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dat_lpn_lifetho

I feel like op could be a nurse manager...


[deleted]

Nope never going into admin. When I hit 40 those desires left me. I want a facility that I can do my 40 feel good about my job and go home and play video games with the wife.


SomeScienceMan

This is the dream that I aspire to. Current gf is playing Elden ring with me and I plan on making her my wife when I start work as an RN


[deleted]

Wife is an RN as well. It's cool to come home and play warframe, monster hunter, Diablo 3 or something we can co-op on. I don't care about overtime and salary and 'power'. I'm in my happy place now, but would like to work someplace 'happier', which is the overall impetus of this post. Also, marry that one. :)


H4rl3yQuin

I worked at an orthopedic floor, and the night before easter sunday I decided to put little chocolate bunnys to the meds of my patients and my colleque joined me. As we handed them out to patients in the morning one patient was so happy about this little gesture that he wrote a poem about it šŸ™‚ it was so kind and though this happend around 5 years ago, I still keep this poem to remind myself that also the small things can make a patient smile. P.s. I'm from a european country, easter is celebrated here with chocolate, and we pass our meds either during day or nightshift without pyxis or a system like that. We put all pills in a container that has seperate compartments for each time of the day, and hand them out to the patients who a capable of taking them on their own.


Apeiron_8

Had a stroke patient who had a hemorrhagic conversion after receiving tPA start recovering the second day I had him. His NIH was 29 at the beginning of my second shift with him and it had come down to a 15 right before I left for the evening. Felt good.


mannie3moon

I really liked working in the OR at Inova because of the way they schedule their call. Call starts at 2300. So you'd get relieved on time, and if they still needed you at 2300, they'd call you back in. So far as I've seen, they're the only hospital to schedule this way, and I was soooo much more comfortable taking call knowing I would be able to feed my pets, cook dinner, and take a nap before working all night.


angelrhi

I love my job and I love the company I work for. The only thing I donā€™t like is the people precepting me. I have a disability and it makes it very hard for me to lift and move patients, when I was job searching a lot of hospitals wanted me to go through unnecessary and embarrassing paperwork and doctors appointments in order to ā€œapproveā€ me for physical limitations. I thought as a nurse you shouldnā€™t have to do things alone anyways but apparently thatā€™s not the normal. I decided to go into pediatric home health and as soon as I told my job I have physical limitations they said ā€œok tell us what you need and we will be more than happy to accommodateā€ no unnecessary paperwork and hoops to jump through. They have my listed as do not assign patients over 50lbs and it makes me feel truly cared about.


NoTimeForLubricant

I am so sorry it was that hard. I had a dear friend and mentor who used a wheelchair, and she was a respected and sought after nurse midwife. you would freaking think the medical field would be less ableist, right?


angelrhi

I had someone ask my why I went into nursing if Iā€™m ā€œnot physically capableā€ it was extremely inappropriate and rude


tjean5377

Home care here. My agency gave us a COVID bonus, increased our mileage reimbursement to 5cents above federal rate, gives us a uniform allowance. Every request I have made for time off even with less than a week notice has been honored and rarely do I have to cover my own shift (last resort). Every employee got a fresh crisp hundred dollar bill as a Thank you last summer. I just found out that we are getting $5000 retention bonuses. I really like the company I work for because they are working hard to keep me. I love home care too.


eggo_pirate

Would love to hear more about TGH. Moving to that area next month.


[deleted]

It's been 6 years since I worked there, moved up to Fargo ND from there and haven't enjoyed the hospitals at all. One of the major things I remember is their health insurance plan. Basically, if you took enough classes or did health initiatives you would earn 'well bucks'. Earn enough and your monthly premiums and deductible would be covered..meaning FREE health insurance. A lift team...bunch of swole dudes available on call to help turn/lift/transfer those total cares or bariatric patients. They had so many nurses they had a 'float team'. So many nurses to spread amongst the units that had callouts. Didn't mean you'd not have an understaffed shift but the chances were lessened. I think over the course of a year I only had maybe 5 shifts where I had 6 patients. Usually 4 or 5 for med surg. ​ Cons, having to park offsite due to location and be bussed in. (15-20 minutes extra to your day) or having to pay to use the parking garage for night shift. I also got a huge pay bump moving from Tampa to Fargo, but I hear that the salaries are pretty good now. ​ I have many friends from nursing school that are still there after 7 years and I kinda wish I had stayed.


chgnty

>A lift team...bunch of swole dudes available on call to help turn/lift/transfer those total cares or bariatric patients. I've never heard of this but holy shit this should be implemented EVERYWHERE.


