Our Most Pressing Concerns With Healthcare

[cassioo]

"Nurses are required to spend a large amount of time documenting and protecting themselves legally, taking time away from patients

yes you have to chart for the jury and I have to remind myself that all the time...I'll never remember what happened in 20 years on that delivery that happened yesterday.

[nursinghumor]

You need to wonder hour for hour, do we spend more time charting the care we give, or actually caring for our patients.

Don't know about most nurses, but I'd rather spend time doing hands-on care then chart the bare minimum. Could that come back to haunt me should a lawsuit arise, sure. For days when falls, medication errors and other "questionable events" occur, you need to pay a bit more attention to your charting.

Otherwise, I'll let the malpractice insurance company handle things if I ever get sued.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com

[ReesesMIMI]

I have worked for an immediate care facility for 14 years. The business was sold about five years ago and now has internal family medecine, emergency care and walk in patients also. It's a very fast pace enviroment. Caring is not the most important part of their care plan.. They recently hired med. tech's who don't have a clue of what their doing. I called the state nursing board and they told me that if I am the R.N. working with them that I could be held responsible for any medication error that occures. I spoke with the medical director about this issue and she was beyond mad that I had called the state. I did not give the name of the facility. I have since left because of all he stress and errors I saw. They hired three med. tech's to replace me. I found out they are paying them seven dollars an hour. It has taken me several months to get over this. I went on several job interviews and have found the same situation in other urgent care and family facilities. I would not tell anyone to be a nurse. I loved the people I cared for----and I really cared. I saved their tails numerous times. Thanks for reading. My typing is not that good.

[nursinghumor]

Sorry to hear about your situation, never worked in a surgicenter myself. I've always worked on hospitals med/surg, tele units or in long term care.

I wouldn't be comfortable in that type of situation either, knowing I could be held responsible for poorly trained, cheaper employee's screw-ups. Yet you see that type of situation all the time in hospitals when supervising students, lpn/lvns and nursing assistants or unlicensed assistive personnel. It's hard to avoid.

Best suggestion I could offer is try a different type of environment or hospital unit. Maybe try homecare, casemanagement, etc. Chances are you'll find a situation you are comfortable with.

I do recommend nursing with several reservations. I want potential nurses to have a good idea of what they're getting into beforehand.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com

[nursinghumor]

"Your most pressing concerns with the profession and healthcare: Nursing shortage and the fact that current nurses are discouraging others from becoming a nurse. Also increased paperwork for bedside nurses. It is very difficult to provide full nursing care because of the mounds of paperwork required. New forms arrive frequently."

Janet Zarzour, RN, Tennessee Nurses:
Specialty Area: Labor & Delivery
http://www.nursefriendly.com/zarzour

[nursinghumor]

Your most pressing concerns with the profession and healthcare: Healthcare is expanding and growing exponentially. We, as nurses need to be flexible, skilled, and open to fill unique niches to meet the needs of an ever changing society.

Victoria Pettograsso, LPN, BS, MS, Coastal Care Nursing Associates:"Private nurse ownership assures our patients of superior nursing care and personalization. Presently, we are expanding our horizons into the nurse registry-consulting field. We would like to help you set up your own nurse registry. Time saved in policy and procedure development can yield earlier profits."
1525 S. Tamiami Trail Suite 603
Venice, Florida 34285
Phone: 941-492-4474, Fax: 443-342-2493
CoastalCare@nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com/pettograsso

[nursinghumor]

Your most pressing concerns with the profession and healthcare: The failure of hospital administration and insurance companies to recognize the real root of the "nursing shortage" problem. This has been going on for the 25 years I have been an RN, and they just don't get it. Like the other service professions i.e., teacher, firefighters, police, nurses are overworked, underappreciated (until you really need one) and underpaid. From the perspective of a CRNA the answer is blindingly obvious. There is no shortage of nurses wanting to become CRNAs. Why? The median salary for a Graduate Nurse Anesthetist is $113,000. (AANA figure) Start paying nurses what they are worth and there will be no shortage. It's simple supply/demand economics that administrators have ignored for decades.


Patrick Dupont BSN, CRNA, CLNC Alpha Medical-Legal Consulting, Inc.:"25 years as an RN including 22 years as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) with extensive experience in anesthesia administration for surgical procedures including general, orthopedic, neurosurgical, cardiothoracic, vascular, ENT, GYN, trauma, plastic and reconstructive, cosmetic, interventional radiology, labor and delivery including administration and monitoring of labor epidurals, invasive line placement and monitoring, emergency airway management, outpatient and ambulatory surgical procedures, regional anesthetics, conscious sedation and post-anesthesia care.
15585 Ocean Walk Cir. #113
Fort Myers, Florida 33908 Phone: 239-297-9893, Fax: 239-425-1384
amlc@roverusa.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com/dupont

[nursinghumor]

Your most pressing concerns with the profession and healthcare: The amount of people that are joining the profession for the wrong reasons. People know of the nursing shortage, and know that jobs in this profession are plentiful, but some people would make a better dog warden than a nurse.

Angela Halley RN, BSN, CLNC, River View Legal Nurse Consulting:"We specialize in providing legal nurse consulting services to attorneys (plaintiff and defense), insurance companies, workman's compensation firms, and individual institutions for risk management services. Our firm has over 20 years of nursing experience in psychiatric, labor and delivery, pulmonary, neurology, medical/surgical nursing, and many areas of nursing management. River View Legal Nurse Consultants provides a time efficient and cost effective answer to your legal nurse consulting needs."
64 Deenie Dr
Bidwell, Ohio 45614
Phone number: 740-245-9891, Fax number: 740-245-0153
E-Mail: angelahalleyrn@wmconnect.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.org/halley

[nursinghumor]

Your most pressing concerns with the profession and healthcare: The devaluing of professional nurses by institutions such as hospitals. Also the fragmented tier of types of nurses - lack of uniformity. RE healthcare- cost before quality and safety.

Suzanne Schiltz, RN, BSN, Texas Nurse Entrepreneurs:
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com/schiltz

[nursinghumor]

Your most pressing concerns with the profession and healthcare:"I am worried re the cutbacks taking place in hospitals as a result of the HMOs and cost-cutting measures. Nurses are asked to do much more with less or unskilled help."

Michelle L. Callan Nurse-Attorney:"Medical-legal consulting and trial assistance to attorneys for Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice cases."
13 Anchor Terrace, Rochester New York 14617
Phone number: 585-266-6574
Fax number: 585-266-6574
mcallan1@rochester.rr.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com/callan/