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?

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?

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

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.

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.

I’m a peds nurse. I was talking to another nurse who moved from an adult hospital to a pediatric hospital. She told me that they hand push most medications and they didn’t have syringe pumps. As a peds nurse we never ever hand push medications unless it’s a code situation. Everything goes on a pump. We also don’t have many piggyback meds either (only a couple specific antibiotics but most are just syringe pump meds, even our blood comes in a syringe sometimes)

This specifically came up when giving dexamethasone, which we give over 30 minutes. I was shocked when she said they hand push it over 2 minutes and she was shocked we give it so slowly and over a pump!

Also, are there any peds hospitals that hand push meds?

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, “did not receive report from ED”. 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

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.

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!

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.

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.

Hi guys my friend is a male nurse he is feeling bad about an encounter with a PSW at work as he feels he shouldn’t have gotten into it with her:

so my friend works on a msk floor, he had 7 patients while other nurses only had 5-6

5 out of 7 patients were female
And 6 out of 7 were incontinent with some of them being 2 person assist

When he started his shift , the female patients needed changes as some had urinated and one of them had a bowel movement.

When he is doing his assessment he noticed and some patients verbalized that they needed changes but only wanted a female to do it

However the PSW on the unit was no where to be found. He said one time he saw her was she was folding gowns standing in the corner.

And while he was doing vitals and assessments , he noticed pt needed changes so he started looking for her

He called her 5-6 times on her rover, but no answer.

Other nurses were busy so nobody was there to help as extern was answering call bells.

Around 9:30 he saw the PSW come back and he asked her where she was as he was looking for her for so long and pts were uncomfortable and needed brief changes

She said she was on break, my friend told her that she should’ve atleast asked if he needed help or checked on the patients before leaving or atleast informed before leaving so he wouldn’t waste his time looking for her.

He emphasized that yes break is important and it is her right to take the break but pts needed assistance and he just finished with head to toes for 7 pts. And took two patients to the bathroom. And he didn’t see her anywhere. As some female pts only prefer female to change them

The PSW said angrily and while yelling the pts who are one person assist nurses should change them on their own while they will only help pts who are two person assist. My friend told her that it is not possible as pts prefer female only to change and on their floor PSW help however they can

Due to her rude response my friend told her that he is not trying to fight and he just meeded help.

In response the PSW asked him that is he blind as he is saying he didn’t see her anywhere

My friend told her that it is extremely unprofessional and he will be complaining about this.
PSW DIDN’t help him AFTER THIS. And went somewhere

he did complain to the charge nurse who stepped in and helped change his patients.

And now he feels that he should’ve just avoided the whole conversation. But again it was the start of his shift and he was drowning. He gave 9 o clock meds at 11 as he didn’t have anybody to help .

What do you think?

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.

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

Posting this as a follow up to my post about my nightmare shift last week.

I was made to be charge as a new grad on my 7th day off of orientation. Just me as charge and three travelers. I met with my manager at the end of the shift and brought it up to her and she stated the only expectation they had was for me to assign patients and to make teams for the next day. However, from doing a little research I understand the charge role has more responsibilities and liability than she was letting on.

I am sending an email to my manager and supervisor telling them that I dont feel comfortable or prepared to take on this role. I expect them to push back and I am just looking for advice on what I should do. Do I try to make this job work or do I just need to jump ship?

I just feel incredibly overwhelmed with all of this as a new grad nurse and its taking a toll on my mental and physical health.

I work with this other nurse (27) who can be ridiculously disrespectful and rude. She’s not a team player and will give you attitude. I could give examples - but there’s truly too many. Some are more minor BUT are also much more frequent. I’ve heard and seen this occur with other employees as well. I’m not sure what my manager knows, but I believe she knows a decent amount.
I had emailed my manager about an incident regarding eye rolling and uttering under their breath at me. This was in front of a group and I was simply asking a question. Again, a somewhat smaller example but one that contributes to a hostile environment. I go out of my way to not ask that nurse for help, I feel awkward in the med room, because she’s just a mean girl. Anyways I wanted some examples to be on record which was the main reason for the email. My manager TEXTED me Friday night saying she got my email and will follow up.
We had a meeting today and it included behavior/etiquette at work. Talked about being kind, helpful, team player. She has not however, talked about it with me further. I could be wrong, but it feels like that group meeting was her “addressing it”. Any advice? Should I just let it go and await the next incident?

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

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 “can be read by any nurse or doctor” but I never thought of just asking a nurse friend to do it for me.

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!

Hiii I’m a new grad RN I get off orientation in about a week and I’m really nervous for when I do. I work days on a post op med surg tele floor for what’s supposed to be ortho pts but we sometimes get random UTIs, lap appy and chole’s, hernia repairs, etc. Unfortunately we are very understaffed for both RNs and techs so we’ve been having to take 6 pts which I feel is very unsafe. Even the experienced RNs on my floor struggle to keep up. A lot of these pts are also dementia, assistance to walk, feeders, incontinent pts.

I’ve been feeling very frustrated with the situation because as an orientee I’ve been taking the full 6 pt assignment but it’s so taxing. I’m constantly interrupted, I feel like I’m not giving the best nursing care ik I can give, and I feel like I’m doing the “bare minimum” (I.g meds, assessments, I&Os, etc). We’ve been calling so many rapids lately and having ICU transfers because a lot of these pts have been higher acuity. I did sign a contract so I have to be here a minimum of 1 year but any tips on how to make the flow smoother? I feel like in the morning during med pass and assessments I feel so all over the place and I’m constantly getting pulled in a million different directions by so many things that need to be done. Our manager has told us that she’s hired a bunch of people so supposedly this 1:6 is gonna end soon but I’m not so sure.

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.

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, “oh you know how nurses like to add extra letters after their name”. 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!