rpsychnurse

I'd have to see the patient to give any specific advice, to be honest. That being said- I wouldn't use a 1 1/2" in the deltoid in your situation. I've hit bone with a 1" on a frail elderly man before. Go back to the pharmacy and ask for a smaller needle if you're set on a deltoid injection or ask for teaching on ventrogluteal injections- they're pretty simple as long as you know how to landmark.

I'm in the same boat as you! Complete introvert here and I feel like 80% of my job makes me uncomfortable because I have to deal with people. I don't have much for advice- I just try to make the most of my alone time on breaks and at home. I also try to do anything alone at work that I can. For example, lots of the staff chart together at a big table at the end of shift. I sit at my desk and chart on my own so I don't have to visit with them.

Don't blame your previous company or tell stories about how bad it was. It doesn't matter if it's true- most people won't care unfortunately. If they ask why you left it's enough to say that it wasn't a good fit with your values or something along those lines. In my opinion leaving one job shouldn't be too much of a black mark. Good luck!

I haven't been in your position - at all - but I thought I'd chime in because no one else has yet. I have a little baby (9 months old) and I went back to work when she was 6 months old. I think that if you have a lot of support, mostly from your husband, you can succeed at this! Especially because he can stay home with them at times. Are you going to be working on top of school? That may be harder. However- if you're going to school and treat it like your 'job' and ensure you have adequate alone time to study I think you can do this. Good luck!

Med errors are not uncommon and not unexpected. Be honest with your preceptor when you go back so she can help you work to prevent any future errors. What happened to make you think you made an error? Figure out what you can do differently next time! For what it's worth, I've made my fair share of med errors and have only learned from them. If you are honest and work to prevent them I don't see why you would ever lose your job or licence. Good luck!

As a Registered Psych Nurse in Canada I just want to chime in! If I could go back I wouldn't take the RPN program again. It really limits your future as a nurse and I'm regretting it now. I would go for your RN and then work in psych- you'll have much more flexibility. Good luck!

Our docs will occasionally prescribe PRN antipsychotics without a scheduled dose and I think it can work quite well at times. Talk to your doctor about it- why does he do it? Just because it's a big push to get rid of antipsychotics doesn't mean it's always the right thing.

You've had one shift. Just one. You should feel overwhelmed! You're not expected to get it yet! But it will come quickly- don't worry! Write down questions you have, ask for help whenever you need it. Watch how the other staff get through the shift- you'll learn from them! Take a deep breath and do yur best. You can do this and, trust me, it gets better.

Hey! I've never had a peer interview but I would try not to stress. It sounds to me like you did well in your initial interview- otherwise they wouldn't have scheduled the peer interview! I imagine they will mostly want to see how you communicate with other staff members and they may ask you some more normal interview questions. Just be yourself!

I completely understand where Amber was coming from- but I think she should have handled it better. Just hanging up on the other nurse was quite rude. I think she should have explained her situation to the other nurse and told her she would call back in ten minutes. Or she should have pulled Tiffany from her assessment to help with the more urgent patients. I just don't think she communicated as professionally as she should have.

I set a couple of alarms (just in case- I'm often up by the first one) and have my Keurig auto set for when I wake up so I can make coffee right away! I work exclusively day shift (0645-1500) so I guess I'm just in a pattern by now. I also have a baby who is an earlybird- she doesn't sleep in much past 0530 so she makes sure I'm up in time! If I've gotten little sleep the night before I load up on coffee and snacks (not healthy, I know) and try to talk to people as little as possible at work!

Are you asking for which medications are given at bedtime AND affect blood sugar at the same time? Depends on whether or not your patient is diabetic! Lantus/other long acting insulins, some sliding scale insulins and oral antidiabetics could all be given at HS. I would ask your instructor- I don't understand why you would just need to know a list of these medications. Knowing what an HS Lantus or Humalog would mean for the patient is a different story.

That sounds like a poorly done admission! Usually we have med orders before the patient even gets to us but if we don't I will get them from the on-call doc. I wouldn't give anything or enter anything without orders, personally.

I would recommend speaking with your manager about your concerns and, if she continues to accuse staff, I would go to her higher ups with the situation. Best of luck.

Regardless of why you left your previous jobs I wouldn't lie about them to future employers. You could omit them from your resume- but if a future employer asks about where you have worked previously I would tell and and just explain that you left as it wasn't a good fit, or something vague like that. It sounds like you have insight into your illness- it mat be a good idea to talk with your therapist (or find a therapist) about the stresses you've experienced at work so they can help you cope and advocate for yourself if needed. All you can do is keep applying for jobs and show them your best at interviews. Be honest but don't share all- employers don't care to hear about past drama (in my experience). I think you've gotten some good responses here- there's not a lot we can do to help you other than to encourage you to keep on trying. Good luck!