MMARN

In my current unit, we work what we didn't the year before. So, I had Thanksgiving off last year and will be working it this year. One year I really wanted Christmas Day off but had it off the year before, so because we were staffed fairly well and there were a couple of newbies, my manager let me have Christmas off. This system has worked rather well, and most of us are happy (of course, not everyone will be happy but what can you do?)

I am so sorry you're feeling this way. Honestly, though, I think almost (if not, all) of us at bedside nursing are feeling what you're feeling. The burden being put on nurses these days borders on abuse. So, I can understand where you're coming from. I think your best bet right now would be to specialize in something. Any outpatient clinics or something like endoscopy that would enable you to have very little bedside contact would be something you might like to pursue. Legal nursing is also something that makes good money and has no patient contact at all. Plus, I think legal nursing lets you have pretty much all the autonomy you might need to work for yourself. Good luck!

Definitely begin looking around the schools in your area. I'll be doing clinical instructor come Fall semester and I'm pretty excited about it. It all started with one of the professors who works in the school I attended for my nursing degree deciding that I NEEDED to become part of the staff. She opened the door for me, and I'm extremely greatful to her. Look for positions online and definitely look into adjunct positions--part-time for a determined period of time--especially if you have your BSN. Good luck in your search!

ROTFL!!!! A&ox3 pt with dbp of 43. Asymptomatic. We went on with our day as usual. ?

I've been a nurse for about three years and I have yet to become completely confident in a code. It's a high stress situation, and unless you've been involved in a lot of codes, it takes a while to get used to them. My first code was a pt who was stable and actually laughing and talking with me a few minutes before I left the room. I go up to the nurses' station to look for something when the monitor tech tells me that the pt had become tachycardic. As I was leaving to check, the patient presses the call light and the secretary answers it. She tells me that, "I don't understand what's being said. I just hear noises." I practically run to this pt's room, ask if everything was okay, don't get a response; I see eyes roll backward, agonal breathing...the whole nine yards. I freaked out, started screaming to call a rapid response, nurses come flying in the room, and the pt codes. It all happened so fast, I still don't have any idea what exactly happened. The pt went into PEA and it was a while before we got a pulse. I will never forget this one because everything played like a movie. I was so unbelievably scared!

There are only a couple of docs who sit in our lounge and those are the ones who have established a rapport with most of us in my unit. All other docs do not. They round, chat in the nurses' station for a bit, and leave. Nothing more, nothing less. This is all very expected. If other docs besides the two we are used to sit in our lounge, we get pretty antsy and leave. It's not very comfortable for ANYONE involved. So, they just don't do it.

I completely disagree. There are many Filipino nurses who work with me and ALL are RNs. All of them studied over there and took the NCLEX here. As for "sending them the big money," even non-Filipino nurses do that for their parents, myself included.

Epitome of jerk.

Yup. They were completely different than I expected, and very, very nice. They treated nurses with respect and even brought us treats as thank yous.

I get that a lot when I call docs for troponin results. I absolutely write it as an order. That's what he/she said, it shows they're aware, what you did, and what they "ordered." It is definitely appropriate.

I was such a dork at my interview lol. I literally answered with, "I just hope I get a 'Thank you!' once in a while!" I was nervous and had no idea what she wanted me to say, but that was my honest answer; granted, not a very intelligent one! However, I do think the best answer is the most honest answer. Usually, they are expecting something along the lines of where do you see yourself professionally, but it doesn't hurt to be silly (or flub) your answer if you're being honest and you show some personality.

Eh. I have been a nurse for three years and I can get very bitter, dried up, and feel like I need to retire. The demands on nurses are ridiculous and keeping a positive attitude and plastering on a smile does not always happen. It's very difficult to keep customer service on the positive spectrum when you have 10 family members in a room asking you question after question after question about why you're doing this, that, what med is that, this, how come you're not doing the same thing the other nurse did, how come you don't ask the same questions he/she did yesterday, last week. I recently took care of a patient whose family kept a huge notebook with notes on how long the nurses took to give am meds, how long the PCTs took to change the pt's diaper, and what each medicine was that the pt was taking, even though that pt has been taking the exact same meds for years. All of this was done while recording each person's name and title. Obviously, they were not happy with the care they received because we just did not live up to their standards. I worked retail for 10 years before I became a nurse and the "customers" in nursing and retail are extremely different. It's hard being a nurse and keeping people happy all the time. To say that customer satisfaction is not important is inaccurate. But, is it the whole of what nursing is about? No. Being a nurse goes beyond what anyone else sees. The behind-the-scenes action (i.e. making sure med errors don't happen, finding resources for support for that raped pt, finding resources for that pt who really does not have any financial means to continue with his care, etc.) is mind-blowing and exhausting. My point? Learn the important things needed from those nurses that can help you be a good nurse, listen to their advice, let it go when they are mean to you, report it when they are mean to pts/family, and be the best nurse you can be. In the long run, what really matters is that vulnerable pt's life you are taking care of.

