Cultmember

Dear new LPN, What you are experiencing will never stop no matter where you go.. Be it in LTC or Acute. This IS nursing. Your reaction to the reality of nursing is honest and true and trust me when I say this--- if you didn't respond this way to your experiences, there would be something wrong with you. Someone has suggested going back to school to become an RN; and while this might improve your interpersonal experiences because of the ranking system within health care, the job that both LPNs and RNs do are identical except for a few tasks that are outside of the LPN scope of practice.. I actually think LPNs are paid way above what they have been trained to do when compared to RNs as evidenced by the fact that LPNs are in class for only 12-14 MONTHS whereas RNs today study for 4 YEARS! The pay difference between the two designations is not enough to justify an RN's need to have two or three more years of education. Bottom line: If you value family, friends, love, having a life, then get out of nursing because it will ultimately leave you crippled, addicted to SOMETHING, and hating humanity. Making a difference is what we all thought we would be doing going into nursing, but the sad reality is this--we are merely maintaining the status quo of today's health care milieu where the elderly are neglected even while in LTC r/t understaffed situations, and patients in acute are likely to contract superbugs while in hospital because of the lack of cleanliness due mostly to the fact that the cleaning staff could not care less about their job even if they tried! Years ago, you could have eaten off the floor of any hospital in my area; but today, if you touch a surface and then scratch an eye, you're likely infected.. Happy Mother's Day!!!

TOP 5 THINGS I HAVE LEARNT: 1) Men are easier patients than women unless the male is suffering from OCD 2) Nurses gain weight despite all their running around and poor calorie intake due to the stress hormone cortisol that is released at a steady rate for over a 12 hour period, 4 days on, 4 days off with nights being the worst for a nurse's health. 3) Management has no idea what we do for a living, they only know how to criticize what they think we do. 4) Money is the root of all evil and it is the only reason why units are fully staffed on sunny days, holidays, and weekends. 5) If your male patient has been lying on his back for a number of hours and you need to insert a catheter, make him move side to side, sit him up, or even get him to stand up if at all possible otherwise 'striking gold' will be somewhat impossible. Thanks.

I am both happy and sad to hear that you are continuing on toward becoming the next top model..oops I mean nurse! Happy that you are getting a second chance, but sad that you will probably live to wonder why you wanted this so badly. All the best to you anyway.

Dear RegNurse1987, I thought you had taken a page out of my own journal! Yes I feel like you do and with only 5 years of experience in acute under my belt. The double speak is what gets me the most. The alleged patient centred care that is supposed to magically happen when management continually increases the workload, paperwork, and other hoops for auditing purposes. They think patients are a philosophy rather than people who in most cases need help peeing. Bedside nursing is the backbone of nursing in general but it has become something else over the years... if Nightingale could see us now she would raise holy ****!

I think nurses are mean because they not properly managed. I have witnessed a nurse abuse a patient and she is still employed. I have always witnessed CNAs throw patients onto beds, and are still employed. In health care, it is not how you do your job, it is more 'how much the managers like you'. If you are a brown-nosing schmoozer, then anything you do will be overlooked. Tell me, how it is NOT a conflict of an interest for a manager to attend the weddings and other parties held by her nursing staff? How is the manager supposed to maintain objectivity if the manager is socializing with the nurses that end up abusing patients? I'll tell you how-- things get swept under the rug and things go on as usual.

I could not believe what I was reading---that you, the nurse, actually proceeded to chastise your patient for not cooperating when you wanted to get your vital signs. Excuse me, dear nurse, but the patient has a right to refuse having his/her vitals taken. Even in the case of a certification/involuntary status, the nurse must obtain at the very least implied consent to touch a patient's body, otherwise is constitutes assault. You should have walked out of the room when the patient was showing no interest in cooperating with you and your desired intervention. Documenting your first attempt at an interview. Next, the fact that you are judging an individual who has presented para-suicidal tendencies indicates to me that you are not fit to work with patients in general. If I were your manager, you would be forced to an ethics class. I know you felt disrespected but at no point are we allowed to retaliate, which is mainly due to the power dynamic between you and the patient. Your patient represented a vulnerable individual and you represented the authority in the situation.

I don't toke but I know other nurses who do.. Most nurses drink. I went out with a group once and watched an otherwise calm nurse drink an entire pitcher of Margaritas to herself as though it was water. Another nurse shot back straight vodka like they were chocolates. If they started drug testing---including ETOH---most nurses would be dismissed in Canada.

