Wellworth

One of my jobs over the past 10 years was to review incident reports. While there were many errors, mostly medication and procedural ones, it was difficult to tell which were "preventable" without doing a thorough investigation, which takes time and trained individuals. What I got out of the CNN news was that people need to be more involved in their care, speak up if something does not seem right, actively look out for themselves, and be aware that hospitals can be dangerously complex places.

Sorry to hear this. You may be interested in an 8 hour educational course called Youth Mental First Aid. It is geared for those working with adolescents and young adults. Google mhfa usa for more information.

And there is an 8 hour course anyone can take called Mental Health First Aid. I am an instructor and have taught a number of classes. Very well received by nurses so far. Google mhfa usa for more information.

My first college degree was a BA in the liberal arts field. I went back to school 5 years later as a transfer student and got my BSN. Best decision I ever made. They gave me several grants since I was an independent student and poor (most of the other students were still dependents). Took me 10 years to pay off the loan, but it was OK. Many job descriptions say "BSN required" rather than "college degree required." Where I am geographically, a BSN is required for any management position but not for a front line position. You have to weigh the pro's and con's, especially with the goal of protecting your family life. Your ultimate goal should be a BSN or higher, but how you get there will depend on how much time and money you can afford. There are lots of programs for BA to BSN now that were not available to me. Good luck to you.

Good question. I have given SL Ntg many times for chest pain and do not recall a particular type of MI as a contra-indication. As a general rule, we withheld it for a systolic BP less than 90.

Hang in there. Sounds like you did everything right based on what you knew at the time but will make some adjustments from what you learned. Re: incident reporting. I have reviewed over 22,000 in my work in performance improvement and rarely have seen anyone fired for reporting a situation in good faith. You did not intentionally burn the patient. Once you saw what happened you immediately reported it and got help. That shows good judgment on your part. An uncomplicated first degree burn should take about 5-7 days to heal.

While I feel your frustration, several things have helped me over the years. First, that it is the patient who is having the issue. It is her issue, not necessarily mine. If I can establish a professional distance I am in a better position to help the patient and think more objectively. Try to look at the whole picture, something metabolic going on, diabetic reaction, nightmare, her own conflict with a family member? Also found that when the patient "yelled" at me, it helped to talk back to her in a very soft tone of voice. That helped me stay calm as well! Be a lifelong learner. There is so much to read about sundowner's syndrome and other hospital-related conditions. The more education you have, the more tools you have in your patient care tool kit.

Hi, I enjoyed reading everyone's reaons for their usernames. I chose mine to reflect a positive state of mind and to protect my identity. I'd like to write about topics that challenge conventional wisdom and I fear repercussions (not from patients, from facilities where I have worked).