scampi710

Thank you so much for your tenacity, professionalism, endurance, documentation and being an inspiration to all of us. CONGRATULATIONS......AND THANK YOU.

One way we RN's can stand against agencies like Group One and the vagaries of incompetent nurse managers and administrators is for those of us who are "travelers" to refuse to take any assignments in Dallas/Ft. Worth and communities that utilize "Group One". It is the only power we have since the TX BON focus is negative toward RN's.

Since "Dear Abby" is the authority on all matters, is the columnist now responsible for all the millions of spouses who will as questions when their loved one is in PACU? .... and take the responses for truth? I think so.....it will now generate more mail for the syndicated column.

Have any one of us ever felt better after a massage or a backrub? That's TT.

Everyone who has read this thread knows the truth of what is happening in hospitals. We all need to sign the petition. Thank you Tsunami Kim and Kim Sanders-Fisher. Scampi710

:balloons: Hooray....I found a wealth of information on Google....forget Yahoo...... I feel so greatly relieved that I finally found it:balloons: No longer spinning!!!

Hey Nurseboy.....Any guidelines you can give me for renal transplant care is welcome..... Articles you can direct me to? I will be assuming care for a 7 day post op renal transplant patient. I looked for information on yahoo and google, but so far no nursing care specifics. It will be a home patient, and I welcome any info you can provide. Thanks.

Hi Curlyfries......I definitely need the patient's point of view along with some solid pointers on post op care beyond ambulation, temperature, vs's. I will assume care of a 7 day post op patient. What meds, rejection signs, outputs, etc. can I expect within acceptable parameters. I am looking for all the info I can get. Thanks

Is there anyone on the forum who can help me with post op care of a renal transplant patient? The patient will be 5 to 7 days post-op when I assume care. What about 24 hour urines at this time. B/P's? Meds? Complications? Foleys? Rejection s/s. All information of any kind, including articles would be helpful. I searched Yahoo, but am not finding what I need. Thanks.

The answer is "NO". I think you handled it poorly. Laughing at a young girl who may be subjected to bestiality is hardly what I would call a professional intervention. Getting more information and facts would be better than snickering.

It is so nice to see that some ER nurses are NOT into treating the patients like "annoyances" or to be abused by rude, unempathetic staff. Yes, some people do come in with self-indulgent complaints, but they have to be sorted out with a professional non-judgemental attitude. Most people need help. They are not necessarily educated, nor do they have their docs available....the standard around here is for the PMD TO SEND THEIR NON-SCHEDULED PRIVATE PATIENTS TO THE ER. So when patients are seeking help, they don't need course, rude, sneering staff.

Welcome to nursing Nursing is not a job. It is a profession, and as such we have professional ethics, responsibilities, and standards to effect and perform quality life saving care. In our profession there are multitudinous barriers we have to overcome on a daily basis if we are to fulfill our professional standards of care. Our primary focii are our patients, their safety, required interventions, medications, and getting them through the system optimally with us maintaining professional non-judgemental standards of care. (That means no patient abuse) which is often apparent in emergency staffs. Unfortunately, the hospital systems and their "mission statements" are anything but easy to deal with. The beancounters who essentially "make policy" really have very little reality orientation or clinical expertise. They crunch numbers and write up statements that look good to the public/BOD's/and regulatory watchdog associaltions like JCHO. The REALITY as RN's is that we are understaffed, frequently work with inadequate monitoring equipment, do not have the support of our administrators when we intervene appropriately for the patient and the intervention conflicts with "policy", are rarely supported by each other when administrators step into the arena (although we do support each other in private), are required to have vast stores of anatomical, physiological and medical knowledge, work long shifts often without breaks, are condencended to by physicians/surgeons, work weekends, holidays, rarely get requested days off or requested vacation time (because "of staffing"), have huge professional liability, and are usually scapegoated if a patient is harmed, are manipulated into feeling guilty and/or inadequate if we verbalize desent regarding policies/issues by the passive/aggressive nurse management style when the nm's state "there is no reason you can't do (whatever) everyone else does", we are hardly paid a scale commessrate to our skills/knowlege (in the south anyway), and are constantly exposed to diseases which can easily incapacitate ourselves and our families as well. I believe anyone who has stayed in this profession has every right to verbalize their frustrations, inasmuch as there are no sounding boards or outlets for us. When you are a professional nurse for 10 or 15 years, you might then make an empathetic and intelligent assessment as to what we are all about. It is NOT "a job".

While I was on contract in College Station, TX. (one of my fun places to work), I worked with a traveler who had just finished an assignment in Harlingen. She described some harrowing details and said she would never go back there again. Another friend, whom I met while I was doing the Brownsville contract, said she started out at Valley Medical Center because the sign on was so great, then after a month decided it wasn't worth it and quit. She was one of the best I've ever worked with. Just be careful. :)

How totally tragic. Been an RN,BSN for 28 years, and for all of those years I have been saying that we should have hazardous duty benefits. Can't even begin to describe how much comes through the ED doors. To rubricize: one night we were overwhelmed as usual. Had a very ill ped in a surgical room. I alerted the ER Doc. He went in there immedicately, did the PE without gloves or protection, exposed to all bodily fluids, etc. A few days later labs came back HIV POSITIVE. This was in a very wealthy geographical demographic. The year was 1980. Don't even have to elaborate on what I've seen in poor regions. And yes, to everyone with whom I come in contact on a personal interaction, I stress to them that we are indeed in danger all day at work, and then can bring whatever we come in contact with to our homes, on our shoes, our scrubs, our jewelry, etc. And WHY would we want to return to nursing caps since it has already been proven that they are vectors to deadly pathogenic organisms? (From another thread).

It is paramount to speak spanish since most of the patient population is Mexican/Mexica-American. The population is primarily poor, with some extremely wealthy clients from Mexico. The classes are distinct. Rich. Poor. The patient loads are heavy. The attitude toward nurses is punitive, demeaning, and generally disrespectful until you are strong enough to stand your ground and exemplify your clinical expertise. There is little or no support from nursing administration. The situation is dire, and you would be wise to think about why they are offering $20,000 sign on bonus'. Your license is always on the line, and in any situation in which a patient is harmed, the nurse will be scapegoated. I'm not sure if the following statement is true "Brownsville, TX. has the highest medical lawsuit rate in the country", as told to my by the ER Doc while I was on contract there. Good luck.:)