I'm one of those nurses who struggles a lot with confronting patients and/or their families, mainly because I'm conflict-averse but also because I'm scared of getting in trouble (aka getting reported to mgmt by the pt/family, and mgmt caring more about patient satisfaction than anything).

Also, this question doesn't necessarily only have to be about patients/families who are manipulative/demanding, though I know many times that's the cause for having to lay down the law. Could also be situations where they're just Not Getting What's Happening or they're in denial, etc.

Nurse misses huge decubitis ulcer, packs patient anus instead.

I was precepting a new grad. And we gave 2 units of blood used blood tubing and had to give platelet and I approved using REGULAR IV TUBING. Was caught by another nurse ( pt went to procedure). I’m in the ICU. They wrote an incident report which is understandable. I feel so horrible it’s eating me every time I think of it. I feel so ashamed when I see my preceptee and also the manager. I’m not sure why and how I thought it was ok. I truly didn’t know. It’s scary I know. It’s Joe ingrained in my brain to never do that and the reasons why. I don’t give a lot of platelets. Should I step away from precepting? I’m thinking of asking because of this. I just got my CCRN and I enjoyed learning and studying. I enjoy teaching too. Now I’m scared. How badly did I F up? Ps: my manager didn’t mention me not precepting I’m just asking if I didn’t know/remember this basic skill/knowledge, how am I to precept?

If you weren’t a nurse, what would you be?

I’d be fishmonger with a nice shop and sell all the fresh and beautiful seafood 🦞 🦐 🏝️
Maybe in another life.

Curious to see how old everyone was when they started their nursing journey!

I’m a travel nurse currently on assignment at a hospital in the Northwest. Recently, we had a sentinel event on the floor, and I wanted to ask people who have been through something similar how these situations usually play out.

It wasn’t my patient and it didn’t even happen on my shift. Basically, the patient was relatively healthy, with some minor health issues who was admitted for elective procedure. His vitals weren’t taken on time, the required safety checks weren’t done, and the ordered telemetry was never put on. When the patient went into cardiac arrest for a reason unrelated to the diagnosis, nobody knew. By the time he was found, it was too late.

The nurse is now blaming the tech for not getting the vitals and not putting on the telemetry. The tech is 18, had just graduated high school, and had literally just finished orientation. The nurse has more than 15 years of experience and was a travel nurse for many years.

What bothers me the most is how the nurse seems to be acting like nothing really happened and like it’s not her business. During the safety huddle with leadership about the incident, she was literally the only person in the room scrolling through her phone and seemed completely disengaged. She is also one of those nurses who constantly talks about how staff job is beneath her, how she wants to move to California, go to CRNA school, or find some job where she can make a million dollars a year

I remember listening to an interview with Radonda Vaught. She talked a lot about her struggles after what happened, but I don't remember hearing much about the most important part — your action caused death and suffering to the human. And honestly, I find this situation very similar in that way. I have a hard time understanding how someone can be involved in something this serious and then seemingly just go on with their life like nothing happened. How do you look at yourself in the mirror after something like this?

I know these situations are rarely as simple as blaming one person, and there can be failures at many levels — training, staffing, communication, supervision, policies, etc. I’m not trying to make a judgment about who is ultimately responsible.

I’m just genuinely curious for those who have been through sentinel events: What usually happens afterward? How is responsibility determined, and how do the nurses involved typically deal with something like this?

One of our ED PA's just walked by my desk and told me "Hey, thanks for saving that guy's penis last night. That was really nice of you".

Totally made my day :)

I don’t work here anymore but I had a coworker that was genuinely a creep. I’m talking a 37 year old man that would rub the shoulders of the 22 year old MA and ask her to go on dates. Now, every time this man had anything to do with a woman patient, it would make me uneasy and make me feel like I had to step in and do whatever he was going to do (small outpatient physicians office). This one time in particular he did his first pap smear on a woman who was in her early 20s and came out after and said it was “so hot, the best experience ever, she had the nicest anatomically perfect vagina he had ever seen, he can’t wait to do more pap smears”. From that point forward I would genuinely feel like throwing up when I saw him. Our nurse manager gave him a small slap on the wrist but otherwise nothing came of it. And he is in school to become an NP! Not all men, but always a man.

