Have you been told you can't

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Perform a certain task at your facility because you are an agency nurse? This is actually a funny story. I had a patient that needed blood. And it just so happened I hadn't yet had any patients that needed blood up until this point at this particular facility. So the charge nurse observed and together we went through their protocol of documenting administering the blood product. She told me the story about the last time she had an agency nurse who had a patient that needed blood. At the time her understanding was agency nurses weren't allowed to give blood. This nurse became very upset, stating he had been a nurse for 17 years and proceeded to call the house supervisor to complain about it. After further research and talking to the director the charge nurse discovered that she only had two observe an agency nurse do it once and then they could be independent. So that's what happened with me gave the guy blood no problem. Then he needed more Blood Plus another one of my patients needed blood. So when I ordered it guess what happened. She got an email stating that I cannot do it because I'm an agency nurse. I don't care. The funny part is that somebody else got angry enough to have a hissy fit and call the house supervisor about it. Why on Earth would you get mad that you going to get paid more money to do less work? Have any of you ever been told you couldn't perform a certain task because your agency?

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Specializes in Med/Surg/.

I have Nursed for 40 yrs now. Keep in mind in Texas before all this going RN the LVNs, if they were comfortable, did everything the RN did. Me personally ICU, Tele, Oncology just about everywhere. That's been about 32 yrs out of 40...In 99-01 I was in AZ and couldn't do any IV pushes, In Florida no pushes(I went in Nov and by the first of the yr they decided we could give all pushes except cardiac). In 1 hospital in my area at home in Dallas(straight agency) we as agency couldn't give narcotics(of course D/T an agency and Narc discrepancy). Now of course after working in all these specialty units etc for 20 yrs I was peeved but of course I had to learn to accept. Eventually I did except each time an RN asked have you ever done this. Now I really had to keep my cool( sometimes the answer of well would since you were in diapers qualify)Big smile!...Another of my favs were No I can't say I ever have but maybe you could teach me! Now this of course didn't always go over as I tend to be a force of nature in the personality/confident dept but somehow always making nice with it. I always had to remember they did not know me or how long I had been nursing. Many time my pride was injured until I got in my head it was the hospital not them. In the States where LVNs have no practice with may of these task it is a given they can't do. Once you understand it is what it is your feelings stop being hurt and you go with the flow.. The one thing I truly hate about all this is the RNs now have to pick up all the slack with giving our IVs. This also includes all IVs outside of the NS. Sometimes it's a lot to ask and now we all feel bad because they have to do it. 2 RNs with a staff of 6 have more than they need to have. With the Narc issue it's a nightmare because the place I work that did that those nurses were all about their own and we took a backseat. Imagine explaining to your pt. why his pain meds are taking so long. It was sad in every sense. Thankfully that was seldom the case in any hospital. That's one reason I was thankful I lived in Texas. Since the hospitals choose what the LVNs can/can't do rarely did I go anywhere in where things were limited. I had the privilege of doing it all and learning from the best of Nurses and Drs. as many of us did. Some of these were due to the LVN and a few were because of being agency.... since about '12 this is a mute point now although I did work in a hospital in 14-16 and there are still rural hospitals that will still have LVNs. So my point on all this is it is what it is when your run into it and they are only making it harder for their own Nurses(even if you are an RN)when they do this. Enjoy it because yes that's just less things you have to contend with.......There is also another aspect to you having this problem they might become angry wondering why an agency is working when they can't to this or that. I know I had that look on and off. The only answer I ever gave was my qualifications are probably better than yours but you can thank your admin for these decisions they make. Get mad at them and not me......I do speak my mind because this is the truth.....

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Specializes in A variety.
I have Nursed for 40 yrs now. Keep in mind in Texas before all this going RN the LVNs, if they were comfortable, did everything the RN did. Me personally ICU, Tele, Oncology just about everywhere. That's been about 32 yrs out of 40...In 99-01 I was in AZ and couldn't do any IV pushes, In Florida no pushes(I went in Nov and by the first of the yr they decided we could give all pushes except cardiac). In 1 hospital in my area at home in Dallas(straight agency) we as agency couldn't give narcotics(of course D/T an agency and Narc discrepancy). Now of course after working in all these specialty units etc for 20 yrs I was peeved but of course I had to learn to accept. Eventually I did except each time an RN asked have you ever done this. Now I really had to keep my cool( sometimes the answer of well would since you were in diapers qualify)Big smile!...Another of my favs were No I can't say I ever have but maybe you could teach me! Now this of course didn't always go over as I tend to be a force of nature in the personality/confident dept but somehow always making nice with it. I always had to remember they did not know me or how long I had been nursing. Many time my pride was injured until I got in my head it was the hospital not them. In the States where LVNs have no practice with may of these task it is a given they can't do. Once you understand it is what it is your feelings stop being hurt and you go with the flow.. The one thing I truly hate about all this is the RNs now have to pick up all the slack with giving our IVs. This also includes all IVs outside of the NS. Sometimes it's a lot to ask and now we all feel bad because they have to do it. 2 RNs with a staff of 6 have more than they need to have. With the Narc issue it's a nightmare because the place I work that did that those nurses were all about their own and we took a backseat. Imagine explaining to your pt. why his pain meds are taking so long. It was sad in every sense. Thankfully that was seldom the case in any hospital. That's one reason I was thankful I lived in Texas. Since the hospitals choose what the LVNs can/can't do rarely did I go anywhere in where things were limited. I had the privilege of doing it all and learning from the best of Nurses and Drs. as many of us did. Some of these were due to the LVN and a few were because of being agency.... since about '12 this is a mute point now although I did work in a hospital in 14-16 and there are still rural hospitals that will still have LVNs. So my point on all this is it is what it is when your run into it and they are only making it harder for their own Nurses(even if you are an RN)when they do this. Enjoy it because yes that's just less things you have to contend with.......There is also another aspect to you having this problem they might become angry wondering why an agency is working when they can't to this or that. I know I had that look on and off. The only answer I ever gave was my qualifications are probably better than yours but you can thank your admin for these decisions they make. Get mad at them and not me......I do speak my mind because this is the truth.....

I don't mind giving blood it's not that complex. But I sure wouldn't get heated about missing the opportunity to check Vital Signs every 15 minutes to an hour like my man did haha. As for your situation I can see how that must be very frustrating to have over four Decades of experience and be told you can't do something simple based on a technicality. Maybe they'll come up with a new rule that LPNs with x amount of years of experience can test for the NCLEX and get their RN? Actually I'm real curious why someone like yourself And many LPNs I know who have been in that same Predicament never got their RN to avoid that experience entirely plus get the pay benefit. I'm sure it pisses you off to have someone who's Been alive for fewer years than you have been a nurse supervise you

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I worked at a place like that once but it was about 15 years ago. There was an issue with one of the agency nurses screwing up administering blood so instead of just dealing with that one particular nurse suddenly ALL agency nurses were prohibited from giving blood. It was really dumb.

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I was told today that RNs can't put in IVs or draw blood at this facility. My response? "Yea!" Two fewer tasks for me to do!!

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