MKFaizi

Replying to the post from Chuck: This woman was a physician? For real? Not some psycho off the streets? I mean, my grandma -- no offense to my grandma -- wonderful woman -- could have done a far better job delivering that poor baby than that so called doctor. My grandma at the age of ninety five could have done a better job than that so called doctor. Thank God, I am past child bearing age. If I ever have grandchildren coming into the world, I am going to advise them to get a nurse midwife or somebody. Such barbarism. Childbirth should be -- SHOULD BE -- and can very well be - a good experience. It should never be a tale of horror. I am disgusted by the tales in this thread. If I was pregnant and reading this, I reckon I would go on out to a field and have my baby by myself. I mean, darn. Does anyone ever attempt to advocate for a peaceful, non-medical childbirth? Does Lamaze still exist?

My fifteen year old son is going to take the nursing course in high school this year. They learn quite a bit there. I hope he goes into nursing. My daughter is also interested in being a RN.

Congratulations, nurseinthemaking. Being in school is kind of like being pregnant. You give birth when you graduate. Then, you have the task of raising the child. Takes about twenty years to reach maturity. Please do not take that the wrong way. New nurses are like new teachers. Fresh blood is always welcome, I think. Experience and freshness is a good team combination, if people can be open minded. Good luck in your career. Coincidentally, I had a couple of nurses as patients today. One was a very experienced RN just returning to work after having four kids. The other was a RN student in her late thirties who will graduate in May. We spoke about the torturing process. Most nursing skills are learned on the job. School is just a test to see if you have the guts. My first training was in the army. We had zero practice in giving shots. We spent one morning reading about how to give shots. That afternoon, we gave shots to each other. We were our own dummies. I learned to draw blood and start IVs working with an anesthesiologist. No one ever showed me how. I just had to do it. No dummies. No oranges. No rubber arms.

Then, take the advice of the other nurses and show up at the office and get your blood results. A B12 deficiency can be determined from a CBC or a B12 blood test. I do not think that it was frivolous of your doctor to do an autoimmune check. But Lupus and Scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis are difficult to diagnose. Many people with an elevated ANA are still not diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. In my estimation, not much has changed in rheumatology since the seventies. Of course, my estimation is basically a layman's estimation. My first husband nearly died from an acute onslaught of Systemic Lupus before he was diagnosed in 1978. He ran high fevers and lost about fifty pounds. Got down to about one hundred twenty pounds at five foot ten from one hundred sixty pounds. But my gut instinct tells me that it is doubtful that you have that but it was still a good idea to look at it. I am sorry that you do not have good insurance. Unfortunately, it often takes a lot of time and a lot of testing to get at the bottom of a physical problem that is not obvious on the surface. Have you had an ultrasound or CT? If the practice is really that bad and that unresponsive, you do need to show up in person and ask nicely but firmly for copies of your blood tests. Going there might be a pain but it is better than continuing to call and to get robot-ed around. Get your blood test results and go to the other doctor.