I’m still in shock and just need to share. I showed up to work tonight and my manager pulled me aside and said she had been sent a photo of me sleeping on the unit. Handed over my badge and I left immediately. I never intentionally fell asleep just nodded off while charting (utter exhaustion and adjusting to nights). The unit is an absolute mess and always short staffed, unsafe practices abound though I think all the nurses are doing their very best. I own my mistake. But honestly my gut reaction was excitement that I got to go home.

But next steps? I’m very experienced in a variety of specialties. Thank you for reading.

Update: Thank you all for the 99.9% helpful and encouraging comments! I’m so relieved to never go back to that place again and honestly the main worry I’ve had today is feeling bad that my dog sitter is out a few days of work lol. But I’ve started putting in applications and on I will go! Let’s keep up the fight advocating for healthier work environments for ourselves and a better healing environment for our patients. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12469713/

we have just begun this semester, and I'm already having a nightmare, My grandmother died recently, almost on the same day classes started and, instead of getting mentally prepared to start a tough semester, I find myself barely managing to attend lectures before zoning out.

I feel a little like the new year's eve party of the semester, but even before the first foothold of the new year can be established through the classes, I am worried I am going to miss something so early.

Mentally, as well, I keep going back to the idea of how I'm supposed to be building good habits right now but actually, I'm just trying to survive the day.

Is there a best time to talk to your professors when the new term is just beginning and that time is quite early, or is it excessive considering we have just started?

Have any of you managed to turn things around after having such a poor start?

I really need to know it's possible not to be behind the rest of the year just because of how it started.

Hi there, I just wanted to vent a little bit and see what kind of opinions I could get. I started nursing at 44. I waited a long time to be able to devote my time for the studies that it takes to become a nurse. I bought into it all. How hard it was to become one well this must be an amazing career, right? I can't believe how little voice you have as a nurse in regards to helping to change systems to make things better for patients. I can't believe the gas lighting, the gatekeeping, the clicks, the mean girlness, and the outright disrespect for a patient's rights and autonomy that I have seen since I have been a nurse. Oh I have spoken up and it has gotten me in trouble. I have been let go twice now. It's very frustrating. I'm 47 now and I've never experienced one being fired

second politics that come along with nursing.

It just ridiculous

Thinking that you're going to be valued, you're going to feel like you've really changed somebody's life , when really we have all the

of the accountability with none of the autonomy and you're really and truly no better than your notes.

I always feel damned if I do damned if I don't.

Most restaurants I have worked at and children's Day camps have been ran better than hospitals.

My old hospital use to have RSI kits that we could pull from the Pyxis that contained all or most of the intubation meds. Do you guys have that your hospital and if so how do you guys deal with ordering/charting on it?

I’m hoping to have something similar for my new hospital but don’t really know the logistics around it.

a few months ago my hospital announced a $5 shift differential for nurses who work med/surg/tele…ICU,ER, and OB don’t get it, apparently it’s a thank you from admin for working on the hardest units, but it seems too good to be true, i feel like something is fishy about it. anyone else heard of this?

long post short, I posted in some finance subreddits about going part time after maternity leave. I've been a nurse for 5 years at the same hospital, I'm 7 months pregnant, currently work 3 12s in float pool, can make my own schedule, no weekend or holiday requirement. My MIL will watch baby one day a week. Essentially, after paying for 2 days a week for daycare I would be left with about the same amount of money as I would be going part time. I still get all the perks of my job, benefits (insurance will cost a little more but it's going to be more anyways with adding baby), and 401k match with going part time, just to make it work would probably work some weekend shifts.

A large portion of the responses I got were that it would be a big mistake to go part time career wise regarding saving for retirement, missing out on career opportunities, promitions or raises, and that the gross income would still look better when it comes to eventually buying a house, regardless of the childcare expense.

I'm fine with working the floor for now (tried some admin before, was not the best fit for me), so I don't really care about a "promotion". These comments seem to have a very corporate tone to them but still got me thinking. For those of you who did cut FTEs, do you have any regrets financially or for your career in general by going part time? Especially after having a baby?

I think I would be happier part time, but I'm willing to do what's best for my family.

