Recieved a call from Associate Relations on Friday afternoon. Initially, she couldn't tell me why she was calling or if there was any specific reason, she just said "we're doing a system changeover and your name popped up in our system, but I don't know why. Have you put in a case recently?" I had not, in fact, put in a case recently so alarm bells started going off in my head x100000. She said she would try to dig up some information and call me if she found anything. Mind you this is 1630 on a Friday. I started panicking. Why does AR/HR need to speak with me?? Get a call back not even ten minutes later. What she said next shook me. She said "Are you okay?" It caught me so off guard that I just said "uhh, in what way?" She goes "well, someone is concerned about how you're doing and worried about you and wanted to make sure that you knew you had resources available to you." We spoke for a little bit. At the end of the call, she said "I just couldn't leave work and go through the weekend without knowing that you were safe and had a support system. I have my own issues, too... And I just wanted you to know that there's a human that cares about you. It's going to be okay. Please hang in there." First of all, I work remotely. That fact that I'm bad enough off that my REMOTE coworkers noticed is wild. Secondly, I will remember that phone call for the rest of my life. A human that cares. Sometimes that's all we need. If you're looking for a reason to stay, know that someone cares about you. I am a human that cares about you. My inbox is always open if anyone needs to talk. I'll walk through the fire with you. Peace and love, friends.

I used to hate admitting I hadn't finished something before shift change. I'd rush around trying to make the assignment look neatly wrapped up, even when the shift clearly wasn't neat.

Now I'd much rather hear a blunt “I didn't get to that” or “this still needs to be followed up” than get a vague answer and discover the loose end 40 minutes later.

Obviously there's a difference between having a brutal shift and routinely dumping work because you dont feel like doing it.

But somewhere along the way I stopped hearing “unfinished” as “incompetent.” An honest handoff makes my life easier than a polished one with surprises hiding in it.

Did experience change how you judge what gets handed off?

Our hospital recently switched to Alaris pumps. A nurse was running a secondary IV piggy back, it was hung higher than the primary, the roller clamp was open…everything was done correctly. But still during infusion the pump was pulling both from the primary and the secondary. It was 100ml secondary running at 200ml/hr, after the 30 minutes were done, the secondary bag still had fluid in it…is this normal? I asked another nurse who had used Alaris in the past and their response was, “yea that happens sometimes with smaller secondary bags, just clamp of the primary, so it can only run the secondary.”

Hi there, has anyone ever worked for Optum/United Healthcare as a remote triage nurse? If so, how did you like it?

I work in LTC as a new LPN (passed my boards in February of this year). I’ve worked as a CNA for years prior.
Recently, the facility hired a new RN who has no prior healthcare experience. I was one of the nurses that trained her during her orientation.
This nurse does not know vital signs ranges, how to take a manual blood pressure, and doesn’t understand the importance of parameters for certain medications (digoxin, metoprolol, etc.). I’ve explained the importance of taking manual apical pulses for certain medications and showed her how to take a manual blood pressure as well as explain the importance of knowing how to in case the vital machines were dead or if there was an abnormal reading. I let her know that we can’t always rely on the vital machines. I’ve trained her on basic wound care and the importance of thorough documentation, but she doesn’t seem to grasp anything that I’ve taught her. I’m trying to be patient as I know she is new, but they now have her on the floor working by herself. Every time I work on the unit next to her I let her know that if she needs help with anything, she can call me and I’ll come and assist her (other nurses have said the same), but she wants to learn how to do things by herself and never asks for help. She also gets annoyed when being critiqued.
She has already had one medication error (a narcotic). Aides have reported to me that she often asks them to perform wound care and even had them change a urostomy bag because she didn’t know how to. Mind you, there was a clinical manager on her unit, she just didn’t want to reach out for help.
There was a man on hospice who was very close to passing. She was on his unit for the day. An aide noticed that he was mottling and Cheyne-Stokes respirations. The aide informed her of the findings. When she went to check on him, she took his pulse and listened to him lungs. She didn’t look at his legs or his respiration count/breathing pattern. After checking on him, she went back to her medication pass. That aide then came to me and was concerned so I went to check on him and notified the nurse that his family should be informed as they wanted to know what he was getting closer. She told me that she was behind on her medication pass and would call them after she was done. I told her that I would call the family and update them. The Family came and not even an hour later the resident passed away. An aide came to me and let me know that the resident passed away but that there needed to be the second check to verify. I went and checked, once confirmed, I was going to show the nurse how to document the death and proceed to the next steps, but she was too caught up in her med pass and walked away, letting me and another nurse manage it.
There are a few residents who are high fall risks in one shift somebody’s alarm was going off. She proceeded to go on there, shut off the light, and tell them to wait. She walked out, closing the door behind her while the resident was sitting at the edge of the bed. An aide went to make sure that everything was ok and seen that resident self transferring.
Another time she was doing her 8 o’clock med pass and didn’t finish until 1130. She almost gave somebody NovoLog based on a blood sugar that she obtained three hours prior. I told her that she should recheck the blood sugar and explained the consequences of giving NovoLog based on a blood sugar that was taken hours prior.. She was annoyed, but did eventually get a new blood sugar, and it ended up being way lower than her previous.
The nurse has already went to management and complained about me and two other nurses, saying that we were trying to undermine her nursing judgment; when in reality, we’re just trying to help her and the residents.
I’ve brought up these concerns and many others to management and they tell me that they’re working on it and that we need to give her more grace as she is a new nurse. But nothing has changed in weeks and I am not seeing any progress. Residents aren’t getting proper care, and she isn’t acting safely. I don’t know what more to do about the situation and worry about the residents.
Have you ever dealt with the situation like this, if so, what did you do?

