buck227

Just 12 more days before I start compiling data. Be a part of this survey! Thanks to all of you who have given your support. buck

This is a very interesting subject because It goes on in ICUs and ERs everyday. I have wittnessed euthanasia and assisted suicide several times. It was not called that of course because that would be very un-pc. We call it The right to refuse medical treatment. What is the difference in a Jahovas Whitness refusing a transfusion for abdominal bleeding that could be easily treated with transfusions, and euthinasia? The question still ponders me. Or taking an asthma patient off the vent because she doesn't wish to "live like that". Death is so difficult for us to understand. We are supposed to fight for life but we have to respect the wishes of our clients and their families as long as that discission is made with the knowledge of all of the patients options. When I worked in the icu, I remember many times having conversations with my co-workers where we would say "If I am ever in that situation, I hope some one loves me enough to take me off the vent or D/C antibiotics and withhold feedings". There are life situations that in my opinion have to be worse than death, but who knows? Only the person experiencing the situation. buck

I worked a similar schedule for 9 months. I had a weekender day position at one hospital and worked 3 night shifts during the week at another hospital (all 12 hour shifts). I took monday and friday off to sleep and switch. I made a ton of money, but I ended up hurting my back. I had an L5/S1 herniation that gradually came about and got worse untill I developed foot drop. Since I couldn't nail the injury down to one single incident, I couldn't claim workmans comp. I was out of work for 3 months after 2 surgeries with no paycheck. I had health insurance through my weekend job, but no other benefits since I was part time at both places. Now I only work full time positions and I say NO to overtime. It just is'nt worth it to work that much. Please take care of your selves, especially your backs. buck

over half way there. I will summarize all data when I reach 100 posts or on 4-23 (which ever comes first) buck

I have administered alot of concious sedation in the ER and in the ICU. The key to know where the line is as far as what is anesthesia's responsibility and where your privaleges stop is in your hospitals policy. It is very important your are familiar with this prior to giving any sedation. There are fine lines. I have seen policies against fentanyl and I have seen them also omitted. If you go outside your hospitals policy, then you are on your own. You can be subject to charges such as practicing medicine without a license and nursing malpractice or negligence. I have seen physicians push nurses to do things out of their relm just for their own convenience. Be very careful! Now, If you are giving concious sedation, you should have no other duties other than patient monitoring. You need to have the appropriate antidotes and be familiar with them. Although it is not required in many places (it should be) you should also have recieved training in ACLS. A crash cart must be close by with appropriate airway management equiptment. The patient must be hooked to a monitor and pulse oximetry. I have seen 2mg versed be too much for a 200LB young male and I have seen 65 yo ladies take 15-20mg and remain awake. Versed is a very individual-dose type of drug. It is also very effective. I hopes this helps. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. buck

Stay with the higher pay and study time while you are in school.

Thats great

If it's any consolation, almost no one fails the second time

This is going great, keep going!

Sunshine, Although your story is very amusing it goes to show how the system should work. I commend you on your honesty and courage to bring your mistakes to your supervisor and to admit them to your peers so that we/they can learn from them. Anyone who says that such a thing could never happen to them will find that if you are in this business long enough, it will happen to you. I am sure that you are so very careful now to make sure you know where every tube goes before hooking somthing up and it probably will never happen to you again. Thanks for sharing, your post shows that you have great character and I bet you are a very good nurse

Postal, I find your rebuttal amusing and entertaining. I have a great sympathy for Nursing home staff. My girlfriend left the hospital not long ago to be house supervisor at a nursing home and she found it to be very overbearing. It is so sad that those people don't recieve the care they are due. It is extremly hard work working in a long term care facility and I have the utmost respect for those who do that job. It is a thankless task and to be done well, requires a true professional. Basically our disagreement boils down to a simple difference in the way we believe government should work. Many Americans make the same mistake especially in this time. They forget the days in this world of national socialism and totalitarian rule. If you study history and you believe in the constitution of the United States you will learn that government intervention is very dangerous. More laws and legislation solve nothing. They complicate the system and take away freedom with every stroke of the pen. Many misunderstand what I mean by the quiting tactic. I have explained it over and over and it is very simple. The businesses that provide care in this country have to provide some sort of minimum standard that is excepted by the people. If that standard falls below an exceptable level, no one will patronize that institution anymore and they will go out of business. Someone else will open up another facility that will attempt to provide that minimum standard of acceptable care. This is called free enterprise and it works as a system. It is not a perfect system, but it is the best system tested by history and can be related to any business, not just healthcare. There is no excuse in the United States for saying you are trapped in a position of employment. There is no indentered servatude here. There is no slavery. Although many will argue that they can't leave their current position because of certain reasons, the word "can"t" just isn't true. They really mean that they "can't" because they are not willing to move or they "can't" because they are not willing to accept a pay cut or what ever. They CAN'T replace RNs with patient care assistants. They can try for a short period, but eventually the public just won't accept that level of care and it will fail. There has to be RNs and LPNs in the system just like there has to be MDs. I no longer work in a hospital setting. I have for many years, but I now work outside of the system. As for your attack on my mental capacity, it shows your inability to articulate an aurgument without resorting to personal attack. It robs you of your credability as a professional and makes you look like a dumbass, so don't do that in the future if you wish people to pay attention to what you are saying. You make a snap judgement as to my mentality and you have no idea of who I am or what my mentality is so basically I am telling you to **** off. ok, Buck so your ready to give up nursing.Your going to be replaced by a PCT (patient care technician) at less than half the rate and about 1/3 of the knowledge.You obviously work in a hospital setting and have the mentality of an ostrich.You have your head buried firmly in the sand.When you transfer patients out of the hospital to sub-acute rehab centers that have one nurse for 30 patients and 4 CNA's that your responsible for you would want a change.Why are all of these nursing homes around the country being sued.Substandard care!! Do you think the employee's at these facilties care any less. NO! they don't, they are extrememly understaffed but cry that were operating within the minimum standards set by our government.People with your mentality need to end up in a nursing home for your last days on life so that you can experience laying in your own mess waiting for someone who has 10 other people to change before they get to you.Due to the lack of staff and you not being changed in a timely fashion you end up with bedsores you can put your fist in.Then you can reflect back.Don't say where's my nurse, say I ASKED FOR THIS! Thank You God for showing me my ignorance!!!!!

