The ONE thing that will make your nursing life easier

RegisteredNuisance, RN · Jan 12, 2016

Sans fasciitis, (which I got a spellcheck for as well, but is spelled correctly) Danskos are wayyy too hard for my feet. My feet hurt worse after a 12 in them. I eventually just wore my old sneakers and my feet still hurt, but not as bad. I'll swear by Clarks any day though. Anything by them has those removable, squishy inserts. Ahhhhhhh...

cherryelle07 · Jan 13, 2016

- Patients who DON'T forget their insurance cards when coming to see us at the clinic. It's not a big deal if they are established patients, but there's always someone who forgets and looks at me like I forgot for them or like I should magically make it appear. Of all my super powers, making insurances cards poof out of thin air isn't one of them. Sorry. Also bring the right one. If you know your secondary insurance isn't gonna cover your flu shot, don't give that one to me!

- No cellphones in the exam rooms. I don't mind if you are killing time while you wait, but its incredibly rude that you are sitting there facebooking while I'm taking vitals. Put the damn thing down and pay attention so I can get your medical history. It's even worse when its a parent who is barely paying attention while I ask their kid's medical history.

- More patients who actually make lists of their meds. I love my elderly people who do it. Makes things so much easier when putting it into EMR. I think everyone who takes more then one med a day should do this. This way we don't have to play a guessing game. Also include recent surgeries and allergies. Thanks!

- Parents who understand that sometimes a runny nose is just a runny nose and antibiotics isn't going to do anything other then create resistances. Let's just all save you the $85 that you will eventually have to pay for that little tidbit of advice once the bill comes in.

- Just people who are more prepared when they come in to see us in general. Like come on.... find your ID, find your insurance cards, write down your meds and allergies, and we will hook you up.

JustaGypsy · Jan 13, 2016

So true! What someone wants is not always what is best for them!

What would make my nursing life easier? Getting rid of the 'customer service' component of bedside nursing would make things easier for many people.
Good patient care needs to continue to occur, but good customer service needs to stay in the hotel, hospitality, food service and retail industries. It's a sad day when a nurse gets in trouble for incorrectly preparing a visitor's cup of coffee.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Jan 13, 2016

Problem with a majority of "managers" recently is they are made up of the floor nurses who hated floor nursing after a year of experience and decided to go into management. They now are telling us how to practice and they don't have a clue.

That is a big problem. I've been lucky to have had awesome managers who went above and beyond to keep their skills up to date and up to snuff. It would be hard to totally respect someone who really didn't know what they were doing in that regard.

Fancypants09 · Jan 14, 2016

I'm a new grad. So for me, the golden key would be less charting. Right now, I suck at time management and timely documentation. Our hospital also has us doing Workload charting, whereby the hospital pulls in data on where and how nurses are spending their time doing pt care.

dec2007 · Jan 14, 2016

I'm a new grad. So for me, the golden key would be less charting. Right now, I suck at time management and timely documentation. Our hospital also has us doing Workload charting, whereby the hospital pulls in data on where and how nurses are spending their time doing pt care.

Know why you suck at charting? We all do! It's because you put patient care first, right where it belongs! You will get in a good routine where you can get everything done ( usually), just be gentle to yourself. It takes time to get in a routine. You will be fine. Take time; it'll come! Good luck and keep us posted.í ½í¸‰

dec2007 · Jan 14, 2016

Tried to edit out the question marks....they ere supposed to happy faces!!

Penholder · Jan 14, 2016

Sorry, I can not agree with this at all. I've been an aide for 13 years and have worked with dozens of truly awesome cnas. I wish we were respected more (we are not that far off from what COTAs do).

Im sorry this is your experience, but if this is how you see the aides you work with may I suggest communicating your expections and encouraging growth?

Penholder · Jan 14, 2016

As for support, a good aide is hard to find. It's a low paying gig that attracts either people who aren't the brightest (I'm sorry, there's no nice way to say it) or the super student nurse who's there to tell everyone what her school teaches her to do in your position.

im sorry this has been your experience, but as an aide of 13 years I have worked with dozens of awesome aides. I can say the same about some nurses I've worked with. You get what you expect. Raise your expectations.

middleagednurse · Jan 15, 2016

A free monthly massage, really, my back has been hurting for 40 years now.

marigoldey · Jan 15, 2016

I'm in psych. I'm a 2 year RN. The ONE THING that would help me: Techs who follow their assignments and work the floor instead of hanging out in the nurses station slacking. And, instead of giving me a blank stare or threatening that I'm breaking a Union rule for asking them to do their jobs, they simply go to the dayhall, interact with the milleau and have a good attitude. Disappointing that this seems a lot to ask!

NuGuyNurse2b · Jan 15, 2016

im sorry this has been your experience, but as an aide of 13 years I have worked with dozens of awesome aides. I can say the same about some nurses I've worked with. You get what you expect. Raise your expectations.

I said it's hard to find a good aide. I didn't say they don't exist. you obviously took this to heart since that's your job, but from my experience, that has been the case. And yes, the same can be said of some nurses.