Not exactly motivational

Dear Tony Robbins:

You are an awesome speaker. I've admired your work for many years.

But really, coal walking? Do you realize we are in the United States of America, Land of the Lawsuit for any random thing? Maybe you should have shared this article before your event.

Here's hoping you've got plenty of money for a top-notch legal team to bail you out of this one.

My feet burn already if I don't wear the right shoes and socks.

Sincerely not,

RehabRN

Not just for travelers

I saw this article recently in one of my e-mails. As one other article mentioned, there are a lot of myths out there (some perpetrated by well-meaning and not-so-well-meaning folks).

One of the biggest issues is that you may need legal representation, regardless of whether you are sued by a patient or not. If you are investigated by your State Board of Nursing (SBON), your license could be in jeopardy.

Another reason: if you volunteer and use your nursing skills, your employer's malpractice may not cover you in the event something goes wrong because you are not at work.

Many malpractice policies can help you to pay for your defense (as most employers do not cover that). Losing your license often means losing your job. Losing your job means losing your income.

Happily, this can be remedied. Check out a malpractice policy of your own. NOTE: some specialties are more expensive to insure than others, but this may vary by carrier.

If you need a nurse attorney, see one of these fine nurse attorneys (if you are in their states) or contact a firm and ask them if they have nurse attorneys who handle cases before your SBON.

Taralynn Mackay
LaTonia Denise Wright

As always, when in doubt, check it out. Your career (and livelihood) may depend on it.

Things that make you go hmmm...

One word: lawsuit.

Not because you didn't do something, but because someone can. Nice. At least that's what someone in the know told me. Legal will just have a blast with this one.

But there was an upside today: I got both my flu shot AND my annual TB test.

I just wish I would have gotten a SpongeBob bandaid!

Stay tuned for more excitement...

Charge!

I'm still a relatively (under 5 years) newer nurse, so I didn't really relish the opportunity to be the charge nurse on one of my recent shifts. We never had them at Saintarama, so I don't actually mind them. At Madison, all the RNs take turns. I know the basic requirements, but it really threw me for a loop. Happily, even with a patient complaining of coronary issues, I survived.

So how did I do it? I asked for help where I needed it. Thankfully, most of the people I worked with that night worked the night before, so the assignments were a breeze. I talked to the charge on the previous shift and she helped me with some other issues. No one complained, so it must have worked.

Most of all, I had a very cooperative team and the oncoming shift arrived on time for the most part, so I got to leave on time. Hooray!

Here are a few interesting things I found out about charge nurses on the internet.

• Lynne Connelly has a great article about being a charge nurse and what's out there in the literature. It's academic, but interesting in that it discusses the competencies needed in a charge nurse role and the factors that can be barriers or facilitators to charge nurses.
• There's even a good book out there about being a charge nurse: A Charge Nurse's Guide: Navigating the Path of Leadership.
• Charge nurses can make or break your unit. This article from Nursing Management talks about the importance of a consistent charge nurse on a unit.
• Who's in charge? is a great general article about the duties of a charge nurse and the legal ramifications from http://www.nurse.com/.
• It's an expired CE activity, but this article from AdvanceWEB also discusses the charge nurse role, including how to get mentally prepared for the role.

Finally, MJ from www.nurseratchedsplace.com has the BEST article about a real charge nurse incident. I really enjoyed it!

Stay tuned!

The long and winding road

Do you ever wonder how in the world you ended up where you are now? I do all the time.

I know there are a lot of folks out there in this worsening economy who say, "I need a job that lasts like a healthcare one." For them, I'd like to pass along a few things about my experience.

First of all, yes, healthcare is indeed a necessity. Unlike sales or marketing or computers, everyone needs to have access to a doctor and/or hospital. With that access comes access to a variety of other assorted healthcare professionals, namely nurses.

Nurses are in a lot of places from schools to hospitals to local, state and federal health agencies. Nurses do lots and lots of paperwork in addition to doing patient assessment, administering drugs, general patient care and patient education.

Second, before you go jumping into the nursing school pool, be prepared to wait. Some nursing schools have waiting lists of two or more years. Do your homework!

One of the best books I've encountered that discusses many of the nursing specialties out there is Opportunities to Care: The Pfizer Guide to Careers in Nursing. It has a general overview of issues in nursing and a general overview of the role of nurse in the healthcare setting, as well as career planning and words of wisdom. The most valuable part is that it has lots of little vignettes that describe different specialties. (Shameless plug: you can find the rehabilitation nursing story on page 132 in Chapter 27.)

Third, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention something that LaTonia Denise Wright is always talking about in her blog, My 2 cents. Please, please, please consult a lawyer if you have any legal issues in your past. You might go out and get a degree in nursing, but no school on earth will guarantee that your state will license you if you have certain convictions, which is why you need to get an attorney who knows what will and will not work in your state before you start. Your state Board of Nursing is out to protect the public, not your investment in nursing school.

Finally, if visiting hospitals, talking to people and checking out the nursing program of your choice and its statistics and everything else I've mentioned above hasn't scared you away, and you've got all your prereqs in order, dive in. It's an experience you'll never forget.