I am waiting for 100 replies or 30 days and I will compile all of the Data. Thanks to all who are participating. Anytime you get a group of people to work together, you accomplish wonderful things.

Kim, I have had many experiences with asthmatic patients. Please feel free to either post your question here or e-mail me directly. Good luck with your studies and remember,It never gets any easier but if it did, everyone would do it>

No offense, but I think the idea of a national anything is against the American way of life. I think free enterprise should demand a higher range of pay. The Nazi's and the Communist's had national systems and look what happened with that. :-)

Poc, I heard about you. You are by far the most beutiful nurse any one has ever seen. I sent you an e-mail with my phone number. Can we go out sometime?

Yes But how would you get that many nurses to agree on anything. They should have a union and make me King. I would fix it or Off with their heads!

What amount of money would you be satisfied with as an RN. Since nursing rates are pretty much the same nationwide (except for cost of living) from $12 to $30 an hour ($24000 to $60000/yr). Give us all an annual dollar amount. I believe it should be $50,000 to start and $5000 to $7500 a year raise up to $110000 max. That would make me happy. For that I would be willing to do some more overtime and all the piddly-ass paper work they dish out. I would still insist on an increase in working conditions that would keep me at the bedside where we all belong. I guess it is a silly question. I am sure we would all still have our complaints. :-) buck

I 100% agree with this post. The best thing to happen would be for a whole new nursing organization to evolve, the root of this org would be a union of the mass nurses and ca nurses. Then everyone can decide for themselves which organization is best for their own concerns. I for one do not support the ANA because I have always felt these high-level nurses have been out of touch with what it means to be a bedside nurse for a long time, yet they are to represent us? When was the last time those who went to court to block this vote did mandatory OT? Emptied a bedpan? Had to leave critically ill patients to go to the blood bank to get their own blood b/c there were no support staff on the night shift??? When was the last time they got a fresh cardiac post-op in the ICU, did their own EKG, drew their own labs, had to enter their own orders into the computer, and have another patient or two to boot? I am just waiting for hospitals to "cross train" nurses to do their own x-rays! And when does a floor nurse have the TIME to document on 3 separate flow sheets because a pt needed restraints, all while she has 10 other pt's to care for?? I support mass nurses all the way because I SUPPORT NURSES!!!!!![/b] [This message has been edited by buck227 (edited March 27, 2001).]

[ We do not do work slow-downs. That is illegal.[/b] By slow downs I mean intentionally staying late to finish paperwork or prolonging report. Anything to increase the cost to the company. It is a dirty trick, but it hits them in the pocket book. I would never suggest any tactic that would harm a patient. I believe that the patient always deserves your best efforts regardless of how you feel about your employer. It is the patient we are truely serving, not the company. At the end of everyday you should reflect on what you did to make someones life better. :-) buck

17.What exactly are you going to do with this information?[/b] I am doing this purely out of curiosity and to bring us more together as a group. I want to identify problems in nursing so that they can be addressed and these are questions I have always wondered about nurses in other areas. I have always had a hunch that the problems in nursing are the same problems everywhere. I am hoping to prove/disprove my hunch.

This actually happened. It floored me. I found another job and quit. I miss some aspects of my old job but I am very happy with my new position. I am out of the hospital and am already close to my new co-workers.It broke my heart to realize how vindictive those nurses were. My documentation was in place and I did get those patients up that needed to get up. I consider myself a good nurse and a patient advocate. With me the patient always comes first- before the company or my co-workers. Sometimes this rubbed others the wrong way, but I sleep well at night. I do have some feelings of guilt like I abandoned my patients by leaving, but I can't tolerate lack of trust. I took a pay cut to leave, but pay isn't everything. Did I make the right move? I don't know. I am happier, but I am also very sad. Please always remember, what you do effects others. If you have a problem with someone then confront them directly. If you still have a problem then you should take it higher. We must work hard as nurses to take care of each other. I wish there was more loyalty in this profession. Why is it so common in nursing to dime each other out? It serves no purpose except to cause harm. We need to be more caring of eachother. buck

I would file a formal written complaint to my supervisor and then I would contact an attorney. This behavior must not be tolerated and the victims should seek punititve damages. This is criminal battery and has no place in the work place

Tracy, What do you mean, like he just bumped into you? Or did he push you with his hands as if to challenge you to make a response?

This is one instance that I too have had experience. It is a shame we can't get away with how organized crime would deal with this scum of the earth. A snitch is the worst form of scum in the nursing world and most deserving of a shaving accident. I wish the absolute worst for that poor shell of a human being and hope his/her career comes tumble down on them with extreme predjudice followed of course by embarassment and loss of license. I do sugest that you expose this person after finding more sutable employment. Expose him/her to all your ex-coworkers on your way out. Keep the faith! buck