LisaPRN

Our hospital has also changed it from nurses' week to hospital week and have a free cafeteria lunch for all the employees. So much for nurse recognition.:smackingf

Actually this was a topic of discussion at work today. We all provide and wash our own uniforms in our ED, but I was told by one of the physicians today that it is an OSHA violation. technically we are a walking biohazard when we leave and if we wear scrubs in to work from home we are introducing bacteria into the environment. I was going to check into this further.

I have a Littman Cardiology III. I love it and it is worn around my neck. I've had several walk away when I've placed them elsewhere.

Wow!! I thought my ER was disorganized with our large volumes of patients every day. We see between 350 and 400 every day. I would be surprised if you weren't violating EMTLA guidelines for triage or JCAHO. hmmm....food for thought. I wonder if it would change things if these groups knew anything about their practice. I'm not telling you to blow the whistle, but if the subject was brought up to administration or current management to review these guidelines....

It's extremely normal to be afraid starting out. When your hired into a hospital facility you are oriented for an extended period of time before you're on your own. Trust me they aren't going to just throw you out there unprepared. Just take a few deep breaths and relax. It will all come together in time.

Would I do it again?...NO!! If I knew what I was getting into ahead of time, I would have chosen a different career. I encourage my daughters to chose something other than nursing as a profession. I work in the ER and we don't get the thank-you's or appreciation that a lot of the floor nurses or ICU nurses get. They have more time to develop a relationship with the patient and their families. But, I wouldn't leave ER for the world. The autonomy you get working there is unmatched in any other kind of nursing.

Working as an ER nurse I've seen many things but I have to say 2 things make me leave the room. One is definately penetrating eye injuries, the other finding maggots in decub's. uuuugggggghhhhhh......

Basically its split up into 3 categories. Category 1 patient is anyone who cannot wait for any lenght of time. Their complaint needs immediate intervention. Category 2 is anyone that has a complaint that can wait a couple hours and will be ok waiting. and Category 3 is anyone who could wait till hell freezes over and would be just fine. Sorry, I work a lot of triage. Of course as the previous person stated nursing intuition and experience plays a large role in the nurses decision making. Hope that helps a bit.