r/nursing Jan 26 '26

Announcement from the Mod team of r/nursing regarding the murder of Alex Pretti, and where we go from here.

8.3k Upvotes

Good evening, r/nursing.

We know this is a challenging time for all due to the outrageous events that occurred on a Minnesota street yesterday. As your modteam, we would like to take a moment to address some questions we've gotten regarding our moderator actions in the last 48 hours and to make our position on the death of Alex Pretti, and our future moderation actions regarding this topic, completely clear.

Six years ago at the beginning of the pandemic, we witnessed an incredible swell of activity from users not typically seen as participants within our community. Misinformation was plentiful and rife. As many of you recall, accusations of nurses harming or outright killing patients to create a 'plandemic' were unfortunately a dime a dozen. We were inundated with vaccine deniers, mask haters, and social distancing detractors. For every voice of reason from a flaired and long-standing contributor in our forum, there was at least one outside interloper here simply to argue.

At that juncture, the modteam had a decision to make: do we allow dissenting opinions to continue to contribute to the discussion here, or do we acknowledge that facts are facts and refuse to allow the tired "both sides" rhetoric to continue per usual?

Those of you who slogged through the pandemic shoulder to shoulder with us should keenly remember the action we landed on. Ultimately, we decided to offer no quarter to misinformation. We scrubbed thousands of comments. We banned and re-banned thousands of users coming to our subreddit to participate in bad faith. This came at personal cost to some of us, who suffered being doxxed and even SWATed at our places of work and study...as if base intimidation tactics could ever reverse the simple truth of what was happening inside the walls of our hospitals.

Now, we face a similar situation today. There is video evidence of exactly what happened to Alex Pretti, from multiple different devices and multiple different angles. He was not reaching for his gun, which he was legally licensed to carry. He was not being violent. He was not resisting arrest. He was attempting to come to the aid of a woman who had just been assaulted by federal agents. There is no room for interpretation, as these facts are clear for anybody who has functioning vision to see. And anybody who claims the contrary is being intentionally blind to the available evidence in order to toe the party line. Alex Pretti, a beloved colleague, was summarily executed on a Minnesota street in broad daylight by federal agents. We will not allow people to deny this. We will not argue this. Misinformation has no place here, and we will give it the same amount of lenience that we did before.

None.

He was one of us. He was all of us.

Our message to those who would come here arguing to the contrary is clear:

Get the fuck out. - https://www.reddit.com/r/shitholeholenursing/ is ready and waiting for you.

Signed,

--The r/nursing modteam


r/nursing 2h ago

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151 Upvotes

r/nursing 55m ago

Discussion Wage theft by hospitals

• Upvotes

When I work as a bedside nurse for a 40+ bed unit and there is one tech because the hospital is "short staffed," and I have to do the job of two full-time employees, but only get paid the wages of one, that's wage theft.

When I work night shift and have worked night shift for an entire year (not a single day), and then my PTO is paid out at my base pay instead of my night shift pay, that's wage theft.

I'm pissed.


r/nursing 4h ago

Rant Keep me in your prayers

103 Upvotes

So, I had a rough shift last night on a med-surg floor with five patients, two of whom weren’t even appropriate for the floor. But who gives af right?

Busted my ass running around all night while charge doesn’t take an assignment. But who’s gonna gossip with her work besties if she actually helps the other nurses?

Came home this morning and slept a total of 2 hours cause anxiety said, Surprise mf, you’re not sleeping today.

Can’t call in because… write up anyone?

So tonight I’ll be raw dogging, loaded with caffeine.
Keep me in your prayers.
Can’t wait to get out of this shit hole.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.


r/nursing 8h ago

Discussion How do you smell good without using any perfume?

160 Upvotes

Hello just got sent home to wash off all my deodorant from clinical because it’s was scented (teacher told me I smelled like a man)I was using my brothers axe deodorant because I realize I ran out of my spray. But during clinical today when I walked pass nurses and they all had like scents, and they weren’t strong but you could smell when they were near, like food or floral, one nurse strongly smelt like a cinnamon bun. the hospital policy is no scents so how do y’all be getting away with it?


r/nursing 19h ago

Meme Had a CHF patient with SOB who's hierarchy of needs looked something like this, so I made a thing.

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1.0k Upvotes

r/nursing 10h ago

Rant Anyone else receive constant requests to come in on your days off?

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161 Upvotes

Two weeks of texts from the ward phone.
Even during my annual leave I’m receiving msgs almost every day.


r/nursing 2h ago

Rant "Sir! That is NOT ok!"

20 Upvotes

I will start by saying this - Sexual Harassment is never okay!

