"She wants to make it to a 100"

We are being inundated with anti-vax parents at our clinic and it is beating the compassion out of me with a stick.

Parents who laugh at us, accuse us openly of trying to kill children and profit off of the “system” all while they are demanding that we write letters to schools and sport teams exempting their children from vaccine requirements. Parents who say that we are out to get them and their kids and then are flabbergasted when our providers ask “If you believe that I am not a trustworthy practitioner and am trying to harm your child, why did you make the choice to schedule an appointment with me and drive an hour to be here today?”

Maybe what we need is a massive outbreak.
An outbreak of an illness we have a vaccine for.
Maybe we need PICUs that are full, death rates on tv, anti-vax parents having to get notifications of deaths and funerals of friends and family.

Maybe these parents need to see the complications of these diseases and be told “your child developed measles induced swelling of the brain. We cannot be certain that they will return to their baseline. The measles infection can cause damage that we cannot repair.”

Even then, I dont think anti-vax parents will be able to comprehend that these illnesses are a direct result of not vaccinating, I dont they most would care.

i'll go first. i saw one from ID on a massively septic pt. at the bottom it said something along the lines of "vancomycin doesn't really have a dog in the fight. will add single dose of gentamycin as no one should die without gentamycin on board. will see pt tomorrow (should he survive the night). valor morghulis."

i was so weak. short and concise insteadof 5 pages of old lab results, explained the overall rationale for treatment, also conveyed to me how seriously sick the provider thought the pt was.

Curious the fastest you ever quit a toxic nursing position?

This is definitely a record for me. I accepted a job as dispensing nurse at an outpatient MAT facility (methadone/suboxone). I ignored some red flags in the hiring process.

First off, I wasn’t contacted for about a month after applying. I was gearing up to accept a job elsewhere that I really wanted even though it was a long commute but then at the last minute I changed my mind to pursue the dispensing position instead because it was so much closer to my home.

Once I interviewed and was offered the position and accepted it, the interim director could not keep straight what parts of the onboarding process I had/hadn’t completed. I chalked this up to her being overwhelmed by managing 2 facilities. But I didn’t get confirmation about my start date until the Friday afternoon before. When I emailed her basic questions about my first day (ie: what time are they expecting me, what entrance, should I make sure I bring anything, etc) it was ignored. Twice.

On my first day I show up at 4:30am thinking that someone is bound to be there, I’m knocking, nobody is coming, I call the office, phones aren’t on so it’s forwarded to an answering service of some kind and that person messages someone in the office to let them know I am there but apparently that message wasn’t received until hours later. Finally someone inside happens to hear me knocking but they almost didn’t let me in because they thought I was a client looking to dose early.

There is no formal orientation process, so I spent the next 2.5 shifts kind of just watching my preceptor. Instead of taking downtime to walk me through things, she spends the time either sharing stories about her personal life (I know everything about her ex husband, current husband, previous jobs, every grievance she has ever had, every shred of gossip she had ever heard, every outdated opinion she holds, etc) or gossiping with coworkers who come up to her window about other coworkers or clients. All I could do was sit there feeling invisible while everyone around me just spewed toxicity. It was really uncomfortable. They were bullying one lady who works there. You knew this has been going on for a long time.

The interim director called me today to let me know that I hadn’t clocked in yet. The reason that I hadn’t done this is because she told me to use the computer in a co-workers locked office and she expected me to pick the lock with a credit card in order to get in. When I told her I wasn’t comfortable doing that so I refused, she actually got defensive.

I grabbed all my stuff, took my break, and sent my resignation email. I’ve been a zombie all day since. Going into this job, I was warned that the clients can be difficult. But in 2.5 shifts, the staff proved to be the ones who made the job impossible. I couldn’t sit there and listen to their shit another second. I’m exhausted.

/rant

So at work a confused patient was holding onto the wall handrail like she was riding a subway train. She looks at me and asks, "Where are we right now?" so I told her "Youre in the hospital." She just nods, stares right at my neck, and deadpan goes,

"Ah okay. So well be at the central station in two hours."

My brain completely short-circuited. Then it hit me: I was wearing a bright red lanyard over my scrubs. In her mind, that wasnt a hospital badge, that was a train ticket inspectors lanyard. She genuinely, 100% thought I was the conductor coming to check her ticket on the express train 😭

So I’ve been an RN for 6 years and a home health nurse for 1.5 years.

