Woodenpug

Healthcare from the patient's perspective.

If protecting your license puts the patient in jeopardy, having a license offers no protection.

Seriously, You can make this very complicated. On the other hand, you can simply use your research skills and the mostly accurate, very transparent government site. Yeah, da gobment , knows stuff. Just use your skill and check out bls.gov. No need to drink the Kool aid, Just your brain and very transparent results, that no one else can get.

This once was a very active site. I remember being afraid to say something, because i would look stupid for expressing the same sentiments as the previous 10 posters. Then the administrative nurses showed their control. Too bad, that which is best for the patient.... is not so great for administration. And straight up, if you are not a direct care nurse, it's because you can not handle direct care. Nobody believes that you have an agenda that is not self centered.

That seems to be the issue. If you can do, then do; if not teach; if not then administrate. Got a 'bad nurse' for saying that before. Awesome how not saying what admin wants to here is considered disrespect.

PROTECT YOUR OWN BUTT AND LICENSE FIRST. Not sure I agree with this part. I feel we should protect the patient first. They are the most vulnerable. Even, if not especially, the wealthy/VIP patients.

Only five pages before the Saviors of nursing (unions) are given credit where it is not due. I appreciate the idea of unions, but the reality is they are just another corporation out to make money exploiting the workers. Unions could work for us, but they really do not. A model similar to the skilled trades unions for example, could work for us. If we quit hating or loving unions and worked on a system that worked..... And before it is said, I have done the union rep thing, full participation, worked hard. It works just like the magnet thing, they only listen when you tell them what they want to hear.

I guess, like everyone else, we like to hear what we want to believe. The government has a very transparent and b/c of gov advantages more accurate database. You do need to think for yourself, yeah, life is hard. More accurate and reliable information is just a few clicks away. I do not disagree with the conclusions, though they are mostly right, missing just a few points. Simply, I disagree with the concept as a whole. Let's reinvent the wheel, or think for ourselves. Naw, let's make a survey that is less accurate, that way when something does not meet our needs, we can make a new survey.

So very true! Also, just to be sure, documentation is the very least important thing I do as a nurse. Sure I'll start compression, but first I need to be sure to document the time and depth.

O.K... really, I hope (fingers crossed), I would never make such a mistake. I have been in the position of saying, no, that is too much. "better to lose my job than lose my license." I can completely understand a nurse put in the same position and saying "fine, I will do my best." The truth is I could care less about losing the license or the job, I do care what happens to people. The difficulty is ... does taking a chance and doing something, possibly wrong, outweigh doing nothing?

"Something else that wasn't really addressed was the complete lack of requiring the patient's bracelet to be scanned and then medication to be scanned prior to administration." - WVUMtnDude Great post! The challenge in always scanning is that the technology is not that reliable. I have scanned a bar code and it the computer thought it was a different med. That happens fairly frequently, the work around is to click the med box and after the warning to scan, scan the med. I have been without a working computer. The culture of blame is more an issue. I also find that all the ridiculous warnings get in the way, something like alarm fatigue.

I would like being a member in good standing to mean more than having payed my dues on time. Contracts should be the same for all nurses in the same union, not different for each hospital. Penalties for administration not responding in a timely fashion similar to the penalties for the union member. (eg. grievance is considered settled if no response withing 30 days to the second.)

Why would I need to palpate the bare thighs of a patient with an unclear description of thigh pain?

If I thought firearms would be an effective threat against a corrupt government or foreign invasion... I would own a few registered firearms. I would dutifully turn them in when big brother asked. I would agree that I felt safer now that I have learned how wrong it is for private citizens to own firearms. I would wait for the perfect time to execute an effective counter strike, all while flying as low as possible under the radar. If I thought firearms are an effective self defense strategy, I would make sure that anyone capable and willing to use deadly force against me remained at least 21 feet away. If I felt that brandishing a firearm or the criminals knowledge that I had a firearm would be an effective defense...I would likely think it through and realize that would make me more of a target. If I enjoyed hunting or target practice, I would advocate for cheap or free storage at a firearms range. It would be less likely to be stolen and the range owner would have to replace my weapon. I do not own a firearm. If I were as clever as I should be, I would not have posted here. I should know I am only contributing to a thread that was hijacked in the first reply.

almost 3/4ths of healthcare workers believe that flu vaccinations are beneficial. Another 20% feel that getting a flu vacc is better than having to wear a mask. Leaving only a few people who are so strongly against the value of flu vaccination that they are willing to change fields. Not all that sure, even with shortages, that we need those workers anyway.