There is nothing more horrific than when a patient calls to use the commode during a night shift. I don't know what it is but my rage just hits the roof. And, if the patient takes forever and a day to get up and to pivot and all the rest, I am seething. I smile through the whole ordeal but absolutely hate it. I also hate..simply hate.. filling out the flow sheet indicating vital signs. Despise it actually. I know it's important, but when I have to stop and mark down the readings.. I resent it because of the heavy heavy workload.

A 55 year old woman came into hospital for a routine hip replacement. Post-op, she complained of pain and was given 3x the prescribed amount of injectable Dilaudid because the nurses who had given her the painkiller failed to document. The patient then went into respiratory duress, a classic case of having been overdosed. The doctor doing his rounds found his patient blue and barely breathing, a Code was called. The assigned nurse claimed that the reason she had not checked in with her patient for a prolonged period was because she was "helping an LPN on the unit". [When in doubt, blame the LPN]. The patient did not revive but did not die after CPR/intervention was administered. She remained in a coma and was transferred to the palliative unit where she subsequently died the next day. The nurse given the responsibility of calling the patient's 20 year old son to inform him that his mother had died after coming into hospital for something as simple and as routine as a hip replacement went home that day and drank an entire bottle of wine and could not get out of bed for 2 days. Yes, medication errors happen a lot because men and women are becoming nurses due to their love of money rather genuine concern for the patients under their care. The health authority here has implemented an hourly rounding schedule which is suppose to make nurses check their patients every hour on the hour.. Why is this even needed? I'll tell you why---again--- because nurses are there for the money and sometimes the prestige rather than genuine concern for people who find themselves in the midst of a health crisis. Another nurse I know accidentally gave 50 mg of Loxapine rather than 50 mg of Gravol subcut, causing the patient to spend 24 hours in ICU. Luckily, the patient did not die but her resps needed to be monitored. Was the nurse reprimanded? No, she wasn't even called into a meeting. On the other hand, another nurse, who I would say is genuine and caring, gave a SCHEDULED DOSE of Dilaudid subcut on a palliative ward; and, 30 mins later, the patient passed away. The nurse was held responsible and the union barely backed her up because the family said that the nurse had killed their mother! The nurse was then suspended without pay for 1 year. The joys of nursing.

Oopsmybad, I truly feel bad for you because I don't think you will be going forward in your intended career choice. On the upside, and I know it's hard to hear this, nursing is only meant for perfect people.. Men and women who do not make mistakes, who are of perfect character, which essentially means nurses know exactly how to cover their trail/tail with professional efficiency. You were too honest and thereby you do not belong. You were anxious and resolved your anxiety through the use of your mother's prescribed Ativan. And while this is an illegal move, especially amongst nurses, I understand why you did it. I feel for you and hope that you will forgive yourself because it is highly unlikely that the school will...

Emergency_love, you're absolutely right, nursing is a terrible career choice because of all the points that you've made in your post. I have called myself Cult Member because that's how I feel--that I am in a cult where the leader is an insane manager not fit to even say 'hello' to the nursing staff when she waddles onto our floor. I have only been nursing on the unit where I work for 5 years; however, I will be quitting on Monday. Nursing in general. Life is too short and too precious to waste spending almost every waking moment amongst people who are clearly victims of learned helplessness and afraid of their own shadow.. I am referring to my co-workers who are high and mighty when management isn't around but who turn into pools of feebleness when put to the test of making their complaints/concerns known. I'm done. I am better than this. Your health is more important than a meager $22.99 per hour. That's actually an insult to a nurse working in Emerg where not only do you have to know almost as much as a physician, but on top of it all, you're not even taking breaks. Pure insanity.

Oh hell no, they want empty vessels which they can fill with every nonsensical form of logic there is.. For example, the hospital here is now forcing nurses to take two 45 min breaks during 12 hour night shifts because "research proves that sleeping during a night shift is bad for you.." They want complete morons on staff so that their proposed changes will not be challenged. We actually have a union and yet it feels as though we don't. If you can, take your intelligence elsewhere, don't waste your life nursing.

Awesome! Good for you! You're a hero for throwing caution to the wind and refusing to be institutionalized! Your life is yours to live.

That is so *****messes up that I believe it because it involves nurses. In nursing school, we are taught to advocate for our patients, to be "whistleblowers".. At the same time, though, if a nurse actually follows her standards of practice by reporting the things you've underlined, s/he will end up either an addict from the backlash or else unemployed. Understandably, then, they turn a blind eye and worth in an unethical manner.. Those are the nurses who make it to retirement. They are the one who cross the finish line without a soul left intact.

The CYA rule doesn't apply if management has decided to tear you a new one because of lies they've heard about you. Failing to tow the party line--- and trust me there is a huge one in nursing---will get you at the end.