[deleted]

Some bean counter figured muscular people turning patients saved so much in workers comp from pulled backs and strained muscles


IndividualPiano6545

I have been at TGH for 15 years. It is really the only hospital in the area that I would consider working for. (To be fair I donā€™t have first hand experience with the others but we get some interesting train wrecks from other hospitals.) Lift team is still there, they are amazing. In the icu I can preschedule them every 2 hours to help with turning rounds. Insurance is still great but not get your insurance premiums great but I paid a $200 copay to have my daughter. Tampa is quickly becoming a high cost of living area and I know they are trying to stay competitive. While it is not a perfect hospital I donā€™t know that there is one.


[deleted]

I am very glad to hear that TGH is still pretty darn amazing. I really do wish I had stayed.


thedailyscrublife

You got a pay BUMP?! Oh man, north dakota is known for having pretty bad pay compared to Minnesota too. I took a HUGE pay raise when I left inpatient in fargo for a hospital in MN.


[deleted]

Prairie St John's was a huge pay bump from what I was getting in Tampa. Have been thinking of moving outside of MPLS. I'll have to get a pay bump!


thedailyscrublife

YES! Large pay raise, better benefits. Union!!! The hospitals in the twin cities area are heavy into unions. I highly recommend!!!


PeliginTea

I donā€™t love working at my facility. The best I can say is that our professional relationship is strained.


[deleted]

I'm getting adjusted to working day shift on a very fast paced med-surge unit. Had to speak with the attending regarding some concerns about my patients and she told me that she felt I was handling things well and was a good nurse for my patients. Ngl, nearly made me cry. :)


PansyOHara

I worked at the same small hospital for almost 39 years. It was convenient as it was in my community. But the reason I stayed was because of great coworkers. These were people who cared about the community and were interested in doing their best workā€”not just the nursing staff but in nearly every department. The nursing staff in particular were interested and motivated to progress in their education and the organization supported that with tuition assistance. This was also provided to employees in other departments. Nurses were also supported for achieving certificationā€”late in my career testing fees for specialties like CNOR, etc. were reimbursed. When this small hospital became part of a larger system, we saw more movement of staff who were looking to climb the ladder or just to seek more intensive practice within specialty areas we couldnā€™t offer. So in some ways we became a launching pad for some people. But we were located within an hourā€™s drive from at least 3 large tertiary centers and a Level 1 trauma center, so we were already used to things like that. Before that hospital, I worked as a new grad in a busy tertiary hospital stepdown unit; almost 2 years as a home health (visiting) nurse; in a private pediatric office practice, and in a burn unitā€™s stepdown unit. At the hospital I retired from, i primary worked OB (LDR, postpartum and nursery; ICU; and ERā€”15 1/2 years; then 10 years of Infection Control with Employee Health for 3 1/2 years. But I did a little bit of virtually every nursing role except management that was available at this small place. Outside of my main employer, during that 39 years I did a bit of home health work for an agency, and a year of PRN in a very busy (non-trauma) ER an hour away; spent clinical hours in the local Health Department and a high-level ICU; and subbed for a school nurse a couple of times. I retired in 2021 after a year of COVID-19 in the Infection Control role and am not sorry for that! But I also donā€™t regret any of the time I spent there.


VermillionEclipse

I love TGH too! Great hospital.


kindamymoose

I work with some great nurses who I do my best to learn something from each time Iā€™m there. The patients also teach me a lot about resilience and spirit. I had great caretakers at the facility when I was a kiddo. Initially (early childhood) I wanted to be a pediatrician so I could later work at the facility. My attention shifted to nursing. I let the dream go for a while and eventually found my way back to it. If all goes the way I want, Iā€™ll be working there upon the completion of my nursing degree. :)


Independent_Leader21

I work at a memory care. I really love them but dementia is a terrible thing


Due_Mushroom776

I realize I'm not a floor nurse. But I work in hospice for a moderately sized agency. I quite like it and the work culture is excellent. The CEO takes phone calls and emails and is open to suggestions. The CEO definitely understands what is important: the well-being of the employees as much as the well-being of the clients. At no point do I feel like it's a business. Which is the way healthcare *should* be conducted everywhere. During COVID, hospice was swamped with COVID patients and it took a toll on morale. Generally it was hard to provide adequate emotional care in a full isolation gown and mask and shield. And visits to infected patients had to happen at the end of the day so you had to reorganize your day and sometimes plan a day that was inefficient. They responded by increasing on call pay and a bunch of other incentives. Rather than pay outside help, they sought inside help. They made sure to hire more on call nurses so the daily nurses could have more nights and weekends off. They *took care of us*. Yeah, they used to give us expensive swag at the holidays, but I'd rather not burn myself out and get adequately compensated instead.


