sherri64

My girlfriend has a step daughter who had to have a trach due to structural deterioration and closing up. After a month or two, she had a T-tube put in and she went back to work in a nursing home as a charge nurse. We don't understand how she can do that or how it even works so she can speak and eat. And we are both nurses who have taken care of patients with trachs but they needed suctioning and a lot more care. So this is new to us. We have both been away from floor nursing for about 5 years. So they are obviously doing things we don't know about. Thanks.

A mean doctor is as bad as a mean charge nurse. It quickly turns into a toxic work environment that you don't want to go to every day. The stress and tension created is not worth your emotional or professional health. Life is too short and no one should have to put up with someone who is constantly ******** and criticizing you for no reason other than their own ego or shortcomings. How people who are mean keep their jobs is beyond me. I've seen it more times than I care to think about and it just amazes me. But I also never put up with it if it was directed towards me. Took me a few years to learn how to do that but I was so much better off when I did. And once you give it right back, they leave you alone. Nothing better than letting someone out of line know they are acting unprofessional, disrespectful, and rude and until they learn how to communicate, don't talk to me. It works every time.

This would be incredible to have it happen. One place I worked closed the cafeteria and night shift got stuck with bring your own or eat questionable items out of vending machines. No salads or fresh fruits or veggies. And as for work/life balance, that never happens. No vacation time from mid November to after New Years! And to get any time in July, you have to put in for it a year in advance. Only the very first place I ever worked offered what they called mental health days. They were well staffed and you were given 6 mental health days, in addition to vacation, personal days, and holidays, to call off if you were just too stressed to come in. They don't do it anymore but it was great.

They burn out or get injured from consistently working short and find something else to do within the nursing field besides direct care or they quit and do something else. That has been my experience with nurses I know. And I know a lot of them from all over the country.

I would have gone to someone to put a stop to this behavior immediately. He was a parent and did not have the rights to what he was doing. He was way out of line.

Absolutely. There are nursing schools nationwide that won't even let students take nursing classes until they have a years experience as a CNA. I've seen the difference it makes where this is required. It is very positive. Much better understanding and work relationships between the CNA's and the nurses. You may just have to study for the exam and take it without taking a class. Depends on the state. But definitely do it. It will make you a better nurse. Good luck to you.

Medical marijuana has no THC and thus no high. Relieves pain without any impairment. Better than narcotics! Safer to work under. Should not be a problem as long as you have prescription and your state approved medical marijuana use. Comes in a capsule or liquid for under tongue. Works very well. No side effects of sleepiness, nausea, hungry, dizzy or anything. Can fully function when taking it.

I believe your patient satisfies all the criteria outlined in the RAI. Code for isolation. I have done this and never had a problem. Any place I have ever worked required more than just gloves for someone with C-diff. That is a totally contact isolation situation. And two people with C-diff in one room can continue to reinfect each other. It is a very poor idea and should not be done. The fact that all your rooms are single rooms doesn't matter. The patient is in a single room with a highly contagious infection and all isolation precautions necessary should be utilized. Who knows what that person has touched in that room? Visitors should gown and glove as well. How do you think it spreads so rapidly throughout a unit in nursing homes that allow cohabiting or just standard precautions? Just asking for trouble. The latest from the CDC is that staff carries infection on their uniforms, especially the abdominal area of their tops and the pockets from room to room. MRSA and VRE would never have become the problem they are, imo, if we had maintained isolation that we had in the 1980's. Don't believe it would be a community issue either. But it was all about money and getting people out of hospitals and into nursing homes that started that mess. Now look where we are?!

I could care less what sex the person is providing my care. One of the best nurses I ever had take care of me in the hospital was a male nurse who had to put in a foley and give me a shot in rear. He was very good at his job and no different to me than having a male doctor. And it was in a hospital where I worked! I never worked with him, but I did work with a doc who did a lady partsl surgery on me. I doubt either ran around talking about my anatomy to anyone. They are professionals. I certainly don't ever talk about a patients anatomy or anything private like that with others. In fact, in giving care, the sex of my patient never even crosses my mind. I've put in male catheters and female and have nothing to say except that a male is usually easier to cath. It really shouldn't matter to any professional. If it matters to the patient, then they can make a choice and it should be respected. They aren't used to seeing everything we are all the time.

Many men are successful OB docs so why can't a man be a successful OB nurse?

For as long as I can remember, the nursing shortage story has circulated and I've been a nurse for about 35 years. When I first went to nursing school, there was a 2-3 year wait to even get into the nursing classes/clinicals. We had much better staffing back then too. The only shortage I really saw was as staffing got cut. And it remains that way. Short staff has become an economical tool used by many facilities and it sure makes it look like there is a shortage. We had 32 hospitals in a tri-county area back then, and now there are three, with two of them owning all the rest that didn't close, and continuing to build smaller outpatient/office buildings all over the place, while continuing their large main campuses. There is no wait, other than maybe a semester, for nursing classes so clearly not as many are going into them here. But they are full classes. Ohio has some outlying financially strapped areas where there are probably legitimate shortages. But a study was done a few years back and the results were that if every licensed and registered nurse in Ohio went back to work, we would have too many to fill the vacancies. A lot of nurses have burned out from the short staffing and have looked for alternative jobs where that isn't an issue. The worst part of it is that the people who suffer for this are the patients. I don't care how many QA and QI are put into place, without adequate staffing, quality of care will continue to suffer. Thank God I'm a nurse and can oversee/manage the care given to myself and family members who have to be in the hospital or a nursing home. I feel bad for those who don't have that advantage.

