***SOAPBOX ALERT**** (aka something to consider)
There are lots of insurance products out there: life, homeowners, renters, automobile, motorcycle, health, disability insurance you name it. Some are required by law, like automobile insurance, or homeowners, because they protect a valuable asset (your home or your car). This is mostly required by creditors. Life insurance protects you and your family. We know that nursing is a hard, sometimes dangerous profession. Disability insurance is another thing to consider, since nurses are very likely to be injured on the job vs. to die at work.
However, many nurses practice without insuring something just as valuable. They practice without nursing malpractice insurance. In the few years I've practiced, I've heard a lot of stories about lawsuits and the judgments that often come with them.
Many people rationalize why they don't want insurance. They are not "those people". If they buy insurance, they'll be sued. The hospital will protect me, since I've been a good employee and never disciplined. My state board will protect me.
Unfortunately, those people or nurses who get sued are very nice people just doing their jobs like you are. If you are like me, you live in an "at will" state. You can be fired at any time (and you can leave at any time). This means even with your stellar record, your facility could let you go. Finally, most state boards may discipline you if you are found negligent. If you lose your license, you lose your livelihood.
If you love your job, your family, your house and your car, you need to consider carrying malpractice insurance, too. There are many good firms out there, some specifically for nurses. Seek them out.
Your career may depend on it.
More to come...
Showing posts with label soapbox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soapbox. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2015
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Bed bingo on a crazy Monday
You know you're in for some excitement when you get to work and everyone's all shuffled around. This is known as "bed bingo". Bed bingo happens for a number of reasons, and it's mostly related to isolation status. We had one patient come up positive for a new organism, so as a result, five people got moved around to get rooms ready and everyone in their correct group.
Note: our facility cohorts patients in the same room with the same organism and we only have one (yes, one) private room among our rooms.
I got the same assignment and the med wagon far away again. This can be frazzling, but I dealt with it. The thing that is most frazzling is when one shift forgets to do the things to which they're assigned. Since our boss has been in and out with things, the tasks that normally get done on the floor have gone to the wayside a bit.
The housekeepers are the biggest problem right now. They have had some turnover in the last few months and they can't seem to keep the paper towels in stock in the staff bathrooms, nor can they keep the trash emptied. I've mentioned this to one of the housekeepers who usually sets us up well, but I'm not sure why it's not getting done. A lot of people on the evening shift are getting frazzled, and I'm one of them. I'm not on evenings all the time, but I see things on days and then I go to evenings and it gets annoying. With cold and flu season here, I wish one of the docs would notice and throw a fit, since maybe that might get something done. Running out of paper towels in the bathrooms and patient rooms is not an option!
Besides that, some of our day staff are not even attempting to pull their weight. Unfortunately that saying, "When the cat's away, the mice will play" is very true. I dread working behind some people. You should not immediately have to empty urine bags when you get on your shift, but I have done it every single night on evenings this round. One day, I had to make the patient's bed and get all the linens. This is the job of nursing at the ranch, and the nurse who had this patient couldn't get it done before she left at noon, and the nurse who followed her for four hours had made no attempt, either. Thankfully, I had the bed made...just as the patient was returning with his family from a day pass. I also got lucky and had to empty the bed bag for this guy, too, since this was just one more thing they forgot. I have to say most people are consistent--when they don't do something, they really follow through and miss everything. End of soapbox.
Ahh...that venting felt better....on to more fun stuff. My younger patient is doing more every day. It's really good to work with him. He puts the active in active rehab. He's even paying attention to his diet, which is really important for SCI patients. We talked about his bowel routine protocol and despite the assessment of the docs and the charge nurse, he's probably going to stick to a daily routine.
One of my other patients was really depressed because his blood pressure would not stay up even with his TEDs, binder and Midodrine. We talked about it and hopefully, it can be resolved soon enough.
I'm going to stop here...more later! I'm going to enjoy my off day! (Happy Birthday, Mom!)
Note: our facility cohorts patients in the same room with the same organism and we only have one (yes, one) private room among our rooms.
I got the same assignment and the med wagon far away again. This can be frazzling, but I dealt with it. The thing that is most frazzling is when one shift forgets to do the things to which they're assigned. Since our boss has been in and out with things, the tasks that normally get done on the floor have gone to the wayside a bit.
The housekeepers are the biggest problem right now. They have had some turnover in the last few months and they can't seem to keep the paper towels in stock in the staff bathrooms, nor can they keep the trash emptied. I've mentioned this to one of the housekeepers who usually sets us up well, but I'm not sure why it's not getting done. A lot of people on the evening shift are getting frazzled, and I'm one of them. I'm not on evenings all the time, but I see things on days and then I go to evenings and it gets annoying. With cold and flu season here, I wish one of the docs would notice and throw a fit, since maybe that might get something done. Running out of paper towels in the bathrooms and patient rooms is not an option!
Besides that, some of our day staff are not even attempting to pull their weight. Unfortunately that saying, "When the cat's away, the mice will play" is very true. I dread working behind some people. You should not immediately have to empty urine bags when you get on your shift, but I have done it every single night on evenings this round. One day, I had to make the patient's bed and get all the linens. This is the job of nursing at the ranch, and the nurse who had this patient couldn't get it done before she left at noon, and the nurse who followed her for four hours had made no attempt, either. Thankfully, I had the bed made...just as the patient was returning with his family from a day pass. I also got lucky and had to empty the bed bag for this guy, too, since this was just one more thing they forgot. I have to say most people are consistent--when they don't do something, they really follow through and miss everything. End of soapbox.
Ahh...that venting felt better....on to more fun stuff. My younger patient is doing more every day. It's really good to work with him. He puts the active in active rehab. He's even paying attention to his diet, which is really important for SCI patients. We talked about his bowel routine protocol and despite the assessment of the docs and the charge nurse, he's probably going to stick to a daily routine.
One of my other patients was really depressed because his blood pressure would not stay up even with his TEDs, binder and Midodrine. We talked about it and hopefully, it can be resolved soon enough.
I'm going to stop here...more later! I'm going to enjoy my off day! (Happy Birthday, Mom!)
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