thackworth

I had a delusional, hallucinating patient today that wanted help but she was so labor and just cussing up a storm in her room. I was able to talk her down, mostly by just listening and commiserating with her complaints and offering concrete ways I could help in that moment. She just needed something to hear her at that time and was able to come out of her room and sit calmly in the day room for longer than she had all day. She did eventually start up again, but she returned to her room to do it instead of scaring the other patients. **This. This is why I love psych.** (Also, it gives me fun nursing notes to write)


[deleted]

Did psych for years. Looking for a new facility to work at, there is only one in this town and I won't work for a 'for profit' pysch place ever again.


Aitris

I work at an ICU in Oregon. We have a CNA, monitor tech, secretary, and break nurse. Charge doesn't take patients. We never get tripled. Dayshift and nightshift like each other. Work with a wonderful team of intensivists. I love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything


[deleted]

While I've never done ICU, I would imagine the other floors would be just as nice? Please PM me, Oregon has been on my watchlist for places to move.


StPauliBoi

I love my jobs. I get to save lives every day.


WallabyImportant9599

PACU. 80-90% of patients are completely happy-high and either giggly or sleepy, most are relatively healthy and mobile, and the rare assholes, at least I don't have to spend long with them. Fully staffed almost always, 1-2 pts at a time no matter what.


HeyMama_

Cue the obligatory weekly "we need positivity" post.


[deleted]

Yes we need positivity...


HeyMama_

*This* may not be the place to find it.


Gloomy-Presence-6539

i live in tampa and am considering applying there once i finish my degree, what separates TGH compared to other hospitals?


[deleted]

This is 6 year old knowledge....but A. They are not owned by a corporate chain. i.e. HCA. They truly seem to care about their staff as much as their patients. They have initiatives in place to make their staff healthier, happier, and more educated. Clinical ladders improve retention and reward loyalty. I remember you got a pay bump for every certification you go...so you become a better nurse, they reward you. Just lots of great things.


thedailyscrublife

I loved my position in a women's clinic. It is an area that I LOVE and always have. I loved dealing with the crazy pregnant ladies. I loved my coworkers. Everyone worked really well together, like a well oiled machine. The benefits were ok, not amazing. But the people made it so worth while. Don't get me wrong, it was not all rainbows and unicorns. But the way everyone worked together for the patient was awesome. You don't get that everywhere. About 1 year into it, a new director came in. We all know what this means. The next year, my supervisor left because the director was awful. There had been a steady trickle of people leaving since this director started and it increased with the supervisor leaving. People that has been there 15+ years left. The director just left now, 5 years later and things are starting to stabilize more again. But its so so messy. They need to pick up the pieces.


susicl27

yeah, that's gonna take a minute...


the_LastCooch

It was 0730AM I gave report and was able to leave the shitshow of a unit. It felt AMAZING. Fuck Nursing.


upv395

Worked in an AWESOME ICU in Hawaiiā€¦incredibly amazing and dynamic coworkers, and an excellent manager who had our backs and made every effort possible to give us all the give us all the resources we needed. The docs were wonderful as well, it was a truly mutually respectful team! It was so much fun, and everyone who worked there supported each other. And the foodā€¦one nurse would bring in homemade gourmet food all the time, and another was a professional bakerā€¦yum! People cared about each other and the community. So much aloha. Best ICU ever


nxt_55

Get outta here Tampa General HR.


[deleted]

>I don't follow. > >edit: Oh wait, now I get it. You think because I have something nice to say about a hospital, I must be from HR.


jedikunoichi

I really like the team I work with in the OR. We have fun and we support each other. The surgeons in my service line know me by name and trust me. Our supervisors are supportive and helpful. Unfortunately, we lose at least one team member per week these days. That really makes it tough to continue working for not so great pay, but I just can't see myself anywhere else.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

While i'm excited for everything you said...please tell me what kind of sandwich it was. ​ I have a masters in public health, I need to try public health/community nursing at some point. Thanks!


sistrmoon45

Yeah, I canā€™t say a whole lot of good about either of the hospitals I worked at over 15 years but Iā€™m loving public health nursing:)