rn&run

Still sounds like a culture problem, not a problem of individuals. My company has a ‘points’ system— lose too many to tardies or call outs, you’re out. As long as you stay under the limit your sick time is yours to use. It’s childish, but it works. Y...

You did great! You assessed, treated, reassessed, and called for assistance appropriately. I’m sorry you’re feeling down on yourself, but you needn’t.

Congratulations on your new job! Common office procedures might include labs (phlebotomy, urinalysis, finger stick blood glucose and a1c), spirometry, vision screening, ekg, ear lavage, giving IM and PO meds. You might set up for and assist with mino...

Yes you can! I'm an introvert and doing just fine in a busy urgent care. Social skills can be learned by anyone, not just extroverts. I'm not friends outside of work with my co-workers, and I don't share a lot of info about my personal life at ...

Sending you peace and reassurance. All new grads ever make mistakes -- some that cause harm, most that do not. You are very high risk for errors right now, off orientation but still new. It gets better. As a new grad I accidentally hung D50 instead o...

The clinics in my area pay comparable to the hospital I was at. Well, the hospital started me out at a higher rate of pay, but my current clinic is much better at giving appropriate raises and periodic cost-of-living adjustments. I now make more at t...

Ugh, I've been there! I prefer to work in areas that don't have high-volume med-passes for this reason. For me, OR and urgent care are two settings in which I feel I'm a better nurse, vs SNF and med/surg. In the OR, it's important to be meticulous, b...

Slow down. Take a deep breath. This is a small and accidental HIPAA violation. It's not a terminal offense, or something you'd lose licensure over. Really. It's the sort of thing you do as a new grad, which freaks you out and makes you pay better att...

I think four 10s is only better if you get your day off in the middle, e.g. on Mon/Tues, off Wed, on Thur/Fri, off Sat/Sun.

'Scared' is a strong word for a work-related emotion. There are conditions it's appropriate to be... more vigilant towards, or to seek more support in managing. In my experience, feeling scared at work about something it's in my job-description to ma...

Hello friend, I like clinic nursing— I work for a family practice/urgent care instead of the hospital now. It doesn’t have the same need for constant vigilance and aggressive patient advocacy, but I still learn new things all the time. I have m...

I've only worked in one OR, but what you're describing @jamiebell is concerning to me. From the Association of Surgical Technologists: "Wound closure is performed under the broad delegatory authority of the physician, as defined by the America...

OP, so glad your pre-existing gender norms helped you overcome culture shock.

I find that good pay, adequate staffing, sick leave, paid vacation, and good health benefits correlate directly with good morale.

You certainly aren't alone -- and you're not a bad nurse. You are ethical. As a new grad, I was really upset about my first med error. The house supervisor (SNF/LTC facility) told me: "If a nurse tells you they've never made a med error, they'r...

These things are true... and I'm so glad I didn't have a clue when I chose nursing. I put up with so much, put myself through so much, as a student and a new grad. It took some really uncomfortable situations to learn about my own boundaries. I...

I started my nursing career in Denver, and really relate to this statement! So many hospitals and I felt like I would only ever see them from the outside. After about 200 applications to acute care, decided to go for a SNF. Was hired within the week....

I’m 29 and I want to get it. I’ll take vaccination over the risk of harming my parents (and others, but my parents are the vulnerable ones I love most). I don’t think it’ll be mandatory though, just highly recommend.

I think you did all the right things: you assessed the patient and called for a rapid when something seemed significantly wrong that you didn't know how to navigate on your own. You can't know everything... you just can't. Better to get an MD in the ...

This for everyone who is ready to throw in the towel. Every "I hate nursing" post is one I can relate to. I was there. I hope this brings you hope, and offers a new type of nursing for your consideration. I lived a miserable existence through 1 year...

How about Avagard? It's a chlorhexidine-based lotion approved by the FDA as an alternative to the traditional surgical scrub. Latex-glove compatible, and has a persistent (up to 6hr)antimicrobial effect. Wash your hands at start of shift, before/aft...

You sound like a very reasonable employee and advocate - both for your patients, and the surgeons whom you [are trying to] support. I'm totally biased -- this kind of behavior from surgeons is exactly why I left the OR. I understand they are under ex...

The visitors did not seem to care about contact precautions.

But what scared Stanley most of all was seeing his nurse doff PPE without washing her hands.

I was having a health-coaching session with a diabetic patient over the phone and asked how he felt about walking as a form of exercise. Patient was a bilateral above-knee amputee. We all say dumb stuff. Welcome to the club!