Oceanpacific

I had been a nurse for only a few months when I made a serious med error. I was working night shift and had a young diabetic woman who had been hypoglycemic during the night and I had received orders on 2 occasions that shift to give amps of D50 which I gave. Before I left to go home, I did my final med pass and that was to give several patients their morning insulin. For some unknown reason, I went ahead and gave the hypoglycemic patient her morning insulin as ordered. Then I went home and slept for a few hours and I woke up in a sweat. I could see myself giving that poor patient her insulin and I was sure she was dead. I immediately called my unit and the attending to report my error. They said the patient was fine, but that they had been perplexed about her continued hypoglycemia. My shame was so horrible that I knew I could never show my face there again. I had the wonderful fortune of having the physician and my nurse manager calling me to ask me to come back and to share some mistakes they had made. Now, 33 years later, I am still at it and making that horrible mistake made me a better nurse.

Well I'm with the OP on this one. If I pay extra for overnight delivery then I expect overnight delivery. I pay for Amazon Prime and it is great to know I will receive the item in 2 days. No one is going pay overnight shipping if the company doesn't "process" the item quickly enough to ensure prompt delivery. Is it relevant to question the OP about why she ordered overnight delivery? Frankly, she could have been smoking crack when she placed the order, but it has nothing to do with the issue of providing overnight delivery.

I was in udder shock.

One of my guilty pleasures....the joke that ends with, "Rectum? Damn near killed 'em."

Web sight. Everyone has a burden to bare. Bare down. He was bear naked. His sister was unbareable. None of us could bare it any longer.

I recently read about someone who was a "roll model." Do you think it is one of those fake food displays that dietary use? Muffin top? Also there/their and your/you're are common slippery slopes. A patient wrote that she had "high pertention"

This makes no sense to me. I keep nitrile gloves at home and use them often when cleaning. There is no reason what they can't be placed in household trash.

Then I would think that your pregnancy wasn't a factor. It can take a while to find a position as a new grad. If you can afford it financially I agree with others that it is best to have your baby first. Congrats on the baby and completing nursing school.

Truly you should just say no. You can still participate is the social aspect of eating together, but eat what is best for you. If they are considerate, they will support you. If they are inconsiderate, I wouldn't let them rent any more room in my head.

Well, it may sound lame, but the best you can do in this situation is "create your own weather." Having 36 months till retirement is actually a really short period of time. Congrats on your successful career. You can leave a legacy of integrity. Continuing your work with students is a great way to share your knowledge. Focus on something you do have control over and that management won't sabotage. Something like revamping a broken clinical process can be rewarding and attainable. The cool thing is that 36 months will go by so quickly and...just think how much fun you can have when you are 2 days away from retirement and can yell from the rooftops whatever your truth is.

Lots of hospitals are into Lean as an improvement model and use the 5 s concept. Here are five 5S phases stolen from Wikipedia. They can be translated from the Japanese as "sort", "straighten", "shine", "standardise", and "sustain". Other translations are possible. Long story short.....have you ever met someone who not only has their tools on pegboards, but there is the painted outline for the tool and you can immediately visualize what is missing? Well nurses have applied this to all sorts of hospital applications from organizing code carts to designing patient rooms. Usually it is pretty easy to think of a process or area on your unit that is frequently missing items you need to do your work.

Well, any federal employee is subject to random drug testing so that is a huge number of nurses. I haven't been asked to come in for random testing in the 12 years I have been in the system. It is definitely on my mind and makes me walk the straight and narrow. I do take meds which would show on a urine drug screen, but I have valid prescriptions and a prescriber who knows I am a nurse. It might sound silly, but the only illicit drug I ever used was pot and only a few times over 30 years ago! When I retire in 8 years I might just grow myself one plant and check it out without fear. I flew home for Christmas one year and after the 6 hour flight and a 5 hour drive, my back was killing me. My Mom offered me a pain med she had been unable to tolerate , but I didn't take any because I could be in trouble having a drug in my urine that was not prescribed to me. One of my co-workers got called in for random drug testing. She had 2 hours to report for the test and her clinic was a 45 minute drive from the testing site. So, I take the random testing thing pretty seriously.

You know, I have to disagree. My Dad is 80 and fell overboard into icy waters last year and he had a prolonged period of time in the water before he was rescued. During his rewarming at the ED in his rural community, he arrested and was successfully resuscitated then transferred to the trauma service of a larger hospital. His nurse there was phenomenal! About 5 am she was giving him some meds and my Dad asked if he was going to see her again before she went home. She said "Yes, you will see me again, I say goodbye to all of my patients before I leave and, for you, there's going to be a hug." True to her word she came in at 7 am and told him it had been a pleasure to be his nurse and she gave him a hug. Poor boundaries? Maybe, but if I am ever sick, I would be thrilled to have such a talented nurse. My Dad still talks about her and cherishes the Get Well card that she and the whole night crew mailed to him.

