FloridaLpn2015

So I'm a nurse in the great state of Florida. I work several jobs and recently picked up 2 home care clients. They are at extreme opposites when it comes to the home environment! One clients home is like it is barely lives in. The clients parent certainly understands infection control. The other one is the exact opposite. Dirty laundry on the floor in the clients room and unorganized supplies. The biggest thing is that she requests we take off our shoes due to the client ( 7yrs old) crawling all over the place but the floors are filthy. The kitchen floor is dirty with food spills, garbage on the floor and always dishes in the sink and counters with food and food remnants. I feel is hypocrisy to ask me to wash out the containers and syringes when there is dirty paper towel down and no clean paper towel to place them on. I work night shift, so I'm always afraid of walking into the kitchen and finding a rat or roach confronting me. I feel a little judgemental but I just feel uncomfortable. I have already stopped working with another client because they had no door on their bathroom for the staff to use. I let the agency know and they said they would address it several times but nothing got done. I hate to work for a few weeks then say, "oh sorry but the situation is not right because xyz. Am I being petty ?

I decided to apply to other facilities and decline their offer. I have been so proud of myself for even stepping out of my comfort zone and working with trachs and vents and I want to continue to push myself towards learning what I don't know and being more well-rounded.

I have been an LPN for several years and prior to that I was a Psych Tech. The bulk of my LPN experience has been in psych and addiction except for the last 2 years I have work in home care, nursing home and a small medical group home. I will graduate in August with my RN and was very discouraged when they offered my a position in behavioral health. They showed me the cardiac ICU and MICU and asked me where I wanted to work. I told them I was not 100% sure but pretty sure I wanted neuro ICU. After letting me shadow a nurse in the cardiac ICU & MICU they brought me back to HR & asked me what I thought then said they had a position in Behavioral Health. I said I was confused. I actually was flabbergasted that I really couldn't speak that much. She said for me to think about it and give her a call. How can I get experience in medical if they keep offering me behavioral health!!?? I'm so frustrated!! I do love behavioral health and perhaps that came through on conversation but I never said that's where I want to work. How can I make this clear to employers?

I was extremely upset that they denied my unemployment. The employer reported I was fired due to misconduct. I filed an appeal stating that a med error is not misconduct. I had no previous errors, no near misses, no complaints of any sort. Misconduct involves intent, error does not. I believe they wanted to use me to set an example. The 2 previous errors of other nurses and then mine was like the straw that broke the camel's back. They however did not know I reported to the supervisor the conditions in the pharmacy and that was their downfall. She must not have communicated that to her superiors. I reported it in the appeal that the conditions were not conducive and that it was other staff misbehaving and I asked for accommodations, my ADHD, for her to take me off dosing and give me chart work. She did neither. So long story short I won the appeal. And I now work at a much better facility and doing the same thing. In the pharmacy it is sooooooooo quiet...and professional....the way it should be...so yes they did me a favor.

Just to clarify. I did not walk out on my shift, they said they were letting me go and so I left. I disagreed with their statement that I made 2 med errors and the assistant supervisor argued with me, we went back and forth 3 times until I said "fine, if you want to believe that but there is only one incident report so I don't know how that's possible." And I placed the keys on the desk and walked out of the office. Assistant supervisor let me into the pharmacy to get my bag and I left. I was looking elsewhere for a job. And against my better judgement I was too relaxed about it. Hindsight is 20/20. My guard is up now. I write everything down, keep a paper trail and of course I will be more vigilant when giving medications. Sometimes we forget the main reason we are there which is to provide for the pt.s and keep them safe. I still don't forgive myself for letting my guard down and making that medication error. I took all my mental strength to go back to work the next day. I really just wanted to stay in bed with the covers pulled up over my head.

