GaleSRN51

It was my first day of orientation in the ER. A woman was brought in for overdose. We had a doctor on duty who always wore freshly ironed scrubs. His hair was perfect, and he was a real jerk. Never wanted to get his hands dirty. Anyway, OD lady comes in so we start shoving a large tube down her throat to get the drugs out of her system. I shove this huge tube down, not really realizing that it would cause major peristaltic action. The tube hit her stomach and this fountain of Pineapple ad Ham pizza came spewing out. It shot up in the air and fell directly on the pristine ER doctor. He was covered with this lady’s second hand pizza and drugs. My preceptor leaned over as I was standing there in shock, and said..”Could not have happened to a better guy”. To this day I cannot stand pineapple and ham pizza.

I have always carried my own malpractice insurance. It at least, gives me some peace that I will not lose everything if I am sued. You were a new nurse. You learn from the mistakes you made. The longer you dwell on it the worse it gets. Let it go. If something happens, it will happen whether or not you continue to be stressed over it. I have been a nurse for over 40 years. I am sure I have made a med error here and there. However, I cannot remember having done so. The reason for that is that we make errors that we don’t even know we made. Just be extra careful and know your doses and side effects. Take the second it takes to verify.

IV conscious sedation, such as versed is, requires 1:1 monitoring. I found it totally unfathomable how someone could mistake Verconium, with all of it’s danger labels, as Versed. Anyone who has been to nursing school knows you do not leave a sedated patient alone. I am sorry, but the blame is 90% on the nurse. However, saying that, why is Verconium, which is administered by an Anesthesiologist or Nurse Anesthetist, even in a Pyxis available for anyone. It should be in a special Pyxis that requires the passcode of a MD or NA to obtain. There are so many reasons why this is wrong. However, again, I lay most of the blame on the RN who made error after error after error, causing the death of a patient. (I am a RN with over 40 years experience in the ICU, OR, ER. I taught IV conscious sedation in the OR at Stanford. I have had certification in every specialty area I have worked.)

The biggest change is paperwork vs computer charting. Much harder to get medical records, etc. I think the newer Med School graduates respect us more. Even 20 years ago, a lot of MDs had the G-D complex. In 1999 I was working at Stanford. I felt respected, appreciated. In my current management position, I feel the same respect and appreciation. The pay is much better, but not when you compare it to the cost of living. Numbers are just numbers until you look at actual costs. Depending upon what area you worked in, there was not a lot of ancillary help, like techs or nurse aids. I think our nurse/pt ratios have improved. Also BSN just got you a slight increase in salary. Now it is a requirement in Magnet hospitals like Stanford. You cannot be a manager without at least the BSN, preferably MSN.

I am prolife, as you call it. I am also supportive of free contraception, free “morning after pill”, childcare assistance, more liberal adoption laws. I have done abortions and will never lose the images in my head from that very brief stint. It made me sick. I am absolutely in agreement that rape, incest, and maternal health have to be made the exception. I would never expect a child to go through a pregnancy from rape or incest. I am absolutely opposed to 3rd trimester abortions and the crazy laws being passed in New York that are nothing less than murder. I believe that a pregnant woman who is carrying a child, that is more than a mass of cells as one person put it, has a moral obligation to the child she is carrying. I believe that once there is a heartbeat, you are dealing with a real live person, not a mass of cells. It has been proven that babies in utero feel pain. They have awareness. They hear music. They hear their parents’ voices. They are human beings whose rights must be protected. Once you are pregnant it is no longer just your body. It is now caring for another human being. I gave a child up for adoption when I was 18. I did not abort my child. I gave him a chance to have a nice family and a good life.

I never made friends in school, either. I never quite fit in. In reality, I didn't make that many friends at work. However, I have had an amazing career for the past 40 years. I have always been the odd duck, but I have made contributions throughout my career. I have worked on innovative procedures, pioneered different procedures. Your intelligence will set you apart, so focus on being the best in what you do. Always reach beyond the basics. Your light will shine.

Please don't let this person affect your decisions. You sound like just the kind of person we need in the Nursing profession. There will always be people in your life and in your career who will try and put you down. What this person did was bully you. Good for you for standing up to them. You will be an amazing nurse!

As a manager for a dialysis company I would totally understand if you came to me and told me what had happened. Take the new job and be glad you did!

I was so glad to see this. One of my biggest issues with RNs is their failure to delegate those tasks that can be done by others. I was a patient for 4 months this past year, intermittently. The one thing I noticed above all else is the failure of nurses to utilize the people they are teamed up with to assist them. I started deliberately asking for the patient tech or the housekeeper, or the particular person I needed if it was a non nursing task. I still ended up with the nurse most of the time. I was not able to get up and help myself for a good portion of the time I was in the hospital, so was dependent upon others to help me. I tried very hard to not burden the nurses, so frequently asked for a tech or CNA. I am a Nurse Manager for a Home Dialysis center. I just was allowed to hire a Tech. It is going to be quite an experience teaching my RNs how to utilize our new Technician. He is experienced and will be very useful. It will be training the RNs to utilize him properly. I chose him because he is quite assertive and will be able to say: "Let me do that for you".

Any of us who have been in nursing for any length of time share your feelings. I do want to add that along with the bad are the times when we cry with loving families, help families make end of life decisions, and see grieving families come together at that time. I try hard to focus on those moments, so the other ones don't seem so overwhelming. I have been a RN for 39 years. I think I have seen just about everything. I am still working and still love my profession, even with the ugly. Believe me, I have seen ugly working Emergency at Alameda County Hospital.

First of all, I want to start by saying that your "preceptor" doesn't seem to know how to precept. I can see how you could lose your cool. BUT that does not make it right. You may very well have gotten yourself into a losing situation. I am a nurse manager, so I speak from lots of experience. It may very well be time to look for another job. HOWEVER, I would start by sitting down with your supervisor or even the supervisor over her. I would discuss how your "training" has gone so far and ask for guidance. You may also want to sit down with your "preceptor" and ask her why she dislikes you so much. If I had been your manager I would have put you with someone who matched your personality; not some young kid. You may be able to salvage your job at the hospital by asking for assistance with this situation. Acknowledge that you could have handled it better, but also be clear what has lead you to this place.

I line everything up in order of use. I use my "manager" voice when I am perturbed about something. ( My husband tells me to stop using my manager voice with him!). I eat in minutes (left over from being a Trauma Nurse in the ER). I sign RN after my name. Just about everything everyone else has said! Too funny. I never leave a bathroom without using a papertowel to exit the door. Most important of all, I never panic under severe circumstances, which is very good since I am a sailor.