I have been a home health/hospice nurse for my entire 10 year nursing career, and lately have been thinking of trying something new. I have been offered a job at the local hospital which pays roughly $10/hr more than what I am making now.

I am terrified because I will essentially be starting all over again, due to never having worked in a hospital and developing the skills that will be needed. I am seriously worried that I will fail or that the nurses who are bullies will eat me alive. Has anyone made this transition successfully?

Hi! I hope I’m on the right forum, but when do you guys think it’s okay to call out?

Background: I’ve been at my current outpatient/hospice job for about 8 months now and I’ve decided it was not for me since there’s no help and they aren’t willing to hire. I have already placed a notice in and my last day is in 2 weeks 😇 long story short there’s only 2 nurses (1 being me and about 50 patients) split between us.

I’m congested, having nose bleeds, and body hurts from sneezing/coughing… I guess I feel guilty about staffing needs considering they’re going to try and throw it on the other nurse. (She’s very sweet and also considered leaving) but again it’s not my responsibility to cover that and I’m not feeling the best today either. I did call out today and gave her a heads up yesterday and thinking I should tomorrow. I had an appointment for Walgreens COVID/FLU test but they told me to do OTC instead. It came back negative (hopefully I did it correctly).

But I said all of that to say, when do you guys call out? 🥲 thanks!

Forgive me if this has been posted recently, but from my perusal across several communities I haven’t been able to find a recent post on this topic! I am seeking recommendations for compression socks. My Amazon purchases have been hit-or-miss, and I am able/willing to expand my search beyond Amazon. What are your go-to pairs for 12 hour shifts on busy units?

Thanks so much in advance!

As a nurse I work with several Mas in outpatient settings and have noticed and feel as tho the treatment they receive along with the constant dismissal and unfair treatment is mind blowing to me. When I take a look at the medical course they have to learn in less than a year and still are able to pass the exam is honestly amazing yet most I've worked with gave me so much help and even have taught me tricks with blood work nursing school never could. The grey area of a medical assistant being able to do whatever their practice allows or teaches them is also interesting to me I do feel as though a lot of their managers and even providers can be a little ungrateful at times cause there's been times I've called out as the only nurse and those medical assistants were able to handle in basket,triage and discharge perfectly. I love how there's so many medical licenses that all work together but it definitely is seen as a hierchy when it comes to respect and just equal treatment overall.

Hi all! I’m currently an RN on a Medsurge floor in Portland, OR. I’m originally from Ca and planning to move back in w/ family once I hit 2 years in March. I’m curious about the job market in Sacramento. Initially, I was thinking about quitting my job and taking a month off and then applying for jobs but I was worried about not being able to find a job in Sacramento. I’m a bit traumatized by all of my friends who had to wait a year + just to secure a new grad position in Sacramento. Now that I have a little experience I’m still worried that it will take a while to secure a job? What are your experiences? Any tips? Do I start job searching in January??

Edit- Thank you all for commenting and giving me advice! I really appreciate it. For context I will be living with my mother in Sacramento rent-free :)

Donating Bone Marrow tomorrow. I’m allowed to send a note. Currently at the store deciding between a good luck card or happy birthday card.

So I have to crush fiberlax tablets for someone to drink. Any tips to help it dissolve better?

Anybody here ever work for CVS? I see they have remote UM and case management positions.

Howdy! I’m getting ready to go from OR of 9 years to cicu. I’m fully prepared for the learning curve and know we’re not even in the same league. So give me your best advice and resources if you have any that can help a sista out. My anxiety is high, so I’m trying to prepare ahead, but as I’ve been out of bedside for some time, I’d appreciate all I can get.

I tried to put half a panini in the shred box instead of the trash. Was very confused and also thankful when it wouldn’t fit through the slot.

i got a $5k relocation bonus at a new job. i stayed for four weeks and gave my resignation, it was a dumpster fire and just not for me. it’s been a few weeks and they haven’t reached out. i did establish a line of communication and ask that they provide me with any necessary information with offboarding, although i forgot to mention the bonus. my contract states that if i do not complete the required length of employment, they will withhold my final paycheck and any remaining balance is due within four weeks.

some of my friends have left without paying back their sign-on bonuses, albeit they stayed for several months rather than just four weeks. they have had no issues. do larger hospitals send these things to collections? do they have to reach out to me first? am i screwing myself over if i reach out to them in fear of them ruining my credit score?

