Firebabe26

This is sad. Yes, bedside nursing is tough. It not for the faint of heart. Yes, there are difficult patients. The saddest part of it all is your work place. I'm here to tell you there are institutions that do not treat nurses like that. I work a very busy telemetry floor where we have 5 patients max. Our shared governance is pushing for 3 to 4 patients max. I have excellent relationships with all staff members -even the ones I don't like. How did this happen? HCAPS. Yes, the most hated part of healthcare has been a great positive for us. How? Nurses decided to change it. My question for you , and every nurse who complains, is what have you done about it? I am on several powerful committees in our institution. Change will come. It takes action, not complaining. And it starts with me, right where I'm at, right here and now. I truly believe that everyday i have the power to change things. So heres to action. Just food for thought.....

I have conquered this on my floor. We had an RN who would come out of the room after doing her initial assessment and find the CNA to toilet a patient. Not cool. On our floor, we are now rated based on call lights -how long they ring and if they go into "overtime" , i. E. Are longer than 3 min. Every RN and CNA are now held accountable for the length of call lights. This has been a game changer. As an RN I will at least help a patient to the bathroom ,then finish my charting while I am waiting. If I get done charting, my CNA will come in and help the patient back to bed. I never had a problem with my CNAs helping me because of this practice of mine. They know I have their backs. I help them when they are behind too. It is a team. If we have a heavy, bigger patient that cant or wont roll, we BOTH clean them up. Or myself and another RN will. ( gasp!) I dont expect my CNA to do it by themselves. Thats how injuries happen. Btw, That RN who would look for the CNA -she was written up and now she is much more of a team player. And we haven't lost a CNA in over a year. They love our floor!

As a ff/medic for more than 20 years before becoming a nurse, I will tell you. Prep NOW. FEMA website and American red Cross are 2 places to start. Do not count on the government to help for the first 3 days to 1 week. (It takes that long to have search teams mobilize d). Get support. Church, other family, friends. They all help me and i help them. Check on each other. This is when knowing your community will save lives. I am a single mom who lives with my son and my elderly handicapped mom. My entire family and friends knows to come to our house and bunker down. Pets and all. We have supplies throughout out house so no one place is hurt. Even in Ohio, we had a hurricane make landfall in 2008. We survived and even had fun. We can also get out and everyone would not only be ok, but we would have fun. Prep is the key. Yes it takes money and time, but I know in my heart I can't be effective at work if I'm worried about home. (As I save for a generator ). It is my gift to me.

Really? Sorry, but as a single mom of a special needs child, I don't feel sorry for you. I work nights so I'm paying my dues for a day shift position. As far as " no support system" that is a crock. It has taken me years, but I have back ups to my back up childcare. My son and I even live with my parents so that he doesn't have to live out of a suitcase when I have to go to work. It is not a very ideal situation for my social life, but it is not about that. It is about my child and what is best for him. I suggest you start humbling yourself now, think about your child, and start building a support system for caring for that child.

First of all, I am concerned on the comments in the last paragraph. If you are thinking about hurting yourself, please go to employee assistance or the ER! Same for your friend. Nothing is worth hurting yourself over. Secondly, put down the baseball bat on yourself!!! You are your toughest critic. As a "new grad" who is starting her second year on a busy telemetry floor some nights all I do is play firefighter - putting out fires. Yes, you WILL screw up. No matter what happens, how you handle the bad times determine your character and ethics. Did a patient get hurt? Permanent property damage? If not, it is going to be o.k. Now is when those habits of NOT bypassing the scanner for meds, or double checking a drug dose come into play. Because when it hits the fan you will eventually see you will be on autopilot. Next shift, help another nurse if you can. Build some friendships. You will eventually have a "circle of support" around you and you will like coming into work. If not, find another job! Btw. I have had 5 patients every night since out of orientation. You can do it!!!!!!

Our Board of nursing in the state I work in states that a nurse MUST have 8hrs off between shifts. We can request to do a double or whatever, but we cannot be required to do so. Having had a nurse get killed in an auto accident after being mandated to work extra I would seriously call off if I was "too tired". However I would say it was something else like diarrhea. Keep your mouth shut at work. Gossip will not do you any favors. Then look at your options. Going from nights to days frequently is unsafe. You need to protect your licensure better. And have better sleep hygiene. Best of luck!!!

I would go one better with this oncoming nurse. This is a form of bullying. You are not inadequate. You did the best you could. Both this nurse and HER charge nurse need to be called out for this bullying. You don't need this hostile work environment. Sorry that it happened. But as a new nurse, you are still learning. She is lazy and trying to intimate you. Stand tall!

Our unit council requested and received parameters for our staffing office. If we are on nights, they are not allowed to call between 9am and 4pm on the days when we have worked the night before. No calls, texts, etc. It is our sleeping time. I always remember what a fifty year nurse recently told me -they will work you to death if they can. Set and keep limits. I know I'm not the best nurse I can be if I am exhausted. I have a hard time saying no, so I ask my family before I pick up. Sounds juvenile, but it helps me balance my life.