To tell or not to tell!

Wave Watcher · Mar 24, 2015

Gonna put you down for a pair of size 8 cement shoes, m'kay?

There is a talk like a pirate day....we need a talk like Mobster day!!

No really Frankie, ya need to Fuhgeddaboutit! Let it go before ya push'n up pie tins!

lol

TexMex22 · Mar 24, 2015

I thought it was swimming wit' da' fishes (via Tony Soprano).

Wave Watcher · Mar 24, 2015

I thought it was swimming wit' da' fishes (via Tony Soprano).

"You shred it, wheat!"

In mobster translation: "You said it!"

Always a good morning when you are at work, eating a banana and looking up mobster slang from the Dirty 30's. lol

cheezwizz90 · Mar 24, 2015

"I guess I am a little taken back by these comments. I thought we, as nurses, are patient advocates and look out for what is in the best interest of our patients."

Real nurses ARE advocates, the nurses on this website have proven many times that they are jaded individuals who no longer have the willpower to make change happen. I am consistently "taken back" by the things I read on here.

Do something and be an advocate, you know what is right.

Red Kryptonite · Mar 24, 2015

"I guess I am a little taken back by these comments. I thought we, as nurses, are patient advocates and look out for what is in the best interest of our patients."
Real nurses ARE advocates, the nurses on this website have proven many times that they are jaded individuals who no longer have the willpower to make change happen. I am consistently "taken back" by the things I read on here.
Do something and be an advocate, you know what is right.

You know where the exit door is, cheezy.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Mar 24, 2015

"I guess I am a little taken back by these comments. I thought we, as nurses, are patient advocates and look out for what is in the best interest of our patients."
Real nurses ARE advocates, the nurses on this website have proven many times that they are jaded individuals who no longer have the willpower to make change happen. I am consistently "taken back" by the things I read on here.
Do something and be an advocate, you know what is right.

Wow. Really? You two should work together. There is a difference between being a patient advocate & being a tattle tale.

If you worked with me & I accidentally left a patient screen up or meds out (something that causes NO harm to the patient) you would go to our NM & tell her about that? Never telling me, saying, "Hey, I saw you did X/Y/Z thing & I closed the screen/put the meds away". Don't you think that's a little petty?

Now if you saw me stealing from or physically assaulting a patient THEN I would expect you to go straight to the NM.

There is a time & place to go to the charge nurse or NM. When people forget to don protective wear, close out screens or leave meds out those don't seem like the times to go. They aren't affecting MY license or their patients. They are only, in the end, hurting themselves.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2015

Real nurses ARE advocates, the nurses on this website have proven many times that they are jaded individuals who no longer have the willpower to make change happen.

The nurses who contribute to this site certainly are real nurses according to the various state boards of nursing that have granted us professional licensure.

Anyhow, the OP is not yet in a position to advocate. He first needs to establish a solid track record, a reputation for competence, and seniority on the job before attempting to implement changes that will stick.

If he starts secretively reporting people while on orientation, he will not have a job for long. I can almost guarantee that management at his workplace already knows how the units are being run. And, as mentioned previously, it is impossible to advocate for patients when you no longer have a patient assignment because your employment has been terminated.

As horrible as this sounds, we must abide by the unwritten social contract. This essentially dictates that we must fulfill our own basic needs before we go around saving others. So theoretically, if I cannot keep a roof over my head or feed myself because I am out of a job, advocating for others might not be the most optimal idea.

Remember the unwritten social contract. It would be foolish to place oxygen masks on others inside a depressurized aircraft before you've had the chance to save yourself first. It would be foolish to throw life rafts to people who are drowning if you will soon drown, too. It would be foolish to report other nurses for deviations in practice when you are not yet a competent clinician.

There's a time and a place to effectively advocate for our patients. A brand new nurse who reports a bunch of problems without formulating any effectual solutions is not engaging in advocacy, but instead creating the rope that will hang himself and others.

cheezwizz90 · Mar 24, 2015

@OrganizedChaos-Leaving a patient's private medical information available for the public to view on a computer screen IS totally harmful to the patient. Not physically, but in many other ways. And no, I wouldn't tell the manager. I would tell the nurse personally. I'm not a tattle tale. Secret reporting is dumb.

@TheCommuter- When did I ever mention that I didn't think the nurses who post here are not real nurses? I said that they don't advocate properly. I hope the OP remains true to himself when he is established on the unit.

It isn't foolish to save others before yourself. I would save my friends and children before I saved myself. That's love, that's admirable and that's bravery.

Red Kryptonite · Mar 24, 2015

When did I ever mention that I didn't think the nurses who post here are not real nurses? I said that they don't advocate properly.

Because, of course, you know them and their practice personally and are in a position to judge.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Mar 24, 2015

@OrganizedChaos-Leaving a patient's private medical information available for the public to view on a computer screen IS totally harmful to the patient. Not physically, but in many other ways. And no, I wouldn't tell the manager. I would tell the nurse personally. I'm not a tattle tale. Secret reporting is dumb.
@TheCommuter- When did I ever mention that I didn't think the nurses who post here are not real nurses? I said that they don't advocate properly. I hope the OP remains true to himself when he is established on the unit.
It isn't foolish to save others before yourself. I would save my friends and children before I saved myself. That's love, that's admirable and that's bravery.

If the computer is at the nurses station & the public has no access to the computers then the patient is never harmed.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2015

It isn't foolish to save others before yourself. I would save my friends and children before I saved myself. That's love, that's admirable and that's bravery.

Saving one's children or close friends is very different than saving strangers with whom you share no background or emotional connection.

The unwritten social contract is a wise proposition for a reason. If we, as a society, go around bravely saving others without first attending to our own basic needs, then we as a society will soon cease to exist.

It might be 'brave' and 'loving' to jump into the rushing river to save the stranger who cannot swim, but it won't do much good if you get pulled into the current and die along with the guy. As 'admirable' and heroic as that might be, you both will be reduced to distant memories and have died in vain.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Mar 24, 2015

I would much rather have a smoother working environment then have everyone hate me, not want to help & avoid me because they think of me as a narc. Which will happen to this person if he does what he is asking about.

He isn't even off orientation & have his own patient load. It's easy to judge others when you're not doing any work.