Thank you for your comments. I appreciate the correction about the abbreviation, yes I did mean pt. Autocorrect. I just want to clarify. The facility is a methadone clinic. We had 2 previous med errors. I do suffer from ADHD. The 2 weeks prior I reported to my supervisor and asked her to please address the noise volume in the pharmacy. There are 4 windows we sit at. 2 phones and a chart room. We pretty much have a line all day. One particular day one nurse played R&B music on her cell phone, I asked her to move it to the other side of her, away from me as I had a hard time getting hearing the pt.s through the narrow window. That same day another nurse behind us began to play classical music on her cell phone. I felt like my head was going to explode. Phones were ringing and people in and out which obviously we can't avoid, but we don't need 2 people playing 2 different kinds of music at once. Throughout the morning 2 of the younger nurses would get up from their chairs and goof off, dance and sing behind us other nurses dosing. Pt.s would often remark that we were having a party everyday. Some days were quieter than others depending on who was working. Anyway, this was the situation I brought to the attention of my supervisor, I asked her to go back to the cameras and look and see if it was appropriate behavior or not. I have worked in healthcare for 20 years, I know when things are appropriate and not. She said she would but she also said she was not a babysitter. I said to her that I have asked them to tone it down but it makes no difference. I requested her to do something twice. After that I asked her if I could do more charting and less dosing as the distractions were a problem for me, she stated ok. 4 days later I made the med error. It was on a Sunday. On Wednesday they called me to the office, it wasn't my usual supervisor, they said I made 2 errors when I know I made only one. There is only one incident report for one med error. If in the span of 5 months 3 nurses make med errors and only one is fired for it what is the difference? My error was wrong dose, pt. Not injured, the other nurse was wrong pt. wrong dose pt. Not injured and the other was wrong dose but right pt. So I'm left to feel like I was let go because I made waves. I complained, I was the outcast, the complainer, I wanted a more serious environment. I wanted the supervisor to supervisor and on many occasions she said she was not a babysitter.

Sorry to say...nursing really sucks in some places. In at will employment states your just a number. Your paid less, they don't care if your a good nurse or not. They just want you to punch in, do the work and punch out. Really is said. We become nurses because we want to help people and part of that is ongoing change to make thing better but some places just don't want that.

I just made my first significant med error a few days ago. I knew I would be fired. There were many med errors happening within the span of a few months. I complained about feeling distracted...others playing music, signing, joking, laughing,...they did nothing. We also were down one nurse on the weekends which is when I made my med error. I owned up to it, stating that I'm not sure what happened, we dose over 100 people at each dosing window. I have no clue where I overmedicated. I was honest. I could have just picked a name but I didn't want to as I really was not sure. They pressured me to name the person, I couldn't. I stated that the day was so busy that everyone was kinda clumped together in my head at the end of the day...true for me on most days. I suffer from ADHD, Bipolar and anxiety. I felt singled out.

Hello all. I was fired from my job for a medication error. I gave a PT. An extra 8 mg of Suboxone. The system that the facility has is ancient. They keep the Suboxone films in a small basket, when the PT comes to the window for medication you pull them up in the computer, verify who they are and dose. After that you count out how much they get and give the meds. Now I complained twice that we were overworked, down one nurse on the weekend and also distracted ( some of the nurses joke and laugh as well as playing music in the nurses station). I complained I felt it was too noisy, nothing was said or done. I made the error on Sunday. I did not realize I made the error until the end of the day and it was time to reconcile the meds. They supervisor asked what happened, I explained that it was so busy, literally dosing people nonstop from 6am to 10 am that I really can't recall what happened. Everything happened fast, I was working hard to get people in and out. We do verify after dispensing in the computer the doses that are remaining is accurate...but I literally cannot remember if I did or didn't...and I was being honest. I owned up and said...I must have given someone an extra dose somewhere but really can't recall. Anyway they terminated me. They said I made a previous error, which was not true...it was an error in the computer... I was so disgusted I just said they were incorrect and I gave them their keys and left. Do I have any recourse?