I almost said the same thing!!

We do unit specific skills fairs, and they include: Chest tubes: care and maintenance. External pacemakers. Code blues Information regarding magnets for ICD's. Dressing changes of all of the above. Maxi moves, stedys. Cardioversions

Honestly, I don't even know if caps are uniform-approved in my hospital. I'm not sure how they would be received by the patients these days. Many of the younger population would find it a joke, or some sort of sexual garb because that's what society has decreased part of the nursing profession to, in my honest opinion. The only time I've worn a nursing cap was for pinning, and it was one of my proudest moments ever. :)

It's amazing that you've already learned so much after only a year!! CONGRATS TO YOU!!!

Eh. I never wanted anything to do with peds. I thought I wanted OB, but I'm liking cardiac. Not liking kids doesn't mean being abusive or hating them. They're just a whole different species, and I give major kudos to those nurses who make this branch their career!

Beautiful!

Screw who your manager likes! Definitely talk to her! This is about patient safety, and that load is ridiculously UNSAFE! If she/he refuses to help you, then you need to go to the higher ups. Explain exactly what you told us here, and come with facts. Do NOT keep quiet about this.

According to our policy, we chart final v/s, temp/look of skin, pupil reaction, resps, pulses, notification of MD/family/AOD, and who pronounced pt.

Nope.

There are good meetings and there are bad meetings. I attend all of mine because they are all "mandatory" and have seen both sides. The majority of the meetings begin and end with how we should "improve" our performance, patient satisfaction scores, and overall blah-ness. My manager does do a good job in recognizing team member achievements. She makes us banners that congratulate us and welcomes new employees to the unit. She's a very positive person, but she is also under stress from the "powers that be" to show us what we must improve on. There are some meetings that are a complete waste of time, and could have been left for another time in which something worth talking about was discussed. I never read the minutes, mostly because I'm always at the meetings, but also because I have looked at the minutes and none reflect what was actually talked about. Meetings are good to discuss concerns, ask questions, and come up with solutions. It helps to have an attentive manager who actually wants to make things better, though.

Nursing is difficult. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that what I wanted to do most was the one thing I wanted to escape so early in my career. I love, LOVE nursing, and I truly love caring for people, helping families, patients deal with diseases that can be fatal. I love educating patients and their families. I love when, after I've had the time to educate a patient regarding a procedure he or she is having, a lightbulb moment happens and it just clicks for them! I love answering questions and seeing trusting eyes believe what you're saying because you presented the situation in a way that was not fraught with medical jargon. I love feeding patients who are unable to achieve this simple task and seeing their happy, well-fed faces after their meal. I love hearing, "You're such a good nurse!" I love learning new things and applying them to what I do. I love that I can recognize when something about a patient is just "not right" and I'm able to make the decision of either calling a Rapid Response or coding them. However. I do not appreciate the pettiness between the nurses. There is a real "everyone-for-themselves" mentality that should be discarded in this sort of workplace. Nursing is a 24-hour job and we need to realize that it's not about us; it's about our patients. I hate the disrespect with which some doctors treat us. I only worship and bow to one God, and a doctor ain't him. I detest the shortage, the crappy hours and shifts, the lack of support, the family members who think a hospital is a glorified hotel. The nursing experience for me right now is worse. I am looking for another avenue to take because bedside nursing is just too stressful and the appreciation rate ridiculously low. I am on the verge of being burned out, and I haven't even been a nurse for five years! Most times we are bodies recruited to have a team of patients, give meds, make sure we don't kill them, document, document, document, and go home, on time without incidental overtime. We are expected to be vigilant about all these ridiculous new papers and procedures that have nothing to do with patient care and everything to do with length of stays, insurance problems, etc. Also, I did not become a nurse to babysit doctors, and there have been many times in my three years as a nurse that I have had to do this. The majority of the time, doctors resent being told what to do, but when my patient is wheezing, desatting and I have no nebs treatments, nor do I have a recent CXR to go by to even have a clue why this patient's condition has deteriorated, I can't help BUT demand (and, in turn, babysit) that I get what my patient needs. Nor can I ignore a patient with chest pain of 10/10, no morphine, and troponins ordered 6 hours AFTER the fact! It's dangerous and ludicrous. I love what I do, but I'd rather do it in a whole different setting because bedside nursing is just not for me.

What was the MD's reason for ordering the gtt to begin with?

This is exactly the case at my hospital.