I’m an LPN doing 1:1 pediatric nursing, and I’m seriously considering asking my agency to move me to another case. I need outside opinions because I don’t know if I’m just emotionally overwhelmed today or if this case has genuinely become too much.
My client is a young, nonverbal child with a G-tube who can have very significant aggressive behaviors. I’ve been hit, kicked, scratched, bitten, had my hair pulled, and have had skin broken more than once. She can also throw things, throw herself to the floor, scream, attempt to elope, and become extremely physical when redirected or when something is upsetting her. I understand that these behaviors are part of her needs, and I’ve continued working through them and trying to figure out triggers rather than blaming her.
The issue is that I’m starting to feel like there’s very little consideration for me as the nurse outside of what the family needs.
My scheduled hours are 7:30 AM–4:00 PM. There have been times Mom has wanted or expected me to get to the home earlier than my scheduled start time because of her own work schedule. On the other hand, there have also been multiple times where I was supposed to leave at 4:00 and Mom was late getting home, sometimes not arriving until after 4:00. I have another job that I sometimes have to be at shortly afterward, so those extra 10–15 minutes actually matter.
I’ve tried to be extremely accommodating because I understand that parents have jobs and things happen. I’ve adjusted where I can, stayed when she was running late, dealt with very difficult behaviors, and tried to make the case work.
Today is what really made me question everything.
My aunt passed away and today was her funeral. I was very close to her. I could have taken the entire day off or at least a half day, but Mom recently started a new job and I understood that she couldn’t easily leave work. Because I was trying to be considerate of her situation, I arranged to only attend the service and then come directly back to school to finish the rest of my shift. That meant missing the burial, the repass, and the time afterward with my family.
Coverage was arranged in advance for my client’s tube feeding while I was gone. Mom knew for several days that there would be coverage. This morning I also explained the plan and let her know someone would be coming around 11:30–12:00 to feed her.
While I was literally on my way back from my aunt’s service, Mom texted me:
“Are you back in the school? I need to know if my daughter ate or not!!”
My supervisor had already gone to the school, administered both cartons of her feed, and told Mom that she tolerated it well and was happy and interacting with classmates afterward. My supervisor even explained to Mom that I had my phone off because I was trying to process and grieve and asked her to be understanding because this was a difficult day for me.
I completely understand a parent wanting to know whether their child was fed. That is not what bothered me. It was the tone and the fact that there had already been a clear plan in place. On a normal day, Mom does not message me demanding to know whether she ate, and there has even been a recent day where the child was sent to school without her regular nurse and there didn’t seem to be this same level of panic about the feeding.
To make today worse, my client was already having significant behaviors before I left. She has been repeatedly taking off the same pair of shoes, becoming frustrated when she can’t get them back on properly, throwing them, screaming, hitting, etc. The last time she wore this same pair she also became very aggressive, hitting, biting and scratching both me and her para. I told Mom I thought the shoes might be uncomfortable or too big. So I already knew I was leaving my aunt’s funeral and coming straight back to potentially spend the next several hours managing aggression.
I’m not going to abandon my client or just walk out because obviously she needs safe nursing coverage and Mom is at work. I’m finishing my shift.
But emotionally, today really changed the way I feel about this case.
I feel like I’ve spent months being expected to understand Mom’s schedule, her job, her being late, her needing me earlier, her preferences, and everything that comes with caring for her daughter. The one time I needed a little grace because I lost someone I loved, I still came back to work to accommodate her, and I didn’t even feel acknowledged as a human being.
I care about my client and I don’t blame a disabled child for having behaviors. But I’m starting to wonder whether the parent/nurse dynamic and the overall demands of this case are no longer sustainable for me.
For other private-duty/home-care nurses: would this be enough for you to request another case? Am I being overly sensitive because I’m grieving today, or does this sound like a pattern where I’ve been too accommodating and need to set a boundary or move on?

I have a lot, but my most recent favorite is:

Propofol: "I don't remember, but I ended up in the ICU."

i am helping set up a small mobile nursing team offering home infusion services, and figuring out the waste disposal side has been way more frustrating than expected. traditional waste haulers keep trying to lock us into multi year contracts with expensive monthly minimums, which does not make financial sense for a small startup team doing home visits where waste volume fluctuates week to week.

a nurse practitioner i spoke with suggested using a sharps mail back program so we can just ship out containers on a pay as you go basis without any recurring retainers. for those running small independent home health or infusion setups, have you found mail in programs to be reliable for compliance, or is there another flexible option i should look into?