I would have to be corned in a room alone and wrestled with to get the scarf off my head, that's how wrapped and secure it is...it's tucked into my shirt....Itso the same length as a pair of pants. I suppose this is why no one in the hospital I worked with has ever had a problem with it. Patients and inmates can find many things to use as a weapon...sheets are longer than my scarf...which they do rip and use as belts to hold up their pants..females use it to tie up their hair. There is no such thing as "safe" with these populations. My issue is not willing safety... I'm comfortable completely with these populations. My issue is really the questions that the scarf brings up. With these populations they are intrusive, they will ask. I just wanted to know if people felt it would be an issue as far as pts./inmates trying to get into your business.

Lots of muslim women struggle with wearing hijab and not wearing it. The reason for this is that some believe it is not required, it is something that if we do we are rewarded for it because it's not easy to wear. It's not easy to wear because #1 it's hot at times, #2 if your not in a muslim country you are like the "black sheep" in the room all the time, #3 again your the black sheep in the room-in a world surrounded and focusedo on beauty, tight clithing and make-up (wearing hijab is about modesty- no make-up, loose clothing not showing your figure). What I believe is that God is forgiving, Islam is not suppose to be difficult, therefore if wearing hijab is difficult or restricts your life then you may take it off. I've heard many muslim scholars say this.

Agreed.....I am Muslim, happen to believe homosexuality is wrong BUT I don't care what other people do. I have friends that are gay, they don't even have a clue how I feel, it's not important. Every individual must decide what is right and wrong for them. After my interview I thought I had made the choice NOT to wear it, just because I want to avoid questions, not put of fear. I actually felt very comfortable with my hijab and around the prisoners. I even asked the Nurse interviewing me. He said if I wear it now, why take it off? Don't compromise what you believe is right for anyone. Now I think I will wear it, just modify it. I just can't imagine taking it off, it's like wearing no shirt and going outside, I feel naked, exposed...!!

0 Hello everyone. I am a new nurse working in Florida. I have tons of experience in mental health as a tech. I am also Muslim and wear a head scarf. My question is ...Should I not wear it to work??? I currently work in mental health and I get questioned all the time by my patients, which I don't mind. I am also going to be interviewing for a position at a correctional facility. So I dont want to single myself outo if I work there. My head scarf identifies me as muslim so I can't exactly say "no" when I'm questioned. In my religion, it says that we "should" wear it but not if it makes life more difficult than it has to be. I am thinking I should remove it because I don't want to get questioned, inmates will see this as an opportunity to get to know me, which is not appropriate in this setting. I also must say that I don't have the best boundaries when it comes to things like this and I anticipate myself having a hard time not discussing it. Advice please!

This is simply NOT true. I work in psych and I wear a head scarf. As long as it is tucked in and secured you are fine. It does pose a risk, however, an employer cannot say you cannot wear it. At my interview and job, it has never been an issue and I work with mandated individuals. I do however wonder if a correctional nurse is allowed to wear it due to the fact that it is a major secure place but most of all it tells the inmate something about us. A headscarf is just like a belt, or similar, on my thinking...you don't take your belt off, even though it can be used as a weapon...therefore why make me take off my scarf?

Hello everyone. I am a new nurse working in Florida. I have tons of experience in mental health as a tech. I am also Muslim and wear a head scarf. My question is ...Should I not wear it to work??? I currently work in mental health and I get questioned all the time by my patients, which I don't mind. I am also going to be interviewing for a position at a correctional facility. So I dont want to single myself outo if I work there. My head scarf identifies me as muslim so I can't exactly say "no" when I'm questioned. In my religion, it says that we "should" wear it but not if it makes life more difficult than it has to be. I am thinking I should remove it because I don't want to get questioned, inmates will see this as an opportunity to get to know me, which is not appropriate in this setting. I also must say that I don't have the best boundaries when it comes to things like this and I anticipate myself having a hard time not discussing it. Advice please!!!