I don't know why she went as detailed as she did. But it is her prerogative, though most of us prefer to remain anonymous. I agree but I guess my point is that she doesn't care. Maybe she is ready to take them on.

I have been a nurse for over 30 years and worked in both acute and long term care and have seen many different types of bullies. Don't know how you never saw it. And experienced nurses still continue to eat their young, so to speak. It is disgusting. Everyone is new some time. There is no excuse for either behavior.

I don't think if anyone puts up their personal information on this board that they care who knows where their issues took place. And it is a warning to others looking for work. Just my opinion.

I cannot stand gossip. And I worked on a unit that just about existed on it. If you didn't participate, you weren't part of the "in" group. Funny thing is, they all gossiped about each other too. And it was hurtful things. In my case, I was being accused of having an affair with two different men who worked our unit from time to time. Not true at all. The one was dating my daughter! The other was just a good friend. I have always had guys for friends and these women thought that was impossible. I'm also married 40+ years with kids. This gossip got me called in to my head nurse's office where I was told to keep my personal life affairs outside of work. It was horrible. The younger guy dating my dtr was very embarrassed and refused to work our unit any longer and eventually broke up with my dtr. The other guy went on to get his nsg degree and quit. He and I are still friends but that is all. And I eventually left for another job. Gossip can destroy morale and a lot more. My husband was livid about it. Almost cost me my marriage and there was no reason for any of it. I think it is one of the worst kinds of bullying.

Understanding the complex issues that make up the culture of LGBTQ people is very important. When providing care, you won't find judging them on the care plan. More needs to be done in order to stop the horribly high rate of suicide within this community. The negativity that many face on a daily basis can become overwhelming and it is usually coming from a place of ignorance and intolerance. No one should be treated that way. Or made to feel inferior to the rest of the human race. We need to learn to value the life of the people we meet and care for, no matter how different they may seem.

I just want to add to Beth's comments about being burned out. Because you liked Oncology so much, what about Hospice? You would be an asset there with your background and it may renew your feelings of why you liked nursing so much. If you need a challenge and want to learn something new, check out MDS Coordinator certification. There are two good programs out there. AANAC is the oldest of the two, but equally as good is Assessment & Intelligence Systems (AIS) (now under Relias Learning). Another option is Legal Nurse Consulting and probably the most popular certification is provided through Vickie Milazzo's Texas based program. There are seminars all over the country. If you enjoy computers, there are many on-line Nursing sites that often need help. Or you can take some classes on Nursing Informatics and help teach EMR's to people or create one that really meets the needs of nurses in a user-friendly format. Best of luck to you. You will find the right thing.

Probably a nursing home bed or Walmart! Just being funny. I really don't know. I would think maybe teaching?

We will be adding age appropriate care plan information for patients and residents on careplans.com for anyone of the LGBT community. Education is so important and it can go a long way in making anyone's' stay in any facility much better for all involved.

A terrorist can be LBGT. May not always be straight. Who cares? He was full of hate for Americans and directed it at a specific part of his area that he knew would be full of a lot of Americans he hated. Many of the doctors and nurses and first responders may have been LBGT too. Who cares? They were full of hurt and pain trying to do their best to save lives. I'm an ally and it has made me very afraid for the hate my 6yr old transgender (ftm) grandson may have to face in the future just for that reason, let alone the fear of terrorism itself. We are all people and we will all bleed if we are shot. Race, religion, gender, sexual preference, and anything else isn't going to matter if we can't stop the hate and create more love and acceptance for all individuals. I'm working on a care plan for the transgender community so that the staff understands terminology and how to address the person they are providing care for. It is so important to understand their needs and appropriately address them without any embarrassment or intolerance. Use the correct name preferred, as well as pronouns when addressing that person. There is more but it is a work in progress at the moment.

Identifying yourself as a nurse in public and providing any advice or service takes away any good Samaritan benefits and opens you to liability because you are held to a higher standard.

Can you take it orally? I've had students with ADD and worked on their tests with them like that. IT seemed to help them. Also, try a test taking strategy course. The "everything but" questions are the ones that get everyone, and especially if concentration is difficult. Treat those like true and false questions and you will pick the right answer. When in doubt, always pick the answer that is the safest for the patient. Just a couple tips. Good luck to you.

I hope you can learn to accept who you are and that you're different. Not inferior, not broken, just different. We are all different in our own way. You found your way and I'm sure you do a good job. I'm glad someone finally found out what you needed. You should be feeling great about yourself.