wolfgirl

Have you been checked for strep? The "white patches" would have me concerned. And, please, by all means, stay home. You don't need to "spread the joy".

no honking way!!!!!!!! that is the second scariest one i have read!!!!!!!!!

OK, that's disturbing....

Yes, I am curious about this, too.

Hey! Tell her not to forget about me when she starts handing out those numbers!

I have to agree. This is--by far--the scariest one I have read so far, and I am on page 13.

I would so love to see those pictures.

I don't know about your state, but here in WI that type of task is not within the scope of practice for an NA. This is a sure-fire way to lose your license.

I am fortunate in that I have never really had these types of problems. My opinion as to why this is happening would be that we have become such a litigious society that everyone needs to CYA and triple document everything. In Wisconsin, a nurse was recently indicted on felony charges due to a medication error that caused the death of a young woman. In that light, it is hard to fault people for being extra careful, as frustrating as it may be at times.

Is there any reason why you can't relocate? There are tons of good hospitals out there--yours sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel! I would get out of there yesterday--even if it means working a job you're not particularly crazy about for a while. Have you thought of travel nursing? It would give you an excellent opportunity to work in different environments without making a committment. And the good part of it is, most of the time, you're only there for twelve weeks, so if it's insane, it's temporary! I thought about doing it myself, but I have a house and three dogs and for me, it's not practical. And, furthermore, when you do get out, I would seriously consider contacting some state regulatory agencies about the deplorable care being delivered at that institution. Good luck! Keep us posted!

I work at a university hospital, on the rehab unit. We typically have 4-6 patients at night, no NA. Usually we don't need one, but sometimes it's just plain nuts. I came from another unit in the hospital, a surgical unit, and the typical ratio was 5:1 with an NA. Most of the units in the hospital run 5 or 6 to 1 at night, and most of them have at least one NA at night. Our hospital has a floating unit clerk at night to help with admits and things.

So, everyone, it turns out that all the stuff he pulled was not "harassment". My manager informed that what he did was "bad behavior". And I get to go to a "communications" class ("your co-worker is your customer). I have been informed, however, that there will be consequences for him. Of course, I am not being told any details. And he has my manager so snowed. She told me that "he feels as bad about all of this as you do". I can't believe she's really buying into all his manipulative BS. So, for now, I am going to just keep going, keep looking around for other opportunities, and stay in kind of a "holding pattern".

Well, I went to the meeting, and it turned out to be kind of a "storm in a teacup". My union rep was awesome (and I did get to meet with her before the meeting). But now the whole night shift is divided into two "camps", so to speak. So I am basically toasted no matter what happens--if he doesn't receive any sort of disciplinary action for this, things will become MUCH WORSE and he will be even more unbearable. If he DOES receive disciplinary action, then all of his little comrades will be angry and will take it out on me. So, therefore, I have begun a new job search, which really stinks because the salary and benefits here are awesome. But I really think that I am ready to move out of the hospital and away from direct patient care. I don't know how long it will take before this is resolved.

Never smoke a cigarette while carrying around an O2 tank (you'd think that one would be a "duh", but I've seen it).

Thanks for all of the advice--some of the things that have been mentioned are things that I thought of (like the tape recorder) but was unsure as to the legality of it. There have been no other reprimands, and all of my past reviews have been favorable. I do know that HR is planning on meeting with him, also. Just not sure of when. I realistically know that it may be time to move on, but, other than this current conflict, this is a really nice unit, and the benefits at this hospital are outstanding. I'm really ready to get out of the direct patient care aspect of this entirely, just not sure how to go about doing it. I will be meeting with the union rep before the meeting--I happen to know her, she is a very nice person. I am also putting all of my replies down on paper, just so there is no confusion, misquoting, or misunderstanding.