Well, it could go down in a few different ways Doctor to Patient: We are going to transfer you to Shady Elms Nursing Home later today Mr. Smith. It is really crucial that we get you into a therapeutic range on your Coumadin...... Patient: Hey Nurse! What to hell happened to my other pack of cigarettes? All I got left is mentholated and those make me gag. Nurse: I hate menthols too! The last time I smoked menthols, I was at that dive bar down on Hamilton Street. Oh crap, what's it called? Patient: The Hanky Panky. God, I'm there all the time. I thought I knew your face from somewhere. Nurse: Well I got so sick there after smoking menthols last week that I was puking in the parking lot. Doctor: [ storms out of the room in great haste. He is purple with rage] Or this scenario: Doctor to Patient: We're going to be transferring you to Shady Elms Nursing Home later today. It's going to be important.... Patient: Hey Nurse, Ain't no way in hell I'm going to Shady Elms. I was there 2 years ago and that place is a disgusting dump. Tell Dr. Moron here that he take Shady Elms and shove it. I bet you wouldn't send a dog there, right? Nurse: Actually, Shady Elms was completely renovated last year and all the rooms are private now. And we always hear great reports from patients about the nursing care there. Patient: A private room? Maybe I'll go there a few days and see if I like it. Doctor: [ Storms out of the room in great haste. He is purple with rage.]

Frankly you could just surrender your nursing license and wash your hands of them. If you aren't seeking a license, they have no jurisdiction in the matter.

OP, In my reading, my understanding us that it was a post you made that ended up on Facebook along with the other person's.

I wish the OP would come here just to let us know that he is ok.

None of this should be unclear to you. You should have been given and signed a copy of the BON's order and your restrictions, mandatory activities, length of time on conditional license, etc would be on that document. Good luck.

I'm a bit surprised that the BON was involved before you ever went into nursing school. Frankly, it will be difficult to get a position with a conditional license. Difficult but not impossible. If your conditional license was due to bipolar disorder, I am guessing that they may be requiring you to have psychological evaluations. I wish you all the best.

I was interviewed by telephone for a nursing position in Hawaii. (I didn't get it) Have you done NCLEX yet? If not, choose Hawaii as your licensing state. You might be surprised by what you can find once you are there. Also the VA has facilities in Hawaii. For any federal nursing position, you just need a license from ANY state. Licensure from Hawaii would not he required. Go to USA Jobs and see if you find anything. Good luck.

Idaho Nurse, Actually, I don't think now is the time for the OP to do soul searching or to try to identify triggers. He likely needs to stop analyzing things and start getting high quality care. Something to help with sleep and to decrease the panic would be a godsend.

You've been one day and you're exhausted by anthropology? Nine hours to complete some chapter outlines is too much time. Yes, I sound like a jerk,but a well-intentioned one. As you add classes, especially the science classes do not allow yourself to fall behind. Budget your time and decide how much time you can allot to each assignment. Not having to work is a great gift. So make your education your full time job and invest in yourself. Good luck.

I don't know. My feeling was more that he lacks self awareness and truly was unable to see how he was presenting himself. And he did show humility for the first few rounds of rough justice. But the onslaught kept coming. When he saw the feathers and the tar was about to boil, he did take his numerous toys -er- certifications and run for the hills with an AN horde in hot pursuit.

You seem like an insightful and practical person. So here is a practical piece: Take leave NOW. At present you can choose to stop working and decompress. If you are worried about your career, consider this-- if your employer reports you as being an impaired provider, then things get needlessly complicated. Resign now and give an excuse like "it doesn't seem to be a good fit for me". End of discussion. No 2 week notice. Your ability to practice in the future will be intact and, with that assurance, you can devote your energy to taking care of you. For the insightful part of you: You are suffering right now and you are too close to it to appreciate that. However, if a patient came to your ED with symptoms like those you are describing, you would recognize it as a medical crisis. You would help that ED patient. Give yourself that amount of caring that you would extend even to a stranger. It is ok not to be able to keep it together right now. Rally your supporters. It sounds like you have a caring family. If you are not safe then please seek care today. You can go to an ED other than your hospital's. Maybe stopping work immediately will let off enough pressure so that you can arrange care from a psychiatrist with a great reputation and start getting great care. Wouldn't it feel great not to be having anxiety attacks and this feeling of dread? It is going to be ok, but you need to pull a good team together. You can do it. I have been in your shoes.

Thanks, that thread looks like a gold mine.