Interesting topic. No, I do not believe in passing judgement on people in a harsh and bitter way. Addiction itself is a sickness. I have compassion for addicts. Coincidentally, our first patient today was a chronic pain patient I have known for years. He was actually bringing someone else to be seen. He had broken her foot when he fell on her. He had a very hard time getting out of the car. Staggering and reeling. Walking with his eyes closed. It was very bad. Very, very bad. He was driving. He could barely walk or talk. We hated to do it but we actually notified the police because we figured someone in that shape might kill himself or other people on the road. The cops never came, even though the station is very close to the office. When they left, the woman had to fight her way behind the wheel to keep him from driving. But he was driving this evening -- to get crutches for the woman. I called the cell phone and he answered. Sounded bad. Very bad. I just hate to see someone in that shape. The woman asked for stronger pain med than Motrin. Wanted Percocet. We gave her Darvocet. Just a bad situation. I had a very good friend die from an overdose of Oxycontin a few years ago. Chronic pain patient. Good guy. He kept his medicine out in his shed and that is where his eight year old daughter found him -- dead in the shed -- just like that. He was lying on the trampoline. She thought he was asleep even though he had foam at his mouth. She was a kid. She had no idea. He had taken oxycontin for years -- never exceeded his allotment but he could not function without it. Without it, all he did was lie on the sofa. With it, he could work on computers and do things with his kids. Then, he stopped taking his Prozac and blood pressure meds and started hoarding the oxycontin. My son went with him out to the creek the day that he died. Buster said he was acting weird -- picking up snakes and stuff. At midnight, he had his daughters outside playing frizbee. He was dead in the shed about twelve hours before his daughter went looking for her bike and found him on the trampoline. It is wonderful that there are available miraculous drugs for pain relief. I thank God that I do not have the power to prescribe them. I would not want that responsibility. I don't think that I would ever prescribe oxycontin or morphine or Percocet for anyone who did not have certain kinds of terminal cancer. My husband died from cancer and his doctor denied his refill of Percocet. He took Tylenol. My first husband had horrible Systemic Lupus and endured excruciating pain from aceptic necrosis in his hips. Never had any pain med. Pain is a difficult topic because pain is relative and subjective. I would hate to be a chronic pain doctor or a physiatrist. I would rather be a proctologist. Much easier to look into butts all day than to try to decipher what a person requires for pain and to weigh the consequences of the treatment of that pain; non-cancerous pain. Most chronic pain patients have orthodpedic or neurosurgical problems. Personally, I have zero tolerance for narcotic pain meds. I also have a very high pain tolerance. Two childbirths were not painful to me. I have had extensive dental work done without novacaine. The reason I dread the thought of a colonoscopy is not because I fear the procedure. I fear the drugs. I have had very little physical pain in my life and I know that I am fortunate. Pain management is a very difficult thing. I have ample empathy for those who experience a lot of pain. Yet, the consequences of the drugs required to treat pain are enormous. If only there was an absolute blood or other clinical test to measure pain. Maybe then, it could be understood and separated from depression.

The cause of your fatigue could be something as simple as a B12 deficiency. You can take shots for that. You could benefit from an antidepressant. You could have mononucleosis. If you can do it, go back to the same doctor and discuss your results. An eight doctor practice is fairly large. I would rather discuss my condition face to face with a practitioner than to depend on overworked receptionists and nurses. Sad but true. Often a smaller practice is better. I am sorry that you are not my patient. I would call you back ASAP.

Most old records are not that important. It is usual for a doctor to check a BMP and thyroid on patients. Nothing unusual about that. Usual for a doctor to check a CBC. You said that you have switched practices. Sounds like a good move, Tell the new doc about your plight. You can always sign a release for the new doctor to get the lab results. If it is all right with your insurance company, get the new doctor to repeat the tests. You can also file a complaint with your insurance company about the one practice that has not met your needs. If your insurance will alllow it, you might make an appointment with the same doctor for the purpose of discussing your lab results. Sometimes, that is the best way. You have to pay your co-pay but you will get one on one communication. Better, I think, than continuing to call them for results with no satisfaction. Plus, you will have his/her direct attention. If the results are all normal, you can ask him what you should do next. At that visit, you could also tell him/her about your difficulty in getting your test results. It may be worth the trip because he/she might have other recommendations.

Good for you for passing. In my opinion, much of this sort of thing is a torturing process. In LPN school, I never had to do the handwashing thing. But there were other things. One thing that I remember clearly was being tested out on drawing up a shot. Drawing up a shot is pretty simple. I reckon I could teach a chimp to do it. But this instructor made it seem so detailed and complicated and there was no way that I could do it to please her. I have been a LPN for twenty three years now. I have never infected anyone with one of my shots. I draw up Demerol or whatever without thinking terribly much about it -- other than the usual comon sense checks. I have never killed anyone with an injection. That instructor made me feel incompetent. She made me feel stupid. She wanted me to fail. She was torturing me. Harrassing. She followed me into patients' rooms and criticized everything I did. She reprimanded me for my "hesitation." She made me feel very unsure of myself and, then, criticized me for being unsure. Fortunately, my other instructors thought I was all right. I made very good grades. I finished near the top of my class. Don't let 'em get to you. That is the whole ticket because a lot of them will do their best to get to you. Very intimidating. You have to believe in yourself. You have to be determined. Grit is what it takes. In the army, a sergeant taught us that a need gets a got. You need to be a nurse. Don't let anyone or anything stop you. You just need to pass the test. Then, your real learning will begin. Truly an amazing process.