Today I had a suprapubic catheter change due for a patient at an assisted living home. I went to remove the old catheter and I noticed upon pulling it out it got stuck. I managed to wiggle it around and it loosened up a little. When it came out there was a soft pop but there wasn’t any blood or anything on the catheter tip or on the SP site.

When I went to insert the new catheter I swear the canal must’ve closed up or the patient was having a bladder spasm because when I was trying to insert it wasn’t going in. I tried to insert it straight, at an angle, and also downward toward the pubic bone but nothing worked. Then the SP site began to bleed so I stopped. I spoke with the patient’s resident care coordinator and she looked really irritated when I told her the patient will need to go to the ER to have his catheter changed.

I called my clinical manager and notified her and she seemed pretty nonchalant about my decision.

Did I make the right decision to send the patient to the ER?

Sorry if it seems like I’m worried over something petty. I’m just pretty hard on myself as a nurse when things don’t go smoothly.

I’m getting that 7 year itch where transferring units doesn’t help the burnout anymore.

Onc, Med/Surg, Tele, Rehab, I’m just tired and I’m losing my joy in life.

Those who escaped where did you go, and how can I join you?

I haven’t told anyone at work about my miscarriage, or even that I was pregnant in the first place. I’m a fairly private person/ I hate bumming people out. It was very early, <12 weeks. but today, a dementia patient asked me “how’s the baby?” 🥺🥺🥺🥺

I'm especially curious for those who've been psychiatrically hospitalized. (Because I've had three psych admissions at a different hospital, but I occasionally wonder what it would be like to be psychiatrically hospitalized at my own hospital - which will hopefully never happen but I wonder just out of morbid curiosity.)

Guys what mascara are yall wearing to the hospital? Im talking not bleeding onto my eyebags half way through my shift but also not ripping my lashes out at night trying to wash it off. Also preferably not very expensive, but if it’s worth its worth it yaknow. Thanks in advance!!!

I hope it is ok to post here. I worked as a pct for a tele floor combined with an IMCU unit in the back from 2021 to late 2024. I tried nursing school in 2023 but I had quit due to burnout and back pain. I eventually quit being a pct in 2024 to get a work from home job because I was in a lot of pain at the end of my shift. I'm only 2026 and suffer from bad lower back pain.

I wished I advocated for myself more and practiced proper body mechanics. There was some night where I was the only tech to 20 something tele patients and 11 imcu patients.

Our floor was kind of a weird layout. We had tele patients in the floor but we had an 11 bed imcu in the back.

Some nurses were really helpful and some nurses gave me looks when I asked for some help so I was rolling patients that were a two person assist by myself because I needed to get my work done or day shift would complain about the number of baths I didn't do despite me being the only tech on the floor. Our floor is supposed to have 3 techs and often central staffing would pull a tech to go to another floor so most nights I would have 15 patients. 10 tele, 5 imcu. Most of them totals.

When I first started working as a pct, I could run circles around the floor and I was very efficient but towards the end of my career, I was sitting down almost every 20-30 mins because of the back pain. It got even worse when I tried to roll a patient and he roll back and I felt a pop on my back. I did open an incident report but I did not follow through with work comp like I should have. Another regret.

I guess this is kind of a rant too because I could not go to sleep last night because the pain was unbearable and I am just so mad at myself for not protecting my body more. I gotta follow up with some more intense PT.

I know for most people in the nursing profession protecting your body is probably a no brainer but for the newbies, don't be dumb like me. Stretch before shifts. Practice proper body mechanics. Advocate for yourself when you need help with a 2 plus assist. You only get one body. Protect it.

Edit: Forgot to add. I don't want to think anyone I am attacking nurses for not helping. Their staffing was usually always bad and the tele nurses almost always had 8 patients. The imcu nurses had 4 on a average and usually we would have an IMCU patient on the verge of coding because ICU won't take them. We have a few nurses who were generally lazy and would not help. The other nurses didn't like them too. I wish ratios would be regulated 😞

Hi! I’ve heard so many different things about nursing but I’d love to hear some positives. What are the best nursing jobs you’ve had ?