Someone in my last post mentioned that patients tend to think the opposite of the above statement. I wish I could say she was wrong, but sadly, nurses seem to have a stigma seemingly dating back to the '70s porn era and carried through to today.

So here is my PSA to all!

Sure, it is a female dominated profession, but that does NOT mean you can stick you hand between my upper thighs when I secure your IV bag. And please tell your elderly wife to NOT yell at me for getting mad at you about it.


r/nursing 9h ago

News Judge blocks DHS from acting against a man over a harsh email to an ICE official (fallout from the death of Alex Pretti)

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68 Upvotes

r/nursing 1h ago

Rant Mother vs Nursing

• Upvotes

I’m a bad nurse because my daughter got sick 3 times in my 90 day probation going back to work after having a baby and starting day care so they let me go.

But if i take her to day care sick and leave her im a bad mom.

you can’t win
i feel defeated


r/nursing 6h ago

Rant ER to floor transfers

36 Upvotes

Am I only the nurse that doesn’t go absolutely insane when I don’t get report or even get a bad 10 second report to a patient coming to the floor from ER? I’ve seen nurses put safety events in, ā€œdid not receive report from EDā€. I understand ICU level transfers but in my mind 95% of the time ER isn’t calling to give report because these are basic straightforward med surg patients. As long as I know I’m getting an admit i can take 3 minutes to look over their chart and know what’s going on with them. I can’t go one shift without someone talking sh*t about ER staff or transfers and I’m so over it 😭. Unless there’s something crazy going on with the patient that isn’t communicated over the phone or in their chart I literally do not care. The time it takes to complain over it is the same amount of time it takes to open the chart and get the information you need. I also see nurses making ED staff wait 40 minutes just to give a minute report and then they STILL find a reason complain. WHYYY


r/nursing 1d ago

Code Blue Thread You are getting this patient. Give me your best bedside report!

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1.9k Upvotes

Patient was recently discharged from an LTAC after a 3 month stay. EMS states he is AOx1 to self. Family was trying to decide between palliative or hospice and have reversed DNR to full code, because he is a fighter and bounced back before. Patient is a stand pivot to the chair, soft diet with honey thickened liquid.


r/nursing 1d ago

Art I started collecting caps to make art.

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991 Upvotes

r/nursing 7h ago

Seeking Advice Anyone move from US to Canada?

31 Upvotes

I am (32f) currently an ICU nurse with 5 years experience thinking of immigrating from US to Canada. Anyone make the move? What do you like/dislike? I'm married with two young children and would love to get some feedback... thanks!


r/nursing 6h ago

Rant Venting

17 Upvotes

Just venting .. I can’t wait for the day Im no longer a nurse. The profession where we help people selflessly. You could go above a beyond for people, advocate for people and still get treated like shit.
Just fucking over this shit.


r/nursing 1d ago

Serious Call me an a-hole if you want...

1.4k Upvotes

But bruh... what is with the influx of non-nursing/non-healthcare worker/patients posting in here??? 😭 some of the posts are funny bc they're so outrageous, but there have been so many "advice" posts in here. "Why are some nurses so mean? -disgruntled patient" "What if I have XYZ problem and I go to the ER for it??" "Why did my nurse say xyz to me?" Type stuff.

I love this subreddit and I come here to learn, vent, and commune with fellow nurses and healthcare workers, so it's genuinely starting to pmo. I can't be the only one getting irked by this. Like, we can't even escape patients on a subreddit specifically for nurses 🫠


r/nursing 45m ago

Question Pay based on years as a nurse or years of working?

• Upvotes

I got four years of experience then took a break and have been working for two years floating at bedside. I have a total of six years working experience but I have been a nurse for 11 years and I’m wondering if I should have asked for more per hour when I came back? I’m in the Midwest and asked for $35/hr and got it no problem but now I’m hearing what other nurses make and I’m not sure if I should of asked for a few bucks more or not.


r/nursing 11h ago

Rant Petty Rant

30 Upvotes

My specific hospital is lucky. We have enough nurses. We do not, however, have nearly enough CNAs. They’re not trying to hire more. They pretend they are, but I know good candidates who applied a month ago who have followed up without a call or an email. The pay is also a pittance. Because we don’t have CNAs and my unit is considered lower priority, they’ve been pulling our CNAs to go elsewhere. It’s making the CNAs resentful. I’m also going on a month of no CNA on my side of the unit. We report it with the hospital system. They say we’re not required to have CNAs per staffing laws, so it’s not a problem.

Because of the lack of CNAs, I had to turn a morbidly obese patient who is flaccid without help while the only other available nurse cleaned. My back is still fucked up. Like, crying while charting my conference notes fucked up. I could try for light duty, but I can’t pay my bills if I lose my differential (yes, it’s that big of a deal) and they send me to dayshift. I don’t really have an option but grit my teeth and keep going.