Even drug addicts get sick. In my practice, I saw one drug addict get his appendicitis overlooked and he nearly died from that. Then, he turned out to have Hodgkins Disease and really should have died from that. Very advanced by the time it was diagnosed. He got plenty of Morphine then. He is still alive after about seven years. In prison for his abuse of his daughters. In his case, I don't think he became an addict for any special reason -- like he was abused as a child. He was very spoiled. His mom did everything for him. Spoiled or addicted, the man was still a patient with an acute appendicitis that was overlooked and Hodgkins lymphoma that was eating him alive. Finally found by a pain specialist. I can think of other drug seekers I have known that have since died. None of them died of their addiction. They died from causes that were either never found or found far too late. An addiction should not be fed but an addict should not be ignored. Crazy people also get sick. It is very easy to overlook and miss disease conditions in crazy people and addicts. I do not believe in placating crazies or addicts. But you do need to take a serious look at them beyond the obvious.

I have worked in doctors' offices for years. I do try to call patients promptly with results. Occasionally, I screw up. Not very often but, when I do, I am honest about it. Is this practice a large practice? If so, I know from experience that things get overlooked. I work in a small practice. In large practices, I have answered voice mail that is a month behind. If you leave voice mail once without a return call, you should call back and ask to speak with Dr. Whoever's nurse. Some nurses do not call patients if the results are normal but, especially since you and your insurance company are paying for those results, I think you have the right to know them. Why order the tests if you are not going to be informed of them? Even if it is a large practice, when you call, you should tell the person who answers the phone that you want your test results. You should say that you have waited two weeks and you have a need to know. If you have no other choice, ask to speak to the office manager. Your doctor was good to check your thyroid and BMP. You need the results. That's your right. You will, of course, attract more bees with honey than with vingegar. Be pleasant but pleasantly insisitant.

No, you do not have to be an aide in order to be a good nurse. Nothing is set in concrete. However, some of the best nurses I have known and a couple of doctors have worked their way up from being aides and it seemed to make them more sympathetic to the more "lowly" workers. I worked closely with one doctor who started out as an orderly in a hospital. Then, he became an xray tech. Then, he became a PA. Then, he became a pediatrician. Then, he became an anesthesiologist and made a wad of money. Then, he became a GP. Now, he teaches in a university. The beauty of this guy was that he knew how to clean butts, do xrays, start IVs as an expert, give epidural injections, diagnose, give medicines; prescribe medicines. He could do anything a nurse could do or an orderly or an xray tech. He expected his people to work as hard as he did. But, if you could do it, he treated you like absolute gold. Why? Because he understood very well the rungs of the ladders he had climbed. He achieved but he never became "better" than the orderly. He did not consider the work he did as an orderly to be dirty. He was a team worker. Of course, a doctor does not have time to clean butts on a unit. But, in a pinch, he could. In a pinch, he would. Some won't. Many LPNs in nursing homes won't. I know of aides on night shifts who had to try to attend to sixty patients with no help at all. I agree with the lady above that it really has to be a team effort. I can well understand a nurse with a BSN thinking that she did not get a college degree to clean butts. Unfortunately, cleaning butts is a part of good nursing. No matter what you might do for a patient -- high tech stuff -- all that can be defeated with a patient lying in feces for hours. Bedsores kill.

