Howej1

Hair, hair keep your hair off me. Hair is dirty and nasty and especially curly ones. I can totally overlook poo and urine and mucous but if a stray hair is on me I want to shower twice!! LOL!!

Between my locker, my bag I carry to work and my car I bet I have 50 pens. I also have several highlighters to use on discharge instructions. Even if I do not have paper I always have a Pen. When I am at the grocery and not wearing scrubs and I reach for my pen in my scrub pocket(not there of course) I am always disappointed.

I have had a near miss with Insulin as well working in the Elergency Department. I also had another med error in that same department. I was a new nurse and had an EXCELLENT preceptor. I learned from both but was never involved in a root cause analysis and was made to feel ashamed for the error. The insulin near miss was on an extremely overweight and uncontrolled diabetic. I believe the patients blood sugar was in the 3-400s. I had started an IV and was giving saline. The PA ordered regular insulin 90 units IV. I thought "No way!" So I questioned the PA reading the order out loud "you want the patient to have 90 units nine zero via IV, of regular insulin??" The PA said yes. I took the chart (was paper then) and went to sit down. I thought for a minute and still couldn't believe it. It was 10x the highest IV dose I had seen. I went back to the PA thinking maybe this was a Drop over several hours. I asked again," you want me to give 90 units of regular insulin IV push to the patient? Are you sure?" The PA again verified it. The patient was not on a monitor and was in an area where rooms were separated only by curtains. All I could think of was coding this large patient where all could add. I knew I couldn't give the insulin but was unsure how to proceed. My preceptor was gone that night so I went to the physician in charge and said, "I do not think this order is right, would you mind to verify it? It seems like too much to give IV to me." The doctor looked and immediately said that is WAY too much, it should be 9(nine) units!! Good catch though. Thanks for coming to me. He spoke with the PA and it turned out ok. The other incident occurred when I had 2 patients come in at the same time with chest pain. They had similar names and one was in his 50s and the other in his 20s. Back then we had protocols where we could give aspirin and nitro to chest pain patients with appropriate vitals. I took the paper chart in which the doc had ordered nitro x3 into the 20 something guy's room and gave him a dose. I then realized the order was for the 50 year old patient. Had the doc not seen them already, I would have been covered by the protocol. But this doc was very nervous anyway and got upset, chewed me out and made me write an incident report. I didn't get in further trouble but was terrified after that.=

I am sorry but affect the employers bottom line??!?!? Well life affects the bottom line. I have never smoked but really resent that as a healthcare provider I have some of the worst insurance I have ever seen. Can't get needed tests without almost dying first. I am sick and tired of my personal life being linked to a bottom line. What kind of ethics is that??? I am completely ok with looking at ways (while at work) to save employers money. Don't ask me to become a company robot! The fact that I read that on a nursing board makes me slightly ill!!

I want to start by saying, I don't smoke and never have smoked marijuana. That being said I worked in a midsize Emergency Department for many years and have seen probably thousands of people come through. I have additionally been certified in Emergency nursing and done research in on this topic. I feel somewhere along the way it was decided that alcohol was ok to legalize(and for some very profitable) and thus the options for marijuana were overlooked or minimized. Additionally, if you look at history, marijuana was considered "bad" for a large period of history because the primary users were African American and other marginalized cultures. I have had some police officers tell me in some areas of this country that is still true. So when you combine the facts that it is used mostly by the poor and minirities and that the government has not figured a good way to tax it and legally make the rich more rich you can see there is little to no incentive to legalize it. My personal experience has been that it is not necessarily a gateway as I have met many who do it recreationally and have never tried anything else. Also if I had a choice between someone who gets angry drunk every weekend(saw a lot of this) and some one who smokes pot every weekend also saw this, the ones usual for recreational marijuana were more likely to be job holders, productive members of society and easier to deal with in general. This is just my experience and in no way the end of discussion but I do think we need to re-examine alcohol(which is always ok to most nurses or any professionals) and it's effects and marijuana in real sitiluations. Do I think it will happen?? Not unless money gets involved.

I agree it is important to keep looking for a job if one is this emotionally draining. I find, however, that saying I would"never" do something usually ends up Biting me in the butt as it then soon happens. For example, if I were a single mom and that job was paying for my kids food, I may tolerate it for a while but continue seeking other employment. Some areas are saturated with nurses and finding and equal paying job or similar hours may take time. Also, I find when I say I would never do something it comes off as if I am judging the person doing this thing I would "never" do. But you are correct life is short and if the job is that draining the nurse should either seek new employment, get help dealing with what is stressing him/her or both.

Quote from Emilyjoy726 I'm a labor and delivery nurse I definitely think you should go for it if you are passionate about it! I don't have an inherent issue with it. Some of the best nurses I know are men so I have no doubt you could be great!” Very well thought out and logical statement. I too thought a male OB would be similar, but you are correct the nurse is a lot more involved in intimate ways. That being said, the world is growing and changing and if I had to choose between a female or male I would be more concerned with their abilities in the field and their concern for me and my family. Not everyone will agree and that is their right but that should not keep a person from giving it a try. I think your advice is right on target!!

I have had multiple men as OB/GYN's. My best friend in high school was a man and I think if you are good at it you will be doing the field of nursing a disservice by NOT following the path you love! There will always be areas where we as nurses have to tread lightly (as you mentioned a woman who has traumatic memories) but that should not decide your career path. I say go for it, and congrats on becoming an RN! Find a field you love and make your career meaningful!! Best wishes!