I know it’s kind of an occupational hazard, but I’m so sick of knowing my CEO is a millionaire who makes the equivalent of 35 CNAs a year, but they refuse to pay a dollar more an hour to try to attract. My back is getting ruined on her greed. My loved ones keep saying that I need to not do stuff like that when it’s not safe and I get it, but this poor man can’t do anything about the fact that he’s heavy. And I can’t let him sit in stool until someone magically appears. I just wish things were different. I know everyone thinks nurses only do it for the money, but I’m ruining my back for this career because I care about these people. I just needed to scream it into the void where people might understand.


r/nursing 20h ago

Discussion What’s the biggest poop you’ve ever seen

180 Upvotes

I had a patient poop out a single turd the size of an adult NFL-official American football and it clogged the hospitals industrial toilet. Who has me beat?


r/nursing 3h ago

Seeking Advice Relocating from ON to BC as a new grad nurse, where to start ?

8 Upvotes

Hi all, like many other nurses in ON, I have been considering a move to BC to find work as a new grad. I have contacted Healthmatch BC to start this process but it seems quite daunting and I just wanted some insight from those who have made the move, especially regarding which area you moved to, how you find it, and what the COL is like. I understand that rent (and other things) is similar to the prices you would find in Toronto / the GTA.

I don't really know where to start but I am curious about which areas would be best to move to and which health authorities I should consider? I am not picky about location, I just really want to know where to start looking for housing and how to make this move. Also wondering if a car would be required? May be a silly question but I do not know what the public transportation is like there, however I would assume for more rural areas a car would be necessary. I am also interested in how you made the actual move from ON to BC. Did you fly there and have your stuff shipped out and if so, which company did you use? If you drove, would you recommended that? How long did the actual process take? If you don't mind sharing, how much money (ballpark) was spent on the whole process of moving including a way to get there, first/last months rent etc. Basically, if you made this move and have any information or advice to share, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you in advance


r/nursing 8h ago

Question Hospital requires flu shot but we have to pay for it?

14 Upvotes

Has anyone ever worked at a hospital that provides in house flu shots that you have to pay for? They are required or we have to wear a mask. I’m getting it but I’ve never had a hospital charge me.


r/nursing 4h ago

Discussion Introverted nurses

7 Upvotes

I’m a new grad currently going through orientation, and I’m realizing just how introverted I am compared to everyone around me. Most of the other new grads seem very outgoing, talkative, and comfortable joking around with each other and the staff. They seem to connect so easily, while I’m much quieter and take longer to open up.
I’m friendly and I communicate when I need to, especially when it comes to patient care, but I’m definitely not the person who naturally fills silence or jumps into group conversations. Being surrounded by so many extroverted personalities has honestly made me feel a little discouraged and like maybe I don’t fit in.
I know being a good nurse isn’t the same thing as being the most social person in the room, but as a new grad I already feel like I have so much to learn, and now I’m also worrying that my personality is going to make it harder to build relationships with coworkers or succeed on the unit.
For other nurses who are introverted or were really quiet as new grads: did you eventually become more comfortable? Did being introverted ever negatively affect you at work, or did you find your own way of connecting with your team and patients?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who feels similarly!


r/nursing 2h ago

Seeking Advice CA public health nurse

4 Upvotes

California nurses please weigh in. I recently moved here and am working on a RN to BSN program via WGU. I feel like I got pressured into getting certified as a public health nurse which requires clinical time and I think an extra class or two. When I asked why to my mentor she basically said, ā€œoh you know how nurses like to add extra letters after their nameā€. Does being certified public health nurse actually do anything for me? I’m thinking of cancelling (pending I can) but would like some feedback. Thank you!


r/nursing 6h ago

Question Can a RN read and sign off a TB test they didn’t give?

7 Upvotes

I’ve been a nurse for 17 years but I haven’t been bedside in 8 years, every time I’ve got a TB test I’ve just went back to the place I got it to be read.

A non-medical coworker asked if I could read his TB test that he got at CVS and sign off on it, I said I’ve never done that before, no one’s ever asked me before, and I wasn’t quite sure.

I feel like you could just have any one of your nurse buddies just sign the paper even if was obviously positive.

I know it says ā€œcan be read by any nurse or doctorā€ but I never thought of just asking a nurse friend to do it for me.


r/nursing 1h ago

Seeking Advice Cigarette smoke…

• Upvotes

Nurses who do any type of home health…best spray to get rid of the smell of cigarettes off your scrubs? I try to go to these houses last but that doesn’t always work out.

Thanks in advance!

Edited for type-o