TexasBlaze

I would talk to an attorney who is a practicing nurse before I would make this decision. There are several nurse attorneys who specialize in this area and who can advise you on how to proceed in regards to the BON for your state. They are familiar not only with the Nurse Practice Act for your state, but on how your actions can be interpreted by the board, and how your actions were or were not appropriate and what steps, if any, you need to take. Congratulations on achieving your sobriety again, I know it's a tough road in a lifelong journey. Blaze

Perhaps a career as a physical or respiratory therapist may be more in line for you? I remember taking a meal break with a respiratory therapist many years ago, since I had issues with doing deep suctioning as a student nurse. We were comparing vocations and the conversation went something like this: "How do you handle it when a patient has a lot of mucus and you're suctioning? It makes me sick. I would have a hard time being a respiratory therapist. Why didn't you become a nurse?" He grinned and replied, "Well, because I don't want your job. You guys have to clean up the patients. Think of it this way: Mucus is 90% water. Sheet is 90% sheet." [Per terms of service, I am not using profanity, but I am not referencing linens, either. :) ] Put everything in a new perspective.

All bachelors degrees require a core set of requirements which are set in place by the association of colleges by which they are governed and accredited. This basic core is usually a set standard of 42 to 46 hours of courses in English, History, Government, Math, and Science. Any changes to a degree plan must go before a coordinating board before it can even be placed into the catalog for the college or university. Otherwise, schools and colleges would be altering their degree plans and not adhering to a set standard that is required of all other institutions. Having previously worked in academic publications at a university, I can assure you that all accredited programs have a standard in their core requirements for a bachelor of science, whether in nursing or computer programming. What you can do is find out from your advisor if you can take online courses at a community college for your core requirements and transfer those courses into the program. You need to get those courses early in your degree plan as many colleges require your final hours be taken only at their institution. Oftentimes taking online courses at a community college allows you flexibility over attending a traditional classroom courses, and is far less expensive. One final note? If you are wanting to graduate with Latin honors, find out how many hours you must take at your school in order to have those listed on your diploma. Many of us were Summa Cum in our nursing courses, but because we transferred in all of our core requirements, we were denied having Latin honors on our diplomas because we fell short of the 45 hours the university required we take at their campus. A disappointment, but calculating out the price per hour in tuition? I can live without the Summa Cum on my diploma for $6,600 saved.

After catching my scrubs on beds and equipment I learned to carry an empty Altoids tin that contains a little sewing kit of pre-threaded needles I picked up as a gimme at a trade show and some safety pins along with a few blister wrapped Imodium, Benedryl, Naproxen, and Sudafed. Keep Carmex for chapped lips and to put up your nose when odors may create nausea. I keep it all stuffed inside a small zippered cosmetic bag with a couple of tampons, an extra set of bandage scissors, short penlight, pens, and a stubby Sharpie.

Like any industry, for-profit entities are seeking to fill positions with the lowest cost employees that they can in order to maximize profits, and healthcare is not an exception. And yes, there are managers who are given mandates, against any sort of ethics, to cull their higher wage staff. This has become more onerous due to recent changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and penalties enacted under the Affordable Care Act, and hospitals are not seeing the reimbursements they once received. Hospitals are sold to corporations, merged into large systems, and shifts in management occur as a means to try and utilize the least amount of personnel to achieve the most profitability. Look at most job descriptions for hospital administration and they are seeking someone with project management experience in addition to a healthcare background. No, this isn't the optimum for those of us who have worked on the floor for many years. We know that even the most sophisticated and expensive bed monitors and electronic health records system will never replace the intuition that experience brings in knowing when a patient with dementia is going to remove all lines in a Sundown episode and fall getting out of bed. Or that a diaphoretic episode warrants a call to the physician at 3 am even before the patient's vital signs signal a myocardial infarction has occurred and your experience already has a bed in ICU ready to take the patient. Your experience has saved many lives that new graduates will only obtain after years on the floor. Are unions the answer? The U.S. Supreme Court says no in their Knox v. SEIU decision which granted employees the right to work without union membership in those states where unions held a largesse of healthcare employees. With the ANA, they also direct their funds to support those nurse legislators and PACS in a few states, and support them very well according to Influence Explorer (American Nurses Assn | Influence Explorer: Campaign Finance, Lobbying, Regulations, Federal Spending and Advisory Committees) which does little to help us with this issue of fair employment practices and staffing. I want my membership in an organization to help those causes I support for nurses, not to fund Californians for Fair Elections. So what is the solution? In Texas, we have Safe Harbor when you and your patients are placed in an unsafe situation. Evoke it when you are at risk. There is a trend towards not-for-profit hospital systems which have better staffing ratios and higher patient satisfaction survey results on the HCAHPS Hospital Surveys. Then there is the power of your voice. Call and write your local legislators on their website submission forms, by email, and by writing them a letter to send by surface mail. Let them know your concerns as a healthcare provider and always, always vote. Apathy does nothing if you do not get out and make your voice heard. You can take action by contacting your representatives without fear of retribution from your employer to advocate for secure, safe working conditions for you, and for your patients.