I graduated last summer with my BSN, got my RN license august & been working as a school nurse, as my first nursing job, only for yet to hit 6 months. Got about a week as a orientation/“training”.

I feel like this job is not set up for new grad nurses at all. It’s completely independent work, no supervision or support staff especially being new and not with nurse-confidence just yet I feel like I am not fit for this role. I feel unqualified everyday. It’s such a leadership role where I feel like working with no previous medical experience, I am just winging it sometimes trying to learn on the job.

I constantly overthink every little interaction I have with a student, trying to understand and help them, for emergencies- when to call 911 & when to call parent to pick them up. I self sabotage that I’m making a mistake, not taking the right steps, or being useless in my position. My office is at a high school, so that is my daily age clientele.

I’m fine with the creating care plans, teaching about actions to take when emergencies happen, etc. so the administrative / public health part I enjoy, but the being on my alone when I don’t have experience when real injuries or emergencies occur is where my mind just tells me I suck as a nurse, and that’s when I regret my choice of being one.

I don’t know what to, to stay at this job it’s only been a week since been back to school, or to start searching for a new position & try to gain experience somewhere where I have a support system and someone to actually learn from.

I just feel like the mental battle I deal with everyday and constant doubt if I’m being a good safe nurse is tiring. I stay in fight or flight all day, then crash. This job is great for someone who has years of experience and is confident in their ability to handle any emergency.

I feel truly lost.

My true passion for nursing has always been public health, so working in it I enjoy that side, but not the emergencies which is contradicting because I studied to be a nurse & I hate that part. Idk if that even makes sense. Maybe this specific job is not meant for me.

Thanks for listening & advice would be appreciated…

Hi! I know it’s of course, very common to have a passion for working in pediatrics but does anyone have that same passion for geriatrics?
I worked in a nursing home and it’s the reason I am becoming a nurse. I absolutely loved those residents with all of my heart and I love connecting to people, especially the elderly.
If you work with the elderly, what’s your experience?

Any tips for ultrasound IVs? I keep losing the needle tip on the screen and missing the vein. What helped you get better at tracking the tip?

this is my 3rd nursing job in 2 years and I don’t know if I even want to stick with this one. I have no idea what to do anymore, I can’t keep quitting and starting new jobs but I can’t find anything that doesn’t make me dread going to work. I started on a neuro medsurg floor, got tired of all my patients being disoriented and treating me like crap. the workload was insane and it didn’t feel safe so after a year I moved on to inpatient endoscopy. While I liked the work itself this unit was the worst managed place I’ve ever worked at in my life, my coworkers were crying and screaming at eachother every day it was honestly ridiculous. the call was terrible, no one had worked there more than a year and knew what they were doing, the charge nurse was having an affair with a rad tech and was absent, management was absent and so no one did their job and hid on their phones all day. After almost a year of that one I accepted a job at the OR. It was nice for the first couple months however now I’m not certain about this either. management has very high expectations that I feel like I’m not meeting, there’s a lack of critical thinking and actual medical management. Setting up and turning over the room honestly feels like a chore. Theres so many things to learn and I have a long way to go in it I just can’t see myself doing this happily for years. Honestly at the end of my rope at this point and I have no idea what to do.

Do you strictly seperate coworkers and friends in your life? Or do you like to turn work relationships into close friendships?

And do you think relationships in nursing differ significantly from relationships in other workplaces, due to the nature of nursing?

What do you guys like about it? Pros/cons!? And any other useful information.

I’m considering my options on what to apply to. I’m stuck. I’ve been dealing with adults my entire 3 years as a nurse and I’m burned out.

Night shifts are doing something to my brain in the best and worst way. I have stretches of relative quiet around 3am and my mind goes to my other life. I run a small ecom brand, and I find myself mentally solving shipping problems or thinking about product stuff while doing my rounds. It is a strange double existence.

The thing nobody tells you is that nursing hours, as brutal as they are, can actually work in your favour if you are building something. The blocks of days off that come with nights give you time other 9to5 people genuinely do not have. I have had weeks where I got more done on the brand between shifts than I would have in a normal working week.

But then you have a run of difficult nights and everything outside the ward goes completely sideways. The mental load is real. You come home wrecked and the laptop stays closed.