Utterly exhausted and only 2 out of 3 shifts. Last 2 consecutive shifts had me running from one room to another. Patients needy and complaining despite me going above for them. Everyone needs me at the same time and expects me there within 2 minutes. Plus I'm not only handing out their meds but also their damn refreshments! Not to mention I feel like some of the Patients purposely talk your ear off and take up so much of your time when you go in. Like dude I'm in here every 2 hours. You're not my only patient. I think I'm getting burned out on people and being social. This bedside work is physically and mentally draining.

Had to have a meeting with my nurse manager and clinical instructor this morning because the ICU nurse I was shadowing didn't want me back. That's a story for another day.

A lot took place and was said during this meeting and I have no intention of writing a lengthy post.

So that said, some of the key takeaways is that my manager has made clear that every move I make going forward is going to be watched and scrutinized. My preceptor and/or I have to check-in multiple times during the week to see how I'm doing.

I didn't feel supported. My job was threatened and someone spread a lie about me applying to a rival hopsital, which I'm not. And though the nurse manager "apologized" for their source being misinformed. They didn't seem convinced that I was telling the truth.

I was essentially told that I now have 4-months to get my act together or else. To be clear those exact words weren't used, but the message was clear.

That all being said, I could just use some positivity as I feel very defeated at the moment as well as unsupported. My shift starts in 5-hours at this point and I can't sleep either because of this. Just feel like a failure and that nursing was a huge mistake, but don't want to go back to fianance, customer service and the business world etc.

Thank you in advance

I’m an RN with a little over 3 years of experience. My background is mainly Med-Surg/IMU/step-down and currently have experience in cath lab post recovery for a year now.

I’m considering making the jump into the actual Cath Lab, but the biggest thing holding me back honestly isn’t the clinical side ..it’s the schedule and CALL 😭. I really value having my days off actually be my days off and I’m worried about getting burned out from being on call, getting called in overnight, weekends, staying late for cases, etc.
For anyone who works Cath Lab, especially at Houston Methodist locations (Baytown would be even better) any feedback?
I’m also considering Cardiac Diagnostics because that seems like it may give me the cardiac/procedural environment I like without as much of the call lifestyle.
For anyone familiar with Cardiac Diagnostics ..feedback too?

I’m trying to figure out if going into Cath Lab or cardiac diagnostics is worth sacrificing the predictable schedule I really want. 😭

Hey r/Nursing. Two years ago I applied for a part time position on night shift as a nurse educator. It seemed too good to be true. 20 hrs a week, flexible shifts, and self scheduled time. I had at the time a 2 year old and knew at some point I'd have another baby on the way. Fast forward to now and my now 3 year old is in day care part time, and me and my wife watch the baby on alternating days. Due to family constraints and now a reduced pay, I work only Monday and Tuesdays. It just works right now with family life. However, my manager for the last year has been nagging me to vary my shifts during the week but I can't. Now she wants this in writing for some reason that I need to work fixed shifts and I'm not even sure why?

When I interviewed I made sure to ask what shift times were expected, what days, etc and the response was always whatever you want as long as it is over night. So, what happened to that? I've asked why it's so important that I vary my shifts and I'm told for greater exposure to the overnight nurses. My argument is 1. Family takes precedence to a part time job, 2. How does me working Thursday one week really increase my exposure to other nurses? I.e nurses work varying shifts themselves.

I've been stressing about this for around the last year and it doesn't seem to be a topic that will be dropped. Not even sure if posting this here is appropriate but I'm kind of at a what the fuck stage of work life atm.

Hello all. I currently work for Kaiser in Socal as an LVN II making $39/hr. I’ve been working for Kaiser for 1 year now.
Last year I applied to LA County for their LVN I position when I was job hunting and I landed an interview at LA General hospital but I was so nervous during the interview that I completely bombed it and I was told they decided not to move forward and then I landed a job at Kaiser as a new grad. I’ve always wanted to work for county so I reapplied again yesterday. Anyone here have pros and cons working as a LVN for county? If a job at county was to line up for me would I be making a mistake by leaving kaiser? The pay is great at Kaiser and the work is pretty easy, I don’t have anything bad to say about it but working for LA county also seems like a great opportunity.

I’m going back into the ED after a three year hiatus. They’re training me for 6-8 weeks and I feel like my recollection for protocols is pretty decent but I’d still like to brush up. I gave my nursing school books away so I don’t have those as a resource. Can y’all suggest a website or anything like that where I can brush up? Thanks!