Cardiac One, So why don't you get the Midwife degree and deliver babies? My nurse midwife was excellent. Perfect. Patient. Coached me in pushing. Gentle. Tolerant of my Pakistani husband. Very attentive. Very personal care. I would have used her for the second birth but, unfortunately, by that time her practice had changed so that she was in with the doctors. That meant that she might not be the one to turn up at delivery time -- could have been any brute. She probably became too popular and could not possibly do all the deliveries. It is a wonderful luxury to have one practitioner follow you all the way through your pregnancy AND deliver the baby. I did not want the usual cattle call. I did not want someone who would encourage me to have an epidural -- whether I needed one or not. I did not want someone overly medical. Pregnancy and childbirth are not diseases or medical emergencies. Pregnancy and childbirth are the elements of life. I would have resented suprapubic pressure from a brute, let alone fundal pressure. Childbirth -- under most circumstances is not a matter of extraction. It is a process that pretty well takes care of itself with little intervention. Women tend to panic with the pain. I don't think a doctor in an urgent care mode helps that. You need a calming and soothing person. Relaxation is very important. I feel so fortunate to have experienced two good and easy births -- no epidurals; nothing. When I was done, I was done. Nothing medical about it. I was free. I realize your point about liability. Too bad. I cannot say enough good about nurse midwives or nurse practitioners.

Sounds horrible. I thank God that a nurse midwife delivered my first child and a lovely Fillopino doctor in a one woman practice delivered my second. Both were perfect labors and deliveries -- no epidural. No drugs. No brute pushing on the fundus. My husband -- now deceased -- would have cold cocked him. He was Pakistani and would have freaked out seeing a man do anything like that. No wonder so many women recount horror stories of childbirth. I am certain that there must be many good male obstetricians who are wonderful at childbirth. But darn. I don't think the dude should be allowed to be birthin' no babies. No one should have to endure that.

Two excellent posts, RN34TX and Nyoko59. Very thoughtful. Hope I got the names right. I have trouble with internet names.

I agree with LPN181 and Coopergirl. I think you should still try for a better job. How long will your license be on probation? My guess is that you would be hired. Even you call it LTC Hell and that is the way I always saw it, too. The only thing I could stomach were two sixteen shifts on the weekends. I did that for four years until I knew that I was making a positive job switch. I would hate to go back to that kind of work, especially if I had invested time and money into becoming a RN. I still also think your supervisor was insulting to you. Coopergirl has a good idea. Try for other jobs and WHEN you get hired, keep your foot in the door there for a while, in case you decide you want to go back. Here in my corner of LPN land, we had a guy nearly code in the office today. Just not something we want to happen. Our equipment is old and ridiculous. Guy did not seem to be in a lot of pain. Thought he had indigestion. Took forever to fill out his paperwork. I asked him if he was okay. He said he was okay. Finally, I took him to a room and checked his pulse. Felt like some kind of atrial fib. I did the EKG immediately. Looked weird. I gave it directly to my NP. She said, "Call 911." I had begged the guy to let me call 911 before he even set foot in the office. He refused and said he would just go back to work. I said, "You can't do that. You are having chest pain and you have to see someone." So, fool that I am, I let him come into the office. I told him that if his EKG was not right, we would have to send him out by ambulance anyway. Should I have let him go back to work and die? As it turned out, he could have died in our office. Fortunately, when we called for an ambulance, they actually came quickly. Not always the case. We got him out but he coded as soon as he came through the ER door -- forty minutes away. Next chest pain, I am not offering a choice. I will call 911. End of the news. A rural family practice is not the place to have a massive heart attack. That happened to me ten years ago. Elderly man came into the office and the son said he thought his sugar was out of control. Sweating like you know what. This was a very rural practice. The doctor was not scheduled to arrive for fifteen more minutes. Just one LPN and a receptionist and no defribrillator. I went to check his pulse and he suddenly clutched his chest and essentially died. Just like that. I was putting him on the floor as I saw the doctor coming into the parking lot so I was starting CPR when the doctor came through the door. Fruitless effort, needless to say. I don't want that to happen again. In my mind; my imagination; I have put a big orange-red X on my office door -- NO CHEST PAIN!! CHEST PAIN, GET THEE BEHIND ME!! Want a job in rural practice? There are lots of rural hospitals that need RNs.