe even volunteering together) but the real answer is just what you said. While we're at it, please don't make me drive to work and give up free time for pointless stuff.

You know my husband? LOL

Congratulations!

RE: Complaint to SLCPD Done. I hope I haven't opened myself up to retaliation.

It's been awhile but there was a patient with genital warts, layer upon layer of them, from front to back and really thick around the anus. Of course he was incontinent and generally immobile. Cleaning him was an ordeal for both of us. Finally found a peri bottle and rinsed him off. I have a relative who keeps posting on postal media about how gardasil is dangerous and unnecessary and I always want to find a picture to share with her.

I have 2 beefs with taking report from ER, but even so I try not to be surly about it . These are: 1) at change of shift. I'm busy handing off my other patients to the oncoming shift or receiving report from a nurse who wants to finish up and go home. If you have held that patient until shift change to avoid getting a new patient, shame on you. If it just happened to work out this way, I appreciate the sentiment behind wanting to go ahead with report so that a nurse who doesn't really know the patient won't be giving report in a few minutes, but this is really inconvenient. 2) the room isn't clean. I don't know when the room will be cleaned. You promise you won't send the patient until it is, but guess what? I've been burned too many times to trust you. Unfortunately, I've had the experience of calling a code on a "stable" patient within an hour of arrival on the floor from ER. So if I'm not going to be able to get in the room and lay eyes on that patient pretty quickly, I'm stressed out. Like I said, I try hard not to let my stress level affect my attitude on the phone. I know we are all stressed.