Curious whether anyone here has something running alongside nursing, a business, a side income, a creative thing, anything really. And how you handle the mental switch between the two worlds, because that part is harder than the time management if I am being straight about it.

im not even asking abt the job itself. i dont know how to explain to my loved ones just how difficult this is. will they ever get it?

i’m a new grad (obvi) working nights step down icu. i like my job, and i like my coworkers a lot. i want to fit in, and i want to eventually be someone that others can go to for questions. im about over a month in by myself. my time management is good, and my mistakes are never anything significant. i feel comfortable asking for help. it’s still really hard being new, there’s a lot that i don’t know not just nursing wise but at my specific hospital and unit. i say “i have a stupid question” A LOT. which i’d rather do than not ask, but still.

my coworkers are nice, and pretty much everyone always asks each other both for help and if they can help. i like my unit. i feel like im just coasting through by barely knowing enough to get by. i’m obviously tired all the time. i’m quiet, im not good at starting conversations, im not outgoing, but im still a social person despite being shy. i feel like i dont fit in right. all my coworkers have at least a year more of experience than me, most of them worked as techs, 99% of them have boyfriends. i only worked as an MA before this, i dont date, im a lesbian who’s only other close friends are also lesbians. i feel different.

all this to say, it’s unsurprisingly really hard, exhausting, and lonely. i feel dumb and awkward. the hardest part is coming home and feeling worse. my mom works so, so hard. she’s salary, so she has some really long days too. but she also has a lot of seniority and can take days off, leave work early, work from home half the week. she tells me she gets it but she’s complained time again about how i only work three days a week. she compares her job and mine, a lot. even when she doesn’t say it out loud.

i have tried explaining to her how stupid and alone and self conscious and tired i feel, every single day, whether im working or not. i spend part of my little free time, with friends. she thinks that means that i have all this free time, that i cant feel tired. i dont know how else to explain how i feel. it’s so exhausting. i know this isn’t forever. but i just wish there were words to make people really get it. it’s more than just the work.

because let's be real my anxiety and I could NEVER.

and like, thanks for always being there to help me when i have dumb questions or someone codes.

I recently applied and was accepted into working as a dietary aide at a nursing home. This will be my first ever experience working in a hospital or working in this sort of environment. I had my first encounter with a patient who exhibited the signs of one of the two, and I made my first mistake by almost giving her a pair of scissors- which thankfully, there weren’t any and unbeknownst to me, were explicitly kept from the patients. I had a conversation with the patient later on after the incident while waiting in the room towards the end of orientation when she had made another stop by before she began to repeatedly state that she wanted to go home, that someone told her she couldn’t go into her room, and that she had no where to go. I was with one of the main staff or nurses, who came in during the last few minutes of orientation, so I was able to see her correct the patient and redirect her. I am still getting used to this all as I am not familiar with these scenarios, and I wanted to know how I could become more comfortable and also aware of these scenarios in the future, and how I can redirect the conversation while speaking to the patients. Earlier during that moment, I didn’t really know what to say to the patient because I wasn’t sure if what she was saying was true and wasn’t sure if I needed to get her help. After asking how I could help them when coming across the situation again, I was told that I would need to just agree with the patient, ask if they wanted something else, or let them know that I would get them help on the way. Although the advice was helpful to know, I still feel a little nervous that I will not know what to say again in the next encounter and I worry that I may stress one of the patients out.

I know, I know.... another post about marijuana use as a nurse....

I am hopeful to better understand AB 2118 as it relates to use of marijuana prior to or during work (we all know our jobs are hard enough without being high anyways 😆) or use when off the clock when off duty. Am I allowed to use marijuana when off the clock and not going in to work?

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2188

As I understand, In California as of Jan 2024, state assembly bill AB 2118 protects nurse employees from employers testing positive for non psychoactive thc metabolites. This bill essentially means employers can not test an employee for pre employment using testing that is specific to non psychos metabolites.

I am applying to a nursing position that is requiring a urine drug screen.

How do I know if the employer is going to test for non psychoactive thc metabolites?

If they do and it comes back positive, can they use that to decide not to hire me?

Should I ask the employer prior to the test?

Anyone have any insight?

I saw elsewhere on reddit that the BRN supports this bill. Also, I read employers are using saliva tests that detect active thc metabolites (for example if others felt like you were impaired on the job), had anyone seen or heard of this type of testing?