Okay.. little background.. I am an LPN student in my second rotation of advanced nursing (which means I am about 3/4 done with school).
My instructor assigns me to a room with two pts. who are both, and I repeat BOTH positive for C-Diff. You gown in an isolation room. That is the procedure for someone who is in isolation, am I correct?.. You SHOULD be wearing a gown and gloves, a mask is your choice.. but you can wear it if u really want to. The nurses on this floor were going in and out of my pts. room without wearing any protective gown (and yes, they were having DIRECT pt. contact, it wasn't like they were running into the room to drop something off.. they were physically touching these pts.) This is really irritating to me, b/c I am a student and yet I am doing the correct thing? Not only are they not protecting themselves, but they are really pushing the limits of infection control. Like I said, it's one thing if they are not having direct pt. contact, but they WERE. As in putting dressings on the buttock area, etc. Okay.. I think I have stressed that issue enough.
One of my C-Diff pts. was a quadriplegic.. and he was obese. My other pt. was a bilateral transmetatarsal amputee. He could not move himself..
Being a student I have classmates that should be able to help me.. especially considering my classmates pt. load was alot lighter than mine. I needed various things, wipes, a new pt. gown, etc. Or I needed help turning these pts. My classmates would say "oh yea, sure I'll be right there!" And then they would NEVER show up. That REALLY irritated me b/c I have ALWAYS helped my classmates, no matter how busy I was.
Needless to say, I will be letting my instructor know this... Nursing is alot about team work, although we all know that it is impossible to find that team sometimes!
Then I had the nursing aide who thought she knew EVERYTHING. Gotta love it. She was telling ME how to document something I have documented a THOUSAND times before, and I wasn't documenting anything incorectly.. so whatever!!! Thank god today is over.
Not to metion isolation gowns on that floor were hard to come by. To find help I have to de-gown, de-glove and go searching.
If the hospital protocol called for this pt to be in isolation there should have been an isolation cart with the items outside the pt room as well as separate container for their dirty linens.
To me... this explains why the nurses on the floor were not gowning when they entered your pts room.
I'm sorry.. I forgot that you were BORN WITH YOUR LICENSE. You're only 26... you have not been doing this too long yourself. I guess you must be "one of THOSE nurses." I also guarantee that YOU don't know squat compared to more experienced nurses.. and I am not saying that I know more than they do in any way shape for form.
I was a CNA for a year and I've been an LVN for almost two. I'm eleven weeks away from graduating from RN school. Believe me, I'm fully aware that I don't know anything that's why I'm VERY grateful for all the help and insight that I am given and I let everyone know that. Even when I get my RN license the LVN's at my facility will still know tons more than I do. I understand that and welcome their advise.
If "one of THOSE kind" of nurses means I'm gracious, considerate, welcoming, approachable and grateful of others help then, well, yes I am THAT kind of nurse.
I guess that might piss you off that I am making that assumption about you... but you are making that same assumption about me. You know nothing about me, you have no idea what my demeanor is, or how much I do actually know. I think you need to drop the attitude. You didn't have not reply to this post... perhaps you were trying to vent as well?
Honestly, I couldn't care less what assumptions you make about me. I know I'm a good nurse. I know I'm a new nurse and I don't know much. I also know that I'm liked enough by staff and my fellow students to get help when I ask.
My classmates were in the hall drinking coffee and talking.. either that or they were behind the nurses station reading charts. And yes.. I did talk this over with my clinical instructor. Their pt. load was not very heavy either.. out of the 9 people in my group 7 of them had pts. that were fully ambulatory and able to care for their own needs. (we are not passing meds yet, so no, they were not busy getting meds, etc.) I asked for help, they would agree to come help me and then never show up. I would then have to de-gown and de-glove to go see if I could possibly find them, or someone else. EVERYTIME i found who ever I asked to help me behind the nurse's station reading charts! So no.. please stop making excuses for them, there were no excuses.
Soooo, maybe they didn't want to help you. Honestly, have you done anything to make them mad? Are you condescending towards them in any way? Is there any reason (other than they are "lazy") that they wouldn't want to help you?
If you're 3/4 of the way done with school how are you not passing meds yet? I started passing meds week 9 of my LVN program.
but instead I am having my ass chewed out, and told that I have an attitude and that I don't know squat. Very professional.