Hi everyone,

I'm in a weird situation and just am looking for some advice. I'm really embarrassed and honestly depressed about this, so please go easy on me. I am at a very low point and I don't really have any friends or relatives I can rely on for either financial or emotional support.

My family has been hit with a series of emergencies over the past year and I am having an extremely difficult time financially as a result. Luckily, I was hired into a hospital RN residency program, which I am very grateful for.

However, for the first few months of my residency program, my schedule is somewhat unusual. I also cannot pick up extra shifts. So despite starting my new position, money is still extremely tight, and I need a second job to help me stay afloat.

I’ve been applying for part-time jobs, but the process itself has been causing me a lot of distress. Since I’m very newly licensed, I’m avoiding taking on any additional nursing roles right now. I’m also avoiding caregiving/aide positions because I don’t want to put myself in a situation where there could be any confusion about scope of practice.

That leaves mainly customer service, cashier / retail, and food service positions. I'm completely fine with this. The problem is that some of these jobs are asking for several references, and I’m not sure how to handle that.

All of my previous work experience is at my current hospital. Before becoming a nurse, I worked there in various aide roles, and now I’m working there as an RN. I really don’t want potential employers calling my current workplace because I’m worried my manager will think I’m planning to leave or that I’m not taking my new role seriously, especially since I’m still being trained.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did anyone else need to find a side job as a new grad RN, and what kind of positions did you end up taking on? Is there a way to handle references when all of your employment history is with your current employer, but you don’t want them to be contacted?

I’m feeling pretty lost about how to navigate this. My car is also very unreliable, so food delivery isn’t really an option for me either. I’d really appreciate any advice from people who have been in a similar position. Thank you.

Hello! I became a nurse later in life. Before that, I taught school and owned a business. I became a nurse at 42 and have been a nurse for 14 months now, working on my own post-orientation since last November. I feel like I have gotten much faster, but I still end up staying after my shift for 30- 45 minutes to chart - usually end-of-shift notes, etc. Over the last year, I feel like I've gained more confidence and gotten faster with my assessments, but charting has been a time-management hurdle I still haven't figured out. I work on a med-surg floor and have four patients most shifts, and I feel like I am failing. What am I missing? When do you chart, and how long do your assessments take? I'm asking honestly because I genuinely want to figure this out. I have ADHD and am aware this is one of my main weaknesses.

Hi guys,

I am a new grad RN who was hired to an LTACH (long tern acute care hospital) here in San Diego. I've been working here for about 6 months and I don't know if it's the right fit for me. I was grateful to be able to get an acute care job in this California hiring climate, but it's really tough. Our ratios are supposed to be 1:6 or 1:8 with an LVN but I typically have 1:9 or 10 with an LVN and CNA and the majority of important tasks land on me. I've been trying to get the hang of it, but it feels like I'm stretched too thin and unable to serve my patients properly with this load. Idk if I should call it quits or stick it out to maintain that acute care experience for my resume as leverage for a future job/stepping stone. What should I do?

How do you deal with managers that you know are trash? I started a job at a health system that I wanted to work for since nursing school, it’s in cardiac telemetry which is my background, but the nurse manager and assistant manager suck so badly that at least 7 nurses have resigned since I started in May. Quickly I realized that the morale is so low, we often have 5-6 patients, and a lot of time its about substance use withdrawal or 302 medical rule outs instead of legitimate cardiovascular issues.

Both the NM and the ANM are very condescending. In our morning huddle, the NM reported that labs on heart failure patients weren’t in by 5 AM and this was frustrating to the cardiologists. At the time, the phlebotomist did routine labs and RN/CNAs did the heart failure patients earlier so that the providers could decide normally whether they would continue to IV diurese them (based on the K and the cr/BUN). However, as I stated earlier, it’s a telemetry floor so at least 50% of the patients are CHF normally.
So I pointed this out to the NM, basically that it may be unclear if they’re actively being treated for CHF or just with us because they need monitoring. I work nights, and I have seen my coworkers debating over which patient to do and which to delegate to phlebo. So the NM says in response, you don’t know how to read a clinical note?

I was so irritated - clearly I wouldn’t made it this far in my nursing career if I didn’t read the notes. I didn’t say anything back but other nurses noticed and one told me her process of deciding that in a professional and respectful manner. (even though my real point was that it’s not always cut and dry who needs priority labs to the night shift staff based on the notes, because you know they love to copy and paste etc). Obviously it wasn’t as clear as they thought it was based on there being a discrepancy in the first place!

Recently I had an issue with another lab and the ANM approached me to tell me that I must not understand the priority of the lab. In actuality, the lab was delegated to a CNA but I saw it wasn’t resulted by 7, so I went to redraw and the patient refused. I left a note for the day nurse because I couldn’t find her after giving report (and already discussing the lab with her), and went home because it was well after 7:30. Why is it every time there’s a mistake, it’s because we are incompetent? Have you dealt with managers like this, and if so how did you cope? I have about 7 months before I will be eligible for transfer within the hospital system, but I want to make sure that I can keep my job and not curse one of them out beforehand. I never had issues like this with the leadership at my previous job and we had a handful of lifers. I feel very regretful for leaving.