1. You're not having your ass chewed out. If you think this is bad wait till you get on a floor on your own and every little move is monitored for the slightest mistake.
2. Ya kind of do have an attitude. Relax. Drop your guard and listen or your nursing experience will end up like your nursing school experience.
3. Once again: You don't know anything till you've done this for years and years. If you can accept this and the advise from others you will become a better nurse.
4.This is not the place to be professional. This is not work, it's a message board. I only have to be nice.
I feel as though no matter what I say, it will get misconstrued to me having an attitude and not taking advice..
I have read, and re-read every post on this board. I have read them thoroughly and taken each to heart.
For the record.. "not now" no.. I have never pissed my classmates off. I am not condesending to them in any way.. I always help them out, I always help them find the answers they are looking for. That is why I got so frustrated with how they were treating me in return. It's not a matter of them being "lazy" but rather a matter of them not wanting to be bothered. And that is what upsets me. I asked for help because I honestly needed it. I could not move these pts. on my own, they were too obese for one person to move them on their own. And remember, one of them was a quad.. so I had no assistance from the pt. to move themself.
How am I not passing meds?? My program obviously, is different than yours. Our med pass begins at the start of our last quarter (or in about 3 weeks from now). Every program is inevitably different. I wish I would have began that a long time ago, it would have given me more experience.
I know I am a good "nurse-to-be".. And I have received positive evaluations from my instructors, my pts, and the staff. Being a student is rough and I think all of you can appreciate that. Like "not now" said.. this is a message board.. I'm allowed to vent.
And honestly.. I don't want to get another reply telling me that I'm not listening to the advice I have been given.. yes I have. I can not show you all in words that I understand and have taken your advice, but rather apply it in my experiences from now on. So please, give me some credit here! I'm not a monster.
KimmieKoo ~ I think you are ready to put this clinical experience behind you and chalk it up as another day down, another lesson learned... So to speak
I believe you when you say you have taken the posts to heart and will in the future apply anything you have learned in your clinical time.
We reply because we care and DO understand how stressful nursing school can be. I believe these boards can be a life saver more many but at the same time it is a double edged sword as you cannot read voice reflection or see and understand personal emotion written in a two dimensional format. I think this goes both ways as a constant battle around here.
In general ~ I honestly don't believe there is a single person who comes to allnurses to be mean, spiteful or rude. It just seems to end up that way sometimes because a post was misconstrued.
You WILL be successful in nursing school and have the ability to apply everything you learn when you begin your new career. You will learn an amazing amount in a very short time when you begin your first day... The difference is.. it is much more specific to what you are doing and once you have successfully passed the NCLEX it all 'feels' different as well.
My main thing I hope you took from this series of posts was the need to relax and remove yourself from stress you cannot do anything about! It is SO very important and essential to your emotional success in nursing.
I (and everyone else on here I'm sure) really does wish you all the best! Who knows... you may end up working with one of us someday...
Well as a long time nurse I know that HAND WASHING is one of the most effective ways to protect all of your patients from cross contamination. C-Diff in particular is spread via the oral fecal route and you will find that your patient was probably on antibiotics in the fist place when they developed this illness. Wearing gowns protects your clothing from droplets but alot of nurses decide not to gown up if the risk of direct fecal contact is minimal. In your situation where the nurses were doing dressing changes on the buttocks I again refer to the direct oral/fecal conection. the C-Diff is not in the wound is it? Was there stool present? Yes I agree with you that the nurses doing the wound care should have gowned up simply because as we know just because you can't see it doesn't mean its not there. C-Diff can live on toilet seats for days if not cleaned properly. The problem is the rims and tiny cracks that feces can hide in... YUCK. I will also give you a little clue.... book learning is alot different from real life. You are developing a strong foundation in your nursing career but somewhere along the way you will learn what is good theory and what is practical practice. Dont compromise your own integrity. I am proud that you recognize that monkey see does not have to be monkey do. You are stressed out enough without adding the extra burden of worrying about others work ethics. Inform your instructor of your concerns and then let it go. You need to survive, choose the hill you want to die on!
and Breath 
rags
265 Posts
If the hospital protocol called for this pt to be in isolation there should have been an isolation cart with the items outside the pt room as well as separate container for their dirty linens.
To me... this explains why the nurses on the floor were not gowning when they entered your pts room.
rags